Bangkok vs Hanoi
The short answer
Hanoi is the cheaper trip, by roughly 37% a day — $25–50 against $40–80 mid-range per person. Both are at their best in Nov–Dec, so one trip can take in both.
Side by side
Mid-range, per person, in US dollars. Both guides were costed the same way — see how we work these out.
| 🇹🇭 Bangkok | 🇻🇳 Hanoi | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily budgetmid-range, per person | $40–80 | $25–50cheaper |
| Cheap meallocal staple | $1.50–3 | $1–3cheaper |
| Mid-range hotelper night | $50–100 | $30–60cheaper |
| Transit ridesingle trip | $0.50–1.80 | $0.30cheaper |
| Avg. monthly salarylocal, for context | ≈ $800 | ≈ $350 |
When to go
Filled months are the ones each guide recommends; hollow ones it warns off.
What you'd actually do
A few of each guide's picks, one per category before seconds — the full lists are on the guides themselves.
🇹🇭 Bangkok
Chaotic, friendly, and outrageously good value. Street food that outclasses most restaurants, a skytrain gliding over legendary traffic, and golden temples around every corner.
- Sky Bar (Lebua State Tower)$$$Nightlife
- Jay Fai$$$Restaurants
- Calypso Cabaret$$Theater & shows
- Teens of Thailand$$Nightlife
- Thipsamai$Restaurants
🇻🇳 Hanoi
A thousand-year-old capital where motorbikes swarm narrow Old Quarter streets, French colonial villas sit beside pagodas, and plastic stools spill onto the sidewalk for the country's best bowl of pho.
- Ta Hien "Bia Hoi Corner"$Nightlife
- Bun Cha Huong Lien ("Bun Cha Obama")$Restaurants
- Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre$Theater & shows
- Polite & Co.$$$Nightlife
- Cha Ca La Vong$$Restaurants
Practicalities
| Bangkok | Hanoi | |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Thai. English is common in tourist areas, hotels, and malls; sparse elsewhere. | Vietnamese; English is spoken in tourist areas and by younger people, but less so than in Bangkok or Singapore |
| Currency | Thai baht (฿). US$1 ≈ ฿35 | Vietnamese dong (VND/₫) — prices often quoted in thousands, e.g. 50k = 50,000₫ |
| Time zone | ICT (UTC+7) | Indochina Time (ICT), UTC+7, no daylight saving |
| Power | 220V; outlets take most two-pin plugs (A/C hybrids) | Type A/C/D/F/G plugs, 220V — bring a universal adapter |
| Tap water | Don't drink it — bottled and filtered water everywhere, often free at hotels | Not safe to drink — stick to bottled or filtered water, including for brushing teeth if you're cautious |
| Emergency | 191 police · 1669 ambulance · 1155 tourist police (English) | 113 police, 114 fire, 115 ambulance |