Hanoi vs Ho Chi Minh City
The short answer
They cost about the same day to day — Hanoi $25–50, Ho Chi Minh City $25–55 mid-range per person. Both are at their best in Mar–Apr, 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.
| 🇻🇳 Hanoi | 🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily budgetmid-range, per person | $25–50 | $25–55 |
| Cheap meallocal staple | $1–3cheaper | $1.50–3.50 |
| Mid-range hotelper night | $30–60 | $30–65 |
| Transit ridesingle trip | $0.30 | $0.25cheaper |
| Avg. monthly salarylocal, for context | ≈ $350 | ≈ $400 |
When to go
Filled months are the ones each guide recommends; hollow ones it warns off.
What you'd actually do
A few of each guide's picks, one per category before seconds — the full lists are on the guides themselves.
🇻🇳 Hanoi
A thousand-year-old capital where motorbikes swarm narrow Old Quarter streets, French colonial villas sit beside pagodas, and plastic stools spill onto the sidewalk for the country's best bowl of pho.
- Ta Hien "Bia Hoi Corner"$Nightlife
- Bun Cha Huong Lien ("Bun Cha Obama")$Restaurants
- Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre$Theater & shows
- Polite & Co.$$$Nightlife
- Cha Ca La Vong$$Restaurants
🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City
Still called Saigon by most locals — a fast-moving, entrepreneurial city of glass towers rising over French colonial landmarks, with a motorbike sea and a street-food scene that runs 24 hours.
- Chill Skybar$$$Nightlife
- Pho Hoa Pasteur$Restaurants
- Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre$Theater & shows
- Apocalypse Now$$Nightlife
- Banh Xeo 46A$Restaurants
Practicalities
| Hanoi | Ho Chi Minh City | |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Vietnamese; English is spoken in tourist areas and by younger people, but less so than in Bangkok or Singapore | Vietnamese; English is fairly common in District 1's tourist and business areas |
| Tap water | Not safe to drink — stick to bottled or filtered water, including for brushing teeth if you're cautious | Not safe to drink — stick to bottled or filtered water |
The same in both:
- Currency
- Vietnamese dong (VND/₫) — prices often quoted in thousands, e.g. 50k = 50,000₫
- Time zone
- Indochina Time (ICT), UTC+7, no daylight saving
- Power
- Type A/C/D/F/G plugs, 220V — bring a universal adapter
- Emergency
- 113 police, 114 fire, 115 ambulance