🇻🇳 Vietnam: Budget Backpacking Guide

Vietnam rewards those who travel slowly. The country's dramatic S-shape means you could spend weeks here without seeing it all — from the misty mountains around Sapa in the north, to the photogenic fishing villages of Hoi An in the centre, to the chaotic energy of Ho Chi Minh City in the south. It's one of the cheapest countries in Southeast Asia: a bowl of pho costs $1.50, overnight sleeper buses cost $10, and perfectly good guesthouse rooms go for $8–12. The budget travel infrastructure here is some of the most developed in the world.