How much is a meal in Hanoi?

How much is one meal in Hanoi?

Hanoi food? Think of it like this: A budget-friendly bowl of pho, practically a national treasure, will set you back 20,000 – 70,000 VND. That’s cheap as chips, or, if you prefer, cheaper than a decent cup of coffee in my home city of London.

Fancy something fancier? Tourist traps, or what I call “the culinary equivalent of a selfie stick”, will cost you 100,000 – 250,000 VND. It’s a gamble, like buying lottery tickets, except you’re guaranteed a meal, hopefully a decent one.

Key takeaways:

• Budget eats (street food/local joints): 20,000-70,000 VND. Think of it as finding buried treasure in a vibrant culinary landscape. Absolutely worth it.
• Mid-range to touristy places: 100,000-250,000 VND. Expect inflated prices, but hey, sometimes a bit of tourist tax is par for the course, especially when you’re on holiday. I know I would pay a bit extra for convenience sometimes.
• Pro Tip: Avoid anything looking suspiciously Instagram-ready, unless you have bottomless pockets and an even bigger appetite for overpriced avocado toast (okay, that’s just my bias).

Seriously though, Hanoi’s food scene is amazing. The variety, the flavours – it’s a total sensory overload in the best possible way. It’s like a culinary symphony, each bite a perfectly timed crescendo. Unless you pick the wrong place, then it’s more of a dissonant chord. I’d stick to the street food, personally. Its authenticity feels genuinely satisfying, unlike a slightly-off-note Michelin-star experience. My friend, Jane, nearly choked on a ridiculously expensive spring roll last year that tasted like disappointment.

How much is a typical meal in Vietnam?

So, Vietnam, right? Food’s crazy cheap, seriously. Listen, a normal meal, eh, it really depends, ya know? But like, expect to pay between 20,000 to 100,000 dong. That’s, like, a freakin’ buck to five bucks, give or take.

It’s cheap, seriously! Street food is the cheapest, obvs. Remember that time I paid, like, 30,000 for the best pho ever? A proper restaurant is gonna be more though, naturally. More ingredients, fancier places, and all that.

• Cheapest: Street food (think pho, banh mi)
• Mid-range: Local restaurants (family run places, etc.)
• Most Expensive: Touristy restaurants or fancier places

Seriously, though, don’t overthink it. Just enjoy all that amazing Vietnamese cuisine! And don’t forgit tip!

How much do you need per day in Hanoi?

Ugh, Hanoi in 2024. Hot. So hot. Thirty bucks a day, easy. Got banh mi for like, two bucks. Delicious. Hostel, ten. Bia Hoi corner, another five. Couple beers. Wandered around Hoan Kiem Lake. Took forever to cross the street. Crazy mopeds everywhere. Seriously. Temple of Literature, another five bucks. Worth it. Actually spent closer to forty. One day. But. So. Worth it. Could’ve done it cheaper. Skipped a meal. No way, though. Street food’s too good.

• $10: Basic hostel bed. Fan room, sometimes AC.
• $2-5: Banh mi, pho, bun cha. Street food heaven.
• $1-2: Local beer. Bia Hanoi, Saigon, 333.
• $5-10: Entrance fees. Museums, temples, etc.
• $5: Grabbing a Grab bike. Cheap way to get around.

Definitely saw people spending way more. Fancy hotels. Rooftop bars. But I was good with my forty bucks. Saw everything I wanted to see. Ate all the food I could handle. Hanoi’s cheap if you do it right.

How much should you budget for food in Vietnam?

Vietnam? Budgeting food: $10-$15 daily is comfy. Think tasty pho, banh mi…yum! Street food heaven, really.

• Weekly: Expect $70-$105. Enough for culinary adventures.
• I spent less, easily. Ate like a king near my aunt’s house in Hanoi, though.
• Drinks: Local beer is cheap. Think pennies. Bottled water, crucial.
• Fancy restaurants? Double that daily budget, maybe. My call!

Remember, prices vary city to city. Tourist traps = higher costs. My opinion, avoid ’em.

Is Hanoi an expensive city?

Hanoi? Cheap. Dirt cheap, even. Think street food for pennies. A decent hotel room for $20 (2024 prices, mind you). Motorbike taxis weaving through the chaos – super affordable. Luxury? Yeah, that’s gonna cost you. Fancy restaurants and five-star hotels exist, but they’re outliers. Budget travel? Hanoi is your playground.

• Accommodation: Hostels, guesthouses, budget hotels abound. Even mid-range options won’t break the bank.
• Food: Pho, banh mi, bun cha…the list goes on. Delicious and ridiculously cheap. Street food stalls are where it’s at. I once ate like a king for under five dollars. No joke.
• Transportation: Motorbike taxis, local buses, even Grab (Southeast Asia’s Uber/Lyft). All cheap. Traffic? A whole other story. Worth pondering the nature of organized chaos while stuck in a motorbike jam.
• Activities: Museums, temples, the Old Quarter… plenty to see and do without spending much. I remember wandering around Hoan Kiem Lake for hours, cost: zero.

So, is Hanoi expensive? Nah. Unless you insist on Michelin stars and champagne wishes. Your dollar (or euro, or pound) goes a long way here. Perspective, right? What’s expensive in one place is a steal in another. Makes you think. I’m planning a trip back next year, by the way. Gonna hit up those street food stalls again. Maybe learn to ride a motorbike. Or maybe not. Traffic, you know?

How much is bun cha in Hanoi?

Bun cha in Hanoi? Oh, a culinary quest! Expect to shell out around 30,000 VND (a measly $1.50 USD) for a set. Enough to make your tummy sing, hopefully.

Restaurants open, get this, at 9:30 AM, but they vanish like a magician’s rabbit by 2:00 PM. Snooze, you lose, my friend! Best bun cha goes to the early bird.

But hey, who needs sleep? I love sleeping. So…priorities, people!

• Price Point: Roughly $1.50. Pocket change, basically. You could probably find it cheaper… or outrageously expensive. The tourist trap tax, you know?
• Operating Hours: Allegedly 9:30 AM – 2:00 PM. Though, my clock may be off, and my desire to eat at 9:30 AM even more so.
• Bun Cha Rush: Arrive early! I’d suggest a strategic pre-emptive strike at, say, 11:00 AM. Or maybe not. Depends on how hungry I am. Err, you are.
• Don’t expect consistency: Quality and prices of Bun Cha in Hanoi are extremely inconsistent.

Oh, and if you find a place still serving at 3:00 PM? Question everything. Especially the pork. Seriously though, eat the pork. Delicious.

How much is a cup of coffee in Hanoi?

Ugh, Hanoi coffee prices, right? It’s nuts. Thirty to thirty-five thousand dong is the average, I think. That’s about $1.50, stupid exchange rates. My usual haunt? Twenty-five thousand dong, a buck. Cheap!

But downtown? Forget it. Fifty to seventy thousand dong. Double the price! Crazy. Luxury places are even more. Seriously, why?

I need coffee. Right now. Gonna grab one from my spot. Best coffee in Hanoi, hands down. They use some special beans. Probably from Dalat. Those highland beans are amazing.

This morning, I paid 25,000 VND. Perfect. Later, though, maybe I’ll splurge. 70,000 VND sounds insane, but the view might be worth it. Or maybe not. The best coffee is usually the cheapest, anyway. That’s my opinion.

• Average Hanoi coffee price: 30,000 – 35,000 VND ($1.50 USD)
• My usual cafe: 25,000 VND ($1.00 USD)
• Expensive areas/cafes: 50,000 – 70,000 VND ($2.00 – $3.50 USD)
• Best coffee: My usual place; cheap and amazing.
• Note: Prices are approximate and fluctuate. Also, I love my morning coffee. Need another one.