Saigon, Vietnam: Budget and Expenses

Saigon, Vietnam

April 5-9, 2012

Budget and Expenses

We spent a total of US$500 for this trip, excluding airfare, travel taxes, terminal fees and taxi rides here in the Philippines. That’s quite a big amount for just 3 full days in Vietnam but we spent mostly on shopping as detailed in our ITINERARY. So if you’re not into shopping, then a budget of US$300 or even less is already enough for two people.

Below is the actual amount we paid for the accommodation and tours:

Hotel:

1^st night                         - US$ 21

2^nd & 3^rd nights             - US$ 46 (US$ 23 per night)

                                        US$ 67 x 20,500 VND = 1,373,500 VND

Airport Service:

To                               - US$ 14

Fro                             - US$ 10

                                     US$ 24 x 20,500 VND = 492,000 VND                             

Tours:

Cu Chi Tunnel Tour  - US$ 12 (US$ 6 per person)

Mekong Delta Tour  - US$ 34 (US$ 17 per person)

                                  US$ 46 x 20,500 VND = 943,000 VND

Summary:

Hotel (3 nights)                                    - 1,373,500 VND

Tours                                                   -    943,000 VND

Cu Chi Entrance Fee

      (80,000 VND each)                      -    160,000 VND

War Museum Entrance Fee

      (15,000 VND each)                      -      30,000 VND

Airport Service                                    -    492,000 VND

Total                                                      2,998,500 VND or US$ 147 (rounded up)

Food is cheap also; a bowl of Pho averages at 50,000-55,000 VND or less than US$ 3.00 only. I’m doing a separate entry for the food that we had in Vietnam including photos and prices for your reference. Click here for the link > Saigon, Vietnam: PHOod Trip

For shopping and other miscellaneous expenses, I listed the ballpark figures below which were bought from Ben Thanh and Saigon Square and the streets of HCMC. I am not sure though if it’s already cheap or you can actually get it at a lower price. I admit my haggling skill is poor.  :p

Bottled Water – 6,000 – 15,000 VND

Fruit Shake – 35,000 VND

Can of Soda – 15,000 – 22,000 VND

I heart Vietnam Shirts – 45,000 – 80,000 VND

10-pc ref magnets – 70,000 VND

Trung Nguyen Coffee – 40,000-45,000 VND depending on the flavor (3-in-1 or black)

Blouses – 90,000-120,000 VND

Kipling Bags (Fake) – 140,000-180,000 VND

Kipling Wallets (Fake) – 40,000-50,000 VND

The North Face Bag (Melinda) – 370,000 VND

The North Face Bag (Amira) – 290,000 VND

The North Face 2-layer Jacket – 800,000 VND

Taxi Flag down – 11,500 – 12,600 VND

Post Card – 4,000 VND

Doing a rough estimate for the hotel, food, and tours, we only spent a total US$ 200.00 for 3 full days including water/soda and gratuities/tips. It’s only now that I realized how much we’ve spent on pasalubong and shopping. Deym! I overspent again! Shopping in Vietnam is so much like in Bangkok, irresistible!

On our first day (2^nd night), I actually tried to list everything that we spent for the day. Take a look on my mini notebook:

I can really be OC sometimes. See the details? LOL. :p

I was happy doing it and I was being really OC. In the end however, I gave up. I’m short by 260,000 VND. Imagine how frustrating it was for me. I have a Management Accounting degree but I can’t balance my expenses with the amount I had on hand. 

My mom was laughing at me because I didn’t want to admit that I overpaid for something. It must be the bottled water we bought from the sidewalk. But 260,000 VND was too much for a bottle of water. How come I didn’t notice if I paid that much? 

Ggrrr… I was really disappointed with myself. I hate that their money is in hundreds of thousands a piece. It was just so hard for me to keep track and count. Haha.:p

(Being a banker, I felt stupid with my last statement. LOL)