I Left Vietnam For A Month But Really Miss Travelling In Vietnam

I (23M) was born in Vietnam in 2001 before moving to Russia in 2006 and later, the US in 2012, so I might be biased, but I really miss Vietnam. Even though I am no fan of living in Vietnam (I believe QoL in the US is miles better), I would like to revisit Vietnam sometime again. I am writing this in the days leading up to my Europe trip between 13 March and 8 April through 10 countries (Turkiye, Greece, Albania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia), and I deeply remembered my trip to Vietnam during Tet 2025.

Here are some of the reasons why I miss Vietnam:

In Vietnam, even though food at some touristy areas could cost upwards of 150-250k (6-12 USD) in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City and Hoan Kiem of Hanoi, the truth is, if you are savvy, you could go out to places like District 3 (HCMC), Thu Dau Mot, or Ba Dinh (Hanoi), and food is going to be vastly cheaper. At Ben Nghe street food (still in District 1), you could find Pho for under 100k VND (4 USD), while at Quan Thanh, I tried out some Bun Ca for only 50k VND (2 USD). In Da Nang and Can Tho, I ate some com tam and com suon for only 50-75k VND (2-3 USD) and in Ha Long, I tried out some Pho Ga for only 50k VND (at the cafe adjoining the 1925 Boutique Hotel). Banh Mi is readily available for 20-40k VND (80 US cents to 1.60 USD). Even with all of this, I never even experienced any food borne poisoning or stomach bugs. I generally avoid Vietnam’s street food and stick with the ‘quán an’ or ‘nhà hàng’ to avoid food borne illness. This is in contrast with a 20 CHF ($21) long chicken sandwich, fries, chicken strips, and a soda at a Burger King in Bern Switzerland or 15 USD for a hot dog, fries, and a soda in Iceland. Even in more affordable European countries like Macedonia, Bosnia, and Albania, I still routinely pay 5 euros for meals like this and 5-10 euros for museums.

In HCMC and Hanoi, most city buses are on average 7000 VND (28 cents) and the metro in HCMC costs between 7-20k VND (28-80 cents). On average, attractions cost between 40-100k VND (1.60-4 USD) in Vietnam compared to about 5-15 euros average in many European cities. Some attractions in Europe could go up as high as 20-25 euros, such as the La Sagrada Familia, and the Topkapi Castle costs an extortionate 2000 lira (55 USD). Most temples are free (just like many catholic churches in France) and don't cost an extortionate amount like the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque.

Hotels are quite affordable, with me paying 20 USD per night (3.5 million VND a week) for a Booking.com property in HCMC’s District 1, and me paying only 260k VND (a little more than 10 USD) for the Royal Family Hotel in Da Nang.

Not only are amenities affordable, the people are also very friendly and approachable, the level of English proficiency is ok (luckily, I could either use Google Translate or type out some Vietnamese phrases and people would understand), and a reasonable amount of places allow credit cards. Vietnamese food IMO is quite healthy and satiating, and the scenery is epic, especially in places like Sa Pa, Ha Giang Loop, Ha Long Bay, the Hai Van Pass, Can Tho, and Phu Quoc. The history is also plentiful as well. 2nd tier cities like Da Nang are very clean without any sign of litter. Grab is reasonably affordable at 1 USD per mile, as supposed with 33 USD for 3 miles in Iceland.

Even though there are many positive tenets about Vietnam, I still feel like some aspects of Vietnam have to improve. For one, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi have extreme amounts of litter, but luckily, no human defecation, unlike Laos, Cambodia, or India. Crossing the road is an arduous endeavour and not looking 360 and crossing is effectively suicide. Also, walkability even on the crosswalks could be hampered due to the amount of motorcycle parking or street vendors. Also, peddlers, vendors, and some taxi/Grab drivers are quite aggressive in that they ask you to use their service even if you already booked another Grab through the Grab app. What's more egregious is at some places/restaurants, the prices are not thoroughly delineated, so you have to ask for the price. And the last thing I wanted to add is the customs line is consistently very long, specifically at the Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCMC.

Otherwise, keep up the good work, Vietnam. I really don't understand the low tourism retention and return rate as Vietnam is doing many of the correct things. Some countries are extremely overpriced, yet people still rave them, but Vietnam seemed underappreciated.