Best Cheap Destinations Around the World

[minibrings]

Originally Posted by AnnieA

best post. Cheap and for me, there was a lot to do. I loved Chaing Mai and Chaing Rai, both, plus Siem Reap. Never went down south to the beaches. I guess that is another trip.

When I went I was still living in Australia so I did not need a beach holiday living so close to nice beaches. I like Chiangmai Mai, I'm not a big fan of Bangkok.. Too busy

[intelfan11315]

Decided on Vietnam, United Airlines is terrible... I miss Continental so much

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by Ronnie555

Vietnam.

People speak decent English in the cities.

Southeast Asia is unbeatable for cost. Vietnam is up to 30% cheaper than Thailand.

Amazing beaches

Decent food, good seafood. Definitely some unique stuff.. crazy tropical fruits you've never heard of, etc. even their bananas are way different than the bananas that we get in the US.

Quite safe.. no violent crime, no guns, etc.

Well 'decent' is a relative term. I could get by, but not without a few hitches. Trying to buy train tickets was a lot harder than anticipated. I met hardly any Vietnamese who were truly fluent in English.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by burgler09

Awesome, Saigon sounds really cool. What can I expect to pay in terms for hotels per night? What is the cheapest you think I could get for a nightly pay that would still be comfortable (no bugs/not disgusting)?

Is Vietnam a pretty good place to travel alone? No problems going out to a bar alone ? Also, how is the crime there.. is it pretty low/ not too much worries or higher and really have to watch your back?

Also, what is the poverty like there? Does it have a feel like India or is it not quite as bad as that?

It's safe, but be wary of petty crime...be wary of motorbike drivers taking you on tours. There's at least a 3/4 chance they'll try to pull something on you. But the good ones are great.

HCM is expensive by Vietnamese standards...the hotel I stayed at was $25 a night for a standard room, as good as any 4 or 5 star hotel in Europe or the US...actually they upgraded me to a posh suite, it was $40 but it was a huge room with a spa.etc. I wasn't complaining really. It's interesting the huge jump from these small sort of hotels and the 5-star chains: you could pay $200 to stay at the Hilton and you'd scarcely know the difference.

Hotel rooms outside HCM and Hanoi are cheaper still (although very cheap rooms can be found in HCM). I paid something like $15 for a good hotel in Nha Trang. Let me know if you're interested. I found the hotel service/staff very friendly and helpful in Vietnam.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by Ronnie555

Crime will not be an issue, other than petty theft. Use common sense at all times. Do not leave luggage/bag unattended EVER. Lock your hotel room when you go out. Etc. Common sense is all that is required. Violent crime will not occur. Even when walking alone at night. Obviously there's an exception to every rule, but it's like a .0001% chance. You'd be more at risk in Chicago or Los Angeles.

Saigon is a big city, so you'll pay a premium for hotels. In other cities, I was able to find nice hotel rooms for 8-10 bucks. In Saigon, I'd say $16 is the going rate at a guesthouse. This will include a hot shower, cable TV, fridge, AC, etc.

tons of people travel alone. It's a great place to do it. No issues going alone to restaurants, bars. You'll meet a lot of travelers if you're just friendly and stay outside your hotel room. The only issue is if you're a single male and you go to some bars, girls will assume you're looking for a prostitute, so they'll bother you A TON.

I saw more girls traveling alone than guys, but I saw a lot of solo travelers when I went. Lots of backpackers from europe, etc.

It's a 3rd world country, so there's poverty. But it's not that bad. People drive brand new Mercedes in Saigon lol. So there are definitely rich folks. Restaurants and hotels have air conditioning, hotels have cable TV, etc. so it's really not that bad, considering how cheap everything is.

Honestly though, you can't stay in Saigon that long. go take bus trips and tours all over the place. You can walk all around Saigon in 1-2 days. Plus the pollution will start to get at you. So after 1-2 days, you'll probably want to go to some of the beaches, go inland to cambodia, etc. I wouldn't plan on staying in Saigon for a whole week or anything, unless you just plan on going out to bars every single night and partying 24/7. Even if that is the case, there are better places to do that in Vietnam, such as Nha Trang.

edit: if you decide to go, shoot me a private mesage. I was just there in November so I can definitely give you some tips of where to go and where to skip. there are some places that are great to go if you're traveling solo, and others that I'd recommend skipping.

To be honest I found Saigon/HCM one of the least interesting parts of the country, but definitely still worth checking out. It's their modern, economic hub so it figures.

In recent years the tourism industry has picked up in Vietnam. It still doesn't feel as tourist-infested as Thailand, it's significantly cheaper, but you will probably be hassled more than Thailand, by om drivers and touts. Most taxi drivers will offer you 'boom boom' (sex) if you are male. Well offer to take you to the hookers lol. I would strongly recommend against it (not that I took it off, but knowing how they can scam you I imagine the same would go for that). At least that's my experience, and I used them at least 20 times all over Vietnam.

Around Saigon there are some interesting places. Cambodia will require a separate visa, and you'd need at least 5-6 days to appreciate a cruise up to Phnom Penh. I would save that for another trip and include Angkor. The Cu Chi tunnels I find a bit overrated...interesting if you're interested in the Vietnam war. The Mekong delta is interesting: towns like Ben Tre or Mytho give a glimpse of rural Vietnam. Towards the coast there is Vung Tau, known from Vietnam war days. Cat Tien national park is home to several rare and endangered species and one of the few remaining examples of tropical rainforest in the country.

My favourite part of Vietnam was Central Vietnam though: Hoi An, Hue, Bach Ma National Park, Phong Nha Cave. Actually if I only visited one part of Vietnam in detail, I'd just spend a day in HCM and take a Vietnam Airlines flight to Danang and focus on that part.

[intelfan11315]

I'm pretty used to being hassled by people trying to sell things haha, but I guess if it were possible to avoid that it'd be nice, sometimes it does grow old. That being said, even if it is more than Thailand my guess is that it'd be pretty hard to avoid that kind of stuff in ANY developing country.

Did the other cities in Vietnam seem to have people hassle you as much as they did in HCM? About the Taxi drivers and offering prostitutes.. I think for some reason that is just the code of the taxi driver to always offer women Honestly it makes me wonder if they REALLY do know prostitutes or just want to find a way to strike up conversation.

A lot of the places you listed looked really cool, what were the other cities there like?

I've had some really good recommendations already, but if you were on a limited budget limited time trip to Vietnam, where would you go?

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by burgler09

I'm pretty used to being hassled by people trying to sell things haha, but I guess if it were possible to avoid that it'd be nice, sometimes it does grow old. That being said, even if it is more than Thailand my guess is that it'd be pretty hard to avoid that kind of stuff in ANY developing country.

Did the other cities in Vietnam seem to have people hassle you as much as they did in HCM? About the Taxi drivers and offering prostitutes.. I think for some reason that is just the code of the taxi driver to always offer women Honestly it makes me wonder if they REALLY do know prostitutes or just want to find a way to strike up conversation.

A lot of the places you listed looked really cool, what were the other cities there like?

Yes, expect to get hassled almost everywhere, at least in tourist spots. Those areas well known as being cultural attractions are especially bad - Hoi An and Sapa. In Sapa literally the whole village will come up to you all trying to sell you the same things. I had three women competing with each other to sell me some knitted blankets I think I agreed buying from all of them, but ended up not having money. Little girls would follow you for ten minutes just repeating 'you buy from me?' It was no use telling them you already had two dozen bracelets so you'd just cave in, haha.

As far as cities go, my favourites were Hue and Hoi An. Hue is a smaller city, I think about 200,000, and was the old imperial capital of Vietnam. A bit like Vietnam's Beijing, complete with it's own Forbidden City, the Citadel. Although only built in the early 19th century it still feels quite historic. The tombs of the kings were interesting, each one unique and reflecting that king's character. Our guide implied that one king preferred the men to the ladies lol...A hidden 'gem' in my opinion that the tourist guides don't tell you about are the laneways around the old Citadel - it's a unique neighbourhood, shophouses looking over the historic moat. If you're game to walk away from the tourist spots into the neighbourhoods you can discover a lot. I often wandered around places where there were no tourists in sight, often getting lost in the process.

Hoi An is more a large village than a city per se, but it's very charming. It's deservedly one of the highlights of any itinerary of Vietnam. Old world charm, lots of artisans and handicrafts and excellent food. Especially magical at night when the lanterns are lit up by the river.

Hanoi has a more European feel than HCM. The streets are narrower, it's a bit grittier, but I generally preferred it.

I actually found Halong Bay a bit overrated but still worth seeing.