If you are visiting Vietnam on a private tour, you have probably read some articles online and you may be wondering if those figures are bloated. You want to know how much money you really need.

The truth is the answer solely depends you; the answer depends on your taste even as your tour has been planned by a travel agency like VivuTravel. The answer depends on what other places you intend to visit away from your itinerary, what accommodation you lodge in when on your personal moves, and how you plan to make your way around the country.

Going on a private tour can be full of fun, but you must remember that having fun costs money. More so, if you decide to go to a place like Vietnam where there are so many fun sites and side attractions calling for your attention.

The beautiful thing is you can enjoy your time whether you are on a string budget or not. The only difference is that you only would be able to visit more places, eat and travel more luxuriously if you have a few more bucks to throw around.

Perhaps, you are working on keeping to a budget while on a tour of this historic Asian country, this is the right post for you.

A private tour is a travel package that has been prepared exclusively for you alone, or with your family and/or friends. No more. Usually, people engage travel agencies like VivuTravel to help them put this together. It is such that you would have come up with a customized itinerary in line with your specific wishes, prior to travelling. However, that does not mean on getting to your destination, you would not incur some extra costs.

For the purpose of this article, we will look at how much a single person spending a few days in Vietnam could end up spending. If you are going with others or you are spending more than a few days, ensure to multiply the estimates as appropriate.

Declare on Arrival
First of all, you must know that the Government of Vietnam mandates all visitors to do a currency exchange upon arrival. The local currency used in this country is the Vietnamese Dong – VND.

It is expected that all tourists declare on arrival, any amount exceeding VND15,000,000 or any foreign currencies exceeding the equivalent of USD 5,000. If you have any funds under USD 5,000 or its equivalent in VND, it is advised that you deposit it in local banks for safety.

Transport Is Cheap
Once you arrive in Vietnam, you would be needing a cab or bike to navigate your way around. Usually, in Ho Chi, the cost of cab services would not be more than $8. In Hanoi however, the trip fares are slightly higher; they are between $15-$20.

In both cities though, the fastest way to get around is with the use of motorcycles. Although, regular riders often inflate trip fares, moving around should cost only about a dollar or less.

An Affordable Bed Rest
Since you would be going on a private tour, with most of your activities already planned by a travel agency, you may not have to worry about the cost of hotels. However, if you ever have to, you can find hotels for less than $10 per night and they are quite comfortable for the price.

There Is Always A Meal for Your Means
The cost of eating and drinking away in Vietnam would depend largely on your budget. If you choose to eat pho or chicken and rice on the street – like the average tourist would do – you would do just fine with $1-$2. A bottle of beer shouldn’t cost more than $2.

If you however want a spiced-up meal, you may well have to part with $10 or a figure close to that. If you indeed want to eat large, you may end up spending over $100.

Sight seeing
If you are feeling a bit bored and you choose to see beautiful sights, you may consider parks like Hoa Lu and Tom Coc; a full day tour should not cost more than $40.

Tipping
One thing you may also need to pay attention to is tipping. This is because you would be doing a lot of that in Vietnam. While, in the past, tipping was not a part of the Asian culture. However, as there’s been a lot of influx of foreigners, assimilation of culture has happened and it has become a part of the Vietnamese culture.

Tips have now become commonplace as part of the payment to natives beyond services offered. However, it is not compulsory for you to tip for any services you used. In Vietnam though, because the income for most of natives is not exactly high, you may want to pay a little extra on services and products when you can.

For a private tour guide, you may have to part with about $10 per day. It would cost way lesser if you are one member of a group. Usually, your tour driver would expect to get about $4 per day.

When you visit the salons, you may also have to round up the total amount of your bill to the nearest VND or let them keep the change.

You should also be aware that most restaurants in Vietnam charge 5% of your actual bill as service charge, in this case, you may not need to tip any attendants there, except you were really impressed. Usually, a tip between $1 and $3 is just fine.

All things being equal, you should be able to have modest fun in Vietnam on a budget of $40 to $50 per day. However, if you want an averagely comfortable experience in Vietnam, you should be looking at $60 to $100 per day. For a luxurious lifestyle in Vietnam, you should be looking at $150 per day at the barest minimum.

However, if you are doing a one or two-week journey in Vietnam, you would be taking more trips and that would mean a vast variation in costs. Flights for any two- to four-day trip would normally be around $250. Travelling by bus is usually cheaper though, with $100 you should get a ride to your destination.

In total, it is safe to say that $125-$200 should be enough for a comfortable two- or three-day private tour. If you have any concerns though, the advisors at VivuTravel are always available to provide clarity, better still, you may use the comment section just below this post.