9 Days and 8 Nights in Vietnam with Less than RM2000

Sapa, Vietnam

Salam and Hello travelers!

OMG i have been asking to blog about this Vietnam trip since the day i arrived in Hanoi on the last September 2018! haha it surprised me that the demand for this itinerary is just never stop, Wow sangat! sorry for the long awaiting as few have already flew and safely coming back lol haha bad me for pending it. again, sorry guys!


WHY VIETNAM?

Hanoi, Vietnam

Back then, i randomly stumbled upon a Youtuber Noahvde (check him out!) showcasing how he toured Vietnam for 30 days! and how Vietnam is such a heaven for backpackers! so, when my dear travel buddy, Tia Jamaludin came out with the idea of backpacking in Vietnam, OMG i was just so into it!

Honestly, ive never know that Vietnam is such an interesting country until we did the research and planning on our route. then only i realized that Vietnam got it all! they have astonishing ancient towns (Hoi An and Hanoi are my favourite!), they have great unique landscapes (we talked about Halong Bay, Nin Bihn, Mui Ne and etc), they have blissful beaches and islands (Phu Quoc, Nha Ttrang, Danang and etc), they even have distinctive tribes (Sapa!) and of course, they have great coffee in the world! (Vietnamese coffee is irresistible!).

So, we initiated our journey from the North part (Hanoi), going down to the South part which is the capital city of Vietnam itself, Ho Chi Minh and settle everything in 8 days and 7 nights!


TRANSPORTATION &COST

Overnight Vietnam Railway from Sapa to Hanoi

Sleeper bus from Hanoi to Sapa

Then, in between we rode on sleeper buses and train. Do you wanna know why Vietnam known as a Backpacker's heaven? because the transportation within places in Vietnam is accessible and very affordable. This whole journey include 2 international flights and 2 domestic flights. in short

KUL - Air Asia - HANOI - Jetstar - DANANG - Jetstar - HO CHI MINH - Air Asia - KUL

COST
KUL - HANOI : AA RM169
Hanoi - Danang : Jetstar RM168
Danang - HCM : Jetstar RM187
HCM - KUL : AA RM207
Total : RM731


ITINERARY & COST

1991 Sapa cafe

OMG i was in trouble to make our 9 days and 8 nights itinerary as short as possible! huhu so, i decided to blog in details later. as for now, here the simplest summary of itinerary and cost are as below!

Local Simcard
VIETTEL : USD11 / VND250,000 / RM44 (Data only 9GB)

Halal Vietnam Pho in Restaurant Basiroh, Ho Chi Minh

Vietnamese Milk Coffee in Cocobox Ccafe, Hoi An

Foods & Coffee
Roughly RM200 for 8 days


DAY 1 - Arrived in Hanoi

Hoan Kiem  Lake, Hanoi 

5.00pm : Arrived in Noi Bai Airport. we took BUS 86 going direct into the city (last stop is Hanoi Railway Station. note that aiport to city is about 1 hour journey.
6.30pm : Finally checked in Suki Hostel
7:00pm : Strolling around in Old Quarter and having dinner
10.00pm : Took sleeper bus to Sapa - Booking via SAPA Express RM52 per pax

Total spent
: RM10 for bus + GRAB
: RM106 for Suki Hostel 4 Nights
: RM52 SAPA Express
: RM203



DAY 2 - Trekking in Sapa

5.00am : Arrived in  Sapa. The driver let us sleep and stay in the bus because its too early!
6.00am : Went out and had our breakfast at a random cafe
7.00am : Start our Trekking via Hau Thao Village
12.00pm : Arrived in Hau Thao Village and witnessing the stunning Terraced Rice Field!
4:30pm : Back to Sapa Town (Sipping Vietnamese coffee at 1991 Sapa Cafe)
6:30pm : Took bus / van down to Lao Cai (1 hr journey)
7:30pm : Reached Lao Cai Railway Station
9:00pm : Sleeper train back to Hanoi (9 hrs journey) - Booking via Vietnam Railways RM91 per pax
6.00am : Arrived in Hanoi Railway Station

Total spent
: RM40 (Sapa guide)
: RM110 (Train + Taxi)
: RM150



DAY 3 - Wondering around Hanoi Town

6:00am : Reached Hanoi Railway Station
Back to hostel, taking bath............... and pengsan terok!! HAHAHA
3.00pm : Lunch at Zaynab Restaurant (Landmark : Al-Noor Mosque)
4.00pm : Sightseeing around in Hanoi town
                - Hoan Kiem Lake
                - Tran Quoc Pagoda
                - Opera House
7.00pm - Trying out the Hanoi's signature Egg coffee at Giang Cafe

Total spent
: RM10 (GRAB per pax)
: RM5 (Egg Coffee)
: RM15



DAY 4 - Cruising in Halong Bay

(Booking 1 Day Package via Klook RM138 per pax)

7.00pm : Breakfast at hostel
7:30pm : Ride bus to Halong Bay jetty
1.00pm : Having lunch in cruise (inclusive Caving and Kayaking)
5.00pm : Back to Hanoi
10.00pm : Arrived back in Suki Hostel
11.00pm : Having a late night coffee at AROI Dessert Cafe

Total spent : RM138



DAY 5 - Arrived in Danang and Ba Na Hills

4:30am : Took grab to airport
6:30am : Fly to Danang
8.00am : Arrived in Danang Aiport
10.00am : Sun World @Ba Na Hills by Taxi
5.00pm : Depart to Hoi An from Ba Na Hills (the taxi driver waited for us!)
7.00pm :  Checked in TNT Villa
Soon after checked in, taking bath............... and pengsan terok lagi!! HAHAHA
10.00pm : Awake and plan to check on the night market but fail because it started raining!
So we went back and sambung pengsan! HAHAHA

Total spent
: RM144 - RM72 per pax (Taxi from Da Nang Airport to Ba Na Hills to Hoi An)
: RM120 Sun World Entrance fare
: RM64 TNT Villa (we purposely spent a bit for Hoi An accom lol you can get cheaper than this!)
: RM256



DAY 6 - Authentic Hoi An

8.00am : Breakfast at hotel
10.00am : Took grab to Cam Thanh Village (Basket Boat experience) - RM11 per pax
1.00pm : Strolling around the Hoi An old town (Japanese Bridge is the landmark)
4.00pm : Sipping the Vietnamese coffee at the Cocobox and Hoi An Roastery 95 Cafe
6.00pm : Witnessing the stunning sunset near the river (this is compulsory!)
6:30pm : Rushing to Da Nang International Airport for flight to HCM
10.00pm : Fly to Ho Chi Minh (Flight was delayed!)
12:00am : Arrived in HCM Airport - took Grab to hotel RM10 per pax
1:00am : Finally checked in DDA Hotel

Total spent
: RM22 GRAB
: RM44 per pax (VND250,000 per person for Basket Boat tour)
: RM34 (DDA Hotel for 1 night)
: RM100



DAY 7 - Not A Good (Raining) Day 1 in Ho Chi Minh

8:00am : Breakfast at hotel
10.00am : Checked out and Left luggage in Prei Nokor Hostel
11.00pm : Strolling around in Ben Thanh Market (we are not aiming to shop so, it was so boring!)
2:00pm : Don't know what to do, so we just go and have our lunch! at Halal Saigon Restaurant
2:00pm : Started raining, so we couldn't go anywhere. Sipping coffee at random cafe
10:30pm : Taking a sleeper bus to Mui Ne - Booking via Muinego.com RM63 return per pax
3:00am : Arrived in Mui Ne (the kind office guy let us wait and rest in the office lobby!)

Total spent
: RM10 GRAB
: RM63 Return bus to Mui Ne
: RM73



DAY 8 - Dubai Vibe in Mui Ne

3:00am : Arrived in front of Muinego office (need to wait for the jeep to pick up us at 4:30am)
4:30am : Mui Ne Sunrise Tour - Booking via Muinego.com RM22.50 per pax
10.00am : Sleeper bus back to HCM
3:00pm : Arrived in HCM and checked in Prei Nokor Hostel (just in front of Ben Thanh Market!)
7:00pm : Dinner and strolling around in "Malaysian street" and Ben Thanh night market
9:00pm : Hard Rock Cafe HCM checked!
10:00pm : HCM City Book Street & Saigon Central Post Office (just in front of the HRC!)

Total spent
: RM22.50 (Mui Ne Sunrise Tour)
: RM45 (Prei Nokor Hostel for 1 night)
: RM9.50 GRAB
: RM76.00



DAY 9 - Back to KL

6:00am : Checked out and took taxi to airport
9:30am : Flight back to KUL
12:30pm : Arrived in KLIA2

Total spent : RM13 (Taxi to airport)



TOTAL COST

Flights: RM731

Foods & Coffee (this is rough costing for the cheapskate but actually i think i spent more than this HAHAHA just because i love foods!) : RM200

Simcard : RM44

DAY 1 : RM203
DAY 2 : RM150
DAY 3 : RM15
DAY 4 : RM138
DAY 5 : RM256
DAY 6 : RM100
DAY 7 : RM73
DAY 8 : RM76
DAY 9 : RM13

Grand Total : RM1,999.00     


OMG i took almost half a year to complete this whole itinerary! hopefully this is helping, anything to ask, please DM me at the INSTAGRAM @SizzlingSuzai because i am more active in that particular platform a.k.a  the phone is on my hand almost 18 hours everyday! last word, thanks for reading and thanks a lot my dear friends who keep on encouraging me to blog about this Vietnam Trip. Happy travel guys and stay safe!

NEXT POST : 10 sebab korang perlu ke Hanoi 

xoxo