Vietnam

Hanoi is one of the most genuinely affordable cities on the backpacker trail, but cheap and cheap if you know what you are doing are two very different things here. The gap between a traveller spending $20 a day and one spending $60 for the same experience is almost entirely down to knowing which prices are real and which ones are tourist tax. This is the honest breakdown, with actual numbers from 2026.

Hanoi does not do nightlife the way Bangkok or Saigon do, and that is exactly what makes it special. The Old Quarter's tangle of alleyways, bia hoi plastic stools, and cave-dark basement bars rewards the curious and punishes the plan-less. The Swing Left Pub Crawl was built for people who want to see all of it in one sweaty, neon-lit night.