One Month’s Spend for Travelers, Retirees and Nomads
When I decided to travel the world full-time, I set a monthly budget for myself of $1600 Canadian dollars (about $1,200 USD) per month. I know that it will vary depending on where I am in the world, but I plan to stick to it as best I can and hope it all evens out in the end. This Blog Post is only to give you a general idea of what to expect for a long term stay in Danang. Your expenses could be much lower or higher than mine depending on your style of living.
All figures below will be in US dollars.
Let’s see how my cost of living compares to my budget:
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Cost of Living in Danang
Danang is a city located in central Vietnam steeped in history. Archaeological evidence suggests human settlements in the Danang area date back thousands of years and the indigenous Cham people of the region established a powerful kingdom in the 2nd century. In the 19th century French colonial rule would arrive and French architecture is still evident in the city today. And of course we all know of the US invasion of Vietnam and the famous landing on what is now My Khe beach in Danang
My purpose for visiting Danang, much like every place I visit is for food but I had also hoped to get some relaxing beach time in while I was here. I stayed in the My Khe beach area of Danang but in my opinion, if you want to experience Vietnamese life, this is not the place to do it in Danang. Most of the touristy hotels were empty and the countless “watering holes” blaring war era rock and roll were a bit much for my taste.
I get it, it was a super touristy area which I would normally avoid and that’s on me. But if I had to listen to CCR at full volume one more time I would have punched myself in the dick. Quite unfortunate as I am fan of CCR and I think they are one of the most under-rated bands of all time. But for the love God, just stop. Enough of my rambling, let’s dive in.
Accommodations
I obviously did a horrible job of avoiding the tourist areas and as I said this pad was located in the My Khe Beach area. A 10 minute walk and you were on the sandy beaches. But as I also said, the area, other than the bars full of old white guys like me, was pretty dead and I did not find many great food options in the area. If you’re looking for authentic food in Danang, my suggestion would to be book somewhere in the Hải Châu District. It’s across the river with a lot more local feeling and Vietnam in general is as safe as can be with amazing people.
My AirBnb was a basic studio unit located in a small building on An Thượng 3 that resembled more of a hotel room than anything else. It comes complete with a small kitchen and bath, A/C, wi-fi that is not very good, and a work station. There are absolutely zero supplies left in the unit which is fine, and they do have housekeeping you can get once a week. The housekeeper was the sweetest lady in the world, the “security” guard was a bit stand offish but nice enough once you got to know him. For cleanliness, I would give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars mainly because it just smelled like mildew.
Maybe a little sketchy?
When you check in you’re going to be asked to sign a bunch of documents and are then informed that the unit does not include electricity. It’s not unheard of to have pay extra for electricity on a long term stay, but it is unheard of that it is not mentioned in the listing. The electricity usage wasn’t too bad for the month so no complaints, but this should absolutely be mentioned somewhere in the listing BEFORE booking. And just an FYI, the rates they charge you for the electricity is double what they are charged. I was able to verify this through some local friends in Danang
Outside of what was mentioned, the view was the wall of another building and upon check in, the Windows were left open. Later on the first night I dropped a deuce in my pants when two monster flying cockroaches came crawling out from under the wardrobe. In fairness I didn’t see anymore in the unit after that first night. The price can’t be beat though so there is that going for it. The unit for 28 days was only $349 and electricity was an additional $28
Check out the unit here. Lovely and modern Apartment – 500m from the beach
Total cost for accommodation for the month: $377
Looking for short term accommodations? Check these great deals:
- Luxury Accommodations: – Ocean Villa Pool Retreat In Da Nang – Offering mountain views, Ocean Villa Pool Retreat In Da Nang in Danang features accommodations, a private beach area, a rooftop pool, an indoor pool, a garden, and a bar. This beachfront property offers access to a terrace, free private parking, and free Wifi. The villa provides lake views, a picnic area, and a 24-hour front desk
- Mid-Range Accommodations: – HAIAN Riverfront Hotel Da Nang– Featuring a terrace and a bar, HAIAN Riverfront Hotel Da Nang is located in the center of Danang, a 5-minute walk from Indochina Riverside Mall. Offering a restaurant, the property also has a fitness center, as well as a sauna and an indoor pool.
- Budget Accommodations: – Binh Duong Resident Hotel & SPA – Located conveniently in Danang, Binh Duong Resident Hotel & SPA has air-conditioned rooms with free WiFi, free private parking and room service. Each room at the 3-star hotel has garden views, and guests can enjoy access to a garden and to a terrace.
Or check here for the latest deals on Booking.com
Read Cost of Living in Essaouira, Morocco
Cost of Living in Danang – Activities
This month’s activities include a weekend trip to Hue and a day trip to Marble Mountain. Both of these location should not be missed if you’re visiting Danang. Marble Mountain is a massive Buddhist cave complex that is stunning in every sense of the word. You can literally feel the vibrations emanating from this magical place. Filled with intricate carvings and reliefs at every turn and breathtaking views of Danang Bay
Hue is also spectacular and I wish I had spent more time here. The former home of the Nguyễn royal family is also a sight to behold. The imperial palace is definitely worth a visit and some of the best food I had in Vietnam was found here.
Em and I also did a day trip to Hoi An, but I am including all of the costs from that trip in another category. The activities total only includes our accommodations in Hue, grabs around Hue and entrance tickets to Marble Mountain. Em paid for our round trip transportation to Hue so that is not included here. If you’re curious about it we took a small van there and back to Danang and costs approximately $16 per person round trip. Great ride and no complaints from us with it. This is the company we used: Shared Bus To Hue From Da Nang & Vice Versa
To keep it simple, accommodations and grabs around Hue were $89 and entry tickets to Marble Mountain were $12
Total Cost for Activities for the month: $101
My Hue Food Tour:
Awesome Food Tours offered by locals in Danang:
- Da Nang Local Food Tour – Skip the tourist traps and not-so-authentic Da Nang restaurants—with this motorbike tour, you’ll head to several locally loved establishments, trying traditional dishes like banh xeo, banh nam, and banh canh.
- Danang Private Walking Food Tour – We don’t take you guys to the tourist area, you may be the only one in a place where we take you but safe and delicious food.
- Da Nang Backstreets Food Tour – Feast on a selection of Da Nang dishes that are usually reserved for locals on a backstreets food tour that gives an authentic glimpse into central Vietnamese culinary culture.
Dining and Restaurants
The food during this 4 weeks was other worldly. I made two videos in Danang and one in each of Hue and Hoi An. With massive surprises everywhere. From Bún Mắm Nêm, to snails in lemongrass and chili to Cao Lau noodles. The food in this region of Vietnam is unbelievable. And I haven’t even mentioned the famous Mì Quảng yet. Central Vietnam is a foodies paradise if you know where to look.
As usual, this category makes up Grab deliveries, dining out and expenses incurred for content I made. For comparison sake meals in Cebu can vary widely. The cheapest meal I had in Danang was about $3 per person and the most expensive was a very average Mexican spot near my accommodations at $43 for both of us. As with every country, the local cuisine will always be much more affordable than International dishes.
This category includes all food related expenses incurred while filming in all of Hue, Hoi An and Danang
Total Cost for Dining out for One Month: $195
Bún Mắm Nêm: The stinky concoction I can’t get enough of
Cost of Living in Danang – Groceries
I made one trip to a small grocery store when I arrived in Danang. This category includes some chips, dried fruits, coffee grounds and toiletries
Total Cost for Groceries for the Month: $16
Cell Phones
I only topped up my Viettel Sim card before leaving here. I topped up with unlimited data for an additional 30 days.
Total Cost for Phone and Data for one Month: $8
Transportation
My transportation included Grab rides to and from the airport, and a few miscellaneous ones when it was just too hot to be walking for 45 minutes or more. I also used grab bike on a few occasions for shorter distances. This category also includes round trip Grab fare to Hoi An and Marble Mountain. Hoi An accounting for $29 and Marble Mountain accounting for $10.
Total cost for Transportation for One Month: $67
Looking for fun things to do in Danang? Check out some of these tours from Viator
Visas
As a US passport holder I had to have a visa to enter the country. You can apply for an Vietnam Evisa online and there is only one location you should use. The link provided here is the only official link to apply for an Evisa through the Vietnamese government. Everything else you will find is either a scam or an agent that will charge you a lot more. Be sure to take your time and plan well in advance. Any errors on your Evisa application will be denied and non-refundable. Meaning you will have to start the process all over again and pay for it again.
My Evisa was very straight forward and easy to do and I had an approved Evisa with 5 business days. I experienced zero issues, but I have read that some visas are approved even when there is a minor error. Maybe your fault, maybe the fault of the Vietnamese government. This WILL result in being denied entry into the country. Even if you are approved be sure to read it thoroughly to check for errors. Some of the stories I have read are first name and middle name in the wrong order and people have been denied entry. If you’re worried about this, hire an agent and pay the extra fee for them to deal with it.
A final note is Evisa’s can be valid for either 30 or 90 days. Mine was obviously 90 days and I used every possible day I could.
Total Cost for Visa for one month: $0 as the one time fee of $35 was included in my Cost of Living in Ho Chi Minh City Blog Post
Miscellaneous Expenses
This category covers everything that’s not included above. I include alcohol in miscellaneous, because I do enjoy a beer from time to time while hanging around the Airbnb. You might not drink and if you are planning a budget you can easily omit this cost. For me, alcohol makes up about 60% of this category. This month it also included my new found love for ice coffee thanks to Em, snacks, toiletries and a haircut.
Total Miscellaneous Costs for one month: $108
One thing I can’t live without while on the road full time – Saves me lots of money too!
Cost of Living in Danang – Totals
Cost of Living in Danang, Vietnam
Looking at the table above, you can see I am well under budget this month. Vietnam is an unbelievably inexpensive location to spend a significant amount of time. My $872 works out to almost $1,201 CAD keeping me in the clear here. Money is quickly running out though, so If you have a job that I can do remotely from anywhere in the world, send me a message😁. However, this confirms what I always knew, it is cheaper to live abroad than living back in North America
Have you lived in Danang for any length of time? Were your numbers similar to my cost of living in Danang for one month? Do you have any other tips for potential travelers? Leave a comment and let me know. I would love to hear from you
