How to get cheap Vietnam tours

The Vietnamese has a saying "Cheap is not good and good is not cheap, you get what you pay for". The saying is especially true in Vietnam tourism where there are hundreds of travel companies and tour operators claiming to offer high quality products at cheap prices. Many backpackers travel to Vietnam try to keep the cost down by visiting travel forums, reading reviews from other travellers about hotels, transports...trying to find the best services within their budgets.

Consider a typical tour package to Vietnam usually includes hotel accommodation, flight or train tickets from this city to the next destination, meals, transfers between hotels and airports...not to mention medical insurance, drinks, laundry, telephone...Visitors from neighbouring countries like Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore can keep save the cost by taking cheap air carriers such as Air Asia which operates between South East Asia countries.

You can get cheap tours to Vietnam by booking a package tour through a local travel agent, with all services included except meals, it is always cheaper to book a package than all services separately, keep in mind that most of your tour cost will go to accommodation and transports, as Vietnam Airlines is almost the only carrier in Vietnam there is no choice to keep the airfares down by flying with a cheaper airline, actually Jetstar and some local airlines are operating as cheap airliners however these providers only operate between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city, the two biggest cities in Vietnam at each end of the country, and these two cities are only starting and finishing points where travellers enter and leave Vietnam.

Accommodation take a large part of your tour cost, the more professional hotels in the city centres of Hanoi, Sai Gon, Hoi An, Hue or Nha Trang offer higher prices than hotels in the outside areas, generally it cost about 50 usd for a room at a 2-3 star hotel including breakfast, there are some rooms at cheaper 20 - 30 usd however these rooms usually are at the corner of the building has don't have a view, and travel agents work with hotels on contract rates so that they can have better price than public or walk-in rates

It is advisable to have your transfers between hotels and airports included, it will save your time and probably your money as you will not face taxi touts who sometimes have their speedometers faster than average to get money from you.

Taking group tours instead of private tour is also a good way to keep the cost down, most tour operators organize join group tours to famous destinations such as Halong Bay, Sapa, Mekong Delta...Travellers will share the transports, usually by shuttle bus with other group fellows, the buses are generally clean and comforable with aircon, some inconveniences are visitors will have to wait for the bus to pick up every passengers at different hotels, and traffic conditions in the morning in cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh city is really bad, sometimes you have to wait for an hour or so for the bus to pick you up.

Additionally you can travel Vietnam in low season, which last from May to October, during this time most tour companies, hotels and airlines offers promotion to travellers, July and August is flood season in the north and rain season in the south, a trip to Halong Bay may be cancelled by bad weather however this is the best time to visit North Vietnam as it is dry and sunny most of the time, Halong Bay can be best seen in this time and the rice terraces in Sapa are most beautiful.

Coming to Vietnam in low season you have a chance to acquire discounts for most services you book, actually you can have a bit of luxury at tight budget if you are a smart traveller, you can still have a decent cheap tour to Vietnam at an affordable price.