What Does a Week in Da Nang Really Cost in 2026?
One thing I've learned after travelling around Southeast Asia for decades is this: if you live like a local, you'll spend like a local.

Too many visitors arrive in Da Nang and immediately head for the first flashy beachfront restaurant with laminated menus and cocktails costing more than an entire day's food a few streets away.

That's fine if you're on holiday for a fortnight.

Me? I'd rather have another week in Vietnam than another overpriced mojito.

I've been staying in Vietnamese neighbourhoods rather than tourist districts. My breakfasts come from tiny family-run cafés, my beer comes from the supermarket, and I buy cigarettes by the carton instead of paying tourist prices one packet at a time.

It isn't about being tight.

It's about making your money work harder.

And in Da Nang, your money can work very hard indeed.

The city remains one of the best-value destinations in Southeast Asia. Hotel prices have risen since the pandemic, but food, coffee and transport are still cheap by British standards.

Walking around the back streets you'll find old men drinking iced coffee, grandmothers stirring giant pots of noodle soup and schoolchildren whizzing past on bicycles.

Nobody seems in a rush.

Nobody is trying to sell you a timeshare.

Life carries on.

And somehow your wallet stays pleasantly full.

What I Actually Spend
Breakfast?

A bowl of steaming pho or Mi Quang costs around 40,000–70,000 VND (£1.20–£2.10).

Fancy a banh mi?

25,000–40,000 VND (75p–£1.20).

A proper Vietnamese iced coffee?

25,000–45,000 VND (75p–£1.35).

Back home you'd struggle to park your car for that.

A local beer?

Around 15,000–30,000 VND (45p–90p).

Yes...

Less than the price of a Freddo chocolate.

Getting Around
Grab is brilliant.

Most journeys around the city cost between 45,000 and 90,000 VND (£1.35–£2.70).

Feeling adventurous?

Hire a motorbike for around 100,000–150,000 VND (£3–£4.50) a day and explore at your own pace.

Just remember...

Vietnamese traffic has its own set of rules.

Mainly involving confidence.

The Attractions
One of the biggest surprises is how little many attractions cost.

The Marble Mountains cost just 40,000 VND (about £1.20) to enter.

The excellent Cham Museum is 60,000 VND (£1.80).

My Khe Beach?

Completely free.

Watching the Dragon Bridge breathe fire at the weekend?

Also free.

Not everything in life needs an entry ticket.

The Biggest Expense
Accommodation is where your budget rises fastest.

Budget rooms start from around 300,000–750,000 VND (£9–£22) a night.

Comfortable three-star hotels usually cost between 900,000 and 1.6 million VND (£27–£48).

Luxury beachfront resorts can easily climb beyond 3.5 million VND (£105+) per night.

My Advice
Walk away from the tourist strip.

Turn down a side street.

Sit on the tiny plastic stool.

Order whatever everyone else is eating.

Smile.

Point if necessary.

You'll probably enjoy a better meal for half the price.

That's been one of my favourite discoveries in Vietnam.

The best food rarely comes with air conditioning.

Final Thoughts
People often ask me how I can afford to keep travelling.

The answer isn't that I'm rich.

It's that I don't waste money.

I travel light.

I sleep where the locals sleep.

I eat where the locals eat.

I buy my beer from the supermarket. Unless I'm on one, then that's a different story.

And every pound I save today buys me another adventure tomorrow.

After all...

You don't waste money on sleep.

You spend it on memories.