{ "$schema": "https://schema.org/Dataset", "name": "Vietnam Trip Inflation 2020–2026", "description": "Six-year tracker of documented Vietnam travel-price changes, 2020 to 2026 — street food, hotels, heritage-site entry fees, domestic airfare caps, and ride-hailing — in VND and USD terms, with GSO CPI and VND/USD exchange-rate context.", "publisher": "Day Trips Vietnam", "publisher_url": "https://daytripsvietnam.com", "source_url": "https://daytripsvietnam.com/guides/vietnam-trip-inflation-2020-2026/", "methodology_url": "https://daytripsvietnam.com/guides/vietnam-trip-inflation-2020-2026/#methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "temporal_coverage": "2020/2026", "spatial_coverage": "Vietnam", "currency": "USD and VND", "fx_note": "2020 USD figures use the World Bank official period-average rate of ~23,200 VND/USD. 2026 USD figures use ~26,300 VND/USD as observed mid-2026, consistent with the 26,361 rate used across our mid-2026 price guides. The ~13% dong depreciation over the period is itself a data series below.", "updated": "2026-07-21", "version": "2026.1", "suggested_citation": "Day Trips Vietnam, \"Vietnam Trip Inflation 2020–2026: The Six-Year Tracker\" (July 2026), https://daytripsvietnam.com/guides/vietnam-trip-inflation-2020-2026/", "headline": { "framing": "What a $50/day 2020 trip costs in 2026", "daily_budget_2020_usd": 50, "daily_budget_2020_vnd": 1160000, "equivalent_basket_2026_vnd_min": 1450000, "equivalent_basket_2026_vnd_max": 1570000, "equivalent_basket_2026_usd_min": 55, "equivalent_basket_2026_usd_max": 60, "vnd_change_pct": "+25 to +35 (travel-weighted estimate)", "usd_change_pct": "+10 to +20", "note": "Travel-weighted estimate, not a GSO series. VND-terms increases of roughly 25–35% are partially offset for USD/EUR travelers by the dong's ~13% depreciation 2020→2026." }, "cpi_annual": [ { "year": 2020, "cpi_avg_yoy_pct": 3.23, "source": "GSO/NSO Vietnam annual CPI release" }, { "year": 2021, "cpi_avg_yoy_pct": 1.84, "source": "GSO/NSO Vietnam annual CPI release" }, { "year": 2022, "cpi_avg_yoy_pct": 3.15, "source": "GSO/NSO Vietnam annual CPI release" }, { "year": 2023, "cpi_avg_yoy_pct": 3.25, "source": "GSO/NSO Vietnam annual CPI release" }, { "year": 2024, "cpi_avg_yoy_pct": 3.63, "source": "GSO/NSO Vietnam annual CPI release" }, { "year": 2025, "cpi_avg_yoy_pct": 3.31, "source": "NSO Vietnam annual CPI release" }, { "year": 2026, "cpi_avg_yoy_pct": null, "partial_note": "H1 2026 running hotter: April +5.46% y/y, May +5.6% y/y per NSO monthly releases — highest since January 2020", "source": "NSO Vietnam monthly CPI releases via Trading Economics" } ], "cpi_cumulative_note": "Compounding the annual averages gives a general price level roughly 16% higher at end-2025 than the 2020 average, and roughly 19–20% higher by mid-2026 given the H1 2026 acceleration. Travel-specific items diverge from this general index in both directions — see categories.", "exchange_rate": [ { "year": 2020, "vnd_per_usd": 23200, "note": "World Bank official period-average, approximate", "source": "World Bank PA.NUS.FCRF" }, { "year": 2023, "vnd_per_usd": 24000, "note": "approximate range midpoint 24,000–24,500", "source": "Trading Economics / SBV reference rates" }, { "year": 2025, "vnd_per_usd": 25400, "note": "approximate; peak of ~26,394 reached September 2025", "source": "TheGlobalEconomy.com monthly series" }, { "year": 2026, "vnd_per_usd": 26300, "note": "mid-2026 observation (26,291 on 2026-07-03); site price guides use 26,361", "source": "Trading Economics" } ], "exchange_rate_note": "Cumulative depreciation of roughly 13% against the USD, 2020 average to mid-2026. This offsets roughly half of VND-terms travel inflation for travelers spending USD.", "categories": [ { "item": "Pho, everyday Hanoi shop", "vnd_2020_min": 30000, "vnd_2020_max": 35000, "vnd_2026_min": 40000, "vnd_2026_max": 50000, "usd_2020_min": 1.3, "usd_2020_max": 1.5, "usd_2026_min": 1.5, "usd_2026_max": 1.9, "vnd_change_pct": "+25 to +45", "confidence": "high", "source": "Vietnamnet reporting on Hanoi street-food price climb (30,000→35,000→40,000 VND steps); Day Trips Vietnam street-food price guide, mid-2026" }, { "item": "Banh mi, standard street stall", "vnd_2020_min": 15000, "vnd_2020_max": 25000, "vnd_2026_min": 20000, "vnd_2026_max": 35000, "usd_2020_min": 0.65, "usd_2020_max": 1.1, "usd_2026_min": 0.8, "usd_2026_max": 1.4, "vnd_change_pct": "+25 to +40", "confidence": "medium-high", "source": "Vietnamnet reporting on documented 20,000→25,000 and 30,000→35,000 VND steps; Day Trips Vietnam cost index 2026" }, { "item": "Mid-range restaurant main", "vnd_2020_min": 60000, "vnd_2020_max": 150000, "vnd_2026_min": 80000, "vnd_2026_max": 200000, "usd_2020_min": 2.6, "usd_2020_max": 6.5, "usd_2026_min": 3.5, "usd_2026_max": 8.5, "vnd_change_pct": "+30 approximate", "confidence": "low-medium", "source": "2026 endpoint: Day Trips Vietnam cost index (menu observations, April 2026). 2020 base is a reported range, not a systematic survey — flagged in Limitations" }, { "item": "Hotel, city-market average daily rate (Hanoi)", "adr_2024_usd": 112, "adr_2025ytd_usd": 124, "note_2020": "2020–21 rates artificially discounted during COVID closures; 2019 pre-pandemic peak (~$111) is the cleaner base and has now been exceeded", "vnd_change_pct": "not applicable — see note", "confidence": "medium-high", "source": "TTG Asia (Aug 2025) citing industry performance data: Hanoi ADR $124 YTD-Aug 2025 vs $112 in 2024, surpassing pre-pandemic peaks; HCMC $121 vs $115" }, { "item": "Hotel, mid-range 3-star Hanoi/HCMC (traveler-facing nightly rate)", "usd_2026_min": 55, "usd_2026_max": 100, "note_2020": "No clean 2020 traveler baseline (pandemic discounting); documented 5–12% annual growth 2023–2026 in central Hanoi/HCMC mid-range", "confidence": "medium", "source": "Day Trips Vietnam hotel price guide and cost index 2026 (Booking.com/Agoda observations)" }, { "item": "Domestic flight, booked 3–4 weeks ahead (Hanoi–HCMC, Hanoi–Da Nang)", "usd_2026_min": 40, "usd_2026_max": 80, "note_2020": "2020 fares were fare-war artificial lows (deep domestic promos while borders were closed); 2024 saw documented sharp fare rises on fleet shortages plus the cap increase", "confidence": "medium", "source": "2026 fares: Vietnam Airlines/VietJet/Bamboo direct, per cost index. 2024 rise: VnEconomy and VIR reporting on surging 2024 airfares" }, { "item": "Grab ride-hailing, base fares", "note": "Documented step change March 10, 2022: GrabBike Hanoi first 2 km 12,000→13,500 VND (+12.5%); GrabCar 5-seat first 2 km 27,000→29,000 VND, citing record petrol prices. Typical 2026 short bike ride 20,000–50,000 VND", "confidence": "high for the 2022 step; medium for cumulative change", "source": "VnExpress International (March 2022); Day Trips Vietnam cost index 2026" } ], "documented_fee_changes": [ { "site": "Trang An boat tour (Ninh Binh), adult", "fee_2020_vnd": 250000, "fee_2025_vnd": 250000, "fee_2026_vnd": 300000, "change": "+20% in a single step, effective 2026-01-01 (child ticket 120,000→150,000 VND)", "confidence": "high for the 2026 step", "source": "Trang An management board price adjustment effective January 1, 2026, as reported by Vietnamese travel trade (thesinhtour.com, BestPrice)" }, { "site": "Ha Long Bay day-route sightseeing fee", "fee_2020_vnd_min": 240000, "fee_2020_vnd_max": 290000, "fee_2026_vnd_min": 260000, "fee_2026_vnd_max": 310000, "change": "Base routes roughly flat nominally; fee menu expanded upward — premium combined route VHL7 introduced at 600,000 VND from 2025-05-01 under Resolution 51/2025/NQ-HDND; a Sept–Dec 2020 50% COVID discount marks the series low", "confidence": "high", "source": "Quang Ninh Provincial People's Council Resolution 51/2025/NQ-HDND (2025-02-26); halongbay.com.vn; 2020 route fees and discount per operator fee archives" }, { "site": "Hue Imperial City, adult", "fee_2023_vnd": 200000, "fee_2026_vnd": 200000, "change": "Flat at 200,000 VND from at least 2023 through 2026 — one of the few stable heritage-fee lines", "confidence": "high", "source": "Hue Monuments Conservation Centre published fees, cross-checked 2023–2026" }, { "site": "Cu Chi tunnels, foreign adult", "fee_2020_vnd_min": 90000, "fee_2020_vnd_max": 110000, "fee_2026_vnd": 125000, "change": "Roughly +15 to +40% depending on site (Ben Dinh vs Ben Duoc); change dates not consistently documented", "confidence": "low-medium", "source": "Operator and guide listings 2020 vs 2025–2026; official fee archive is patchy — flagged in Limitations" } ], "airfare_caps": [ { "route_band": "1,280 km and above (e.g. Hanoi–HCMC)", "cap_before_vnd": 3750000, "cap_from_2024_03_01_vnd": 4000000, "change_pct": "+6.7 (band); +3.75 average across all bands", "source": "Ministry of Transport / CAAV domestic fare-ceiling adjustment effective March 1, 2024 (baochinhphu.vn, Vietnam News)" }, { "route_band": "1,000 to under 1,280 km", "cap_from_2024_03_01_vnd": 3400000, "source": "Same instrument" }, { "route_band": "850 to under 1,000 km", "cap_from_2024_03_01_vnd": 2890000, "source": "Same instrument" }, { "route_band": "500 to under 850 km", "cap_from_2024_03_01_vnd": 2250000, "source": "Same instrument" }, { "route_band": "Under 500 km", "cap_from_2024_03_01_vnd": 1700000, "note": "unchanged; 1,600,000 VND for socio-economic development routes", "source": "Same instrument" } ], "covid_discontinuity_note": "2020 and 2021 are artificial lows across most travel categories: heritage sites ran documented 50% discounts (Ha Long Bay, Sept–Dec 2020), hotels discounted deeply or closed, and airlines ran domestic fare wars. Comparisons against 2020 street-level prices are reasonably clean for street food (domestic demand held); comparisons for hotels, cruises, and flights overstate inflation if the discounted 2020 price is used as the base. Where possible this dataset uses 2019/2020 list prices or flags the base as reported." }