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Budgets - Vietnam

Budgeting to teach in Vietnam? Here’s everything you need to know - from flights, visas, and documentation to rent, food, transport, and daily expenses.

Our support team will walk you through everything prior to you departing to ensure you have exactly what you need by when you need to have it.

  • Vietnam is generally affordable to travel to, so you should be able to manage on a relatively low budget if necessary.
  • Although Vietnam may appear inexpensive due to favorable currency exchange rates, costs do add up and it can be easy to overspend. It is easy to overspend on lots of little things and big nights out before you adjust to local costs, and it is important to watch this if you are on a tight budget.
  • You shouldn’t expect your first payday until the end of your first month of teaching. Therefore, this is a guide to provide you with an approximate budget for your initial few months in Vietnam.
  • The amount of money you will need depends on your spending habits.
IN-CLASS TEFL/TESOL COURSE & PLACEMENT PROGRAM

We strongly suggest you bring no less than $2,000 USD with you when you arrive
in Vietnam. Please note, that this amount does not include any costs associated
before arrival in Vietnam.

PLACEMENT ONLY & SUPPORT PROGRAM

We strongly suggest you bring no less than $1,500 USD with you when you arrive in Vietnam. Please note, that this amount does not include any costs associated before arrival in Vietnam.

    Pre-Departure Costs

    Our support coordinators will assist you with:

    • Booking flights.
    • Explaining and finding the best insurance required.
    • Advising you on all the document costs involved.

    FLIGHTS

    Flight prices vary depending on where you travel from and when you book. Prices can occasionally exceed this range.

    $700 - $1,500

    INSURANCE

    Travel insurance prices can vary dependent on things like provider, your age, country of origin and duration of your stay. This range is for TravelBud's recommended policies based on stays of 6 months or 1 year. Travel insurance is a mandatory requirement for all TravelBud programs.

    $250 - $800

    DOCUMENTATION

    Background Check

    $10 - $50

    (country dependent)

    DOCUMENTATION

    Legalized Background Check

     

    $50 - $250

    (country dependent)

    DOCUMENTATION

    Legalized Degree

     

    $50 - $250

    (country dependent)

    DOCUMENTATION

    Legalized TESOL/TEFL/CELTA Certificate

     

    $50 - $250

    (country dependent)

    DOCUMENTATION

    Other Legalized Documents (Affidavit/COVID-19
    Vaccine Record/IELTS)

     

    $50 - $250

    (country dependent)

    DOCUMENTATION

    English Proficiency Test (IELTS)

    $76 - $400

    (country dependent)

    VISA COST AND WORK PERMIT

    Upon arrival at the airport in Vietnam, you will apply for your visa. This amount will be reimbursed by your school when you arrive at school. Keep hold of your receipt to be reimbursed.

    $500 - $700
    TOTAL

    $1,276 - $3,890

     

     

    In Country TEFL course, Placement & Support - 1 month in Ho Chi Minh City

    ACCOMMODATION, DEPOSIT, & EARLY ARRIVAL (FOOD, TRANSPORTATION, &
    ATTRACTIONS)

    If you plan to arrive in Ho Chi Minh City a day or two early, you should budget in the cost of transportation, attractions, and food. You can save money by using public transportation whenever possible and only take metered taxis. Public transportation consists of the buses and taxis. These public transportation methods are easy ways to navigate Ho Chi Minh for much cheaper than a taxi (13,000 Vietnamese Dong (VND) per mile).

    You will be asked to put down a deposit of $100 USD; this will be returned to you at the end of your stay, minus any damages done to the room. Shared Accommodation is included in your course fee from the Sunday before start date. If you arrive before the Sunday before your course starts, you will need to pay between $24 USD per night you stay at the hotel. We have monthly contracts with the accommodation, so if you arrive outside of the contract period, you may need to pay for the early arrival.

    EARLY ARRIVAL FEE:
    $188 - $234

    DEPOSIT: $100

    START UP ITEMS
    (TOILETRIES, TOWEL, PHONE)

    In Vietnam, you can find all toiletries like shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc. at many convenience stores. Most accommodations in Vietnam do not provide towels; therefore, we recommend people buy a towel once they get to Vietnam. You can certainly bring one from home, but it may take up space in your luggage.

    Another important thing to note is that Vietnam is a BYOTP culture (Bring Your Own Toilet Paper). Toilet paper is not often provided at public restrooms, restaurants, and even accommodations.

    The Vietnamese way is to use a spray gun, which almost all toilets and squatting toilets have. However, toilet paper is available in local convenient stores. We will provide you with a SIM card for your phone. If you wish to purchase a cheap burner phone here, they are available at the mall and cost about 300,000 – 2,000,000 VND (13 – 89 USD).

    $10 - $70

    DAILY EXPENSES (FOOD, LAUNDRY, &
    TRANSPORTATION AROUND HO CHI MINH CITY & TO THE TEFL COURSE)

    One of the best ways to budget your cash while living in Vietnam is eating the local Vietnamese street food. A local meal in Vietnam is about 15,000 – 50,000 VND (.64 – 2.15 USD) per dish. There are many restaurants that sell western style food but it is substantially more expensive. Western meals like hamburgers, pizza, etc. range from 60,000 – 250,000 VND (3 - 11 USD) and up for a single meal.

    There are coin laundry machines (60,000 VND [2.68 USD] per load) and full-service laundry shops (25,000 vnd per kg of laundry) in Vietnam.

    Public transportation on routes in Vietnam cost 6,000 – 20,000 VND (.26 - 1 USD) per trip. If you are looking to go somewhere specific, or are in a hurry, you can rent a taxi or take the bus.

    $220 - $340

    ENGLISH SCHOOL CAMP SUPPLIES

    As you will learn on the course, having colorful, creative, engaging materials for teaching enhances the experience for your students. During the teacher camp, you will need to make flashcards, props, and possibly some worksheets.

    Most teachers spend about 200,000 – 350,000 VND (8 - 16 USD) on their camp supplies for flashcards, worksheets, activities, and games. You will be able to use these materials once you start teaching at your placement as well.

    We do provide access to stationary (sticky tack, stapler, tape, scissors, and whiteboard markers) throughout the course to help you plan your homework and class presentations.

    $11 - $22

    OPTIONAL EXPENSES (NIGHTLIFE,
    WEEKEND TRIPS, & SHOPPING)

    If you drink alcohol you will soon realize it becomes one of your biggest expenses. Be mindful of this when heading out as it is one of the many causes of participants running out of cash.

    Bars, especially in tourist areas, can vastly over charge on beer. For example, local beer will be 10,000 - 25,000 vnd at a local restaurant, but bars in the tourist area sometimes charge 50,000-100,000 vnd a beer. Cocktails are only marginally cheaper than western prices. (typically 100,000-120,000 vnd).

    If you are interested in going on weekend day trips with fellow participants to the local waterfall, temples, and beaches, there are some national park entrance fees and transportation costs.
    We will tell you more about these options during your first week and we can help arrange the trips.

    You can spend however much you like on these extra optional things, but please be mindful of your budget.

    $80 - $420
    TOTAL $729 - $1,366

    Important

    On average those participating in the In-class TEFL/TESOL course, Placement and Support program will be placed within the first 6 weeks in HCMC, however, on occasion, the placement process can take longer. Therefore, it is important to be prepared and budget for a couple of weeks post-course in HCMC before heading to your placement.

     

    Placement Only & Support - Orientation week in Ho Chi Minh City

    ACCOMMODATION, DEPOSIT, & EARLY
    ARRIVAL (FOOD, TRANSPORT, ATTRACTIONS)

    If you plan to arrive in Ho Chi Minh City a day or two early, you should budget in the cost of transportation, attractions, and food. You can save money by using public transportation whenever possible and only take metered taxis. Public transportation consists of the buses and taxis. These public transportation methods are easy ways to navigate Ho Chi Minh for much cheaper than a taxi (13,000 Vietnamese Dong (VND) per mile).

    You will be asked to put down a deposit of $100 USD; this will be returned to you at the end of your stay, minus any damages done to the room. Shared Accommodation is included in your course fee from the Sunday before start date. If you arrive before the Sunday before your course starts, you will need to pay between $24 USD per night you stay at the hotel. We have monthly contracts with the accommodation, so if you arrive outside of the contract period, you may need to pay for the early arrival.

    EARLY ARRIVAL:
    $188 - $234

    DEPOSIT: $100

    START UP ITEMS (TOILETRIES, TOWEL, PHONE)

    In Vietnam, you can find all toiletries like shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc. at many convenience stores. Most accommodations in Vietnam do not provide towels; therefore, we recommend people buy a towel once they get to Vietnam. You can certainly bring one from home, but it may take up space in your luggage.

    Another important thing to note is that Vietnam is a BYOTP culture (Bring Your Own Toilet Paper). Toilet paper is not often provided at public restrooms, restaurants, and even accommodations.

    The Vietnamese way is to use a spray gun, which almost all toilets and squatting toilets have. However, toilet paper is available in local convenient stores. We will provide you with a SIM card for your phone. If you wish to purchase a cheap burner phone here, they are available at the mall and cost about 300,000 – 2,000,000 VND (13 – 89 USD).

    $10 - $70

    DAILY EXPENSES (FOOD, LAUNDRY, &
    TRANSPORTATION AROUND HO CHI MINH CITY)

    One of the best ways to budget your cash while living in Vietnam is eating the local Vietnamese street food. A local meal in Vietnam is about 15,000 – 50,000 VND (.64 – 2.15 USD) per dish. There are many restaurants that sell western style food but it is substantially more expensive. Western meals like hamburgers, pizza, etc. range from 60,000 – 250,000 VND (3 - 11 USD) and up for a single meal.

    There are coin laundry machines (60,000 VND [2.68 USD] per load) and full-service laundry shops (25,000 vnd per kg of laundry) in Vietnam.

    Public transportation on routes in Vietnam cost 6,000 – 20,000 VND (.26 - 1 USD) per trip. If you are looking to go somewhere specific, or are in a hurry, you can rent a taxi or take the bus.

    $86 - $130

    OPTIONAL EXPENSES (NIGHTLIFE, WEEKEND TRIPS, & SHOPPING)

    If you drink alcohol you will soon realize it becomes one of your biggest expenses. Be mindful of this when heading out as it is one of the many causes of participants running out of cash.

    Bars, especially in tourist areas, can vastly over charge on beer. For example, local beer will be 10,000 - 25,000 vnd at a local restaurant, but bars in the tourist area sometimes charge 50,000-100,000 vnd a beer. Cocktails are only marginally cheaper than western prices. (typically 100,000-120,000 vnd).

    If you are interested in going on weekend day trips with fellow participants to the local waterfall, temples, and beaches, there are some national park entrance fees and transportation costs.
    We will tell you more about these options during your first week and we can help arrange the trips.

    You can spend however much you like on these extra optional things, but please be mindful of your budget.

    $80 - $100
    TOTAL  $729 - $1,366

    Important

    On average those participating in the Placement and Support program will be placed before they arrive in HCMC for orientation week, however, on occasion, the placement process can take an extra week longer. Therefore, it is important to be prepared and budget for a couple of weeks in HCMC before heading to your placement.

     

    1 month Teaching - Post Orientation week & TEFL Course

    TRAVEL TO PLACEMENT & VISA RUN

    At the end of the course, the placement team will advise you on the best way to get to your placement. They will assist you in purchasing the correct van, bus, train, or plane ticket. The bus system in Vietnam is the most common (and cheapest) form of transport. Most people will take a bus to their placement. If you do need to book a plane ticket, the cost is around 1,600,000 – 2,500,000 VND (70 - 110 USD).

    Some schools will have participants do their visa run right away, while others will wait until after you have taught for a month or two. Most of the time you will need to pay for your own flights for the visa run, but the school will cover or reimburse the cost of the visa.

    $9 - $800

    ACCOMMODATION

    When you get to your placement, you will need to pay rent and one month’s deposit. Depending on your location, the rent will cost anywhere from 5,000,000 – 8,000,000 VND (220 – 352 USD) per month. Typically, the deposit is equal to one month's rent.

    $430 - $840

    * includes 1 month deposit

    DAILY EXPENSES (FOOD, LAUNDRY, &
    TRANSPORTATION)

    You can spend much less than the amount stated here depending on your placement and spending habits. The amount given here is a safe approximation for most placements in Thailand.

    $344 - $517

    TOTAL

    $783 - $2,157

     

    Budget Totals

    Pre-Departure

    Flights, insurance, documentation
    (Notarization and Legalization), and visa
    stamp.

    $1,276 - $3,890

    In-Class TEFL/TESOL, Placement & Support Program Total


    - First month of course + first month at placement

    $1,512 - $3,532

    Placement Only & Support Program Total

    - Orientation week + first month at placement

    $1,247 - $2,791

    The amounts shown above are estimated for someone who has frugal spending habits. We highly recommend that you bring no less than $2500 for your program start. This will provide an additional $500 USD cushion.

     

    We realize that moving abroad to teach English in Vietnam is expensive at first, but remember that with TravelBud your teaching job is guaranteed.

    • You can focus on enjoying your new lifestyle knowing your monthly income of $1200 – $1400 USD is secured.
    • Once you start earning a salary, your living costs will be comfortably covered and you’ll start to learn how to cut down on your monthly expenses (for example, eating out less and finding the most affordable grocery store in your placement town).
    • You will be able to enjoy your time teaching and travelling in Vietnam saving a portion of your salary ($500 – $800+ USD per month) for travels and adventures!