Hanoi joins Chiang Mai, Jakarta among world's most affordable cities for tourists

By Hoang Vu December 17, 2025 | 11:44 pm PT

A group of tourists pose for photos at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Hanoi in October 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Giang

British travel magazine Time Out ranked Hanoi at sixth in a list of world's most affordable cities for tourists based on a survey of over 18,000 people.

The capital city trailed only behind Medellin (Colombia), Bogota (Colombia), Beijing (China), New Orleans (U.S.) and Naples (Italy).

The magazine asked people in over 100 cities to rate the affordability of a bunch of day-to-day activities: eating out to a restaurant, going to see a movie, grabbing a coffee, going to see art, going to see theater or comedy, going to see live music, getting a drink in a bar and going on a night out.

Based on the percentages of respondents who answered "cheap or free" and "affordable," Time Out crunched the data to figure out the planet's cheapest and most expensive cities to travel.

In January, Matt, a digital nomad, said Hanoi is among the most affordable cities in Asia for travelers seeking extended stays without straining their budgets.

He noted that budget travelers can live comfortably on about VND600,000 (US$22.76) per day, covering basic necessities such as accommodation in clean dormitories, three street food meals, and transport by public transit or on foot.

In Southeast Asia, Thailand's Chiang Mai ranked seventh and Indonesia's Jakarta at 10th position.

South Korea's Seoul was named the most expensive city, followed by Istanbul (Turkey).