Daily Food Budget in Vietnam, in Ringgit
You want a food number for the trip that does not fall apart once you land.
A good food budget is built per day and per style, not taken from a single average. Pick the style for each meal, set the assumptions, convert dong to ringgit and add up. This page shows the three styles, what drives the cost of each, and how to get numbers from today’s menus.
What are the three eating styles?
| Style | Where you eat | What a day looks like | What pushes cost up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Street and local | Stalls, small family eateries | Noodle breakfast, rice or noodle lunch and dinner | Extra dishes, drinks, tourist streets |
| Mid-range | Sit-down restaurants with menus | Cafe breakfast, a proper lunch, a dinner with a full set of dishes | Seafood, imported drinks, big groups |
| Resort and hotel | Hotel buffet, resort restaurant | Included breakfast, hotel lunch and dinner | Service charge, bottled drinks, location |
Mix them. Real days combine a local breakfast and a sit-down dinner.
What assumptions do you need to set?
A budget only works if the assumptions are written down. Set these before you add any numbers.
- City: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have the widest range of prices. Island resorts and tourist lanes cost more.
- Meals a day: three meals plus the drinks and snacks you expect.
- Party size: shared dishes lower the cost per person.
- Drinks: coffee, bottled water and any alcohol are separate lines.
- Special needs: halal planning, toddlers and allergies can limit your choices.
How do you convert dong to ringgit?
Take the menu price in dong and multiply by the rate. Bank Negara Malaysia’s page showed 0.0158 Malaysian ringgit (MYR) per 100 Vietnamese dong (VND) on 15 October 20261. At that rate, 100,000 dong converts to about RM15.801.
Dong banknotes in frequent use run from 1,000 up to 500,0002. Count carefully, because all those zeros make mistakes easy. Rates move every day, so use a fresh figure before you travel. The Vietnam cost worksheet in ringgit does the arithmetic.
How do you set a range for yourself?
For each day, write a low, normal and high version. The low day is street food and one coffee. The high day adds a sit-down dinner and extra drinks. Multiply by your days and see the spread, not a single total.
Keep a small buffer line for surprises: a snack you did not plan or a taxi to a restaurant. The trip budget builder lets you plug in each line as you collect real menu prices.
How do you stop food costs drifting upward?
Eat breakfast locally when you can. The hotel breakfast guide weighs the choice. Read menus before you sit, and check the tourist-area pricing guide so you can spot inflated prices. Families with children should read the family meal budget as well.
For the whole trip, see the Vietnam trip cost from Malaysia. More eating advice is on the Food and daily travel page.
If you want a food line that matches your route and your group, tell us your cities and who is eating, and we can help you set it in ringgit.
Common questions
Why not give one average daily food cost?
A single average hides the choices that matter. Two travellers eating street food in Hanoi and two eating resort buffets on Phu Quoc are planning different trips. Choose your style per day, set the assumptions, then add the days up. That gives a number you can defend.
Which eating style suits a couple?
Couples mix styles: local breakfast, a street or casual lunch and a sit-down dinner. Build each day from three slots instead of one label. Add one or two drinks and a snack per day, because they are what pushes a food line over plan.
How do I convert dong prices into ringgit?
Multiply the dong amount by the exchange rate. Bank Negara Malaysia showed MYR 0.0158 per 100 VND on 15 October 2026. So 100,000 dong is about RM15.80 at that rate. Rates move, so check Bank Negara again before you fly.
Do islands and resorts change the food budget?
Yes. Island menus and resort restaurants are priced for visitors, and food travels in by boat or plane. Hotel dining adds convenience, so the same dish costs more than at a city street stall. Plan a few meals outside the resort if you want to keep the total lower.
How do I budget if I need halal meals?
Halal options are fewer, so you may eat at set places and use delivery. That can raise some meals above street level. Read the Muslim traveller guide to plan arrivals, and add a buffer line for meals you could not predict.
Sources
- Bank Negara Malaysia's exchange rate page showed MYR 0.0158 per 100 VND on 15 October 2026. Bank Negara Malaysia. Rate moves daily; it was 0.0157 to 0.0158 across 1 to 15 Oct 2026. Implies roughly 1 MYR = 6,300 VND (derived from a rounded rate).
- Banknotes in frequent use are 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, 200,000 and 500,000 dong. Wikipedia
Keep planning
If you want a food line that matches your route and your group, tell us your cities and who is eating, and we can help you set it in ringgit.