HCM City and Hanoi among top 10 most affordable cities in Asia

According to Ethan Crowley, a trip planner at Kayak’s Asia Desk, the cost to book direct flights from San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City starts at just US$660 for a round trip, according to their flight schedule.

Moreover, he noted that this is currently one of the only direct nonstop flights from Southeast Asia to North America.

Along with affordable flights, Crowley said that food and lodging is also affordable. He considers Vietnam to likely be “the lowest-cost country for travelers” in all of Southeast Asia.

Crowley also stressed that Vietnam is one of two countries to feature twice on this list, a fact that’s not surprising to people who are well versed in travel around Asia. 

“You have a country with great cheap food, great value hotels, and great transport. Accommodation, from the low end up through luxury, is much cheaper than the surrounding countries,” he revealed.

He added that business-class domestic flights in the nation are excellent value and also make the experience in the country's crowded airports much more enjoyable, with even economy flights being far cheaper than similar routings in the U.S.

Crowley concluded by stating that Vietnam’s “street eats are some of the cheapest in the region.”

Rounding on the list of the top 10 destinations were Taipei City of Taiwan (China), Jakarta of Indonesia, New Delhi of India, Bangkok of Thailand, Manila of the Philippines, Tokyo of Japan, Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia, and Osaka of Japan.