My fiancé and I are considering a honeymoon to Vietnam. We want to go somewhere on the beach that is affordable and exotic. We randomly spoke to a stranger in passing who mentioned that he and his wife honeymooned there and it was "super cheap" due to the currency exchange. He explained that we can book an ocean villa with a private beach for $35 USD a night and eat well along with drinks for less than $20/person/day. He got our wheels spinning so we began to do some research and these are not the prices we are finding. However, this man had extended family there and he did mention that they stayed with them briefly. This makes us think that possibly the prices are so high because of trying to book through travel agencies from America and they were able to book directly with the resort while being present in Vietnam already.

We are not sure if we want to chance not booking something before we arrive but are curious if this is a safe/do-able possibility...?? Would we be able to get a private villa on the beach for only $35 USD (or in this ballpark range) if we wait until we get there?

Any advice is appreciated!!

Do I believe that you or I could book a private villa on the beach in VN for US$35 a night? No.

"This makes us think that possibly the prices are so high because of trying to book through travel agencies from America and they were able to book directly with the resort while being present in Vietnam already. " No question, using a US agency to book a trip in VN guarantees that you will pay too much. If you use a local agency in VN you will get better prices, no question. But $35 a night for a villa on the beach? No. It used to be you could get a shack on the beach in many places in SE Asia for that kind of price, but even those days are gone.

Will you get that price if you show up with no reservations? No. Indeed, you'll often find that the price will be higher than what you can book it for online.

Sorry to disappoint you. There are still many places in SE Asia with very reasonable prices, so I don't want to discourage you from traveling there, but simply want to encourage you to be realistic about your expectations.

As Kathies has intimated, "If it sounds to good to be true, then it proably is". It is still certainly find a beach hut somewhere for under $35 but you will have to search hard and it definitely won't be be private!

If you are looking for luxury accomodation then it is best to book online way in advance. I find booking.com usually has better or the same prices than Vietnamese agencies and you do get a greater degree of security and flexibility with them.

We spent 3 months travelling in Vietnam last year and averaged around $30 on for decent air conditioning, en suite double rooms in pleasant hotels. Perhaps not honeymoon quality but pretty good.
As a side note, I would really be considering Vietnam for a beach holiday. The food, culture, sights are all superb, the beaches? No so much. There are better places in SEA and of course the time of year makes a huge difference

You also have to understand that what a Vietnamese person considers a "villa" and what you do are very different. I'm sure you can find something beachside for $35 a night and it may not be up to your standards, but your VN friend would consider it top quality.

You want to stay at the cheap place; you can overnight at local people or hostel with cheap price. You can refer price of hostels in Hanoi Old Quarter. https://www.vietnamtourbooking.com/en/hanoi/