list of prices for goods/services in Hanoi?
 

list of prices for goods/services in Hanoi?


Does anyone have a list of local's prices for goods/services in Hanoi, Vietnam?

Most importantly, how much should a stingy (or wise) traveller pay for:

1) A cheap Viet meal (no drink)
2) A cheap French or other non-Viet meal (no drink)
2b) A good French pastry/baguette
3) An average motorbike taxi ride (day/night) and
4) The cheapest possible dorm in the old quarter

Also, what is the best place to do grocery shopping if you plan on cooking on your own? Where do the local's shop? How much are basic food items like bread, fruits, eggs, oil, etc... Is there a superstore like a Chinese-style Wal-mart or only a bazaar?

Some say, offer in return to the seller's first , about 25-30%? So a merchant quotes you 100,000 Dong for something or another. What is the local's price for that item. Is it 25,000? What's the ratio in Hanoi?

If you'd like to add to this list, I'm sure future travellers (and myself) would save a lot of money and headache by reading it. Please help out if you can.

Sandy, let me recommend the Thorn Tree, Lonely Planet's travel forum. There are many more people on that forum who travel as backpackers than on this forum.

just got back from hanoi.

one can do away with dong, and just use USD.

for foreigners, things start at US$1. So prices for your items 1-3 are as low as US$1, if you have good negotiation skills (walk away being the best tactic).

And if you choose to use US dollars rather than dong, you'll mark yourself as a very inexperienced traveler who will be over-charged for everything. The dong is the official currency of VN and is used by all Vietnamese and almost all visitors for financial transations.

Hi Sandy, I was in Vietnam in January this year with my family, and we were eating fantastic meals for about $3.00 each. A good baguette will probably cost you around 10 to 20c.(US) We were in Cambodia first and only used US$ there, so we had quite a few left when we arrived in Vietnam and they came in very handy whenever we were short of dong. We stayed in coffee street in the old quarter and there was a couple of very good supermarkets within walking distance. The Lonely Planet has the addresses of shops and a copy would probably be a good investment for a budget trip. Have a great trip.