Vietnam travel is cheap and fun
The Sydney Morning Herald of Australia ranks Vietnam in the top 8 cheapest destinations for family travel.
The Australian Daily News wrote: “Explore the street markets, eat pho, ride buffaloes or participate in interesting cooking classes. Vietnam offers fantastic values due to its inexpensive cost in addition to being a fun and exciting location for families.
Travel between the country of Kangaroo and Vietnam is increasingly convenient by many airlines offering weekly flights from the two countries’ significant cities. In particular, airlines such as Bamboo Airways, Jetstar, and VietJet Air… have many routes between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with Sydney and Melbourne to help visitors save costs.
Australian newspapers also suggest visitors take an ancient Vespa tour through the bustling streets, cycling among the rice fields and swimming in the long beaches scattered along the country’s beautiful coastline. Besides, visitors can dine at coastal restaurants, visit small shops selling Vietnamese bread, pancakes and noodles, and live like nobles at bargain prices at luxury hotels and resorts.
Besides Vietnam, The Sydney Morning Herald also lists cheap destinations suitable for family travel such as Bali (Indonesia), Fiji, Queenstown (New Zealand), Vanuatu, Yeppoon and Gold Coast in Queensland (Australia).
Read more: Da Nang travel guide: What makes Da Nang appealing? (Part 1)
The reason for more and more Australian tourists traveling to Vietnam
Kelly Szymanowicz brings her family to Vietnam for three years because of COVID-19. She claimed that because Vietnam is an inexpensive destination, the entire family extended the trip to 3 weeks in order to see and do as much as they could.
After surveying more expensive trips to Europe or North America, the female traveler from Sydney said that Vietnam is the most suitable place.
Round-trip tickets from Sydney to Vietnam for six people on the children’s holiday, including two domestic flights, are only AUD 6,147″, Szymanowicz said.
Nicole Reddan, a visitor from Melbourne also found round-trip airfare to Vietnam cheap, at 432 AUD. “The opportunity was just too excellent to pass up. The cuisine, lodging, experiences, and tours are all reasonably priced once you get there,” Reddan remarked.
Szymanowicz and Reddan are not unique, amid inflation, rising living costs, reduced frequency of flights to Europe and skyrocketing fuel prices, many Australian tourists no longer prioritize summer holidays in Europe.
Nicola Carmichael, brand director of online travel booking platform Kayak, stressed that Vietnam is a popular destination for Australian tourists.
“Searches for Ho Chi Minh City for trips in the second half of this year increased by about 140% compared to 2019,” Carmichael said, adding that cheap airfare had a significant impact.
Meanwhile, airfares to Europe this summer increased to 63% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Vietnam is considered a destination where fares increase significantly less, only 21%. “Round-trip airfare from Australia to Ho Chi Minh City costs an average of AUD 886. It’s a good choice for Australian travelers who want to keep their budgets below $1,000”.
Professor Rico Merkert, an aviation expert at the University of Sydney, said that with the appearance of cheap flights provided by Bamboo Airways and Vietjet, flight capacity to Ho Chi Minh City exceeded pre-COVID levels and will increase to 21,606 seats a week on September 16, increasing once to 18.9 to 22,444 seats.
Professor Merkert said that Bali, the favorite destination for Australian tourists in Indonesia, will have to compete fiercely soon: “Everything is much cheaper in Vietnam, compared to not only Europe or the US but also Asian destinations like Bali.”
Lauren McRae, owner of the travel agency Hello It’s Loz, said that tourists booking tours to Vietnam account for 30% of the total number of visitors, and they are not only looking for cheap destinations but also want to go to a place that offers a value-for-money travel experience.
Although the cost of flying to the UK and France is high, the increased capacity of Vietnamese airlines is also bringing much-needed competition to European routes. McRae said she could also find good deals on connecting with Vietnam Airlines flights to Paris or Frankfurt in Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, her clients can spend three to four nights in Vietnam after their European vacation.
According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism report, Australia was among the top market visitors in April 2023, with more than 33,800 arrivals, a growth of about 34% compared to the previous month. In the first four months of the year, Australia ranked sixth in the top market, with 131,000 visitors.
Read more: Da Nang travel guide: What makes Da Nang appealing? (Part 2)
Pho is the best gift from Vietnam to the world
Australian travel site Traveller said that pho is a delicious and delicate dish that deserves to stand in the ranks of the best water in the world.
Ben Groundwater of the Australian travel website Traveller wrote: “We can debate until midnight which is the best soup in the world. It could be ramen noodles, laksa vermicelli, bouillabaisse French seafood soup, Portuguese caldo verde soup or even Moroccan bessara bean soup. Everyone has their own opinion according to taste. But no one can deny that pho, Vietnam’s most famous soup, is on this list”, Groundwater wrote.
What fascinates diners in the national dish of Vietnam is the harmonious taste of beef bone broth for many hours, the smell of onions, ginger, and herbs… mixed with each fiber of soft pho cake, on the top put more thinly chopped beef, cilantro… A bit of sour lemon and a few slices of spicy chili make the taste more balanced. “Great fragrance, perfect taste,” Groundwater praised.
Pho Viet was honored by Google on December 12, 2021. This is also the Day of Pho, associated with many annual events celebrating this specialty.
Find out more about Viet Nam tours here:
