It’s hardly news that international travel has got considerably more expensive this year following the resumption of flights and the soaring inflation impacting most markets.
But while the likes of Europe and Cancun are saying no to budget travelers, other destinations have flung their doors open to them.
That is particularly true in Southeast Asia, where devalued local currencies, coupled with a significantly lower cost of living, help budget travelers enjoy their hard-earned vacations without worrying too much about their bank balance.
In fact, five cities in the subcontinent have ranked as some of the cheapest for holidaymakers worldwide, according to recent research published by Traveller’s Elixir:
Five Of The Top 10 Cheapest City Breaks Worldwide Are In Southeast Asia
Overall, 60 different locations were assessed by the travel experts in order to establish which were budget-friendly and which were on the pricey side based on average hotel fares, transportation costs, and the price of meals and tourist attractions.
The top 10 includes destinations farther afield, such as Delhi, the capital of the South Asian country of India, which topped the list, the increasingly trendy Medellin in Colombia, and the digital nomad hub that is Tbilisi in Georgia, but Southeast Asian cities occupy five of the ten spots.
From most expensive to least expensive, they are:
Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok, whose traditional full name is something impossible to memorize, is your usual vibrant capital torn between the tradition of a glorious, imperial past and the unbridled urban development that plagues most 21st-century metropolises.
It is the most expensive entry on this list, and even then, a five-day stay would equal a mere USD $289.
It just goes to show how budget-friendly Southeast Asia can be unless you are looking to splurge, and five-star luxury hotels are non-negotiable.
Luang Prabang, Laos
Luan Prabang is a small city of 55,000 inhabitants, as well as the former royal seat of Laos, and a cultural hub whose History spans at least 14 centuries.
Moreover, it serves as the main gateway to the pristine natural reserves that dominate the country’s Northernmost provinces.
Largely ignored by backpackers, it is one of Southeast Asia’s cheapest travel destinations.
Staying in a three-star hotel in the central district, eating at mid-range restaurants, and paying the captivating local museums a visit, you should set aside some USD $289 for your five-day Northern Laos adventure.
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Thailand’s northerly second-most populous metro area, Chiang Mai, is home to over 200 temples, some as old as the city itself, established in 1296.
Due to its well-preserved medieval moat and city walls, Chiang Mai’s historical core has been added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.
Annually, it hosts one of the largest Songkran festivities in Thailand, attended by hundreds of thousands of people who storm into its centuries-old streets armed with water pistols to engage in water fights and parties.
A five-day visit to Chiang Mai will hardly break the bank too, costing USD $284.56.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Formerly called Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s largest urban center and a sprawling concrete jungle home to around 9 million people.
It is best known for being the former capital of the defunct capitalist state of South Vietnam, which ceased existing upon the fall of Saigon itself.
Other than Buddhist temples and war remnants, colonial buildings stand as the most easily-recognized structures in HCMC, notably a palatial French-era city hall, a ‘Notre Dame’ Cathedral, and a post office architected by Gustave Eiffel himself, the same man who built the now-iconic Eiffel Tower.
There are enough attractions in Saigon/HCMC to keep the culture seeker in you busy for days, and luckily, it is incredibly affordable by Western standards, in spite of its notorious ‘Western’ inclinations and relatively high development rate.
A five-day séjour will set you back by about USD $257.26.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
This underrated Southeast Asian capital sits at the confluence of the Mekong and Tonlé Sap rivers and has distinct features of both native civilizations, namely the once-powerful Khmer Empire, and French colonialism.
Life in Phnom Penh revolves around the scenic riverfront, interspersed with lush green parks, quirky cafes, skyscrapers, and ornate pagodas.
It is the cheapest city break out of the five listed, with costs for a five-day trip averaging USD $222.71 only.
The complete top 10 ranking of cheapest cities worldwide, as defined in the research, can be seen below:
- Delhi, India – $180.39
- Phnom Penh – $222.67
- Kathmandu, Nepal – $227.65
- Tbilisi, Georgia – $247.55
- Medellin, Colombia – $253.77
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – $257.50
- Chiang Mai, Thailand – $284.89
- Cairo, Egypt – $287.37
- Luang Prabang, Laos – $289
- Bangkok, Thailand – $289
Values for five-day stays are expressed in British pounds (GBP) and were thus converted to U.S. dollars based on current conversion rates at the time this article was written
Monaco, St Barts, Switzerland, Iceland, Honolulu, New York, and Venice, in Italy, are among the world’s most expensive destinations. A five-day trip to Monaco will cost $2,258.
