What are the cheapest countries to visit in Asia?

The cheapest countries in Asia, ranked

A budget day here is a dorm bed or simple fan or air-con guesthouse room, street or local food, buses or trains, and one paid sight.

• Vietnam: about $25 to $35 a day. Hostel guides put dorm beds at roughly $6 to $11. Pho, banh mi and com tam cost a dollar or two at street stalls. Sleeper buses and trains link Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, Da Lat and Ho Chi Minh City. Not cheap: overnight Halong Bay cruises and anything around Tet. Our 29 days ran north to south: see Vietnam and tipping in Vietnam.

• Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka: about $20 to $45. 2026 estimates put India and Nepal around $20 to $30 and Laos, Cambodia and Sri Lanka up to about $45. We did not visit them on this trip.

• Indonesia beyond south Bali: about $25 to $40. Ubud, Sidemen and Munduk cost much less than Seminyak and Canggu, and Java is cheaper again. Add Bali's one-off 150,000 rupiah (about $10) tourist levy. See Bali temple etiquette and how many days in Bali.

• Thailand (north and central): about $30 to $50. Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampang and Sukhothai offer cheap rooms and $2 khao soi. The islands cost far more, especially December to February. See where to stay in Chiang Mai.

• The Philippines: about $30 to $50 outside resorts. Food and jeepneys are cheap; Palawan's boat tours and inter-island flights are where budgets break. See Coron vs El Nido and El Nido to Coron, ferry vs flight.

• Malaysia: about $30 to $65, depending on the source. Penang's hawker food is cheap; alcohol is heavily taxed.

• Turkey (if you count Asia Minor): about $25 to $45. Cappadocia rooms are reasonable; balloon flights are not. See Istanbul and Cappadocia.

• The expensive end: South Korea about $50 to $90, Japan from about $70, Singapore more. Korea's food and transit are fair value (see T-money and transit in Korea); rooms are not. The yen is far weaker than a decade ago (about ¥159 to the dollar in July 2026, against a 2016 average near ¥109 (≈ $0.69)), which makes Japan cheaper in dollar terms, but rooms and Shinkansen fares add up: see how much cash to bring to Japan.

What changed for 2026 and 2027

• Thailand cut its visa-free stay from 60 to 30 days on 15 September 2026 for about 60 nationalities including the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Slow travellers who planned two cheap months in Chiang Mai now need a tourist visa or a border exit. See the Thailand visa rules.

• Japan's departure tax rose from ¥1,000 to ¥3,000 (≈ $6.3–19.0) on 1 July 2026, built into air tickets.

• Vietnam's e-visa has allowed stays of up to 90 days, single or multiple entry, for all nationalities since August 2023; apply only on the official evisa.gov.vn portal, and check the Vietnam visa rules for the current fee.

• Bali's levy is paid online via the official Love Bali site; check the current amount before you travel, and see the Bali visa rules.

When Asia is cheapest

Southeast Asia's monsoons are regional, so cheap season differs by country. Vietnam's north is cool and drizzly from December to March, and central Vietnam gets its heaviest rain and typhoons from about September to December. Thailand's rainy season (roughly June to October) brings lower room prices in the north and on the Andaman coast. Bali's dry season (April to October) is its high season. Lunar New Year (Tet in Vietnam) raises transport prices and closes family businesses for several days. See best time to visit Thailand, best time to visit Hanoi, best time to visit Bali and best time to visit the Philippines.

The flight is the hidden cost

From the US or Europe, the long-haul ticket to Asia can cost as much as two or three weeks on the ground in Vietnam. Two ways to cut it: fly into the cheapest regional hub (Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore often beat Hanoi or Denpasar) and connect on a budget carrier, and stay longer so the fare is spread over more days. Watch budget carriers' baggage fees: a cheap fare plus a checked bag can match a full-service ticket. See how to find cheap flights and a Singapore to Bali budget weekend.

A cheap month in Southeast Asia, modelled on our route

Our route ran Thailand (Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, Lampang, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, then the south) for 45 days, and later Vietnam from Hanoi to Can Tho for 29 days. A one-month budget version: 10 days in northern Thailand, then about 3 weeks in Vietnam north to south by sleeper bus and train, skipping islands. At roughly $30 to $40 a day that is around $900 to $1,200 on the ground before flights. Keep costs down with an eSIM rather than roaming (eSIM or local SIM), and by withdrawing cash in larger amounts to limit ATM fees (cash or card). For a wider view, see the cheapest countries to visit in 2027.

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