The Cheapest Countries I’ve Ever Visited (And Why You Should Visit Too)
Nothing makes budget-travel more exciting than discovering amazing destinations where your money goes a long way.
I’ve traveled to 45 countries so far and many of my all-time favorites are also some of the most affordable. These budget-friendly really proved to me that incredible travel experiences don’t need to come with a high price tag.
In this post, I’m sharing the 4 cheapest countries I’ve ever visited – and exactly why they deserve a spot on your travel bucket list.
Vietnam – 17€ per day
This beautiful country in Southeast Asia is considered by many as the cheapest country in the World.
Even though there’s no consensus about that, I did feel it was an extremely affordable country to visit when I spent 1 month there in 2024. For the whole time I was there, I never had to worry about my budget.
That’s such a blessing as a budget traveler!
Like I mentioned above, I spent an average of 17€ per day while traveling in Vietnam. That includes everything, from accommodation to food, transportation, activities and anything else I needed.
I think that’s the cheapest I’ve ever traveled!
Vietnam is the cheapest country I ever visited
One thing that really shocked me in Vietnam was the accommodation prices.
I know it sounds unbelievable but I actually spent an average of 3.86€ per night for my accommodations in Vietnam. I did book way in advance and stayed only at hostels, which of course helped me keep the costs at such a low level.
But Vietnam’s hotel and hostel prices in general are like nothing I’ve ever seen anywhere else in the World. Never before had I found hostels for 1€, but they exist in Vietnam.
Imagine the luxury you will get there if you’re willing to spend a bit more! You can literally get a whole studio in a 5 star hotel with an infinity pool for 50€ per night.
I know, it’s insane! But these are Vietnam’s prices, believe it or not.
On average I spent less than 4€ per night in hostels in Vietnam
Apart from super cheap accommodations all over the country, another thing I found to be cheap in Vietnam was the food.
During the 32 days I traveled around Vietnam, I spent 247€ on food. That’s about 7.71€ per day, which is basically amazing.
I do think I managed to keep my food costs down because I often bought food in supermakets instead of eating out. When I did eat out, I always looked for cheap restaurants or cafes – which isn’t hard to find in that country.
Still, it’s worth to mention that I didn’t eat at the absolute chepeast places, because I’m picky when it comes to hygiene. So that food budget could have been even lower.
On the other hand, my food expenses would have been much higher if I always ate at fancy restaurants. But even if you do that in Vietnam, I still think the total amount you spend on food will be very reasonable compared to other countries.
I spent 7.71€ per day on food in Vietnam
Another major expense while traveling is transportation.
In my experience, transportation within each country is one of the main parts of the budget. Sometimes it will cost you just as much or even more than your accommodations.
But surprise, surprise: in Vietnam you will find very affordable transportation that will get you pretty much anywhere you wanna go. And, as a plus, you will often have amazing scenery out the window like the train ride linked below.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE: 5 Of The World’s Most Scenic Train Rides
If you’re going to travel around Vietnam, make sure you don’t miss their iconic night buses.
And when I say iconic, I mean it in both a positive and a negative way. Those buses really give me mixed feelings. They’re often a nightmare when you’re actually lying there trying to sleep. But somehow those nights make the best travel memories ever!
I’ll never forget that time I was so close to peeing in a bag in the middle of a full bus, somewhere in the mountains between Ho Chi Minh and Da Lat… Or the time they stopped the bus in the middle of the night to change a broken window.
Believe me, you’ll never forget taking a night bus in Vietnam
One thing that I honestly didn’t find that cheap in Vietnam was the tours and activities.
I expected day tours and entrance tickets to be much cheaper, since everything else seems to be so affordable there. Instead I was surprised to find some popular day tours like this one for 40€ or more.
That’s not expensive in comparison to other countries’ prices, but I couldn’t help feeling it didn’t really match the usual vietnamese prices.
But there are ways around it, like simply going to places on your own instead of taking day tours, which is often cheaper. If you really want to take some day tours or do specific activities in Vietnam, take advantage of discounts to keep your costs down.
Overall, I really loved traveling in Vietnam and I would recommend it to anyone!
Whether you’re a solo female traveler like me or you’re traveling with family or friends, there are so many interesting places to see in Vietnam. And, like you can see in this blog post, it won’t cost you any fortune!
Thailand – 26€ per day
One of my absolute favorite countries in the whole World!
After traveling to 45 countries, I must say that Thailand is one of the most special countries I’ve visited. I really think it will hold a special place in my heart forever, for so many reasons. And I’m not gonna lie: one of those reasons is how affordable Thailand is!
Thailand is one of the cheapest countries I’ve ever visited
Apart from being a gorgeous country with a bit of everything to offer, Thailand is also a very cheap country to travel in.
It might not on the same level as Vietnam, which is ultra cheap. And some people who visited Thailand many years ago claim that prices are way higher now than they used to be.
Nonetheless, if you’re a budget-traveler looking for a paradisiac destination that will not cost you a fortune, Thailand needs to be on your list! It’s always the number 1 country I recommend to people looking for paradise on a budget.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE: Best Islands to Visit in Thailand
While traveling in Thailand, I basically always stayed at hostels. As a solo female traveler, it’s the cheapest accommodation option and it’s also one of the best ways to meet people while traveling.
During the 46 days that I traveled around Thailand, I spent 350€ on accommodations. That’s an average of 7.61€ per night, which is pretty amazing, considering the quality of the hostels I stayed at.
Some of my favorites were The Street Hostel in Koh Lipe and Hugger Hostel in Phuket.
And, if you go to Chiang Rai, please do yourself a favor and book this hostel. I booked a cheaper one to save a couple of euros per night and ended up seriously regretting it. My hostel sucked so much and I just ended up hanging out at Baan Mai Kradan Hostel whenever I could, because I had friends who were staying there (thankfully!).
Some extra euros will often make a huge difference in the quality of your accommodation in Thailand
Even if you’re not willing to stay at hostels on your trip to Thailand, you can still get amazing hotel deals there.
Thailand really is one of those countries where you can get luxury for a very reasonable price.
For example, depending on the season, you can get this villa straight by a private beach in a 5 star Resort, for less than 50€ per night. This is something you wouldn’t be able to find in many other paradisiac countries, no matter the season! Which is why I can’t stop saying this: Thailand is the cheapest paradisiac destination I’ve ever visited.
Let’s talk about another major aspect of traveling to Thailand: the food.
I’m no adventurous foodie by any means and, if I’m being honest, I mostly stick to the western flavours that are most familiar to me. No matter where I go, I’ll somehow always find pizza and pasta. But while traveling in Thailand, I ended up really falling in love with the food there.
That’s because Thai food is truly delicious! I can’t get enough of mango sticky rice and Pad Thai, no matter how much I eat of it. And it comes at great prices too, like most other things in that unique country.
During the 46 days that I traveled around Thailand, I spent a total of 389€ on food. That’s an average of 8.46€ per day, which I find really reasonable.
I just can’t get enough of Thailand’s delicious and affordable food
By the way, if you’re a fruit lover, you will love Thailand extra much!
The fruit there is by far the most delicious I ever tasted (especially the mangoes) and it’s usually so cheap! For someone coming from Europe, I gotta admit I went crazy on my fruit consumption in Thailand because I just couldn’t believe the prices in comparison to the ones back home.
I used to find local markets and go there with some friends to buy fruit from the locals. Then we’d go back to the hostel with several kgs of fruit and have a picnic for just a couple of euros!
The fruit in Thailand is so delicious and cheap
One thing that can end up costing you some money in Thailand is the transportation. It’s cheap by international standards but nowhere near the dirt-cheap prices of Vietnam, for example.
On my 46-day trip around Thailand, I spent a total of 243€ in transportation.
I went to several islands, which is usually what will cost you the most money. The ferries to get from island to island in Thailand are not always cheap. Just to give you an example, I paid 52€ to go from Koh Lipe to the Phi Phi islands.
📢 JUST A SMALL BUT IMPORTANT SIDENOTE: I would NOT recommed the speedboat trip between Koh Lipe and the Phi Phi islands to anyone. I’m not joking when I say it was one of the scariest travel experiences of my life. And some of those speedboats actually capsize from time to time.
Check the article below to find safer ways of traveling to and from Koh Lipe 👇🏼
READ THE FULL ARTICLE: Read This Before Visiting Koh Lipe
Last but not least, let’s talk about tours and activities in Thailand.
Entrance fees and day tours can be a big burden on the budget, but I didn’t find that to be the case in Thailand. There are so many cheap day tours there and, honestly, you will get so much for your money.
Just to give you some examples, here is a 7-hour snorkeling tour from Koh lipe for just 18.56€ – with lunch and fruits included! For the exact same price, you can also go on this tour to the floating markets from Bangkok.
I think you get the picture: I love Thailand and it’s basically the first country that comes to mind when people ask me for travel recommendations.
I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a paradisiac destination and a lovely population that will make you feel at home. I’d recommend it extra much for people traveling on a low-budget, because it truly is unbelievable how far you can make your money stretch there.
Thailand is also one of my favorite countries for solo female travelers.
It’s safe, welcoming and peaceful; plus, you will meet people all the time because Thailand has an amazing backpacker community.
Read the article below to find out which other countries are great choices for your first solo trip 👇🏼
READ THE FULL ARTICLE: 5 Best Countries For First-Time Solo Female Travelers
Nepal – around 20€ per day
Nepal is another beautiful and cheap country to include on travel bucket list.
I’ve been sharing exact numbers about my expenses in the countries that I’ve previously mentioned. It’s a bit more difficult for me to do that regarding Nepal because so many of the things I did there were sponsored, which means that my expenses wouldn’t be representative for a regular trip.
But I really feel that Nepal is one of the cheapest countries I ever visited, so I had to include it on this list.
Nepal is one of the cheapest countries I’ve ever visited
When I traveled to Nepal, I was warned that it would probably be the poorest country I had ever visited.
Unfortunately I have to say that is true.
Nepal is a beautiful country with so many beautiful places to see, including the World’s tallest mountains, but it’s a really poor country. That’s quite obvious as soon as you land there.
But if you’re prepared to see some tough realities in which the local people live, I really think that Nepal should be on your travel bucket list.
Nepal is a beautiful country but be prepared to see a tough reality
As you can imagine, things are really cheap in Nepal.
If you’re gonna travel there, you will be able to find really affordable accommodations, even if you want a more luxurious place to stay. For example, for around 40€ you can get a deluxe room for 2 people at this 5 star hotel.
If you want the cheapest option available, you can find hostels as cheap as 3€ per night in Kathmandu.
For a couple more euros, you can stay at the hostel where I stayed. It’s called Kwabahal Garden Hostel and I loved it so much! The garden area is amazing to hang out, the staff is super friendly and they have a restaurant/cafe at the hostel that serves super tasty food.
I loved my stay and the food at Kwabahal Garden Hostel in Kathmandu
It’s no secret that finding western food options while traveling in Asia is more expensive than eating local food. But, in Nepal, even western food is quite cheap.
I used to go to an amazing bakery called Pumpernickel Bakery in Kathmandu and paid around 4€ for a really delicious brunch.
In Pokhara, which is Nepal’s second largest city, the food scene is quite similar. Even the fanciest restaurants are so cheap! I went to this pizzeria that is expensive for nepalese standards… But you can actually get a huge Marguerita for less than 6€.
When it comes to transportation, Nepal is really cheap as well.
The country’s capital is Kathmandu and it’s located about 200 kms away from Nepal’s second biggest city, Pokhara. Even though it’s quite a long distance, you can actually get super cheap bus tickets to take you from one city to the other.
I paid around 7€ to travel by bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara.
I paid around 7€ to travel for 200 kms between Kathmandu and Pokhara
When it comes to doing activities in Nepal, that’s where it gets a bit tricky.
Most people who travel to Nepal want to do some trekking. Actually Nepal is one of the World’s most popular trekking destinations. Statistics say that 171.000 people traveled to Nepal in 2019 to trekk.
That’s understandable, since that country really has some amazing mountain scenery and trekking is one of the best things to do in Nepal.
If you’re among the many thousands of people who want to visit Nepal to go on a trekking adventure in the mountains, you should be aware that it will be expensive for nepalese standards.
Most people visit Nepal for its World-famous trekking
If you’re planning a trekking trip to Nepal, just make sure you choose a good guide to take you to the mountains.
Nepal’s mountains are nothing to joke with. I learned that the hard way when I visited Nepal in December of 2024.
I booked this trekking tour to Annapurna Base Camp and little did I know that a 5 day adventure would be cut short and I’d be going back down already on the second day.
Long story short, I was warned about altitude sickness being a big deal but I have to admit that I kind of understimated it. I bought the pills I was told to take with me to the mountains but deep-down I didn’t expect to even need them.
I rented good trekking gear and bought altitude sickness pills but I never though I would need them
I only understood how serious altitude sickness can be when I started feeling super sick, could barely breathe, had fever and a terrible headache.
Even though it was a really scary situation, I was glad to have chosen such a good activity provider. I booked my tour with Himalayan Nomad Treks and the guide I got was possibly the sweetest person I’ve ever met in my life.
His name is Santosh and I’m forever thankful for all his support during that difficult situation. He advised me to cut the trekking short and head back down immediately, even though he probably lost money because of not completing the trekking to the base camp.
That’s what a good guide does: he puts the safety of his clients as a the number 1 priority.
Long story short, I end up being invited to his house to meet his whole family and that was one of the most special travel experiences I’ve ever had.
I’ll never forget meeting my guide’s family on my trip to Nepal
If you’re gonna take one budget lesson away from this whole experience, let it be this: don’t try to save money when it comes to your health and safety.
I could have chosen a cheaper tour to Annapurna Base Camp and maybe I would have really regretted that decision.
Having a great guide to take you to the World’s tallest mountains has to be a no brainer, even if it means a higher price.
If you take those precautions and plan your trip to Nepal thoroughly, I’m sure you’ll have an amazing trip! Nepal is definitely one of the most special countries I’ve ever visited and it does leave a long-lasting impression on you. I know for sure I’ll never forget that beautiful country and its incredible people.
Malaysia – 19€ per day
The last country I’ll include on this list is actually one of those countries that didn’t really leave an impression on me.
Malaysia is a country that wins lots of people’s hearts but it somehow didn’t win mine. I visited during my 8-month trip around the World, so admittedly it had severe competition from the other amazing countries that I visited on that trip.
I don’t know if that’s the reason why Malaysia didn’t really impress me, but the truth is that it somehow didn’t.
I didn’t like it or dislike it. I was simply rather neutral about it, which doesn’t happen to me often while traveling. But despite my opinion about Malaysia, it still deserves a place on this list because it’s one of the cheapest countries I ever traveled to.
Malaysia is one of the cheapest countries I’ve visited so far
I spent 17 days traveling in Malaysia and I didn’t spend nearly as much as I thought I would.
Malaysia was the second country I went to on my big trip around the World. I had just come from Singapore, where I started that trip.
As you probably know, Singapore is known to be one of the most expensive countries in the World. So going to Malaysia afterwards felt like a great relief for the budget.
The first thing that I should mention is how affordable accommodations are in Malaysia.
On the 17 days that I spent traveling around Malaysia, I spent a total of 118€ in accommodations. That’s an average of 6.94€ per night.
Hostels in Malaysia were suprisingly good and cheap
I stayed only at hostels, like usual; and I planned way in advance. Those two aspects probably helped me get the best accommodation deals, but I do think you can find cheap places to stay in Malaysia no matter what.
My favorite hostels in Malaysia were Traveller Bunker in the Cameron Highlands and De Cafe & Rest House in the city of Ipoh (both pictured above). Especially that last one felt like a boutique hotel and it was actually one of my favorites of my whole 8-month trip.
If you want a really cool view of the Petronas Towers from an infinity pool, stay at Penthouse on 34 or at Regalia Skypool KLCC. These hostels and many others are located in the same building with a shared infinity pool that probably has the number 1 best view of the Petronas Towers.
I stayed at Regalia Skypool KLCC and the hostel was basically an apartment turned into a hostel, so not the nicest place really. But it costed me only 7.16€ per night and that was so worth it in order to have access to that rooftop pool!
My hostel in Kuala Lumpur costed 7.16€ per night and had access to this rooftop pool
Next up: how cheap is the food in Malaysia?
During the 17 days I traveled around Malaysia, I spent a total of 143€ on food. That’s an average of 8.41€ per day, which is even cheaper than Thailand.
I’m gonna be honest and admit that I didn’t really like the food in Malaysia. Which might have been the reason why I didn’t spend a lot on food while I was there. And also the reason why I lost weight.
But even so, I did notice that the food in Malaysia was cheap. You can usually find meals for about 2 or 3€ if you choose the cheapest places to eat, which is super affordable.
I didn’t really like the food in Malaysia but it was usually affordable
When it comes to tours and activities in Malaysia, I didn’t spend much money at all.
During my whole stay of 17 days, I only spent a total of 32€ on activities. That’s not necessarily because activities in Malaysia are dirt-cheap. It was motsly because I did most things myself and there are many free things to do in Malaysia.
That’s actually a huge plus about that country: it’s super easy to get where you wanna go without needing to book a tour. But even if you do wanna take tours in Malaysia, they’re usually quite affordable and won’t break your budget.
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Transportation in Malaysia is also super cheap.
I spent only 76€ in total and that even includes a domestic flight from Penang to Langkawi. That was only possible because bus rides within Malaysia were really cheap! Just to give you an example, I paid 2.73€ for my bus ride from Malacca to Kuala Lumpur.
That made it easy and stress-free to travel around the country using public transportation, so you definitely shouldn’t worry about transportation when you go to Malaysia.
Considering all of this, I do think that Malaysia is a nice country to visit if you’re a budget-traveller.
Like I mentioned before, I just wasn’t my cup of tea at the time when I visited. But I’ve talked to so many others who loved Malaysia, so I might give it another chance sometime!
If you’ve made it this far, I hope this list of the cheapest countries I’ve visited is useful to you. I’ve been a budget-traveller since forever, so believe me, I know how important it is to find these gem countries where you can make your money go a long way!
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