🇻🇳 Vietnam or 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Which one, honestly
Vietnam leads on value for money, food and cities.
A normal day costs about $70 in Vietnam and $130 in Costa Rica.
Side by side
- 🇻🇳 Vietnam🇨🇷 Costa Rica
- Mar, Apr, Oct, NovBest monthsJan, Feb, Mar, Dec
- $70A normal day$130
- 3h 15m from SingaporeClosest hub2h 55m from Mexico City
- Very goodBeaches and seaVery good
- Very goodCities and cultureNot the draw
- ExceptionalFoodGood
- ExceptionalNature and hikingExceptional
- ExceptionalValue for moneyNot the draw
- GoodEasy to get aroundGood
- Cheap domestic flights and sleeper trains, because the country is longGetting aroundA hire car with clearance, the distances are short but the roads are slow
- The north in January, cold and grey, and the centre during the autumn typhoonsWhen to avoidSeptember and October on the Caribbean side, the wettest weeks of the year
Pick by what you want
🇻🇳 Choose Vietnam if
you want the best street food in Asia on the smallest budget, and you do not mind a long thin country that takes time to cross.
🇨🇷 Choose Costa Rica if
you want wildlife above everything else, cloud forest and two oceans in one small country, and you accept it costs more than its neighbours.
Full Vietnam guide →Full Costa Rica guide →
And what the world thinks
Dead even. The next vote breaks the tie.
Compare something else
Written and checked by hand. Nothing here about visas or entry rules: those change often and depend on your passport, so check an official source.