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The capital of Vietnam is loaded with hotels and guesthouses, but there are only a few traditional hostels in Hanoi. There are plenty of places that will be ideal for the Hanoi hostel crowd, and that’s mostly because budget hotels here tend to be quite reasonably priced.

This is a huge city, but the center of town is fairly compact. The Old Quarter is where you’ll find most of the budget hotels and hostels in Hanoi, and it’s an ideal location for nearly every traveler. One warning about budget hotels and hostels in Hanoi, they tend to have thin windows in the rooms and the constant honking you’ll hear from car and motorbike horns is clearly audible for about 20 hours a day. It may not occur to you when you arrive on your first day and choose a room, but that night when you try to sleep it can be a big deal. If you have a choice choose a room on the inside of the building, or bring earplugs.

Although there is really only one traditional European-style hostel in Hanoi, there are plenty of other places with cheap beds. The main reason there are so few hostels in Hanoi is that hotel rooms for around US$15 for two people are quite easy to find. Who would want to stay in a dorm room with 9 people you don’t know just to save a dollar or two per night? Me either.

And speaking of budget hotels, since things in Hanoi tend to be quite affordable already this might be a good place for a mini splurge. As long as you are booking from a hotel and hostel booking site like this you generally get what you are paying for in Southeast Asia. In some cities – particularly in North America – people sleeping in identical rooms down one hallway might have each paid a different price, sometimes drastically different.

The good news is that this rarely happens at the hotels and hostels in Hanoi. If you go to a crooked travel agent or find a cheap hotel just by walking in you might sometimes be quoted an artificially high price, but on websites like these all the hotels and hostels are competing with each other so they all list their lowest price.

Since this is the case you might consider spending US$10 per night for two people and getting a really luxurious hotel room. You’d have to spend an extra US$100 per night in the States or in Europe to get a 4-star place, but in the hotels and hostels in Hanoi that luxury can be had for only a little more than the budget places.

The Old Quarter is the best place to stay for most budget travelers, but there are hotels throughout the city. Be careful when choosing your hotel or guesthouse because some of the places with the lowest prices and most features might actually be far away from the things you’ve come to see. If they don’t advertise actually being in the Old Quarter you should pay close attention to their location before booking there.

Hostels in Hanoi