Sleep and coffee ($16)
Book a private room in a well-run Old Quarter guesthouse — Hanoi Central Backpackers, Little Hanoi Diamond, or the eco-leaning Chi Boutique — for $14-18 with breakfast. Start the day at Cafe Giang on Nguyen Huu Huan ($1.20) for the original egg coffee, invented here in 1946 when milk was scarce. Or Cong Caphe's coconut coffee, $2. Both sit within the historic 36-street grid, so you’re walking before you spend on transit.
Food and sights ($22)
Pho for breakfast at Pho Gia Truyen, $2.50. Mid-morning: Temple of Literature ($1.50), then walk to the Imperial Citadel ($1.30). Lunch is bun cha at Dac Kim, $3.50. Afternoon: Hoa Lo Prison ($1.50) and a slow loop of Hoan Kiem Lake past the 18th-century Ngoc Son Temple ($1.30). Dinner: banh mi 25 ($1) plus a bun bo nam bo, $3. Snack budget $3. That's $18.60 on food-and-culture, add $3 water and fruit.
Transport and evening ($10)
Grab bike is $1-2 anywhere in the centre; budget $4 for two rides. A Bia Hoi Junction beer at Ta Hien is $0.40 — have three, $1.20. Add a Highlands Coffee afternoon stop, $2. That leaves room for one splurge: the water puppet show at Thang Long Theatre, $4 for a back seat, showing continuously since 1969 and rooted in an 11th-century Red River delta tradition.
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