Where to stay: Vietnam hostels & hotels for solo female travelers

Here’s a list of hotels and hostels that I stayed in while traveling in Vietnam in November 2023. I’ll update this post with more hotels whenever I go back to visit Vietnam.

Things to note:

• Since prices change so frequently I haven’t bothered to note what I paid for each room, but in general I stay at $20 USD or less per night.
• I stay in a mix of private rooms and dorms, but more heavily dorms. That usually includes access to shared bathrooms, kitchens, common areas, and so on.
• I use Booking.com, Agoda, Hostelworld, AirBNB, and Google Maps to search for places to stay, and I make sure to check my major credit card’s travel portal in case I can use CC points to save a bit of money.

Places with a little ♥ in front of them are highly recommended.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one and buy something, I get a small percentage of that at no extra cost to you. Read my full disclosure here.)

Da Lat (Dalat)

I went to Dalat partly to break up the long bus journey between Hoi An and Ho Chi Min City, but it ended up being one of my favorite places in Vietnam. For one thing it’s high in the mountains, so the weather is MUCH cooler! The steep hills did make it challenging to walk around town a bit, but I thought overall Dalat is a nice mid-sized city and worth visiting for a few days.

Dalat Sky Hostel. I booked a private room with an ensuite bathroom, with no air con (didn’t need it). It was SO nice that I ended up extending my stay by a few nights just so I could sleep comfortably for a bit longer. They even let me check in HOURS early (my bus got in at, like, 9am) which was superb. It’s set slightly off from a major street so the noise level isn’t too bad, and there’s plenty of restaurants and convenience stores within walking distance. The staff are very friendly as well.

Here’s a room tour video I took:

Hanoi

My first stop in Vietnam! I was expecting it to be chaotic, dirty, and loud– and it was!– but honestly it wasn’t any worse than many major Southeast Asian cities I’ve been to. The Old Quarter neighborhood was charming, with small streets and lots of cafes, restaurants, markets, etc. Further out in the suburb-y area was comfortable too, though getting back over to OQ with Grab was about 30 minutes/$4 USD each time. All the tours start in OQ, so if you only have a short amount of time in Hanoi I’d recommend just staying somewhere in there.

Musketeers Cafe and Hostel. 6 bed female dorm with our own ensuite bathroom, air conditioning, and free breakfast. A little fancier than some other hostels! We got bathrobes, bathroom amenities, and monogrammed towels in our lockable storage drawers beneath the bunk beds. Excellent breakfast, though coffee/tea costs extra. Friendly expat owner and staff!

Here’s a dorm tour video I took:

Old Quarter View Hanoi Hostel. 12 person mixed dorm (not my favorite) with air conditioning and very good cheap breakfast. I really liked the stairs going up into the bunk as opposed to ladders. SO much more comfortable! Was surprisingly quiet, though noise from the common room came up the stairwell and through the door, so not perfect. They had several hostel events each week, including a free drink at night, laundry service, ticketing service for buses and Ha Giang tours, etc.

Here’s a (very) short dorm tour video I took:

Ha Giang

Mostly people only come up here to do the Ha Giang Loop by motorbike, and I was no exception! I booked my tour through my hostel and stayed one extra night with them afterwards. SUCH a good experience; I highly recommend it!

Ha Giang Safari Hostel. 8 bed mixed dorm (ugh), with air conditioning and free breakfast. A little grungy, but that’s to be expected when guest turnover is so high. VERY nice staff, and their tours are fantastic. They have luggage storage for your bags when you’re on tour, in a locked cabinet only the staff can access. Next to a street market, plenty of restaurants, ATMs, and so on.

4 days on the Ha Giang Loop (Easy Rider edition)

This is one of the things that everyone says you MUST do, and honestly— I agree. If you have the time/money/physical health to go on a multi-day motorcycle tour of northern Vietnam: do it! It was the most fun thing I did in Vietnam and it’s a highlight of my year.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

HCMC lacks charm, and the traffic is truly terrible. I mostly only came so I could do a day trip to the Mekong Delta and then scoot over to Cambodia by bus.

Alleyway Hostel. 8 bed mixed dorm, with air conditioning and free coffee/tea. Very interesting location, set back against a road behind some shorter restaurant stalls. Good common area up on the roof; they have a shared kitchen space but the room had water damage above the stove soooo I didn’t use it. Friendly staff members who speak good English, and if you book the Mekong Delta tour through them you get a slight discount.

Hoi An

This is a super popular town for travelers and digital nomads, and I wanted to like it a lot. Unfortunately I was fairly sick when I visited and didn’t much enjoy anything for a while. It’s pretty cute though! The salespeople in the markets are super aggressive.

DK’s House. Private room with ensuite and air conditioning, plus free breakfast. A little more run down than I’d like but it had a mini fridge which was great. Friendly staff who speak good English; they have laundry service, tour booking options, etc.

Here’s a room tour video I took:

Hue

There’s a few interesting things to see in Hue, including an abandoned water park, that makes it worth visiting for a bit. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a great time here because it flooded for two days! Maybe stick to visiting outside of rainy season.

Hue Melody Hostel. I booked a private room with an ensuite bathroom, air conditioning, and free breakfast. And a mini fridge! Overall a comfortable stay besides the flooding thing (which never made it into the hostel, thank goodness). Owner is very friendly and speaks excellent English, and can book transport/tours/etc. for you. They also have dorms available.

Tam Coc (Ninh Binh)

Ninh Binh is the town everyone wants to visit, but all the popular hostels are in Tam Coc (which is right next to Ninh Binh). It’s a tiny town that can be explored by bicycle in a day or two. Most of the sightseeing (shrines, mostly) is outside of the immediate area anyway, and you can do that in a day tour (or rent a motorbike and DIY it).

Tam Coc Central Bungalow. 12 bed mixed dorm (ugh) with air conditioning and an ensuite, plus free breakfast. Bathrooms weren’t as clean as I’d like but the beds were fairly comfortable– with curtains, too. Good breakfast selection, and there’s a restaurant on the bottom floor for lunch and dinner. Friendly staff who all speak at least some English. I booked my bus to Hue through them and got a snack bag to take with me. Nice!

Here’s a dorm tour video I took:

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If you’re traveling around Southeast Asia, you might be interested in these other posts:

• From Chiang Rai to Luang Prabang by bus and slow boat (October 2023)
• From Sukhothai to Chiang Mai by bus
• Where to stay: Thailand hostels & hotels for solo female travelers
• A sunrise tour of Mt. Bromo, Java, Indonesia
• Visiting the Plain of Jars, Phonsavan, Laos