The Travlog trip log, with every payment and withdrawal from September 29 to October 6.
Direct Answer & TL;DR
The total for 7 nights and 8 days in Hanoi and Sapa, for a family of four, was ₩4,015,220 (~$2,890), or about ₩1,000,000 ($720) per person. That is the bookings we paid before leaving plus everything we paid or withdrew in Vietnam with the Travlog card. (Travlog is a Hana Bank prepaid travel debit card from Korea, topped up in won through the Hana Money wallet.)
The Travlog app showed **₩125,768 ($90)** in fees waived on this trip. We registered the Travlog card in Grab, and before every booking I tapped the “Offers” field to pick a coupon.
| How we paid | Amount | What it covered |
|---|---|---|
| Prepaid by credit card before departure | ₩3,207,991 (~$2,310) | Flights, hotels, train, bus and car transfers, Fansipan, city tour |
| Travlog card payments | ₩493,429 (~$355) | Restaurants, cafés, supermarkets, Grab, the regular-price Fansipan train, hotel extra charges |
| Travlog ATM withdrawals (cash) | ₩313,800 (~$226) | 6,000,000 VND, for cash-only places and miscellaneous expenses |
| Total | ₩4,015,220 (~$2,890) | 4 people, about ₩1,000,000 (~$720) each |
The prepaid part is the ₩3,185,191 from #1 plus the ₩22,800 Klook city tour from #9. The two Vietnam lines add up to the ₩807,229 (~$581) that the Travlog app shows as the amount spent. USD figures here are approximate, at roughly ₩1,390 = $1.
Table of contents
Costs by Category: Hotels and Flights Are Two Thirds
What we did each day and what it cost are in the schedule tables of #4 through #9. This table regroups the same money by category.
| Category | Prepaid | In Vietnam | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flights | ₩1,098,400 (~$790) | ₩1,098,400 (~$790) | 27.4% | |
| Hotels | ₩1,574,756 (~$1,133) | ₩1,574,756 (~$1,133) | 39.2% | |
| Transport (train, bus, car, Grab) | ₩317,950 (~$229) | ₩28,190 (~$20) | ₩346,140 (~$249) | 8.6% |
| Sightseeing (Fansipan, city tour, Cat Cat Village, Ngoc Son Temple) | ₩216,885 (~$156) | ₩72,242 (~$52) | ₩289,127 (~$208) | 7.2% |
| Food (restaurants, cafés, supermarkets, hotel breakfast extras) | ₩495,880 (~$357) | ₩495,880 (~$357) | 12.4% | |
| Shopping (Lotte Mall, souvenirs, Uniqlo) | ₩88,115 (~$63) | ₩88,115 (~$63) | 2.2% | |
| Miscellaneous (cash) | ₩122,802 (~$88) | ₩122,802 (~$88) | 3.1% | |
| Total | ₩3,207,991 (~$2,308) | ₩807,229 (~$581) | ₩4,015,220 (~$2,889) | 100% |
Divided by 7 nights, that is about ₩570,000 (~$410) per night. Hotels and flights made up two thirds.
For card payments I copied the won amounts from the Travlog records as they are. For cash, I divided by the rate applied when I withdrew it (100 VND = ₩5.23). Miscellaneous is the roughly 2,350,000 VND of the 6,000,000 VND that I could not tie to any day’s schedule table: souvenirs and snacks at the Sapa market, and cash that went in alongside a card at Lotte Mall.
₩125,768 in Fees Waived by the Travlog Card
In Vietnam I used the Hana Bank Travlog debit card, which I picked up at a branch counter the day before departure (#3, in Korean). At each payment, won in Hana Money was converted to dong and deducted, and at ATMs I withdrew dong as cash.
The trip log after we got home. The benefits received are listed on their own, right under the amount spent.
Tapping “benefits received” lists the fee waived on each transaction. There were two kinds.
| Benefit | Count | Amount (per the app) |
|---|---|---|
| Exchange fee waived (Hana Money → VND) | 29 | about ₩94,400 (~$68) |
| Payment and ATM withdrawal fee waived | 29 | about ₩31,300 (~$23) |
| Total (as shown in the app) | ₩125,768 (~$90) |
Going by the app, if we had paid for the same things with a credit card, I would have paid ₩125,768 more. That is my reading of the app’s “benefits received” figure. Going the other way, if I had carried only cash, I think it would have been hard to tell how much we were spending.
Comparison with Exchanging Cash at a Bank
I also compared against exchange rates on Naver, Korea’s main portal, which lists the rates banks offer. On September 28, the day before departure, the rate for buying VND with cash was ₩5.86 per 100 VND. Travlog applied ₩5.17 to ₩5.24 per 100 VND on this trip.
Daily rates for the Vietnamese dong. On September 28 the cash-buying rate was ₩5.86. (Image source: Naver Finance exchange rates)
| Method | 15.49 million VND in won | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Travlog (actual) | ₩807,229 (~$581) | Converted at each payment or withdrawal, fees waived |
| Cash exchange at a bank (reference) | about ₩907,750 (~$653) | ₩5.86 per 100 VND, the Sept 28 cash-buying rate, no preferential rate |
| Difference | about ₩100,500 (~$72) |
The 15.49 million VND is all the dong we paid or withdrew with Travlog on this trip. This comparison uses no preferential rate.
Payment Rule: Card First, Cash Only Where Needed
If card and cash cost the same, pay by card; where only cash is accepted, pay cash. That was my rule on this trip. Travlog waives payment fees, so most things went on the card.
On the first day I withdrew 6,000,000 VND from an Agribank ATM at Noi Bai Airport (#4). Cat Cat Village tickets and the slide, A Béo (a local restaurant), Ngoc Son Temple tickets, and the souvenirs and snacks at the Sapa market were paid in cash.
I cleared the leftover cash the day before departure. On October 5 I paid with all the remaining dong while shopping at Lotte Mart and put the rest on the card (#9).
Paying for Grab with the Travlog Card
The Travlog Mastercard I already had was registered in the Grab app, so I paid with it as it was. Having a card registered is convenient. Paying cash leaves you with change.
| Date | Route | Fare |
|---|---|---|
| 9/29 | Luxury Old Quarter hotel → Hanoi Station | 31,200 VND |
| 9/30 | Central Sapa (outside the Muong Thanh hotel) → Hôtel de la Coupole | 37,440 VND |
| 10/2 | Cat Cat Village ticket office 2 → Hôtel de la Coupole | 86,320 VND |
| 10/3 | Hôtel de la Coupole → HK Buslines Sapa office | 34,320 VND |
| 10/5 | Lotte Mall → city tour ticket office | 79,040 VND |
| 10/5 | Hoan Kiem (Claw Pub Hanoi) → Lotte Mall, L7 20% coupon applied | 75,920 VND |
| 10/6 | Lotte Mall → Noi Bai International Airport T2 | 162,240 VND |
| Total (7 rides) | 506,480 VND (about ₩26,300, ~$19) |
The fares are the amounts in the Grab app’s activity history. Most rides in Hanoi and Sapa cost 20,000 to 90,000 VND each, and West Lake to the airport was 160,000 VND.
Check “Offers” for Coupons Before Booking on Grab
Once you enter a destination, Grab shows the fare for each car type along with the payment screen. Next to the payment card there is an “Offers” field. If you tap it before pressing “Book,” it lists the coupons you can use for that ride.
On the payment screen: tap “Offers,” pick a coupon, tap “Apply,” then book.
The “Offers” field beside the payment card. I reopened the same route afterward to take this screen.
On October 5, when I opened “Offers” while heading back to Lotte Mall from Hoan Kiem, there was an L7 West Lake 20% coupon. I selected it and tapped “Apply,” and 18,000 VND came off.
The coupon list. Selecting L7 20% shows the discount amount at the bottom.
My list had the hotel’s (L7) coupon along with others. You only find out which coupons are in your account by opening the list, so it is worth tapping it before each ride.
Grab Travel Pass: 25,000 VND for 4 Weeks
On October 2, I bought a Grab Travel Pass in the Grab app for 25,000 VND. You pay up front and get ride discount coupons for 4 weeks. I figured we would take Grab to the airport after getting back to Hanoi, and that alone would make it worth it.
The Grab Travel Pass. It shows that 2 vouchers have been used and 52,000 VND saved so far.
The “10% off Grab Rides” coupon in my list, with the same picture as the pass, seems to be the one that came with it.
According to Grab’s official guide, this pass (the Tourist Pack) is for overseas travelers only, and the coupons are valid for 4 weeks from the purchase date. They work only in the country where you bought it. You buy it under Account > Subscriptions in the app. GrabUnlimited, which has a similar name, is a monthly subscription for people who ride Grab in Vietnam regularly.
| Grab Travel Pass (Tourist Pack) | GrabUnlimited | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it’s for | Overseas travelers, only in the country of purchase | Grab members in Vietnam |
| Duration | 4 weeks from purchase | 1, 6 or 12 months |
| How to use | Pick a coupon under “Offers” before paying | Applied automatically at payment, with extra coupons under Offers |
In my case, I paid 25,000 VND, and the app shows 52,000 VND saved.
🔗 References
- Grab Vietnam Blog - Passport, check. Bags, check. Grab Tourist Pack? — For overseas travelers only, coupons valid 4 weeks from purchase, usable only in the country of purchase, buy under Account > Subscriptions, pick under Offers before paying
- Grab Vietnam - GrabUnlimited — Membership subscription at 25,000 VND for 1 month, 132,000 VND for 6 months, 216,000 VND for 12 months, with offers applied automatically at payment
- Travlog official blog (Naver, Korean) - fee-free ATMs for Vietnam — Fee-free ATMs by brand as of August 31, 2026
- Booking the Hanoi and Sapa 7N8D trip (#1)
- Travlog UPI and Visa cards, picked up at a Hana Bank counter the day before departure (#3, in Korean)
- Landing in Hanoi at 12:11, boarding the 10 p.m. sleeper train (#4)
- Resting at West Lake, the city tour bus around Hoan Kiem, then home (#9)