Cost of Living in Cat Ba Island, 🇻🇳 Vietnam - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 19, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 3 4 $287 $211 $383 $153 $32

Utilities 2 3 — $77 $96 $61 —

Internet & Mobile 1 2 $16 $14 $27 $15 $0

Groceries 2 $117 $162 $347 $116 $6

Transportation 1 3 7 $215 $167 $230 $19 $10

Dining Out 1 3 $172 $115 $192 $57 $17

Leisure Activities 2 13 $33 $49 $65 $29 $3

Health Insurance 8 9 $68 $96 $287 $11 $2

Visa & Legal Fees 10 11 $8 $17 $33 — $1

Total $916 $908 $1,660 $461 $71

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 3 5 $210.73 $134 – $326 per month

Coworking Space 1 12 $57.47 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 1 4 $287.36 $230 – $383 per month

Coliving Space 3 4 $210.73 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 1 2 $1.92 per cup

Beer 1 2 $1.15 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 1 3 $2.30 per meal

Fast Food Combo 2 $4.56 per meal

Apples 2 $2.86 per kg

Bread 2 $0.89 per loaf

Milk 2 $1.49 per liter

Rice 2 $0.93 per kg

Chicken Fillets 2 $3.81 per kg

Beef 2 $9.72 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 2 $9.58 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 1 2 $19.16 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 2 $0.57 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 2 $0.57 per trip

Taxi per km 2 $0.57 per km

Monthly Transport Pass $5.75 per month

Gasoline 7 $1.11 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 1 $2.87 per trip

Scooter Rental 3 $160.92 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 1 2 $5.76 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 2 $8.81 per month

Gym Membership 2 $19.16 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 2 $8.97 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 1 2 $7.66 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 2 $3.83 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 2 $41.45 per pair

Summer Dress 2 $25.75 per dress

Running Shoes 2 $86.21 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 2 $3.07 per visit

Laundry 2 $1.15 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 8 $13.41 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) $1.92 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 19, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 26,100 VND on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Hanoi, Cam Ranh, Hai Phong, Chiang Mai

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 571.77 287.36
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 304.94 210.73
- Apples 1.72 2.86
- Beef 6.86 9.72
- Beer 0.57 1.15
40 more changes
- Bread 0.38 0.89
- Chicken Fillets 3.43 3.81
- Cinema Ticket 3.05 3.83
- Coffee 0.95 1.92
- Coliving Space 304.94 210.73
- Coworking Space 133.41 57.47
- Dining Out local 38.12, nomad 381.18, expat 76.24, family 114.35, tourist 19.06 local 57.47, nomad 172.41, expat 114.94, family 191.57, tourist 17.24
- Doctor Visit (GP) 11.44 13.41
- Fast Food Combo 3.43 4.56
- Gasoline 0.91 1.11
- Groceries local 114.35, nomad 57.18, expat 152.47, family 266.82, tourist 0 local 115.6, nomad 116.53, expat 161.89, family 346.99, tourist 5.75
- Gym Membership 19.06 19.16
- Haircut 2.29 3.07
- Health Insurance local 7.62, nomad 57.18, expat 38.12, family 95.29, tourist 0 local 11.49, nomad 67.74, expat 95.78, family 287.36, tourist 2.26
- Housing local 152.47, nomad 457.41, expat 304.94, family 457.41, tourist 38.12 local 153.26, nomad 287.36, expat 210.73, family 382.76, tourist 31.61
- Internet & Mobile local 11.44, nomad 38.12, expat 19.06, family 30.49, tourist 0 local 14.58, nomad 16.48, expat 14.02, family 26.82, tourist 0.26
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 9.53 8.81
- Jeans 15.25 41.45
- Laundry 1.14 1.15
- Leisure Activities local 7.62, nomad 114.35, expat 57.18, family 76.24 local 29.12, nomad 32.95, expat 48.59, family 64.68, tourist 3.07
- Meal (Inexpensive) 1.91 2.3
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 15.25 19.16
- Milk 1.33 1.49
- Mobile Plan 3.81 5.76
- Monthly Transport Pass 11.44 5.75
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 1.91 1.92
- Rice 0.76 0.93
- Ride-hailing (5km) 2.29 2.87
- Running Shoes 45.74 86.21
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 1.91 7.66
- Scooter Rental 5.72 160.92
- Summer Dress 9.53 25.75
- Taxi Start 0.38 0.57
- Taxi per km 0.46 0.57
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 7.62 8.97
- Transportation local 19.06, nomad 76.24, expat 57.18, family 95.29, tourist 7.62 local 19.16, nomad 214.74, expat 166.67, family 229.89, tourist 10.34
- Utilities local 30.49, nomad 19.06, expat 38.12, family 76.24, tourist 0 local 61.3, nomad 0, expat 76.63, family 95.78, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 76.24, expat 114.35, family 152.47 local 0, nomad 8.33, expat 16.67, family 33.33, tourist 0.83
- Water (1.5L bottle) 0.38 0.57
- Wine (Mid-range) 9.53 9.58
Internet & Mobile (local), Groceries (local, nomad, expat, family), Transportation (expat), Leisure Activities (nomad, expat, family, tourist), Visa & Legal Fees (expat, tourist), Monthly Transport Pass, Pharmacy (basic meds), Taxi Start, Taxi per km, Ride-hailing (5km), Airbnb (1 month) sources (second lint fix: arithmetic, dead URLs, judge unsupported lines; gov.uk, evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn, solosquare.app)

Cat Ba Island cost of living