International visitors traveling to Vietnam wonder if they should stay at a homestay or a hotel. From my personal view, I will give the most subjective opinions for you to compare, if anything is incorrect, you can contribute and share.


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Difference between homestay and hotel
First, I will explain in more about homestays and hotels, as well as the differences between the two.

What is Homestay?
Homestay is a form of renting a room in the homes of local people here. You will have the opportunity to experience living and eating with the host like a local. This is how you can get closer to their culture and lifestyle.

What makes the homestay special is the people here. The hosts will welcome you with friendliness and warmth in a very unique way. In other words, once you join the "home" you will be treated like a family member.

However in Vietnam, many places are called Homestay but are actually more like a Hostel (Hostel is a type of cheap hotel and has reduced some accompanying services to minimize the cost of renting a room - form of dorm rooms)

That's why I will talk about the Homestay format in Vietnam.

Good points of homestay
- You have the opportunity to meet and interact with friends from everywhere. Especially for homes where there is socializing, cooking, and common activities, making friends and understanding more about culture and people everywhere is really interesting, right?
- Homestays in Vietnam are really different in prices. From 70,000 - 100,000 VND/day (usually dorm room) to 1,500,000 - 2,000,000/day depending on the room area and view of the accommodation. With diverse prices, you can choose a location to suit your purpose and budget.
- You can live, eat, go shopping, and cook with the owner and gain a better understanding of the owner's personality and warm welcome.
- Many homestays are decorated very elaborately, stylishly and have very beautiful views. This can be called a paradise for photography.
- Can use facilities at home (when allowed) such as shared kitchen, shared living room. The host will often advise you on places to eat and play very enthusiastically. Sometimes there are things you can't find in books or internet.
- You can ask the host to cook. The dishes will be prepared like everyday food, very familiar and cheap.

Bad points of homestay
- Homestays sometimes don't have adequate room facilities.
- If you stay in shared rooms (dorm rooms), it may not be private and ensure the safety of personal belongings.
- The rooms are not made everyday during your stay, nor provide or replace items, not suitable for those who want attentive service and prefer cleanliness like in a hotel.
- Many homestays have restrooms or common living areas that are quite inconvenient
- Homestays are often quite noisy.
- Homestays with beautiful views are often quite far from the center.

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Homestay is usually for what kind of tourists?
- Budget backpackers who want to save money spend most of their time going out, only want to stay at Homestay to sleep, rest, and shower.
- Groups of young people like convenience and can stay in the same group of friends together
- Those who go alone, or go with the desire to relax, do not need to go out much, just want to stay at home to enjoy the space and communicate with people at home.
- Those of you who want to live virtually, take selfie photos in a truly beautiful place.

Note when staying at Homestay
- You will not have the comfort and privacy of a standard hotel.
- Necessary items such as towels, soap, brushes, dryers, combs... are usually not available (some homestays may have them). So you should prepare before your trips.
- You must preserve your personal items and belongings very carefully. You should bring money and other important documents with you every time you go out and only leave your backpack and clothes behind.
- Sometimes you will feel that the room is quite noisy, or too bright due to sharing a dorm room with many people, so this problem cannot be avoided. You should prepare to cover your ears and cover your eyes before going.
- If you decide to stay at a homestay, you should carefully ask about the distance of the home to the places you want to go to avoid being too far away.



So who should stay at the hotel?
- Those who like cleanliness and have their own, quiet space.
- Family holidays
- Those who like convenience and close to the city center.
- Those who want to serve, clean and prepare all necessary items in advance (no need to prepare too much)
- However, there are many places of residence in Vietnam that are confused and the concepts between homestay, villa, hotel, and hostel are not always right, so applying the same things to all locations will not be correct.
- To make your trip truly comfortable, you need to clearly determine your needs, as well as check reviews from reputable resources to choose a suitable location.

Hope the above article is helpful to everyone in choosing the right place to stay for your trip to Vietnam.

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