Where one 5★ upgrade does the most · map not to scale
At a glance
- Upgrade first
- The bay ship, for two nights
- Upgrade second
- The beach ending
- Keep at 4★
- Hanoi, Hue, Ho Chi Minh City
- Base budget
- From 140 USD per person per day at 4★ (2 travellers)
- Top tier
- From 350 USD per person per day, quoted individually
The short answer
Keep the cities at a good 4★ and spend extra on the one stop where you spend the most waking hours: usually the bay ship, then the beach ending, then Hoi An. Our base is from 140 USD per person per day; 5★ stays start from 350 and are quoted individually, so a single upgrade appears as its own line in your quote.
A question I hear on almost every long-trip enquiry: “Should we go 5★ everywhere?” My honest answer is usually no. On a two- or three-week private trip in Vietnam, a good 4★ hotel does the job in most cities, because you spend the day out with your guide and come back to sleep. There are one or two stops, though, where the hotel or ship is the experience itself. That is where I would spend extra. This is how I decide.
Where to splurge on a Vietnam trip: how the two price tiers work
Our private trips start from 140 USD per person per day, based on two travellers sharing 4★ hotels with a private guide and driver. That is the base most routes are built on. The top tier, with 5★ luxury resorts and ships, starts from 350 USD per person per day and is always quoted individually, because the cost depends on the property, the room and your dates.
Upgrading one stop does not turn the whole trip into a top-tier trip. Your quote lists each hotel and ship separately, so you can see what one upgrade changes. I will not put a number on that here, because it depends entirely on which property and which nights, but our team shows it line by line before you decide.
Where to splurge on a Vietnam trip: which stop benefits most
I score each type of stop by one question: how many waking hours will you actually spend at the hotel?
| Stop | Time spent at the hotel | What a 5★ upgrade adds | My verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay cruise | Almost all of it: one or two nights on board | Fewer guests, larger balcony suites, better food, quieter routes | Upgrade first |
| Beach ending | Most of the day, for three or four nights | Private pool villa, spa, a calmer beach | Upgrade if the budget allows two |
| Hoi An | Mornings and late afternoons over three or four nights | A beach or river setting between old-town visits | Strong second choice |
| Siem Reap | Half the day; temple mornings | At Amansara, daily guided temple excursion, breakfast and one main meal included | Worth it for a quiet Angkor |
| Hanoi | Evenings only, except the first and last nights | A calm first night after the long flight | Optional |
| Hue, Sapa, Ho Chi Minh City | Evenings only | Little you would notice | Keep at a good central 4–5★ |
Upgrade one: the bay ship
On a cruise, the ship is the destination for a day or two. You eat every meal on board, sleep there and watch the bay from your balcony. This is where the difference between a large standard boat and a small 5★ ship is most visible.
Heritage Line Ylang carries at most 20 guests in ten suites of 40 to 54 sqm, each with a private balcony, on a two-night Lan Ha Bay program with tai chi, spa, meditation and gentle shore outings. Heritage Line Violet has only six suites with in-suite jacuzzis on a two-night circuit into Bai Tu Long Bay. For families, Capella Cruise has 30 balcony suites, two family suites for five and a rooftop pool. If you upgrade the ship, we recommend two nights rather than one, so you are not paying for a cabin you spend half your time boarding and leaving. More in how I match Heritage Line ships to guests.
Upgrade two: the beach ending
The last three or four nights of a long trip are when travellers rest most and move least. In our experience, this is where a 5★ resort pays back best, because you use the pool, the spa and the beach all day.
- Amanoi sits inside Nui Chua National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, above Vinh Hy Bay, about 75 minutes from Cam Ranh airport, with pool villas from 125 sqm and an Aman Spa on a lotus lake.
- Zannier Hotels Bai San Ho has 73 villas on a private bay in Song Cau with about 26,000 sqm of coral reef for snorkelling.
- TIA Wellness Resort in Da Nang has a private pool in every villa, and its Wellness Inclusive stay includes two spa treatments per person each night.
Upgrade three: Hoi An
Hoi An is where I give guests the most nights in the middle of a route, often four. With that many nights, a resort becomes part of the experience: beach mornings, then the old town in the late afternoon. Four Seasons The Nam Hai has 100 villas on a kilometre of Ha My beach, about 30 minutes from Da Nang airport. NHAAN Resort & Spa Hoi An, by the Co Co River in Cam Thanh village, has 174 rooms, a rooftop spa, an infinity pool and craft workshops. If Hoi An is your upgrade, the beach ending can stay at 4★. I explain the extra nights in why I give Hoi An four nights.
Where to stay at 4★ without regret
In Hanoi, Hue, Sapa and Ho Chi Minh City, you leave after breakfast and come back in the evening. We choose a central 4–5★ hotel in each and name it in your quote. The one exception I sometimes make is Hanoi’s first night after a long-haul flight: Fairmont Hanoi, a short walk from Hoan Kiem Lake, has a wellness floor with a bathhouse and a 20-metre lap pool, which helps with jet lag. For the full picture, see how I choose 4–5★ hotels in Vietnam.
Mistakes I see most often
- Spreading the upgrade budget thinly. Five slightly better city hotels are less memorable than one excellent ship or resort.
- Upgrading the ship but booking one night. Half of a one-night cruise is boarding and disembarking.
- Upgrading the city where you only sleep. You will barely see the room.
- Leaving the beach ending as an afterthought. It is the part of the trip you spend the most hours in one place.
- Not checking what is included. Some top-tier stays include meals, excursions or spa time, which changes the comparison. Amansara, for example, includes a daily guided Angkor excursion.
What it costs
Our base is from 140 USD per person per day, confirmed in your private quote, based on two travellers sharing 4★ hotels with a private guide and driver. A 14-day trip is from 1,960 USD per person and a 21-day trip from 2,940 USD. Groups of four save 5% (from 133 USD per person per day) and groups of six save 8% (from 128.8 USD). Vietnam combined with Thailand and Bali starts from 180 USD per person per day. The top tier, with 5★ resorts and ships throughout, starts from 350 USD per person per day and is quoted individually; a single upgrade is priced as its own line in your quote. Booking needs a 30% deposit, with the balance due 45 days before arrival, and a non-refundable 100 USD per traveller holding fee (kept even if you cancel early), separate from the 30% deposit; your quote shows how it is applied to the final invoice. Card payments carry a 3.5% fee, and domestic flights are quoted separately. See how I price 10, 14 and 21 days for worked examples.
A good base to start from is Metta Voyage’s 14-day north-to-south tour or the 10-day couples’ trip; check the pages for the current from-price, then ask us which single upgrade suits your route.
Sample itinerary, price from and a quote
If you want to see this advice turned into a bookable plan, start with a private tour with one 5★ upgrade: Private Vietnam Tours: How I Plan Long, Luxury Trips (10 to 21 Days). It has a day-by-day sample itinerary, the hotels I would use and the price logic.
As a guide, a private trip of 14 days starts from 1,960 USD per person (14 days × 140 USD, 2 travellers sharing, 4★ hotels, private guide and driver), about 1,862 USD per person for a group of four and 1,803 USD for a group of six, confirmed in your written quote. Domestic flights are not included and are quoted separately; 5★ and luxury stays are quoted individually.
Request a quote for this route
Sources
Ship and hotel details: Metta Voyage luxury collection pages for Heritage Line Ylang, Heritage Line Violet, Capella Cruise, Amanoi, Zannier Bai San Ho, TIA Wellness Resort, The Nam Hai and Amansara, checked against the operators’ own sites. NHAAN and Fairmont Hanoi: Hilton and Accor opening announcements, summarised in Metta Voyage’s review of new luxury openings in Vietnam.
Questions we are often asked
Is it worth staying 5★ everywhere in Vietnam?
Usually not. In cities you are out all day, so a good 4★ hotel works well. We recommend upgrading the one stop where you spend the most time at the hotel or on board.
Which is the best single upgrade on a Vietnam trip?
In our experience, the bay ship, booked for two nights. Next come the beach ending and a Hoi An resort.
How is a single hotel upgrade priced?
Our base starts from 140 USD per person per day at 4★. Top-tier stays start from 350 and are quoted individually, so one upgrade appears as its own line in your quote.
Should I upgrade my Hanoi hotel?
Only for the first night after a long-haul flight, if at all. For the rest of the Hanoi stay, a central 4★ hotel is fine.
Are meals or excursions included at top-tier hotels?
Sometimes. Amansara in Siem Reap includes a daily guided temple excursion, breakfast, one main meal and afternoon tea, which changes the comparison; we list inclusions in your quote.
David — for The Metta Voyage team. Checked against our itineraries and the sources above on 11 November 2026.
