The in-class TESOL programme at AVSE-TESOL in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh requires your full attention for 23 days +/-, and therefore ‘nailing down’ a place to stay that: 1. won’t ‘break the bank’, 2. will meet your personal needs, and 3. is within walking distance of the training site, is paramount. Finding accommodation that ‘ticks all the boxes’ that are important to you, will surely add a lot of value to your overall TESOL experience. Here’s some good news. There are plenty of cheap hotels in Vietnam and Cambodia – that will tick all of your personal ‘boxes’. You’ll be spoilt for choice.  

‘Accommodation’, temporary or permanent, is one of those areas in life where one size doesn’t fit all. Some folks are happy with basic and cheap where they may even see the occasional gecko strutting his (or her) stuff on the ceiling above the bed. Others want a decent number of ‘creature comforts’ with their accommodation – rather than actual creatures like the occasional gecko! There are people among us who start their teaching English abroad journey on a tight budget, others have cash to splash – and there’s a sizable cohort who are slap bang in the middle of the ‘tight budget’ and ‘cash to splash’ groups.

When booking your TESOL accommodation – from the list below of cheap hotels in Vietnam and Cambodia or otherwise – keep in mind that your first night should be no later than than day one of your programme (the designated start date) – it will be a Sunday. This is important because AVSE-TESOL hosts a Welcome dinner and drinks (all free) in the evening on the first Sunday of each new programme. The Welcome dinner is a terrific opportunity to meet AVSE staff and your classmates in an informal setting, which makes day two of your programme (the first day in class), less stressful than it would otherwise be.

Including day one – the first Sunday – you should book accommodation for 23 nights. All being well, this will be enough time to complete the in-class TESOL training programme.   

Managers and staff at AVSE-TESOL in Vietnam and Cambodia have been busy pinpointing suitable accommodation options in close proximity to our training locations in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh. For each location, the team at AVSE-TESOL has identified six accommodation options that are well worth considering – 2 x cheap, 2 x medium-priced and 2 x more expensive. The accommodation list that the AVSE-TESOL team has complied is by no means definitive and doing your own research on cheap hotels in Vietnam and Cambodia is encouraged. Check out vetted TESOL accommodation options below for Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh.  

Hanoi accommodation options

The AVSE-TESOL training centre in Hanoi is located at Level 5, 152 Pho Duc Chinh Street, (Truc Bach Ward), Ba Dinh District, in the heart of the nation’s capital city.  While Ba Dinh District in Hanoi is home to more than 250,000 people, it is best known for the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum – the resting place of modern Vietnam’s deeply revered founding father. Other prominent sites in Ba Dinh District include the 900 year-old One Pillar Pagoda, the Presidential Palace built during the French colonial period, the National Assembly – the seat of government in Vietnam – more architectural gems that you’ll have time to visit, tree-lined streets and plenty of green space for quiet reflection.

Whether it’s checking out prominent landmarks, taking a stroll, watching the world go by while seated in a 300 year-old coffee shop sipping a ‘cafe sua da’ (Vietnamese ice coffee with milk), Ba Dinh District in Hanoi offers something for everyone. It’s always a privilege to spend time in Hanoi, even more so if Ba Dinh District is your home base.

There’s a range of accommodation options that are close to the AVSE-TESOL training centre in Ba Dinh District. With the TESOL programme being pretty demanding over 23 days +/-, ideally you’ll find accommodation that will meet your needs within walking distance to AVSE-TESOL or at least, within easy commuting distance. Immediately below, you’ll see a list of six hotels that are close to AVSE-TESOL in Ba Dinh District – two that are cheap by Hanoi standards, two that are mid-range – and two that come with a higher price. All six places are well worth considering.

Cheap:

Hotel: Smile
34 Cua Bac Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
Average price: US $18.00 per night
Bookings and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

Homestay:  Business Highview
63 Pham Hong Thai Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
Average price: US $18.00 per night
Bookings and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

Medium-priced: 

Hotel: A25
109 Truc Bach Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
Average price: US $22.00 per night
Bookings and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

Studio: Cozy Studio Hanoian
21 Cua Bac Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
Average price: US $22.00 per night
Bookings and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

More expensive: 

Hotel: Aimee House
45 Pham Hong Thai Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
Average price: US $25.00 per night
Bookings and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

Hotel: Island Life – Lake Truc Bach
51 Pho Nguyen Khac Hieu Street, Ba Dinh, Hanoi, Vietnam
Average price: US $25.00 per night
Bookings and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

Ho Chi Minh City accommodation options

The AVSE-TESOL training centre in Ho Chi Minh City is located at 1300 Quang Trung Street, Go Vap District (Ward 14), Ho Chi Minh City. We’re immediately north of Tan Son Nhat International Airport, around 40 minutes by taxi, motorbike or bus from from the central business district.

Go Vap District is a typical suburb of a major city. You’ll see local families going about their everyday life, residential dwellings from different eras, businesses of all shapes and sizes, schools, banks, ATM machines, restaurants, seemingly wall-to-wall coffee shops and plenty of back streets and laneways that offer the sites and sounds of the ‘real’ Vietnam. If cultural immersion is your thing, you’ll love the neighbourhood surrounding AVSE-TESOL. Prominent landmarks in Go Vap District, within walking distance of AVSE-TESOL, include the Mercedes Benz Assembly Plant, the world-famous Go Vap Orphanage, the Ky Quang 2 Pagoda and one of the best Night Markets that Ho Chi Minh City has to offer.

Regardless of where you choose to ‘rest your head’ during your in-class TESOL programme in Ho Chi Minh City – a hotel, a guesthouse, a hostel or elsewhere – you’re encouraged to stay within a kilometre or two of the AVSE-TESOL training centre. Why? The TESOL programme is intensive with commitments on weekdays, some evenings and almost certainly part of each weekend. Moreover, Ho Chi Minh City has a well-deserved reputation for traffic congestion and a harsh climate. It’s a wise move to keep your commute to the absolute minimum. 

Check out the list below. The AVSE team has identified six accommodation options in Ho Chi Minh City that are located close to where your TESOL programme will take place – two cheap, two medium priced and two that are more expensive. 

Cheap:

Lake’s Guesthouse (Highly Recommended)
Address: 91/12 Pham Van Chieu Street, Go Vap District (Ward 14), Ho Chi Minh City
Average price: US $14.00 per night
Bookings and enquiries – email: chiemhoangho64@gmail.com     

Han’s Guesthouse (Highly Recommended)
Address:  Number 40, 51 Street, Go Vap District (Ward 14), Ho Chi Minh City
Average price: US $14.00 per night
Bookings and enquiries – email: ngogiahan2508@gmail.com

Medium-priced: 

Hotel: Huynh Anh
Address: Number 10, 51 Street, Go Vap District (Ward 14), Ho Chi Minh City
Average price: US $16.00 per night
Bookings and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

Hotel: Golf Star
848 Quang Trung Street, Go Vap District (Ward 8), Ho Chi Minh City
Average price: US $16.00 per night
Bookings and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

More expensive: 

Hotel: Tulip
511 Nguyen Van Khoi, Go Vap District (Ward 8), Ho Chi Minh City
Average price: US $18.00 per night
Bookings and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

Hotel: Secret Garden
228/2 Phan Huy Ich Street, Go Vap District (Ward 12), Ho Chi Minh City
Average price: US $18.00 per night
Bookings and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

Phnom Penh accommodation options

In Phnom Penh, AVSE-TESOL co-locates with the ELT Institute, one the largest educational entities in Cambodia. Our street address is: ELT Building, Number 7-9, Street 136, Daun Penh District, Phnom Penh. When the time comes to find a accommodation for the duration of your in-class TESOL programme at AVSE-TESOL in Phnom Penh, it’s advisable to settle on a place that’s within walking distance of AVSE’s street address in Daun Penh District, or at least within a radius of two kilometres. Why is this important? Among other reasons, you’ll: 1. be more self-sufficient, 2. have an additional 30 to 60 minutes each day to focus on your coursework, and 3. save money on public transport fees – TUK TUKs, buses, taxis and the like – even though it’s pretty cheap to get around.

Daun Penh District in Phnom Penh is a hive of activity, if not 24/7, pretty close it. You’ll find history, culture, the arts, local food choices (including cockroaches and spiders), markets, nightlife in abundance and a terrific ‘boardwalk’ along the banks of the Tonle Sap River, which is part of the world-renowned Mekong River system – all within easy walking distance.  Most importantly, like elsewhere in Cambodia, you’ll find some of the nicest people on planet earth. People who’d quite literally – as the old saying goes – ‘give you the shirt off their back’.

Like other major cities in Southeast Asia, Phnom Penh offers an array of accommodation options to suit all budgets. To simplify the process of finding suitable accommodation in Phnom Penh for the duration of your TESOL programme, local AVSE staff have come up with a list of six options for you to consider – from cheapish to more expensive – note below.  You might find a place on this list that will meet your needs, if not, there are plenty of other decent hotels and guesthouses in Phnom Penh to choose from. The Agoda Hotel Search Engine is a great place to find somewhere to stay in Phnom Penh.

Cheap:

Hotel: Best Central
35, Street 172, Chhey Chumneas, Phnom Penh
Average price: US $17.00
Email and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

Hotel: City Lodge
77-79, Street 130, Doun Penh, Phnom Penh
Average price: US $17.00
Email and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

Medium-priced:

Hotel: Vacation Boutique
128 Street 136, Daun Penh, Phnom Penh
Average price: US $20.00 per night
Email and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

Hotel: Zing
105 – 107 Street 126, Daun Penh
Average price: US $20.00 per night
Email and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

More expensive:

Hotel: Silver Mounts
Building No.37, Street 172, Doun Penh, Phnom Penh
Average price: US $25.00 per night
Email and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

Hotel: Altos
85 Street 19 (corner of Street 148), Daun Penh, Phnom Penh
Average price: US $25.00 per night
Email and enquiries: https://www.agoda.com/

Just a quick word on personal safety…

While Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh are brilliant places to visit and in the main, safe and well-lit, like other major cities in the world, when you’re out and about, it’s wise to be vigilant and mindful of your personal safety. Basic safety measures while you’re doing the in-class TESOL programme at AVSE-TESOL, regardless of your destination, include: 1. being accompanied by a classmate when you go out at night; 2. avoid using your cell-phone when walking or standing in the street; 3. if you must carry a bag, ensure it has a long strap so you can place it across your body rather than just over one shoulder; and 4. ensure your valuables are securely stored.