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Best Budget Travel Destinations in Asia

100 city guides ยท 3-day budget travel itineraries

3-day city guides for budget travellers โ€” free attractions, cheap eats and low-cost adventures.

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Agra

Free Taj views, โ‚น40 street thalis, and the marble tombs nobody charges you to seeโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฒ Turkmenistan

Ashgabat

Free mosques, Soviet-era memorials, sculpture parks and canteen plov for the price of a coffee back โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Kazakhstan

Astana

Free riverside parks, 200-tenge bus rides, Green Bazaar samsa and skyline views that cost nothing atโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ณ Brunei

Bandar Seri Begawan

The world's richest small nation has no income tax, no alcohol tax and โ€” for travellers โ€” almost no โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia

Bandung

Free parks under flyovers, century-old market kitchens and highland lookouts that cost less than a cโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Bangalore

Century-old tiffin counters, โ‚น10 museums, Asia's biggest flower market and scrub forest you can climโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Thailand

Bangkok

Car-free islands, wholesale alleys and glass stupas on a เธฟ600-a-day budget, moved by public ferry anโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Beijing

Park gates under ยฅ15, a ยฅ3 subway that reaches everything, and the city's best hours โ€” dawn and duskโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Uzbekistan

Bukhara

Domes, mud-brick citadel walls and mulberry-shaded pools cost nothing โ€” pay only for tea, tandoor brโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea

Busan

Free cliff trails and skywalks, โ‚ฉ1,000 bridges, market meals under โ‚ฉ6,000 and Korea's best night vieโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines

Cebu City

Free colonial churches, hillside temples, dried-fish markets and โ‚ฑ8 jeepney rides across the oldest โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Chengdu

Free temples, teahouse benches under bamboo, night markets and river viewpoints โ€” three days in Chenโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Chennai

Free gardens, โ‚น5 monuments, wholesale markets and estuary sunsets across a city where a full day outโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Thailand

Chiang Mai

Lanna temples with no entry fee, 40โ€“60เธฟ market plates, 30เธฟ songthaew hops and a waterfall you climb โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Chiba

Free-entry shrines, ยฅ100 conveyor sushi, factory tours that pay you in samples, and a coastline you โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ Bangladesh

Chittagong

Turtle shrines, wholesale bazaars and Bay of Bengal sunsets on well under 1,500 BDT a day.โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Chongqing

Stair-climbing alleys, ยฅ8 noodle bowls, a free national museum and graffiti hills โ€” a mountain megacโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Sri Lanka

Colombo

Free seafront sunsets, donation-only kovils, 250-rupee kottu and coastal trains that cost less than โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ Vietnam

Da Nang

Free pagodas, 25,000โ‚ซ banh mi, public buses and clifftop viewpoints that never charge an entrance feโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea

Daegu

Free colonial-era streets, no-ticket gallery lanes and hikeable ridges โ€” three days in Korea's thirdโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea

Daejeon

No-ticket summits, five-day street markets, a 1930s school museum that costs nothing, and Korea's chโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Dalian

Free coastal boardwalks, ยฅ1 vintage tram rides, ยฅ10 dumpling lunches and the fish markets where locaโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Delhi

Unticketed stepwells and Mughal ruins, โ‚น60 momo plates, free community kitchens and export-surplus mโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia

Denpasar

Free morning temple ceremonies, four-floor markets, Rp 10,000 nasi campur plates and Rp 4,400 city bโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ Bangladesh

Dhaka

Free monuments, wholesale-market breakfasts, second-hand book lanes and lake walks across the world'โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ Pakistan

Faisalabad

Eight free-to-walk Union Jack bazaars, PKR 100 museum tickets, PKR 20 rickshaw hops and PKR 250 nihaโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Fukuoka

Free shrines, a 1912 market lunch, half-price bento and hilltop sunsets across Kyushu's cheapest bigโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Fuzhou

Unfenced volcanic hills, a free provincial museum, ยฅ2 metro rides and merchant-quarter street food uโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Sri Lanka

Galle

Free fort mosques and rock temples, LKR 400 rice-and-curry plates, third-class coastal trains and a โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea

Gwangju

Free memorial museums, โ‚ฉ3,000 noodle bowls at Daein Market, and a 1,187m mountain that costs nothingโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Hangzhou

West Lake charges nothing, buses cost ยฅ2, and a bowl of pian'er chuan runs ยฅ15 โ€” Hangzhou is China'sโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ Vietnam

Hanoi

Colonial bridges, guild-street shrines, market food alleys and a rooftop coffee view โ€” almost all ofโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Harbin

Russian architecture you can stare at for free, flour-and-cabbage food halls, and a frozen river thaโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Hiroshima

Survivor shrines that charge nothing, ยฅ110 shops, half-price supermarket bento and a free hike up Mtโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City

Saigon on 400,000โ‚ซ a day: alley kitchens, free-entry pagodas, the backpacker district of Phแบกm Ngลฉ Lรฃโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Hong Kong

Cook out on jungle ridges, eat cha chaan teng breakfasts, ride the Star Ferry and sleep in Yau Ma Teโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Hyderabad

Free tombs, โ‚น40 Irani chai-and-Osmania breakfasts, โ‚น10 metro hops and rock hills that cost nothing bโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea

Incheon

Mural alleys, century-old markets and Yellow Sea beaches on about โ‚ฉ30,000 a day, all reached on a Seโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ Pakistan

Islamabad

Ticket-free hill paths, Sunday-bazaar bargains, PKR 400 pulao plates and the cave shrines nobody chaโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Jaipur

Ticket-free temples and viewpoints, sub-โ‚น150 street feasts and museums under โ‚น100 across the Pink Ciโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia

Jakarta

Colonial museums that charge nothing, a 147-hectare zoo for the price of a bus ticket, and street plโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea

Jeju City

Free lava coastline, โ‚ฉ1,200 city buses, โ‚ฉ6,000 market noodles and Korea's cheapest national park โ€” Jโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ซ Afghanistan

Kabul

Hilltop tombs that cost nothing, wholesale bazaars, 15-AFN naan and shared-taxi trips to a mountain โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ Taiwan

Kaohsiung

Wild macaque trails, a free 1939 city hall museum, sugar-mill parkland and night markets where dinneโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ Pakistan

Karachi

Colonial landmarks with no ticket, PKR 250 nihari plates, wholesale bazaars and a boat to Manora forโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ต Nepal

Kathmandu

Unticketed bahal courtyards, wholesale markets and NPR 30 local buses โ€” three days in the valley on โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Kobe

Free shrines, a ยฅ0 waterfall ravine behind the bullet train station, arcade lunches under ยฅ700 and sโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Kolkata

Free colonial mansions, โ‚น6 river ferries, โ‚น25 coffee house refills and pavement kebabs under โ‚น100 acโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

Free national museums, RM2.50 hawker breakfasts, dorm beds under RM40 and a metro that crosses the wโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Kyoto

Temple grounds that never charge, standing-bar noodles under ยฅ600, riverside sunsets and a 4-yen-perโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ Pakistan

Lahore

Mughal tombs for the price of a chai, wholesale bazaars, island boat rides and a metro that crosses โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ Malaysia

Langkawi

Free jungle waterfalls, RM2 street breakfasts, RM6 island ferries and duty-free chocolate โ€” Langkawiโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Lhasa

Pilgrim circuits that cost nothing, ยฅ3 yak skewers and monastery hikes reached on the city busโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Lucknow

Free gateways and riverfronts, โ‚น15 chai counters, โ‚น20 museums and โ‚น10 metro rides across the old Awaโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Macau

Free museums, MOP 8 buses, casino shuttle hacks and hidden village lanes where a full meal costs lesโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Madurai

Rock-cut Pandya caves, โ‚น1 canteen idlis, jasmine wholesale markets and hilltop sunsets โ€” three days โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ป Maldives

Male

Coral-stone shrines, MVR 25 hedhikaa plates, MVR 10 public ferries and public beaches โ€” a capital yoโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Myanmar

Mandalay

Donation-box monasteries, market food halls and public boats โ€” three days in the last royal capital โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines

Manila

Free churches, โ‚ฑ13 jeepney rides, โ‚ฑ60 lugaw bowls and sunset over Manila Bay that costs absolutely nโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia

Medan

Donation-only temples, colonial squares that cost nothing, wet markets and night hawker streets wherโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Mumbai

Free colonial architecture walks, โ‚น15 vada pav, dorm beds in Colaba and a 7-rupee local train ride tโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Nagoya

Free museums, a wholesale fish market breakfast, retro arcades and observation decks that cost less โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Naha

Gusuku ruins that charge nothing, wholesale fish-market lunches, discounted depachika bento and a ยฅ8โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Nanning

Free museums, ยฅ8 old-friend noodles, wet markets and subtropical parks that never charge admission.โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Myanmar

Naypyidaw

Free temple replicas, Pyinmana market curry shops, 500-kyat pickup taxis and reservoir viewpoints noโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ Taiwan

New Taipei City

Free coastal paths, railway lunchboxes under NT$100 and open-air hot spring pools, all reachable on โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Okayama

Free National Treasure shrines, hilltop viewpoints that cost nothing, arcade lunch sets under ยฅ800 aโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Osaka

Ancient shrines that charge nothing, retro alleys full of ยฅ500 lunches, and the observation decks loโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡น Bhutan

Paro

Seventh-century temples with no ticket booth, market-stall momos, riverside walks and cliff shrines โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Thailand

Pattaya

Hilltop Buddhas, fishing-pier parks and warehouse night markets on under 700 THB a dayโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ญ Cambodia

Phnom Penh

Free pagodas, 4,000-riel street bowls, walkable riverside gems and $0.50 shared tuk-tuk hops across โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Thailand

Phuket

Free capes and hill parks, 50-baht hawker plates, container night markets and 30-baht songthaew rideโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines

Puerto Princesa

Free Spanish ruins, PHP 60 market plates, Vietnamese refugee noodles and no-entry-fee viewpoints acrโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ Malaysia

Putrajaya

Free-entry mosques and wetlands, RM 3 civil-servant nasi lemak and 92 hectares of gardens, all on RMโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ต North Korea

Pyongyang

Free hill parks, five-won trams, won-priced markets and the cheapest cold-noodle bowl in Korea.โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines

Quezon City

Free national shrines, university lagoons, โ‚ฑ30 silog plates and Maginhawa street food โ€” three days iโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Uzbekistan

Samarkand

Ungated Timurid ruins, wholesale bazaars, hilltop shrine views and 30,000-som monuments across the oโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Sapporo

Free brewery gardens, university-run museums, subway day passes and standing-bar seafood โ€” Hokkaido'โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Sendai

Free castle ruins, ยฅ100 park entries, discount-hour supermarket sushi and a ยฅ630 all-day bus pass acโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea

Seoul

Free mural villages, fortress-wall viewpoints, brass-coin market lunches and a riverside bike ride tโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Shanghai

Free museums, wet markets, concession lanes and a river crossing that costs less than a bus ticketโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Shenyang

Free factory museums, ยฅ2 bus rides into the hills, and night markets where almost nothing costs moreโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Shenzhen

Free skyline viewpoints, urban-village kitchens, a 943m mountain and a Ming fortress โ€” all on metro โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ญ Cambodia

Siem Reap

Free riverside pagodas, working local markets, dollar street food and a sunset hill โ€” Siem Reap withโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Singapore

Singapore

Hawker plates under S$5, free-entry gardens and reservoirs, and public-housing neighbourhoods where โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Surat

Free Tapi promenades, India's cheapest big-city street food, a 200-year-old bakery lane and a โ‚น25 buโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ Taiwan

Taichung

Free national galleries, 1917 market noodles under NT$70, ten-kilometre free bus rides and a tidal bโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ Taiwan

Taipei

Free riverside parks, NT$20 EasyCard hops, night-market bowls under NT$100 and volcanic hot springs โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Uzbekistan

Tashkent

Free monuments, bargain bazaars and sub-30,000 so'm meals across Uzbekistan's marble capital.โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡น Bhutan

Thimphu

Free hilltop lhakhangs, the Nu 30 farmers' market, walk-up viewpoints and momo counters where lunch โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Tianjin

Free monasteries, no-ticket lake parks, a passport-only national museum and night lanes where dinnerโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Tokyo

Free 200m observatories, ยฅ250 menchi-katsu and old-town shotengai markets where Tokyoites actually sโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ณ Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar

Soviet hilltop memorials, ger-shaped temples with no ticket booth, and market canteens where a full โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Laos

Vientiane

Free spirit shrines, a UXO museum that charges nothing, three working local markets and a 15,000-kipโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Wuhan

Free state museums, ยฅ5 breakfast alleys, ยฅ1.50 Yangtze ferries and hilltop viewpoints that never selโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Xiamen

Free seaside boardwalks, ยฅ1 ferries, a free-entry Buddhist temple lunch and hilltop viewpoints that โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Xian

Free Tang gardens, ยฅ6 hand-pulled biang biang noodles, ยฅ2 metro rides and pagoda light shows that coโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Myanmar

Yangon

Free temple platforms, 1,500-kyat mohinga breakfasts, a 3-hour railway loop for pocket change and thโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia

Yogyakarta

Free kampung murals, Rp 3.000 Trans Jogja rides, angkringan nasi kucing and a volcano viewpoint thatโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Yokohama

Free bluff-top mansions, a no-charge zoo, wholesale-market breakfasts and the ยฅ100 walkway under theโ€ฆ