Is Vietnam known for massage? Yes: xoa bóp and bấm huyệt belong to Vietnamese traditional medicine, state hospitals still offer them, and massage is judged the highest-paid trade open to Vietnamese who are blind. This first-timer's guide translates the words on a Vietnamese spa menu, says what you wear, what is on the bill and what to tip, and ends at our riverside spa on the Thu Bồn in Hội An, from 450,000₫ for 60 minutes, final price.
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Is Vietnam known for massage? Yes, and not only as a holiday treat. Vietnamese traditional medicine has its own hands-on practice, xoa bóp and bấm huyệt, rubbing and pressure on points, and state hospitals still offer it; massage is judged the highest-paid trade open to Vietnamese who are blind; and a 45-minute session on a pavement in Hồ Chí Minh City costs 150,000₫. This is a first-timer's guide to a massage anywhere in Việt Nam: where the tradition comes from, what the words on a Vietnamese spa menu mean, what to wear, what is on the bill and whether to tip, each linked to the page on our site that answers it in full. We are Nghê Prana, a riverside hotel and spa on the Thu Bồn in Hội An, and the guide ends with us. Where we do not offer something, we say so.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is Vietnam known for massage? | Yes. Xoa bóp and bấm huyệt belong to Vietnamese traditional medicine, and state hospitals offer them |
| How much does a massage cost in Vietnam? | Published prices run from 50,000₫ on a pavement to about 2,425,500₫ for 90 minutes at a resort spa, roughly US$2 to US$93 |
| And in Hội An? | 430,000₫, about US$17: the median cheapest hour on ten Hội An spa menus we read on 7 November 2026 |
| Do I tip? | Optional. If you would like to, 50,000 to 100,000₫ per therapist, in cash |
| What do I wear? | For an oil massage, your underwear stays on under a towel; for Thai without oil and a foot massage you stay dressed |
| What is a blind massage? | Massage by therapists who are blind or partially sighted, an organised trade in Việt Nam |
| Does it have to hurt? | No. Say the pressure you want, and change it at any point |
| Can I choose a male or female therapist? | At ours, yes: we have both. Ask when you book |
It has its own massage, and an old one. In Vietnamese the hands-on work is xoa bóp, rubbing and kneading, and bấm huyệt, pressure on specific points. Both belong to y học cổ truyền, Vietnamese traditional medicine, alongside herbs and acupuncture. Its herbal side has a famous motto. The 14th-century physician Tuệ Tĩnh, whom the newspaper Nhân Dân calls "ông Thánh thuốc Nam" ("the saint of southern medicine"), taught Nam dược trị Nam nhân: southern remedies for southern people, meaning plants that grow in Việt Nam (Nhân Dân, Hoàng Khôi, 27 February 2023). That is where thuốc nam, the word you will see on herbal treatments, comes from.
It is also state practice, not folklore. Vietnam's 2023 Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, No. 15/2023/QH15, says in Article 85: "Các bệnh viện đa khoa của Nhà nước phải tổ chức việc khám bệnh, chữa bệnh bằng y học cổ truyền" ("state general hospitals must organise examination and treatment by traditional medicine") (Law 15/2023/QH15). On 29 July 2026 Znews reported from the xoa bóp and bấm huyệt area of the Traditional Medicine Hospital in Hồ Chí Minh City, which takes "hàng trăm lượt khách", hundreds of visits a day, for neck, shoulder and back pain, poor sleep and stress, at 150,000₫ for a session of about 20 minutes (Znews, Hoài Bảo and Nguyễn Thuận). That is treatment for a complaint, in a hospital. A spa massage, ours included, is for relaxation: it uses the same hands-on vocabulary without the medical claim.
And it is everyday. In Vietnamese cities, a hair wash with a face, neck and shoulder massage at the neighbourhood salon has, in VOV's words of 6 August 2026, "từ lâu là một kiểu thư giãn quen thuộc", long been a familiar way to unwind (VOV). Visitors have found the pavement too: in June 2026 Znews reported travellers on Ký Con street in Hồ Chí Minh City choosing a 45-minute massage for 150,000₫ (Znews, Trúc Hồ, 26 June 2026). So yes, Vietnam is known for massage, at every price from a stool on the pavement to a resort. The whole range, tier by tier with its sources, is on massage prices in Vietnam.
It is massage given by therapists who are blind or partially sighted, and in Việt Nam it is an organised trade. Reporting on a 2023 workshop of the Vietnam Blind Association (Hội Người mù Việt Nam), Nhân Dân wrote that among the occupations open to visually impaired people, massage "được đánh giá là phù hợp và có thu nhập cao nhất": it is judged the most suitable and the highest paid. The association's branches then ran 275 massage establishments with 1,677 blind staff, and members ran 785 groups of their own with 3,143 more (Nhân Dân, Nhật Anh, 7 September 2023). Learning massage and acupressure takes three to six months, according to Đại Đoàn Kết (Nguyễn Phượng, 25 August 2022). An English-language guide with prices as of July 2026 puts an hour at 100,000 to 200,000₫ (VietnamSpot). We are a hotel spa, not one of them.
Many spa menus in Việt Nam print the Vietnamese name beside the English, and some print only the Vietnamese. Massage and mát xa are the same word, spelt two ways. These are the terms a first-timer meets most often, what they mean, and whether we offer them. Our prices are per person, read from our live spa menu on 9 November 2026, and final: VAT included, no service charge. What our herbal massage involves is on Vietnamese massage in Hội An.
| On the menu | What it means | At Nghê Prana |
|---|---|---|
| Massage toàn thân, mát xa toàn thân | Full-body massage | Yes: relaxing oil massage, medium pressure, 450,000₫ for 60 min, 600,000₫ for 90 |
| Massage chân, mát xa chân | Foot massage, toes to calves | Yes: 450,000₫ for 60 min; you stay dressed |
| Bấm huyệt | Acupressure: firm pressure on specific points | As foot reflexology (bấm huyệt bàn chân), 520,000₫ for 60 min; no separate full-body acupressure |
| Thuốc nam, thảo dược | Vietnamese herbs; on a massage, warm herbal compresses | Yes: Vietnamese herbal massage, 520,000₫ for 60 min |
| Đá nóng | Hot stone | Yes: Himalaya hot stone, 520,000₫ for 60 min |
| Massage Thái | Thai massage: stretching, with or without oil | Yes: 570,000₫ for 60 min |
| Ống tre | Bamboo: warmed bamboo rolled along the muscle | Yes: 570,000₫ for 60 min |
| Gội đầu dưỡng sinh | Vietnamese head spa: a hair wash with head, face, neck and shoulder massage | No, we do not offer it |
| Xông hơi | Herbal steam | Yes, private: 300,000₫ for 20 min alone, 250,000₫ each for two or more |
| Tẩy tế bào chết, tẩy da chết | Scrub, for the body or the face | Yes: body scrubs 550,000 to 650,000₫ for 60 min |
| Làm móng, sơn gel | Nails: manicure, pedicure, gel polish | Yes: from 300,000₫ up to 950,000₫ |
| Kỹ thuật viên nam, nữ | Male, female therapist | Both; ask when you book |
No, and you choose. Styles differ: a Thai massage stretches, bấm huyệt presses hard on points, an oil massage glides, so the same word on two menus can feel very different. Say the pressure you want before you start and change it whenever you like; if you want the Vietnamese, nhẹ hơn is lighter and mạnh hơn is firmer. At ours the consultation asks you to choose one of four levels, gentle, medium, strong or very strong, and our menu describes the oil massage as medium pressure. Where good pressure ends and too much begins is on should a massage hurt?
Nghê Prana is a riverside hotel on the Thu Bồn at Hẻm 384 Nguyễn Tri Phương, Cẩm Nam, 3.2 km from the Old Town: about 6 minutes by car, 10 by bicycle, 40 on foot. The spa is open from 9:00 to 21:00 every day, to visitors as well as hotel guests, and walk-ins are welcome when a therapist is free. We pick anyone up for free from anywhere in Hội An: message WhatsApp or Zalo on +84 896 687 961 at least an hour ahead, and we reply within 15 minutes during spa hours. The free ride is the one to the spa; the way back is yours to arrange. Hotel guests get 15% off spa treatments; visitors get a fresh drink after the treatment. At the 26,000₫ rate we use across the site, 450,000₫ is about US$17.
Planning a trip around this? See dates at our quiet riverside hotel on the Thu Bồn. Check availability →
| If you want | Book | Price |
|---|---|---|
| The easiest first massage | Relaxing full-body massage with oil, medium pressure | 450,000₫ / 60 min, 600,000₫ / 90 |
| The Vietnamese tradition | Vietnamese herbal massage (thuốc nam): warm compresses of lemongrass, ginger and local herbs | 520,000₫ / 60 min, 700,000₫ / 90 |
| Stretching more than rubbing | Thai traditional massage, with or without oil | 570,000₫ / 60 min, 770,000₫ / 90 |
| To stay dressed | Foot massage, toes to calves | 450,000₫ / 60 min, 600,000₫ / 90 |
| A massage for two | Two oil massages side by side in the couple's room | 900,000₫ for both, 60 min |
| Heat, after the massage | Private herbal steam (xông hơi) | 300,000₫ / 20 min alone, 250,000₫ each for two |
Yes. Xoa bóp and bấm huyệt, massage and acupressure, are part of Vietnamese traditional medicine, which the 2023 Law on Medical Examination and Treatment requires state general hospitals to organise. Massage is also judged the most suitable and highest-paid trade for Vietnamese who are blind, and visitors find it everywhere from city pavements to resorts.
Published prices run from 50,000₫ for a pavement session in Hồ Chí Minh City to about 2,425,500₫ for 90 minutes at a resort spa once service charge and VAT are added, roughly US$2 to US$93. In Hội An, the median cheapest hour on ten spa menus we read was 430,000₫. Ours start at 450,000₫ for 60 minutes, final price. Each tier with its source: massage prices in Vietnam.
Massage by therapists who are blind or partially sighted. Vietnam's associations of the blind train members in massage and acupressure and run establishments of their own: 275 of them, with 1,677 blind staff, in Nhân Dân's 2023 report.
No. We do not offer a head spa or a hair wash. The nearest thing on our menu is the back, neck and shoulder treatment, 490,000₫ for 60 minutes and 660,000₫ for 90.
Yes. We have both; say which you would prefer when you book, in the notes box of the online form or in your WhatsApp or Zalo message.
Nghê Prana Riverside Hotel & Spa, Hẻm 384 Nguyễn Tri Phương, Cẩm Nam, Hội An, on the Thu Bồn, 3.2 km from the Old Town. The spa is open from 9:00 to 21:00 every day. See the full menu on our wellness page, book on the online form, or message WhatsApp or Zalo on +84 896 687 961. For the free pickup, send a map pin, the treatment, the time and how many of you there are, at least an hour ahead, and we reply within 15 minutes during spa hours. Booking for two? Start at the couple spa page.
How we checked: prices read from our live spa menu on 9 November 2026; pickup terms set by the owner on 6 November 2026; draping and therapist choice as published on our own pages. Traditional medicine from Law 15/2023/QH15, Article 85, Znews (29 July 2026) and Nhân Dân (27 February 2023); blind massage from Nhân Dân (7 September 2023), Đại Đoàn Kết (25 August 2022) and VietnamSpot (prices as of July 2026); the head spa from VOV (6 August 2026); the pavement price from Znews (26 June 2026). All read on 9 November 2026. The country-wide price range is from our page on massage prices in Vietnam, and the Hội An median from our count of ten menus on 7 November 2026. If our menu and this page ever disagree, the menu stands and we correct the page.
23 rooms on the quiet south bank of the Thu Bồn River, ten minutes by bicycle from the Ancient Town and a world from its noise.
Book your stayYes. Xoa bóp and bấm huyệt, massage and acupressure, are part of Vietnamese traditional medicine, which Law 15/2023/QH15 (Article 85) requires state general hospitals to organise. Massage is also judged the most suitable and highest-paid trade for Vietnamese who are blind (Nhân Dân, 7 September 2023), and visitors find it everywhere from city pavements to resort spas.
Published prices run from 50,000₫ for a pavement session in Hồ Chí Minh City to about 2,425,500₫ for 90 minutes at a resort spa once service charge and VAT are added, roughly US$2 to US$93. In Hội An the median cheapest hour on ten spa menus read on 7 November 2026 was 430,000₫. Nghê Prana starts at 450,000₫ for 60 minutes, final price.
Massage given by therapists who are blind or partially sighted, an organised trade in Việt Nam: in 2023 the Vietnam Blind Association's branches ran 275 massage establishments with 1,677 blind staff (Nhân Dân, 7 September 2023). Training takes three to six months (Đại Đoàn Kết, 25 August 2022). Nghê Prana is a hotel spa, not a blind-massage establishment.
No. We do not offer a head spa or a hair wash. The nearest treatment on our menu is the back, neck and shoulder treatment, 490,000₫ for 60 minutes and 660,000₫ for 90.
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