Vietnam travel tips - The pathway to a perfect trip

Vietnam travel tips to have a memorable itinerary

Consider Travel Insurance

While travel insurance may not be mandatory when traveling to Vietnam, it is however recommended that you consider getting travel insurance before your trip.

Travel insurance usually covers a number of things during your travel so that in case of any unforeseen circumstances, you will be covered. These are the components that every potent travel insurance should at least cover.

Travel Insurance to Vietnam

Medical coverage - This is the priority of every travel insurance, to make sure that your health is in check. The insurance should make sure that you have access to quality healthcare while on your trip, and also secure you in case of any unforeseen medical emergencies.

Trip cancellation and interruptions - The travel insurance provides you with the necessary coverage when there are any forms of disruptions before your trip or even at the time of your departure after the trip. This mostly includes trip cancellation, flight eventualities, etc.

Personal belongings - In case your personal belongings get lost during your travel, or in any case get delayed, this insurance will cover you.

Choose the right season to visit

Choosing the right season to visit Vietnam is one of the important things you need to figure out and plan before going on your trip. You need to know when to visit which region of the country. Comparing the two distinct seasons of the Southern part of Vietnam, which are the rainy and dry seasons.

As per some Vietnam travel tips, it is therefore not so difficult to come to a sudden conclusion on which season is the most appropriate to visit South Vietnam.

The dry season, which spans from November to April, happens to come with clear weather and high temperatures. This provides a steady atmosphere for tourists to enjoy their uninterrupted tours and movements throughout their journey around the Southern part of Vietnam.

Choose the right season to visit

It therefore suffices to say that the best time to visit the south of Vietnam is during the dry season.

Destinations like Hue city, Da Nang and Hoi An are all popular in Central Vietnam and have a relatively similar climate pattern. It is important therefore to know the times or period that is most appropriate to visit the region as a tourist so as to enjoy your trip without distractions or unforeseen circumstances.

Winter periods are usually from December to February, while temperatures could be extremely cold, especially around the mountainous areas with temperatures falling to about 10 degrees Celsius. On the contrary, the summer temperatures ( from June - August) get very hot with rampant rain showers.

You as a tourist must figure out which part of Vietnam you intend to visit and know the corresponding perfect times to visit with perfect Vietnam Itinerary. If you however plan on taking a complete tour around the country, then you will have to plan your trip according to the various seasons that are best to visit each of the regions in Vietnam.

Passport and Visa

Passport

Bring a valid passport

When traveling to Vietnam regardless of whether or not you are exempt from getting a visa, there are certain passport requirements that everyone must meet before you’ll be allowed entry into the country.

You must have a valid international passport with at least 6 months of validity before you can be allowed entry into Vietnam. In addition, you must also make sure that there are at least 3 blank pages left in your passport. This is so because it will afford the immigration service enough space to put their stamps and do other validations.

These regulations and policies are very strict and are to be followed by all nationals otherwise you wouldn’t be granted entry into the country.

Visa

There are three ways of obtaining a visa for travel to Vietnam. This can be done through the Embassy, E-visa or visa on arrival. Some countries are eligible for the E-visa and visa on arrival, while other countries are not.

You must therefore find out where you belong and follow the necessary process for obtaining your visa. It is very important that you get some Vietnam travel tips before going through the whole process, in order to understand everything fully even before you begin.

Get a suitable Vietnam visa

Citizens of certain countries do not need a visa to travel to Vietnam as of 2024. However, it is a general requirement that their passports have 6 months or more of validity before they can travel.The passport must also have at least 3 blank pages for immigration stamps.

The 2024 list of countries that only need to have a valid international passport to visit Vietnam are:

Brunei, Myanmar, Belarus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, The UK, The Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Chile, Panama.

However, if you are not a national of any of these countries, do not forget to apply and get a visa before going on your trip.

Know how to get in and out

Getting into Vietnam can be done through its three major international airports, so as departing from the country. These three airports include Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi), Ho Chi Minh city Airport (Ho Chi Minh city) or Da Nang International Airport (Da Nang City).

Know how to get in and out

Coming through any of these airport points is good and safe as you can get access to any other place in your travel itinerary from there.

When exploring the country as a whole, it will be rather prudent and easier to come into the country through the South and then leave through the Northern part. You can also try it the other way round based on your convenience.

Know how to get around efficiently

Knowing how to get around during your trip is very crucial, especially if you want to make the most out of your trip. There are therefore a number of ways you can get around effectively without any problems. These include:

Airplane - This is obviously the fastest but most expensive way to move around. It is usually convenient and most appropriate for those who are far behind schedule or are being beaten by time, and must also be able to afford it because it is a quite expensive means compared to the others.

Train - Vietnam is counted as one of the countries in Southeast Asia with a good and reliable rail network. Although more expensive than buses, it comes with better comfort and convenience, hence rated by the Viet tourism office as more convenient and safer than buses.

Bus - If you are an independent traveler and also do not mind about comfort or optimum convenience, then the bus system will be very good for you as a tourist in Vietnam.

This is practically the cheapest means to move around and can be quite tedious, as you are to always monitor and keep bus schedules so as not to miss your bus at any given time.

Boat - There are quite a number of rivers in Vietnam, which are also quite navigable, with Mekong and its tributaries being the most crucial of all. Boats can be used to move along places that are connected to these rivers and also have relatively safe docking areas.

There are also movements through areas connected by sea, for example cruising to HaLong Bay’s islands to have a magnificent and captivating experience with the karsts and islands.

Car - This is a very convenient means of getting around in Vietnam, especially for those traveling as a family or with a group of friends or colleagues. You can rent a car to help you move around as a local tourist but never as a foreign one.

This is due to the fact that Vietnam does not allow the use of international driver’s licenses to operate in the country. You can however hire a car and a driver to drive you around as a foreign tourist.

Motorbike - This is the most popular means of transportation and getting around in Vietnam. It is a very fast and convenient means of getting around but also utterly risky compared to the other means. This is a more suitable way of getting around heavy traffic in big cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh etc.

Taxi - This is also a convenient way of getting around as you can find taxis almost everywhere around major cities and even smaller ones. You can order taxis on mobile phone apps (Grab, Uber etc), this is an even more reliable way of using the taxi service, for an even better experience.

You can choose any of the ways to help you get around effectively based on your type of trip or the places you intend to visit during your trip. However, if you find it difficult to settle on which way best suits your plans, you can refer to some Vietnam travel tips to help you figure it out.

Know how to get around efficiently

Opt to use Grab Taxi

When in Vietnam and you are a taxi person, you will probably use taxi services to get around and do all your rounds. This means that you are bound to come across taxi drivers who might want to rip you off because you are a foreigner and do not know your way around.

They often do this by pricing way higher for relatively less services. In order to avoid all these inconveniences and unnecessary rip off schemes, it is recommended that you use Grab taxi instead.

With Grab taxi, at least the rates are calculated based on your distance and you can also see the price directly in your app, and so does not give room for rip off.

Get a local Sim card

The cost of making international calls and international roaming charges for the use of internet, text messages and calls are too high. This suggests that, as a tourist in Vietnam, you need to get yourself a local Sim card in order to aid in the use of the internet and making calls at normal local rates.

There are about 4 top Vietnam sim card service providers including Viettel, VinaPhone, MobiFone and Vietnamobile. You need to get a sim card immediately when you arrive at any of the 3 international airports in Vietnam be it Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi), Ho Chi Minh city Airport (Ho Chi Minh city) or Da Nang International Airport (Da Nang City.

I suggest you get in touch with the representative offices of any of the mentioned 4 major top sim card service providers to get and activate your sim card before you even enter into the country.

Beware of scams

In Vietnam, being scammed is one of the commonest challenges you can encounter as a tourist. Most of the time, these things happen in areas of densely populated tourists and visitors.

Some of the scams you may encounter are deceptive offers, excessively high prices for products or services, dishonest taxi drivers, etc.

In order not to fall prey to some of these scams, you need to be extremely cautious as a tourist by making sure you are always checking local prices before you transact, and also do well to deal with trusted sources and officially approved service providers.

Also do well to get some Vietnam travel tips before moving into the country to help you get enough information beforehand, in order to avoid being scammed.

Learn a few key Vietnamese phrases

Learn a few key Vietnamese phrases

Hello - Xin chào

Pronunciation: Zin chow

Thank you - Cảm Ơn

Pronunciation: Gam-um

Please - Vui Lòng

Pronunciation: Voo Laow

Excuse me

Xin Lỗi

Pres - Da

Pronunciation: yah pronunciation: sin loy

Nice to meet you - Rất vui được gặp bạn

Pronunciation: r-uht voo-yee d-uh-k g-uh-p ban

Goodbye - Tạm biệt

Pronunciation: Taam Byeet

Beautiful - Đẹp

Pronunciation: dep

An expression of gratitude spoken before the first bite - Chúc ngon miệng

Pronunciation: chuuk ngon meeyeng

Delicious - Ngon

Pronunciation: ngon

Wine - Rượu

Pronunciation: ru-u

Beer - Bia

Pronunciation: bee-uh

Coffee - Cà phê

Pronunciation: cah-feh

Water please - Cho tôi nước, vui lòng

Pronunciation: choh toy nook, voo-y lawng

Carry enough cash with you

Carry enough cash with you

Vietnam is a country that has most of its daily transactions done with cash. Although you’ll find some top class restaurants, hotels, bars etc in Hanoi and other major cities accepting payments with credit and debit cards.

It is usually not the case with the small cities and towns. This means that it will be very prudent for you as a tourist to carry enough cash with you so as to make daily transactions easier and faster.

Learn to haggle (really fast)

As part of the hustling and bustling nature of Vietnam as seen in major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city, you need to learn to haggle as a tourist otherwise you wouldn’t even have enough money to last you halfway your trip.

When you encounter vendors or service providers like taxi drivers etc, you will find that most of them even add more on their goods and services just because you are a foreigner and you are probably not familiar with the system yet.

You should therefore learn the skill of haggling at a very faster pace in order to avoid rip off.

You don’t need to tip

The general tipping culture in Vietnam is quite poor and so you’re basically not expected to give a tip after eating in a restaurant, getting off a taxi, buying something from a vendor etc.

There are however places that appreciate tipping more for example massage parlors and spas, a local tour guide, a boat crew etc. When these mentioned people render good services to you , it is only nice that you give them good tips.

Don’t drink the tap water

Don’t drink the tap water

In Vietnam, tap water is generally not recommended for drinking purposes mainly because it might contain bacteria or impurities that might cause sickness.

It is mostly recommended that you resort to drinking bottled water or better still, you treat the tap water properly by filtration or boiling to make it safe for drinking.

Pack the right clothes

Packing for your trip might be a bit stressful especially when you are not certain on what to wear at what point.What you need to do is to plan and know which clothing to pack for the various weather in Vietnam. For example, you can’t pack sleeveless clothes when you are going to North Vietnam, while it is in Winter.

Again, you need to be sure of the activities while in Vietnam so as to know the kind of clothes to take along. Usually activities like hiking require you to go with a particular type of clothing and so you must remember to pack it along.

Don’t forget to bring bug spray and sunscreen

Don’t forget to bring bug spray and sunscreen

There can be quite some bugs and insects in Vietnam, especially when you are on a trip. Moving past places and navigation through villages and forests can expose you to the dangers of bugs and insects like mosquitoes, red and black ants etc.

This is why you need to bring along your bug or insect spray to deal with such situations. Again, you need to bring along your sunscreen for use especially during summer seasons to protect your skin against the sun.

Choose the right Tour Agency

Choose the right Tour Agency

To find the right tour agency to book your travel, you will need to do a thorough research online to get the best. Getting some Vietnam travel tips will help you know that you must look out for approved agencies and most importantly, check what people are saying about them and also their prices and packages.

You should then proceed to go through their travel experiences and how many successful tours they have organized. After you are sure of which agency you want to go with, you can then go ahead and book any of their tour packages directly with them.

Choosing the right agency comes with a number of benefits. Some of these benefits include value for money, personalized service and experience, and to top it all, you get the peace of mind of not having to plan the whole trip by yourself.

Contrary to popular belief, booking for your trip with a good travel agency saves you more money than even planning it on your own.

In actual fact, you can save yourself the stress of having to go through all this hustle to find the right tour agency. Look no further than Asia tour advisor for all you might need regarding your trip to Vietnam.

Conclusion

Make sure you take into consideration all the highlighted Vietnam travel tips above before you even plan for your trip, so that you can be aware of everything in order not to make unwarranted mistakes. You can also contact Asia tour advisor with any questions or concerns you might have, for immediate response.

Leave your comments and suggestions below if you have any. Thank you