Vietnam travel guide

A successful trip needs to be well-prepared, then we would like to give you some necessary information and useful advices for your trip.

What to buy: wooden, stone and bronze sculptures; silver or fabric items which can be easily found in the markets in Indochina. There are some “specialty” such as, wooden puppets in Hanoi, cinnamon and coconut in Mekong Delta, Hue conical hats…

Drinks: drinks in meals are not included in the whole trips, otherwise mentioned. It is about US $1-2 for a can of beer or a bottle of water according to the standard of restaurants. Sometimes, you can find Australian or French wine, they are very expensive but not in good condition due to poor preservation.

Credit cards:

They are very convenient for paying but the fee is still fairly high. Besides, it consumes time to verify the card. However, the cards are accepted at almost every hotels and restaurants in the city centers.

Customs:

When reaching the custom counters, you will have to complete the custom declaration. Examination procedures are loosen, take care of your luggage and custom declaration forms which need to be presented at custom counters. You are allowed to bring foreign currencies, jewels…You have to fill in a form if you bring over US $5000 or equivalent.

What not to bring:

Weapons, flammable and explosive materials, illegal drugs, pornographic subjects or any anti government propaganda related items…When leaving Vietnam; you can take unlimited quantity of souvenir items. You will have to pay tax for antiquities and show their receipts as required.

Water:

You can take water from the tap, but the water is not disinfected then you are advised to drink bottles of water. You can find the bottles in many shops outside hotels or restaurants. Please be sure that the bottles are full covered.

Electricity:

The standard households (hotels) electrical supply in Vietnam is 220 volt, 50 Hertz. The standard socket accepts a two round pins plug/without a ground pin.

If your electric devices do not accept the same electrical supply, you can bring adapters or buy one in Vietnam. The adapters are not quite expensive in Vietnam.

Time:

Time zone of Vietnam is +7. It is +7 hours and +6 hours difference with London in winter and summer time respectively.

Currency

Currency of Vietnam is Dong with the values: 500 – 1,000 – 2,000 – 5,000 – 10,000 – 20 000 – 50,000 – 100,000 – 200,000 – 500,000. You should be careful at the color of the values as their appearance look quite similar.

Cheques, credit cards (Visa, Master, Eurocard, American Express…) are widely accepted in the banks, jewelry shops, currencies exchange counters…US dollars and Euro are the most popular ones. Before leaving Vietnam, you can exchange Dong to your currencies at the counters in the airports.

Sim cards and Internet

It is not free to make a call at your hotels, then the best way is to buy a sim card which is very cheap and convenient. You can buy sim card of big carriers such as, Viettel, Mobifone, and Vinaphone…

You can find internet at every hotels as well as at numerous coffee shops in the big cities.

Tip

Tip for drivers and guides are not included in the quotations. This amount depends on your service satisfaction.

Traffic system

Exception to some places, traffic system generally is poor and under standard. The average speed is rarely over 40 km/h on the road. In the rainy seasons, speed will be slower and approaching some sightseeing places is more difficult.

Security

Vietnam is considered one of the safest countries in the world. However, you should have a close look at your items when you are at train, bus stations, markets, harbors, bars…Should not bring jewelry items with you and leave passports, air tickets, train tickets and valuable items at the hotels. You are advised to have money belts. Remember to have a copy of your passport before going out.

Transportation

Airplanes: There are three big air firms in Vietnam including Vietnam airlines, Jetstar and Vietjet air. Vietnam airline is a state firm which provides international and domestic flights, whereas Vietjet air and Jetstar are private ones serving domestic flights.

Bus: Vietnam has expanded the highway to provinces and cities. There are many buses from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh to other provinces and the service is improving gradually. Furthermore, taxi is also very popular in all cities and the cost seems to reduce due to the competition. In Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and other big cities, bus systems are very developed. Besides, you can travel around the center cities by bikes, cyclos and electric buses…

Train: Vietnam railway has been renovated then has recorded many significant changes and achievements. Thanks to the restructuring and reorganization of production, the railway’s service has mad profits. The railway system is over 2,600km from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh and link with other Northern places.

Currently, traveling by train is now very comfortable and safe. Thong Nhat (Reunification) train runs from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi and stops at some stations. Time tables are available at the train stations.

There are air conditioning systems and soft bunks or seats. Regarding with soft bunk cabins, there are two types of cabins, 4 and 6 soft bunks. The price is also different between them.

Taxi

Taxi is very popular in the big cities. They offer the greatest speed and convenience, but also costly (they also offer the greatest likelihood of ripping you off). Bikes can be rented at hotels for as low as a dollar a day, but can be very dangerous for travelers unused to Hanoi’s chaotic, anarchic traffic.