Vietnam Travel Tips

Visiting Vietnam was a good experience for us and allowed us to learn a bit more about their culture and what the people were like. It is a great country to visit. Before you go, though, here are a few things to keep in mind to ensure that your trip is smooth and enjoyable.

• Visa on Arrival – If you are required to get a visa to visit Vietnam, I’d recommend getting the visa from your local Vietnamese Embassy. We used My Vietnam Visa to do the visa on arrival and while it wasn’t terrible, it was a bit time-consuming when we arrived. It cost us $25 USD to get the approval letter (it appears the website is either doing a temporary discount or has lowered the price to $19.99 USD) and then we still had to fill out another form when we arrived, pay $45 USD for the visa and then wait for almost two hours while they processed ours and everyone else’s visas. They don’t just do one and then call that person’s name, no, they do the entire batch and then start calling people’s names. It was painful. Especially since there were only 4 chairs for us all to sit on along with 4 tables. Most people sat on the floor. The most difficult part about the wait (aside from the general discomfort of having to stand or sit on the floor) was that it was quite hot in there and there were no drinking fountains nor anywhere to purchase water. So, if you choose this route, bring a book and some water.
• Power outlets – All the power outlets we came across took US power plugs. We heard some of the upscale hotels took a variety of European plugs along with American, but we did not see this for ourselves. Our hotel in Hanoi and the boat we stayed on in Ha Long Bay were all US power plugs.
• Currency – Vietnam uses both Vietnamese Dong (VND) and US dollars (USD). While most vendors are happy with USD, it is a good idea to carry a supply of VND for taxis (more about that later).
• ATMs – There are quite a lot of ATMs in Vietnam, so you don’t have to carry a large amount of cash with you, though be advised that most ATMs will only allow for 1 million VND per day, which is roughly $50 USD. We heard there were a few ATMs that allow more than that, but we never saw one.
• Carry an abundance of $1 – Many vendors sell items for $1 and will try to get you to buy more instead of giving you change for larger bills.
• Keep small bills and large bills separate on your person and all money in inner pockets – There are always a lot of people around and a lot of jostling, so it is a good idea to keep your larger bills tucked inside your clothes and only pull out when in a private location. That way all anyone sees are your small bills, which you should still keep in an inner pocket or somewhere where it can’t easily be lifted from you. This will make you less of a mark for pickpockets and hustlers.
• Communism – keep in mind that Vietnam is Communist and overt displays of wealth are frowned upon. We wandered around with two DSLR cameras and while most people weren’t outright rude, we did run into a few situations where we were hassled for being ‘rich’ and not giving money to the people of Vietnam. So, don’t wear fancy jewelry or anything that marks you as someone with a lot of money. Aside from that making you a target for scammers, pickpockets and robbers, it does offend the more devout of the Communist citizens.
• Tourist prices – As a general rule in Asian countries, just expect to be charged a higher price than what locals pay. We came across this in every country we visited in Asia, so just go with it. Every entrance fee and souvenir price will be higher and some restaurants will charge you a higher price for food and beverages. Not much you can do about it.
• People asking for money – We had a few people straight up ask us for money without offering to sell anything. We don’t agree with just giving people money (cuz all it does it make other people want to ask for money since we’re just giving it away), so we prefer to just buy things. There was a lady who said she was raising for a school by selling packets of 10 toothpicks and showed us an official ID and other papers to prove she was legit. We gave her some money, but she demanded we give her 20x (not even kidding) as much as we gave since that was what most people were giving. She showed us her donation sheet that listed other people donating large amounts of money for these tiny packets of toothpicks. We are always on a tight budget when we travel and it was our last few hours before flying home, so we were pretty much out of money for the trip. She became very irate and started yelling at us when we refused to give more than our initial donation. She called us all sorts of names and threw a few things at us as we were walking away from her. It was quite an interesting experience. So, keep in mind that if you do donate or give money to someone who asks, you will probably be asked for more.
• Vendors don’t like to negotiate – In most Asian countries, vendors will haggle with you and you can at least get the price dropped 20-30%. Bulk purchases will garner the best deals. But in Vietnam, NOBODY wanted to haggle. We actually had one vendor get angry with us because we asked to buy 10 items for $9 instead of $1 each. It was crazy. Some will lower the price a little bit, but the only time we ran into that was if we were to buy far more than we actually wanted. So, be prepared to pay what they are asking when you are out at the night markets.
• Night market in Hanoi – speaking of night markets, the one in Hanoi is located in the Old Quarter and it starts at 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
• Give cabbies exact amount in VND – Taxi drivers usually don’t take USD or if they do, they don’t give change. They also don’t like to give change for large VND bills. We had a taxi driver not give us correct change and then yelled at us in Vietnamese when we asked him for the rest of our change.
• Transportation  – There are several ways to get around the cities in Vietnam. There are buses, taxis, motorbikes (for rent or for hire) and bicycles. For going between cities, you can take a bus, boat, taxi, train or airplane. Our hotel assisted us in getting the transportation we needed everyday and was kind enough to negotiate the price to our initial destination.
• Bring an umbrella in the spring and a hat year-round – We were in Vietnam in May and ran into several surprise rain showers. One was so bad that we were completely drenched within moments of the rain starting. There are places to stay out of the rain in front of shops, but these overhangs don’t all connect, so you’ll need an umbrella to stay dry in the spring. As for the rest of the year, it is quite hot  during the day, so you’ll want a hat to provide some form of protection.
• Bring bug/mosquito repellent – There are lots of bugs and mosquitoes in Vietnam. Some convenience stores sell bug spray, but none of it has DEET. If you want the protection of DEET you’ll need to bring your own.
• Medications – Be sure to bring a bit extra of whatever medications you NEED. Some medications are easy to find, but not all, so it is better to err on the side of caution and bring some extra in case your trip is extended or you need to take an extra dose for whatever reason.
• Bring extra of any necessities  – Whether it be something you NEED or something you just prefer, bring extra because finding medical items or comfort/convenience items is not as easy as it is in Western countries. I’d almost say it is impossible to find some convenience items. So it if something you must have or something you just won’t be happy without, bring a spare just in case.
• Food allergies  – If you have a food allergy, make sure you have several slips of paper with a statement expressing your food allergy in the Vietnamese language and maybe a few other languages for each of the surrounding countries in case the person you are talking to is not a Vietnam native. Still, though, you need to be cautious. They understand some allergies, but not all. Troy is allergic to wheat and flour and nobody there seemed to understand that, so we had to be extra careful with the foods we selected. If your allergy requires medication if you come in contact with that food, be sure to bring extra medication in case you have more than one instance of being given that food on accident.
• Bring hand sanitizer or wet wipes  – It is very rare to find a bathroom outside a hotel with hand soap, so bring something to clean your hands after using the restroom and before eating.
• Don’t drink the water!  – the water in Vietnam is not suitable for drinking, so you’ll want to set aside some money to buy water while you are there.
• Carry extra water  – We started each day by stopping by a little convenience store by our hotel and buying 6-8 water bottles. One our last day we decided to just use our remaining bottles instead of buying more. We ran out in the middle of the afternoon and the restaurant we bought water from charged 3x what the convenience store charged!
• Crossing roads – Crossing the street in Vietnam is an adventure. Traffic does not stop when you’re standing by the side of the road and indicate you want to cross as it does in Western countries. Not even at crosswalks unless there is a stoplight, but scooters don’t follow any traffic laws, so they still won’t stop even then. All you can do is just walk out into the road and ignore the fact that 5,000 cars are coming at you full-speed. Most drivers are fairly considerate and will make a point to drive around you, but once in a while there will be someone who is looking to have some fun and will almost hit you. Just be sure to walk quickly and be ready to run if there is a ‘fun-loving’ driver coming towards you.
• Visiting Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum – The hours are 9-noon Tues-Thurs, but it could still be closed, so call before going and arrive early! We got there just before 9am and still stood in line for about an hour. If you bring a camera, hat or bag you will be required to leave it at a desk (in exchange for a ticket stub) at some point during the long line and can pick it up at another desk on the other side of the mausoleum. Dress code is pants (or shorts/skirt past the knee) and a shirt with sleeves or a shawl to cover your bare arms. No food and water are allowed inside, but if you have a small purse you could put one water bottle in there to drink as you wait after you’ve turned in any larger bags.
• English is not too common – There are a few people who know quite a bit of English, but most of the regular people we came across only knew enough English to sell their items or give information about the attraction they worked at. Taxi drivers were a challenge, so be sure to carry a map with your destination circled so there won’t be any confusion.
• Some taxi drivers are sketchy – Aside from the taxi driver who took off with our change, we heard some stories about how some taxi drivers will manually adjust the meter when you aren’t looking, so you’ll want to keep an eye on them or agree on a price before setting out.
• Internet – We didn’t used the internet very much while we were in Vietnam, mostly just in our hotel or if a restaurant offered free wifi. There weren’t a ton of restaurants that did that in Hanoi, so we usually just checked emails and played Words With Friends when we were in our hotel at night. We did see several convenience stores that sold prepaid sim cards, so the option is there if you don’t want to use an internet cafe, though they were a bit pricey.
• Ask before taking photos – Aside from the fact that it’s kinda rude to take photos of someone without their permission, the Vietnamese people don’t like it. If you want a picture of someone, ask before taking it. We never had someone turn us down when we asked.