Vietnam travel tips

1.Best time to visit Vietnam

-Two separate seasons exist in northern Vietnam. Although it is hot from May to September, there is substantial rainfall because of the high humidity. From October to April, the temperature drops and the air becomes significantly drier.

-Central Vietnam has the summer months going from January to August. Dry and hot conditions prevail. Although temperatures are still warm, the weather is substantially wetter between September and December.

-The hot and dry season in Southern Vietnam lasts from November until the end of April. Between May and October, there is rain, although the temperature is still hot.

=>So in our opinion, the best time for visiting Vietnam is from September to April each year.

Beside that, September to April is also the best period for people who want to take a combined tour to Vietnam and Cambodia.

2.Vietnam visa

A Vietnamese entry visa is required for all foreigners wishing to visit Vietnam except for citizens of countries having bilateral agreements on visa exemption with Vietnam.

Only citizens of certain countries can visit Vietnam without an entry visa and those countries include: UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belarus, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, South Korea, Japan and ASEAN countries.

All other citizens are required to get Vietnam visa or Vietnam E-visa before departure and all the tourist now can apply the E-visa by the below link:

https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/en_US/web/guest/khai-thi-thuc-dien-tu/cap-thi-thuc-dien-tu

When you start to apply or after receiving your E-visa, kindly take time to double check and make sure all the information in the E-visa are exactly with the information in your passport and in your international flight (Ex: full names, number of passport, date of expiry, date of birth, gender, period of entry Vietnam, name of airport/city when entering Vietnam, etc.)

3.Do’s and Don’ts in Vietnam

Planning is an essential part of any trip, and like everywhere, there are few things you need to know before visiting Vietnam – especially if you are a first-time visitor or even taking a Vietnam packages through a local tour company. Although you do not need to worry much when traveling in Vietnam, it is better to know a few things about your new destination. To help you plan a perfect trip, here are some travel tips to make your trip easy so that you will have more time to enjoy this beautiful country!

Carefully see the VND 20,000 and VND 500,000

The national currency of Vietnam is Dong (VND). In particular, 2 types of bills 20,000 VND (around 0.8 USD) and 500,000 VND (around 20 USD) are blue and look quite similar, local people sometimes still be mistaken if they don’t look carefully, especially if they see those bills in the evening. Therefore, you should carefully see these two types of bills when shopping in Vietnam.

Avoid travelling to Vietnam on TET

Vietnam’s biggest holiday of the year is TET (Vietnamese new year or Lunar new year). At that time, the Vietnamese people will take a break from their work and go home to celebrate the new year with their family. Therefore, most of the inbound tourist sightseeing places will be closed at that time, so that you should avoid traveling to Vietnam on TET. Normally, TET will be in late January or early February every year and that holiday has around 4 days off.

No need to get a local mobile sim card

Wi-Fi networks are covered and widely used in Vietnam and other countries in Indochina, especially in the hotel, restaurant, cafe, shop… Therefore, in our opinion, when taking a tour to Vietnam or a Vietnam & Cambodia combined tour or Vietnam & Thailand combined tour or the three countries in Indochina, it is not necessary to buy a sim card here, you just use the Wi-Fi then you are able to contact other people.

Learn few popular Vietnamese phrase

Although English is popular and used in the tourist destinations in Vietnam but the official language in Vietnam is Vietnamese and most Vietnamese people do not speak English. Therefore, knowing some common Vietnamese sentences will make your trip more enjoyable and easier:

Xin chào – Hello
Tạm biệt – Goodbye
Cám ơn – Thank you
Tính tiền – Bill please!
Làm ơn – Please
Đúng – Yes
Không – No
Bao nhiêu tiền? – How much is it?

Vietnam is a developing country but everyone is millionaire here

Have you ever wondered how it feels to be a billionaire? Traveling to Vietnam will let you realize this dream. The exchange rates between Vietnamese Dong (VND) and USD is around: 1 USD = 25,000 VND

That means with only 40 USD -> You are already a millionaire in Vietnam when you have one billion VND in hand.

Bring enough cash with you

Although online payment is slowly becoming common, cash is still King in Vietnam, so you should carry some cash with you when going out, especially if you shop at the local market or eat at a casual restaurant. However, most luxury hotels and restaurants accept credit cards. If you run out of cash, you should not be in trouble as it is easy to find an ATM but not all banks in Vietnam accept foreign cards so you should go to one of the major branches like HSBC or CitiBank which accept Visa or Mastercard cards.

How to cross the road?

How to cross the road? This question may seem silly but when you are in the big cities like Hanoi or Saigon, you will witness a lot of people riding their motorbikes on the streets. At some point, you have to cross the road where there is no pedestrian crossing. But even at the pedestrian crossing, you still find it very hard to cross the road because some motorcyclists still keep their speed and do not yield to pedestrians. Don’t worry, when you start walking, remember to walk slowly when crossing the road, motorbikes will go around and get out of your way. You should also raise your arm to let them know that you are crossing the street. At the intersection with a traffic light, when the light is red, it does not mean that the traffic will stop, some motorcyclists may still drive their motorbikes, so you should look carefully before crossing the street.

When you walk on the sidewalk, always keep an eye on your surroundings as the sidewalk can be an abstraction in Vietnam.

Tipping

-If you take a private small group tour in Vietnam with friends or a tour in Vietnam with your family (2 – 6 members), tip can be around USD 5 /guest /day for the tour guide and USD 2 /guest /day for the driver.

-If your private group is from 7 people or more, tip can be around USD 3 /guest /day for the tour guide and USD 1 /guest /day for the driver.

-At the hotel or restaurant, you may tip the bellboy or waitress $1 per time. However, you might give tip to them more or less depending on their services.

Street vendor photo scam

Street vendors in Hanoi or Saigon often choose the foreigner as their target. Not all but many of them invite you to take pictures with their belongings, after taking the photo, they will ask you to pay the fee. If the tourists refuse to pay, they will follow you until you buy something or get some money from you. Therefore, when meeting these people, you should politely decline their offer, if the vendors are still stubborn, you just need to stay away from them.

You might need to bring a travel adapter

The standard voltage in Vietnam is 220V with frequency of 50Hz and ordinary plugs are A (2 vertical pins), C (2 round pins) and F (Schuko plug). In case your electronic device has a 3-pin power plug, you should bring a travel adapter.

Bargain when you buy at a small store or on the street

If you choose to buy a product that already has a price on it, the seller may not reduce their price, but if you see no price on that product, you should negotiate with the seller, especially in the small shop or shopping on the street. The experience is that you should pay 40-50% of the price they quote you. If that doesn’t work, you can try elsewhere or sham to walk away and come back to buy for them later.

Prevention of robbery motorbikes

The phenomenon of robbery from motorcyclists in big cities like Saigon or Hanoi is quite common for both locals and foreigners. When walking on the road, you should be careful with your belongings such as mobile phone, camera, money, necklace, etc. The robbers on motorbikes from the back can run very quickly to rob and endanger you.

Use Grab, not Taxi

Currently, Uber no longer operates in Vietnam, but Grab is the market leader in Vietnam with many drivers (both car and motorbike). You just need to download the app on your phone and find a driver whenever you need. When traveling by Grab, you have more benefits than a Taxi:

-Price is available before you book the car/motorbike
-Drivers don’t trick you by going other ways which are further away so that they can get more money from you.
-Grap cars are always new and smell better than a taxi.

You can pay them by credit card or choose to pay cash each time. You will rarely pay more than $15-18 USD/time if you go around the city.

4.Popular local foods in Vietnam

Bun Cha

Bun Cha is the ideal fusion of sour, salty, sweet, and spicy flavors. Only three components make up the dish of Bun Cha: roasted pork, chewy vermicelli, and sweet and sour sauce. The taste is not basic, despite the simplicity of the components. When being served, the roasted pork and rice noodles fall apart since the latter will cling collectively while the former will do naturally in the soup.

Goi Cuon

Vietnamese fresh spring rolls, or goi cuon, are among the most well-known and delicious meals here. Goi Cuon has developed into Vietnam’s national dish, and you can find them everywhere from luxurious eateries to wayside stands. People utilize sticky rice to make the transparent spring roll out-layer, then fill it with bean sprouts, pork, shrimp, spring onions, vermicelli, eggs, and other ingredients. When you enjoy it with a sauce made from chili, fish sauce, garlic cloves, etc., you will taste it much better.

Pho

Vietnamese Pho is perhaps the country’s most traditional and emblematic dish. High-quality rice is utilized to make fresh rice noodles, which are then seasoned and served with beef or chicken and several types of coriander. Fresh veggies like bean sprouts, mint, lettuce, and houttuynia are all gratis side dishes that the residents like pairing with their delectable Pho. In Vietnam, the cost of pho in a neighborhood restaurant or street market ranges from US$ 2 to US$ 4.

Cha Ca

Whitefish pieces seasoned in galangal and turmeric are grilled to create the popular Hanoi meal known as Cha Ca. Putting the fish on the standard charcoal burner, the crisp, delicate chunks of fish and the lush green onions sizzle and fry. Typically, a mixture of fish sauce, vanilla flavor, rice vermicelli, and nuts are eaten with the fried golden-colored fish chunks.

Banh Mi

Following pho, Banh Mi (baguette sandwich) is ranked as the second most popular food. Vietnamese people call it a novel culinary creation that emerged during the French colonial era. To increase the taste of the Banh Mi, the Vietnamese utilized sticky rice noodles made in their own country. Before eating, the Banh Mi was briefly toasted on a charcoal fire, sliced in half, and filled with Vietnamese beef, pig skin, fermented cucumber, and other ingredients. Then they are covered with mayonnaise or tomato sauce and chili sauce. You can buy Banh Mi in Vietnam’s laneways and streets.

Bun Dau Mam Tom

Bun Dau Mam Tom is a dish of deep-fried tofu, thin rice flour, cucumber, and fresh herbs. It is also known as Fried Tofu and Rice Vermicelli with Fermented Shrimp Paste Sauce in English. Additionally, fermented shrimp paste, or Mam Tom, is used to serve this regional delicacy. It is a special dish and is a bit picky. When eating shrimp paste, you should squeeze a few kumquats and chilli peppers and stir until foamy which is called a real delicious Bun Dau Mam Tom meal.

Banh Xeo – Crispy Crepe

The Vietnamese enjoy the native delicacy known as Banh Xeo, or pancake in English. On-site cooks often make Banh Xeo in several minutes. In a pan of heated oil, a thin layer of dough consisting of rice flour, water, and turmeric is cooked before being topped with a combination of thinly sliced pork belly, shrimp, onion, and bean sprouts. After a few minutes of cooking, fold in half and top with lettuce leaves and sweet chili fish sauce. Then you can enjoy it with the green vegetarian and the special sauce.

Mi Quang

The meal known as Mi Quang, or Vietnamese Turmeric Noodles, is a must-try when visiting Hoi An. Mi Quang gets its name from the region of Quang Nam, where it is located. The ingredients for Mi Quang include golden turmeric noodle dishes, fish-bone broth, a few prawns, black pepper, shallots, and garlic, and it is garnished with a variety of meats, herbs, and regional green vegetables. This meal is available in both restaurants and eateries.