You are a travel lover, you love trips, experiences and discoveries. You choose Vietnam as your destination. So what should you care about when you come to Vietnam? The following Vietnam Travel Advice may help you.
First of all, Vietnam is a country with many wild natural landscapes, with a long coastline, from green terraced fields in Sapa to white sand beaches in Phu Quoc… Vietnam has attracted millions of international visitors to visit.
Here are some useful Vietnam Travel Advice when travelling in Vietnam
Pass the road – Vietnam Travel Advice
To overcome this tough challenge, slowly merge into the car under the road, keep a steady speed, don’t hesitate, don’t stop, don’t text by phone or view the map when crossing the street. The vehicles will automatically adjust to you.Vehicles in the heart of major cities in Vietnam are mainly motorbikes, taxis, buses … For the first time to Vietnam, visitors can use the vehicles mentioned above. However, if you like to discover by yourselves, should rent a motorbike package at hotels and motels. Motorbike rental prices are usually not too expensive, ranging from 150 – 200,000 VND/day.
Be careful with dog and cat meat – Vietnam Travel Advice
You will be very easy to eat without noticing. If you love cute cats and dogs as well as consider them as an indispensable best friend, please learn Vietnamese before for these 2 words to be able to distinguish. Dog and cat meat are two popular dishes in Vietnam. Although there was a law that didn’t consume cat meat in 1997, it still appeared a lot. People also smuggle cats from China and Laos to Vietnam. In the menu, cat meat is called “tiger tiger”.
Vietnamese currency – Vietnam Travel Advice
The exchange rate between US dollar and Vietnamese currency is about 23,300.Traveling in Vietnam, foreign visitors do not necessarily need to convert cash to Vietnam dong. Stores still accept exchange in USD. Also to be advantageous in many situations, visitors should remember to change to Vietnamese currency.
Foreign visitors must try to pay attention to the number to tip correctly. The bills in Vietnam have many zeros. Due to lack of experience, visitors often get confused between 10,000 and 100,000 sheets. The trick is to remember the color of each currency to avoid confusion.
Pronounced the word “pho”
This is a delicious dish everywhere. You should try to learn the correct pronunciation to avoid misunderstandings when ordering.
Prepare seasonal items – Vietnam Travel Advice
Vietnam belongs to a tropical monsoon climate. Summer is very hot, you should prepare personal items such as umbrellas, sunscreen or sunglasses. And the winter in the North is usually very cold, don’t forget to bring a thick coat. Therefore, the luggage to bring to Vietnam, there are enough costumes to match the weather here to protect your health. You should also see the weather forecast before you leave and bring an umbrella to prevent rain.
Ask taxi prices, tour guides first – Vietnam Travel Advice
If your group has 3 people, the price may be equal or cheaper than buying a tour in group. When organizing your own tour or having your private tour, you can decide when to leave the hotel, where to eat, where to go, when to return to the hotel… and with a group tour, you cannot do this.
Careful cheat taxi – Vietnam Travel Advice
At the airport there are many taxi scams. You should book a taxi at the hotel to avoid overcharging. They will come to the airport to pick you up to reduce risks and unnecessary costs. You do not have to pay tolls, so if the driver asks you to pay, you should refuse immediately. Vietnamese drivers often do not follow traffic laws. Ask the driver not to talk on the phone while driving as they can drive the wrong way and this may make your schedule longer. At the same time, listening to the phone while driving can be dangerous due to complicated traffic in many cities.
Passport valid at least 6 months – Vietnam Travel Advice
You need to make sure your passport is valid for 6 months after you arrive in Vietnam. Customs officers in Vietnam are very strict in this.
There are many ways to apply for a visa – Vietnam Travel Advice
You can send your passport by post to the Vietnamese embassy in Washington DC, and it takes about 1 month to get a visa. You can also apply for a visa when you arrive, but you need a visa approval letter through an entry visa service for about $50.
Buy Vietnamese phone sim when you arrive – Vietnam Travel Tips
As soon as the plane lands in Vietnam, you should buy a phone sim at the airport to contact relatives and friends, inform them of the location you are going to travel.
When you use up all the money in your account, you buy recharge cards at roadside grocery stores at any point in cities. Besides, you can use chat applications like skype, Viber, Zalo by connecting to free Wifi. However, remember to turn off the roaming service before using Wi-Fi.
Street food – Vietnam Travel Tips
Street food in Vietnam is not always clean. However, the tourists rated the food very delicious and very cheap. Vegetarians are welcome in Vietnam because when coming to Vietnam, vegetarians will be lost in paradise. There are many attractive menus for vegetarian dishes here. Food is not only delicious but also cheap.
Be careful with personal belongings – Vietnam Travel Tips
Guests should keep personal belongings carefully, not leave them in dormitory rooms (dorm). If you take a bus, you should also be careful with your phone and wallet.
What is the facts about Vietnam?
The country is not too poor – Vietnam Travel Tips
Most Western travelers who have never been to Vietnam know that this is a distant country on the other side of the globe with yellow and black haired people. Severe wars in the past made most of them think the whole country was still very poor and needy. This also means an increase in crime and robbery.
Even some of the older American tourists who came to Vietnam for the first time worry about the previous war. As a reason for them to be discriminated against by indigenous people. Contrary to these visualizations, visitors from the other half of the globe are often surprised by a modern and innovative country and friendly people when they coming to Vietnam.
Vietnamese people often use English – Vietnam Travel Tips
Many Western travelers share a surprise when they know the popularity of English in Vietnam. Because of geographical as well as culture and language differences, many Western tourists often think it will be very difficult to communicate in Vietnam. In fact, most of them expressed their surprise about the popularity of English when traveling to this country. Many foreign tourists also told their stories of meeting indigenous people while walking on the Sword Lake with an open and confident attitude.
Stay away from street vendors – Vietnam Travel Tips
Western tourists are often considered as the favorite objects or “good prey” of street vendors in big streets. Before coming to this S-shaped land, they were often advised to stay away from peddlers who always pull and invite, and be absolutely careful with accessories such as cameras, phones and wallets.
Service prices may be super expensive – Vietnam Travel Tips
In almost any areas with large numbers of tourists in Vietnam, many shops sell both different prices. For example, in Hoi An, you can easily buy flip flops for 50,000 VND if you are Vietnamese. But with blue-eyed blonde, the price could be twice expensive.
Western travelers often share this problem and many bargaining tips. The most common way is carefully asking the price before using the service or buying the product. You should use some value websites about evaluating services thoroughly.
Be ware of being cheated with language differences – Vietnam Travel Tips
Many Western tourists were mistaken between 15,000 VND and 50,000 VND (fifteen thousand dong and fifty thousand dong). Many people complained about the situation when asking for a coconut or shoe shine service, the seller replied “15,000 VND” to quickly agree. But when they open the wallet and make the payment, they are dumbfounded because they are asked for 50,000 VND. The secret is to show the denomination notes to the seller, which are in accordance with the agreed amount before using the service.
Do not be discouraged by falling motorbikes – Vietnam Travel Tips
Despite suffering painful injuries due to falling motorbikes, Western tourists still enjoy driving this vehicle when traveling to Vietnam. Almost of them likes to explore this land on a motorbike. However, due to the unfamiliar road, not much experience handling the situation, many people have to suffer from bandages or limbs limping for a while after a trip to Sa Pa or visiting Mui Ne because of falling, rubbing car. Although they assess the level of driving by motorbike is extremely danger, most of them still expressed that driving a motorbike is an unforgettable experience and still want to continue testing when coming to Vietnam.
Vietnam is large and has many beautiful scenes – Vietnam Travel Tips
Before coming to Vietnam, some Western tourists used to think that this land was very small, still poor and not much beautiful. The fact is not like that. Throughout Vietnam, you will encounter countless beautiful scenes and it is best to spend about 3 weeks to go. If you have only about 1-2 weeks, you should gather only one area like the North or the South of Vietnam and spend the full time exploring and experiencing.
Things should do in Vietnam – Planning a trip to Vietnam
- Always carry a full bottle of water with you because traveling in the hot sun makes you tired and tired. If you drink tea, coffee or alcohol, drink more water.
- Before leaving the hotel, bring the hotel business card with you as it will make it easier for you to return to your hotel.
- You should bring some toilet paper or tissue in your bag because you will not know when you will need it.
- Vietnam is a very conservative country in dressing up. Although in big cities, it is more comfortable to dress, you should wear appropriate clothes, not only to adapt to the weather but also help you be more friendly with the locals.
- Should send money, airline tickets, passports and other valuable jewelry in the hotel’s depository area.
- When entering someone’s home, always remember to remove and leave your sandals (shoes) in front of the door before entering the house.
- When you want to talk about a photo of someone in your home, you need to get permission from the owner. If the homeowner expresses the disagreement, you should not arbitrarily discuss the subject.
- When crossing the road in Hanoi, especially in Ho Chi Minh City, pay attention to vehicles on both sides and go slowly.
- Taste at least one street food.
- See the traditional water puppet show in Hanoi.
Things should not to do in Vietnam – Planning a trip to Vietnam
- Do not wear clothes, skirts, dresses too short or too revealing into churches or temples. Because there is always a dress code in these sanctuaries.
- When traveling to villages of ethnic minorities, you should not invite them to candy, or things contain high sugar, or a bottle of water. Because you may be mistaken for having bad intentions with local people here. If you want to learn about history or customs, you should not arbitrarily find out, but ask a guide or villager to arrange for you.
- Do not directly give money to ethnic minorities, instead donate local charities or give them a small gift, such as a pen.
- Do not lie down or sit, but your feet turn towards the altar of the homeowner. That is one of the persistent things of Vietnamese people.
- Do not bring lots of money or valuable things with you when you go out, as you may be pocketed or robbed.
- Do not try to take pictures where there is a ban and the area is not allowed to take photo.
