Vietnam – quick travel guide

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Asia’s beautiful, cheap, and less touristy destination. Compact, easy to get around, lots of fun and amazing places to explore.

Vietnam is rich in diversity of terrain and culture. Culturally and geographically, Vietnam is closest to Thailand (maybe more Laos but I haven’t been). But still distinctly different in many ways and most certainly a unique and worthwhile place to visit. Many people do fall in love with the place and settle down here…it’s been a popular spot for expats for decades.

It’s a small country with so many amazing and unique destinations. Many different types of terrain and landscapes. Rich in culture and authentic places where people don’t speak English yet (but the most recent government wants to have everyone speaking English very soon). The way many people get around is by motorbike (and most likely so will you), leading to a very fun and adventurous experience. Don’t worry if you don’t want to ride any motobikes.

People usually say November to March is the best time since it’s off-season and less busy, less hot. But I’d say avoid Dec to Jan as yes, it’s cooler and less hot…but it’s still cloudy and photos don’t look as nice. Also, the less touristy places feel kind of dead. I feel February or March is better. However late January is nice if you want to be there for Tet Festival (their new year’s). So perhaps late Jan to late Feb would be the best time range for first timers.

Vietnam highlights can be done in 2 weeks. 4 weeks or 1 month is probably the ideal time for you to see all the different areas and visit major attractions. Most people spend one month because Vietnam is cheap, easy, organized, and also the country is already shaped in a long vertical shape so you can easily enter from one end and exit the other.

Vietnam is a rapidly developing country and yet in many ways, also modernized. The vibe is free and carefree. Not so much government rules, things are cheap, less developed yet many modern amenities. A fun, raw, natural haven for off-the-beaten-road type of travelers and expats. The government has plans to make everyone speak English by 2025. Cheaper and less touristy than Thailand, China, yet more developed than Cambodia and Laos. Vietnam is a really good mix of west meets east, old meets new, past meets present.

Another good way to put it is that Vietnam is a good mix of a developed and also undeveloped country. Undeveloped in that it’s still raw, still authentic, still super cheap, many things are still done the old way and you feel like you’re going far off the beaten path. But it’s also developed in that they have many 1st-world conveniences, and it’s easy to get around, things are much more organized than you think (at least for tourism). I guess you could say it’s like the “glamping” version of an undeveloped country. You can enjoy creature comforts from your off-grid backpacking tour.

The shape of Vietnam being long and vertical makes it super easy to travel. Because everyone either goes from south to north (entering Ho Chi Minh City and exiting Hanoi), or north to south. This means all other travelers you meet will either be going in the same direction as you, or opposite direction as you. Which then gives you 2 benefits:

  • If they’re going the same direction as you, then you’ll keep running into the same travelers again and again. Which is great for making deeper friendship bonds and always having people to hang out and do activities with.
  • If they’re going the opposite direction as you, then both of you can share useful information with each other. Helping each other with tips on where to stay, best tours and activities to book and with which companies, how to get from A to B, etc.

General tips for traveling in Vietnam:

  • Main airports – Ho Chi Minh City aka “Saigon” (south), and Hanoi (north). Between the 2…Hanoi is considered the better destination (closer to more tourist locations). But usually, you will fly into one and fly out of the other.
  • Get your E-VISA:
    • Most visitors will need VISA. Look up the info and do it ASAP. I heard you should do it 30 days before arrival (but actually can be approved in 3-5 days). If you need faster turnaround, contact different VISA agencies asap. Some of them can get it done faster for you than others. Dzung Phu Pham helped me get mines last minute when I was worried the official one wouldn’t approve in time. Seems he had a hookup with someone who works in the official VISA org.
  • Transportation:
    • Rideshare apps – already so cheap for foreigners, so I use rideshare rather than public transportation.
      • In Vietnam, you can call both a car or motobike. Car can hold more people but will take forever because it’s less agile to squeeze through traffic. Motorbike is much faster, and don’t worry it’s pretty safe, and quite fun. Also, even if you have small carry-on luggage…you’d be surprised, but many motorbikes can take it no problem. The driver will find a way somehow sticking it between his legs or something. So yeah…call motorbike rather than car, especially if you’re late for the airport.
      • Grab – most popular app for ridehare, food delivery, etc. Especially useful in the main cities. You can also open up your Grab app on the streets and a nearby mototaxi guy will come over to steal you from the app. You haggle with him on the price and he takes you. Honestly, I’d be weary of this, as many will then find someway somehow to rip you off. Either by not taking you all the way, demanding a higher price, or acting like they don’t have enough change, or even outright trying to rip you off on the change. There are may many scams!
      • Gojek (green) & Be (yellow) – Gojek looks like a ripoff of Grab, as it has a similar green color and can be easily confused. Be is known for sometimes being cheaper than Grab.
      • Xanh SM – is for taxi’s. Some people like that they have newer nicer cars, and uniformed drivers instead of some random dude.
    • Bus/shuttle:
      • I never used bus transportation within the city, but I have used the bus shuttles between cities. It’s very well organized and there are tons of them. You could book online but you could also just go in person the day before or ask our accommodation where the buses are, and they figure it out for you. Of course, it’s cheaper to just show up the day of and pay in person…but maybe you’ll feel more secure to book with your place of accommodation. Many things are official and yet unofficial in Vietnam.
      • Super long distance shuttles usually have sleeper beds. These are very narrow and very short. Definitely not for the 2m tall european guy, but they still take it and have fun being cramped.
      • BusMap – useful app to help you find local buses and save money getting from airport to city center.
    • Flights:
      • Domestic flights in Vietnam are super cheap and many available. You can even book last minute like the day of. Of course, it’s cheaper if you can decide some days before.
  • Accommodation:
    • Agoda – best website for booking places to stay, it’s what most people use in that part of the world. I’ve also used Booking and Hostelworld, etc.
    • Homestays – a homestay is basically a local family who owns the building and has many rooms available for you to rent. They also use the ground floor (street-facing) space as a restaurant or market. And sometimes they have “family dinners” where you and other guests along with the family can all eat together and meet each other. It’s similar to other countries, like mountain guesthouse in certain countries, or”pousada” in Brazil. It’s a nice alternative and sometimes the only cheap option to stay other than hotel.
  • Mobile ESIM:
    • Phone and data plans are so cheap in Vietnam, like $10 covers you for the whole month. It doesn’t make sense to go without one. I generally feel Viettel is usually considered the best one with the best service range throughout. I used it throughout from north to south and in some remote places and it still worked well.
    • Always try to buy from an official shop. 3rd-party shops (especially the ones at the airport) rip you off. They’ll claim to sell you X amount of GB for $__, and then you somehow always end up having much less than what you paid for. The ones at the airport rip you off on the plan because they know you’ll be gone by then, your internet stops working like 2 days after you left the airport.

Miscellaneous tips:

  • Tap water – most people don’t recommend it. Especially not for foreigners whose bodies aren’t adapted to it yet. Foreigners also tend to ask for “no ice” when ordering drinks. Although I’ve had the ice and didn’t have any stomach or diarrhea issues yet.
  • Flight delays – flights are almost always late by an hour if not more (it’s not common to be late even up to 4-12hrs). But still, you have to check-in on time even if the flight is delayed. But you should always count on the flight being 1-2 hours late. VietJet is typically considered the worst one and everybody jokes about them.
  • Exchanging money – you can do it at any jewelry store or travel agencies (I think these give better rates). NOTE: they may offer you a lower rate for worn/damaged bills. I think USD, AUD, EUR are most common. I don’t know about the other currencies.
  • Last minute flights – Vietnam is usually cheap enough that last minute (domestic) flights can be bought very cheap. Good to know in case you wanna randomly reroute yourself to somewhere else.
  • BusMap – great app to help see routes and time schedules of public transportation system. Currently only for the bigger cities. Super helpful for getting around inexpensively.

Safety tips:

  • Bike thieves – careful of bikers speeding by and grabbing your phone (or other valuables).
  • Lots of overprice scams – where they charge foreigners super high amounts. Look around to see what locals are paying. Don’t immediately respond to anyone speaking English to you when they run straight up to you. Look past them for menus and cues, signs. Quite often there’s a sign right there showing the actual prices (which are cheaper than the ones they give you verbally). Haggling is almost everywhere and with everything…even with things that appear “official price”.
  • Motorbike/scooter:
    • Important things to know when you run a bike. Make sure you have helmet and sufficient gas. Make a note of nearest gas stations. If they’re already close, you can save money buying from gas stations rather than from rental place. Also…it’s easier to rent bikes from your place of accommodation, so you don’t have to go far to return it.
    • Check the tires (for proper air, not flat) and check the brakes. Make sure the brakes work perfectly, and also that the brakes don’t stick before you go fast. (I fell my first time because the bike had a problem with the brakes locking up and one of the wheels wouldn’t turn!)
    • If your bike won’t start because of dead battery…you can manually crank-start it by hiking the back end up on the kickstand, and then pull out the pedal and manually push it to start. I need to find proper words and YouTube link later
  • Rideshare scams:
    • As you’re booking a ride, random guy on the street comes up and says he works for “Grab” or that he’s also a taxi and can give you a better price. Or maybe you already have a car booked, he’ll ask what your driver’s name is and then claim to be him, then ask to verify the car on your phone…then try to cancel your car. Either way, once you go with him…he moves onto one of the following tricks.
    • Either he won’t take you to where you need to go. Doing commission stops to souvenir shops and other restaurants, while claiming that the place you want to go is “closed today”.
    • Or he demands more money than the original price he gave you, saying that he misunderstood the location you wanted and that your actual location is farther and therefore costs more. Of course, this discussion doesn’t happen at the beginning of the ride when you had many taxis around…it happens when you’re in the middle of nowhere (maybe with no cell reception).
    • Or when you arrive and try to pay, he doesn’t have the correct change for your bill. He’s conveniently short and now he’s got your stuff in the trunk and won’t release it unless you pay out your giant bill and he leaves with a big bonus. Or even worse, you hand him 200k dong but he switched it out and claims you only gave him 20k. Or as he’s digging for the change and you step out of the car, he then suddenly speeds off without giving you change.
    • There are endless dirty tricks. Be careful!

Foods to try:

  • Pho (rice noodle)
  • Banh mi (sandwich with meat, vegetables, and pate)
  • Bun (vermicelli noodle)
  • Banh xeo (aka Vietnamese crepe, or Vietnamese pancake) – it’s like egg crepe with stuff in it.
  • Street food – sold anywhere but usually best at “night markets”.

Vietnam cities (* = recommended, ** = must see):

  • North – considered the best region by tourists (foreign and national), has more beautiful things to see. Generally more relaxed peaceful vibe, compared to South (with busy Saigon and touristy beaches).
    • Hanoi** – lovely city. Considered a big city but still cozy and vibrant by European standards. Full of culture and local vibes. Nice water area in city center.
    • Ha Long Bay* (Lan Ha Bay, Cat Ba island) – famous bay with rocky landscapes that you typically see in Vietnam tourism photos. Most ppl do a 1 or multiple-day boat tour/cruise. Or stay on nearby island like Cat Ba. I enjoyed the chill vibes of Cat Ba island, riding bikes around it when we weren’t exploring the bay via boat. I suggest researching tours carefully before picking one as there are many shady ones (over-priced and lame experience). Ha Long Bay can easily be a 1-day tour just to take pictures. It’s not really a place to stay IMO. Beware that it usually looks murky clouds rather than with sun like in photos.
    • Ninh Binh** – considered the Ha Long Bay on land. Also beautiful rocky landscapes but more land instead of just water. I (and many people) say it’s more beautiful and also more unique than Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh is my favorite tourist place in Vietnam and most unique terrain to Vietnam. Ha Long Bay is a touristy, crowded, beach place full of engine -noise from boats. Then when you’re not in the bay, you’re on land in tourist restaurants. Ninh Binh has a much more local vibe, you stay in homestay and have many locals all around you. If you’re staying in the remote parts (outside of town), it’s a beautiful connection with nature. And then when you do the boat tour, it’s a paddleboat…so super peaceful and zen, no noise, just you and nature! I would easily recommend Ninh Binh over Ha Long Bay any day.
    • Sapa Valley** – famous hilly landscapes of rice fields. Great scenery for hiking and riding a motorbike. Staying at homestays and checking out the Vietnamese mountain people, who have their own culture and way of dress. Can be cold! Many people choose either Sapa Valley or Ha Giang, but not both since they both have mountain terrain and mountain people cultures. Ha Giang if you want to do the motorbike tour, Sa Pa if you want to hike and see mountain Vietnamese culture.
    • Ha Giang** – similar to Sapa Valley (with some green hill-field landscapes and mountain people), but also has the famous Ha Giang Loop which is known its iconic motorbike tours (3 or 4 days). For (usually young) people, it’s their most favorite memory of Vietnam. Just be careful when you ride and check for good weather so you have beautiful visibility/photos of the hills. It can also get very cold in some seasons.
  • Central – huge area
    • Hoi An** – iconic lantern city on the water. 2 days is enough. Even to cover the many nearby attractions, My Son temple (awesome), Marble Mountains (tourist-trap kinda), beaches.
    • Hue* – small but awesome modern city. Not as much unique historical value (outside of the Historical City and pagodas) or as picturesque as other cities but still a really awesome spot in my opinion. It reminds me a bit of Istanbul and Naples.
    • Da Nang – clean, less touristy beach city. Super close to Hoi An. It’s a nice place, but more for living than for visiting (not so many tourist things to do). Most people know the Da Nang tourist photo of the Ba Na Hills theme park with the Golden Bridge (with the hands). Just FYI: that theme park costs like $40usd and not worth it. Everybody’s there only for the Golden Bridge photo op. Can check out Nam O Reef. I feel (white) Westerners will like it because it’s clean and has a beach. Whereas Asians, especially ones who don’t care for beach or skin-tanning, will see it as empty and boring.
    • Phong Nha – famous caves, the largest caves in the world. There are many cave options, each with their own details (size, things to see, type of tour, cost, etc). I skipped this as it took too many days and is out of the way to reach. Cave tours are anywhere from 1-6 days, and $100-3000 USD…depending which caves, which parts, etc.
  • South – many locals will recommend saving your time for the north but the biggest city, Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) is where the biggest busy city and nightlife is. Perhaps more popular for young people who don’t want to be a small town, also older people running businesses here. And then you also have the popular islands. South also has consistently hotter temperatures making it very favorable for foreigners who want a hot sunny place.
    • Ho Chi Minh (Saigon)** – Vietnam’s busiest city, also biggest foreigner and expat community. Although it isn’t Vietnam’s most geographically beautiful destination, it’s the most popular for a reason. Lively and lots to do. Come here for the big city life.
    • Da Lat (mountain town)* – nice chill weather all year round (good break from Vietnam’s usual heat), can be slightly chilly during colder months. Well liked as a nice, small, charmy, and beautiful super clean (Vietnam’s cleanest) city. Has its own unique vibe and some interesting IG photo ops. Both native Vietnamese and foreigners enjoyed it more than they thought they would. The more I learn about it, the more I wish I went. See guides 1 & 2. (There are also some people who feel Da Lat is boring and nothing to do.)
    • Phu Quoc (island)* – developed island town with many hotels, restaurants, bars. Lots of tourists and things to do. Despite being more developed, you can find places for all types of vibes…where it be fancy resort, busy town center, or remote peace.
    • Con Dao (island) – smaller less developed island town. More locals and undeveloped nature. Opposite vibe of Phu Quoc. Can feel like a really dead ghost town during off season, where many restaurants are empty.
    • Nha Trang – popular beach town with tons of Russians and Chinese expats/foreigners. Beautiful, many shops and restaurants. Much more things to do than Da Nang.
    • Can Tho – main town to visit the Mekong Delta and see the floating (boat) markets on the river. Many people say it’s too touristy and trashy now and not worth the hassle of getting here. You should visit if you’re curious as this culture will soon disappear in a few years if not already.
    • Mui Ne – the small fishing village with sand dunes and beaches. Some feel it’s a fun small lively town with fun sand activities for tourists. Others feel it’s boring, dirty (trash everywhere), and especially dead during off-season.

You can do 5-6 main highlight stops in 2 weeks, a full tour in 1 month (hitting 85% of major stops), and a relaxed comprehensive tour (hitting all major stops PLUS relaxing) in 6 weeks. However many people also get stuck and find themselves for many months or even years in Vietnam.

The 3 regions are north, central, and south. The north is considered the best, more natural beauty and cultural things, more destinations in the north, and more time should be allotted there than in central & south. With that said, central and south are still absolutely worth visiting even if you’re on a short trip.

Typically, people are recommended to start in the north (flying into Hanoi) and then work their way south (leaving from Ho Chi Minh aka “Saigon”), since those are the 2 major airport destinations. Of course you can go from south to north but that runs the risk of you losing time for the nicer things in the north.

Other places I heard but don’t know about:

  • Quy Nhon – nicest beaches, they say.
  • Binh Chanh – someone said is the best.

Nearby countries:

  • Thailand
  • Cambodia
  • Laos

Unfiltered notes:

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