Advice on travelling around Vietnam
Discussion
I’m quite out of date (about 10 years) but out of the cities cash was king to the best of my recollection. But there were cash points in most places.
In the cities card will be fine but the street stalls are superb and again will likely need cash.
Someone more up to date will hopefully come along.
Side note: best place I’ve ever traveled, loved every second.
Answers to questions you didn’t ask:
Eat at the stands with queues, food hygiene leaves a lot to be desired but the food is incredibly tasty. Try the Bahn Mi.
Don’t stop/hesitate when crossing the road and they’ll go around you.
If you injure someone you become liable for their medical bills. Because of this taxi drivers won’t want you to put your seatbelt on, just ignore them and do it anyway. If you hire a car/bike be extremely careful of people jumping in front of you (seriously).
Ha long city was disappointing. Cat ba island is a better base for the islands if you’re not doing it from Hanoi.
Aside from this it’s a wonderful and beautiful country with incredible people.
In the cities card will be fine but the street stalls are superb and again will likely need cash.
Someone more up to date will hopefully come along.
Side note: best place I’ve ever traveled, loved every second.
Answers to questions you didn’t ask:
Eat at the stands with queues, food hygiene leaves a lot to be desired but the food is incredibly tasty. Try the Bahn Mi.
Don’t stop/hesitate when crossing the road and they’ll go around you.
If you injure someone you become liable for their medical bills. Because of this taxi drivers won’t want you to put your seatbelt on, just ignore them and do it anyway. If you hire a car/bike be extremely careful of people jumping in front of you (seriously).
Ha long city was disappointing. Cat ba island is a better base for the islands if you’re not doing it from Hanoi.
Aside from this it’s a wonderful and beautiful country with incredible people.
We went in February, you definitely can't pay everywhere on your card, so you'll need cash - fees etc obviously depends upon your bank, and which machine you're using.
Food is great, as is the iced coffee (it's everywhere) - lots of different local beers if that's your thing - we used an app called Grab for taxis / airports etc, just make sure you select a car not a bike.
Food is great, as is the iced coffee (it's everywhere) - lots of different local beers if that's your thing - we used an app called Grab for taxis / airports etc, just make sure you select a car not a bike.
I am right this moment in Hanoi - been in Saigon last week all for work. I have been coming here for 10 years and as everyone has said it's great. Not as much English spoken as the rest of Asia but you get by
Card payment for most BIG stores/brands, hotels etc and cash for everything else. Get a card loaded before you travel is an easy option to save fees.
Food is great but as said before hygiene is not, so be mindful. I am here for work so I only eat in the main places and not street food, as if I get ill it will mess up my work. But today is my last office day so some great food tonight before I head home.
I would also investigate a eSim for data while out and about - cheap and easy to have on your phone if you need to search for anything while out and about.
One thing you will notice is the roads, bikes and driving is mad - I think London cyclists were once in a previous life from Vietnam as traffic lights, laws do not apply to them. It's mayhem on the roads but they get by. They drive slow, but very close to everyone. It's a real eye opener. Think mopeds as just motorised walking and it them makes more sense. If the road is busy, they ride on the pavement!!!
Have fun and enjoy
Card payment for most BIG stores/brands, hotels etc and cash for everything else. Get a card loaded before you travel is an easy option to save fees.
Food is great but as said before hygiene is not, so be mindful. I am here for work so I only eat in the main places and not street food, as if I get ill it will mess up my work. But today is my last office day so some great food tonight before I head home.
I would also investigate a eSim for data while out and about - cheap and easy to have on your phone if you need to search for anything while out and about.
One thing you will notice is the roads, bikes and driving is mad - I think London cyclists were once in a previous life from Vietnam as traffic lights, laws do not apply to them. It's mayhem on the roads but they get by. They drive slow, but very close to everyone. It's a real eye opener. Think mopeds as just motorised walking and it them makes more sense. If the road is busy, they ride on the pavement!!!
Have fun and enjoy
Was in Vietnam for 5 weeks last Sept/Oct. Hotels can all be booked online, we found Agoda a fairly good site for booking.
Eating, international restaurants will take cards, but anything local will be cash only, not a problem as food is inexpensive so you don’t need to carry much.
Do try the local food; I can’t begin to describe how good it is and how much it varies around the country.
WiFi is available in most places and connectivity is good.
Travel, trains though dated and fairly slow are a good way to travel. Long distance bus/sleeper bus is lying down affair never tried. So called limousines, in reality a Sprinter van with nice seats are relaxing way to travel. Don’t dismiss internal flights, sometimes cheaper and certainly faster than alternatives.
Note of caution; a lot of local online information is either out of date or incorrect, I recommend physically checking with the service provider.
Eating, international restaurants will take cards, but anything local will be cash only, not a problem as food is inexpensive so you don’t need to carry much.
Do try the local food; I can’t begin to describe how good it is and how much it varies around the country.
WiFi is available in most places and connectivity is good.
Travel, trains though dated and fairly slow are a good way to travel. Long distance bus/sleeper bus is lying down affair never tried. So called limousines, in reality a Sprinter van with nice seats are relaxing way to travel. Don’t dismiss internal flights, sometimes cheaper and certainly faster than alternatives.
Note of caution; a lot of local online information is either out of date or incorrect, I recommend physically checking with the service provider.
Only got back from Vietnam last week.
Use the ATMs to get cash out. Didn't use a card once, except to pay a couple of the hotels that were pay on arrival
Get the app Grab for all your taxi/motorbike taxi needs. This will charge all journeys direct to cars you have registered in the app. Taxis etc are cheap as chips.
One tip..the notes are a little confusing, as they all have lots of 000s. When you get given change, take a moment to organise it the right way round, and in denomination order as you put it in your wallet. Makes paying for the next thing a bit easier.
Enjoy...your money goes a long way there.
One more thing...I still use BT email (I know!). BT don't guarantee a service outside of the UK (who knew), and locked us out of our email accounts. It couldn't be resolved until we got back to the UK, so I had 10 days with no email, but luckily I had all the documentation I needed stored on my phone. Lots of people have reported the same issue in Vietnam.
Use the ATMs to get cash out. Didn't use a card once, except to pay a couple of the hotels that were pay on arrival
Get the app Grab for all your taxi/motorbike taxi needs. This will charge all journeys direct to cars you have registered in the app. Taxis etc are cheap as chips.
One tip..the notes are a little confusing, as they all have lots of 000s. When you get given change, take a moment to organise it the right way round, and in denomination order as you put it in your wallet. Makes paying for the next thing a bit easier.
Enjoy...your money goes a long way there.
One more thing...I still use BT email (I know!). BT don't guarantee a service outside of the UK (who knew), and locked us out of our email accounts. It couldn't be resolved until we got back to the UK, so I had 10 days with no email, but luckily I had all the documentation I needed stored on my phone. Lots of people have reported the same issue in Vietnam.
Edited by alpertonian on Thursday 21st December 08:57
Card or cash? Depends where you are, the more rural you go the fewer options you'll have to use cards, though most places will have an ATM or two knocking about. Cards for all your major spending like hotels should be fine.
Make sure you have the best possible card for foreign spending - I use a Halifax Clarity, which is reasonable on that front, though I don't use it for ATM withdrawls. Also have a Firdt Direct debit card, which is better if I needed to withdraw cash. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/tra...
I was in Thailand recently, even the street sellers have QR codes for paying directly into their bank accounts, though I didn't try setting that up (I think GrabPay would have worked for that.)
For documentation, I use Box, and ensure that everything I need for that trip is in one folder, and make the contents of that folder available offline, ideally on more than one device. (critical stuff like boarding passes are still printed out like a total luddite.)
Another vote for Grab - it's superb in SE Asia for getting about, without the low-grade Tourist Price ripoffs that come with most taxis.
Make sure you have the best possible card for foreign spending - I use a Halifax Clarity, which is reasonable on that front, though I don't use it for ATM withdrawls. Also have a Firdt Direct debit card, which is better if I needed to withdraw cash. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/tra...
I was in Thailand recently, even the street sellers have QR codes for paying directly into their bank accounts, though I didn't try setting that up (I think GrabPay would have worked for that.)
alpertonian said:
BT don't guarantee a service outside of the UK (who knew), and locked us out of our email accounts. It couldn't be resolved until we got back to the UK, so I had 10 days with no email, but luckily I had all the documentation I needed stored on my phone. Lots of people have reported the same issue in Vietnam.
That's true. The same problem doesn't occur in either Thailand or Singapore, lord knows why they're picky about Vietnam.For documentation, I use Box, and ensure that everything I need for that trip is in one folder, and make the contents of that folder available offline, ideally on more than one device. (critical stuff like boarding passes are still printed out like a total luddite.)
Another vote for Grab - it's superb in SE Asia for getting about, without the low-grade Tourist Price ripoffs that come with most taxis.
Edited by shtu on Friday 22 December 23:21
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