Travelling overseas to a new country is not an easy thing to do, and despite our experiences with it we always encounter things during a trip we wish we’d known before we came. Vietnam is not an exception to this rule, the country distinctly different from its neighbours, giving rise to its own culture and norms. This may not be the most comprehensive guide out there – that would require more of a book than a blog post – but at the very least, we thought we’d detail a few things that we learned while we were there.
Hygiene
Travel essentials
We’ll start off with a tip that isn’t specific to Vietnam. If you’re on holiday it’s always a good idea to bring tissues, hand sanitiser, and wet wipes. The last thing you want if you’re trying to enjoy a week-long trip away from home is to be sick half the time for reasons that could be easily prevented by a couple of small hygiene measures.
It’s even more important in Vietnam, where public restroom facilities are not as good as in other countries, as will be outlined below. Small preventative measures can be the difference between a great holiday or hours stuck in the bathroom.
Public Restrooms
It is not uncommon for public restrooms in Vietnam to not have tissue paper in the cubicles. If this is the case, check in the general bathroom area, where there is often a communal roll of tissue paper from a dispenser on the wall which you will have to take before going.
Some restrooms also do not have soap or hand dryers, which makes the three items mentioned before essential to staying healthy.
Food
Restaurants
Each country will have varying restaurant etiquette or procedure. In Vietnam, you’ll be seated and approached by a wait staff who will take your order. Once you’ve eaten, payment is made by approaching the service counter or register.
It is acceptable to share dishes. We often ordered one portion between the two of us while we were on our many food trawls, but we would recommend at least ordering a reasonable number and not to order only one if there’s more than three of you.
Wet tissues may be offered at large establishments, usually printed with the restaurant logo or details. If you take or use them, they will be charged on your bill at around ₫2,000 (US$0.09) per packet. With the tissues being cheap, we did use them from time to time when we were low on our own, but it is good to note that they aren’t free.
A majority of local restaurants have rubbish bins located beneath each dining table for patrons to discard tissues or food waste. Rubbish is usually not found on tabletops but in the unfortunate event where the bins are not present, many locals will discard scraps beneath the table. In any case, if you have used tissues, look out for the bins beneath the tables to throw before you leave.
In local restaurants it is also not uncommon for many chairs and tables to be very low, often no taller than your shins. As we’re quite short we didn’t mind it, but it is worth mentioning for anyone who’s tall that it will likely be something you’ll encounter.
There is no tipping.
Finding good food
One of the best apps we used when we were in Vietnam was Foody, which is the restaurant rating app that is equivalent to Yelp or Zomato. While it is in Vietnamese, you can change the settings once the app is downloaded to change the language to English. Since it’s a local app, information such as opening times are often much more accurate than on Google.
The menu items will still be listed in Vietnamese, but there are often photographs of the items to help. Furthermore, they’re also ranked in order of the most popular items, so if in doubt, you can always show the staff your phone and point to the top dishes on the list. Foody also lists all the menu prices on its app, as it is also used for ordering and delivery. That way, you can consult the app to ensure that you aren’t being overcharged as a foreigner.
The app is also an excellent way to search for food without venturing too far for the “famous” restaurants. Simply set the city and search for the name of the dish (in Vietnamese) you might be after. This was how we decided on most of the restaurants we visited when we were in Vietnam. We found that usually Foody ratings above 7.0 out of 10 is reliably delicious, and any higher than that is an excellent visit. Because the reviews are all in Vietnamese, we found that the local voice is much more telling than visiting Google.
Money
The currency used in Vietnam is the Vietnamese Dong, denoted by ₫. US$1 is equivalent to around ₫23,000.
Cash
Vietnam is still largely a cash-based society. There are no coins, but the notes come in denominations of 1, 2, and 5 of 100,000, 10,000, and 1,000. There are ₫500 notes but as these are only worth around US$0.02 they are very uncommonly used anywhere except for in large supermarkets who charge more exact prices.
It is important to learn to distinguish the notes properly. This is especially important for the ₫10,000 and ₫100,000 notes, as the ₫10,000 is a greenish-brown and the ₫100,000 is a brownish-green, and new ₫10,000 can look a lot like ₫100,000 notes. Make sure to check if you’re receiving change, or count it out clearly in sight of a shopkeeper if you’re making a payment and don’t trust the staff.
Credit cards
In major tourist areas such as in Hoi An or large souvenir shops, they might accept credit cards. Some tourist places and airport shops may even accept USD, though any change will be given in Vietnamese Dong and the conversion rate will be terrible.
Sim Cards
Tourist SIM cards with data-heavy options are widespread in Vietnam, and can be purchased at the airport. In Ho Chi Minh City, we bought a SIM Card before clearing immigrations as we waited for VISA confirmation, with rates for similar packages going for similar rates between companies. We bought a 30-day unlimited data SIM card for ₫220,000 (US$9.50) which can also be used to hotspot.
We used data for 4 main reasons: Google Translate, Google Maps, Foody, and Grab (the Southeast Asian equivalent of rideshare app Uber), which we found essential to our travels in a country where we didn’t know our way around and only spoke the bare minimum of the language.
The data, though advertised as “unlimited” is in reality a few GB of highspeed data and the remaining is low speed and virtually unusable. You can top up by buying credit at convenience stores, but it’s still important to mention that it is not as unlimited as it seems.
Telecommunication Companies
The four major companies (in order of the largest to smallest) are: Viettel, Vinaphone, Mobifone, and Vietnamobile. Viettel has the best coverage including between major cities which is important if you’ll be travelling to more rural areas or require internet travelling between cities. Besides that, Vinaphone and Mobifone have good coverage in major cities. People recommend not using Vietnamobile at all, and likely for good reason. We hardly saw any information on that company during our stay.
Transport
By far the easiest and most convenient method of going around shorter distances is Grab, the Southeast Asian ridesharing app equivalent to Uber. The method of requesting the driver is the same, and the app is available in English. You can take either cars (4- or 6-seater) or a motorbike, which only seats 1 but is often half the price of cars.
In major cities where the attractions are fairly concentrated we often went most places on foot, but things to watch out for are motorbikes. They can either act as vehicles or pedestrians, depending on which situation suits them best at that time, which means some wild antics including riding on footpaths or weaving the traffic in the opposite direction.
Taking a bus within a city
There’s no automated card system in Vietnam. There are two staff working on each bus: the driver, and the conductor. When you board, the conductor will point you to a seat. Keep in mind that because of time and space constraints you may not be seated with the rest of your companions and it is futile to argue or negotiate, as they have other concerns.
Once settled, the conductor will approach to take payment. They may give you a ticket, though it was not the case in most of the buses we rode. We found that fares are usually fixed per route regardless of the distance, but we it may not be the case for every bus.
Souvenirs
Vietnam has many commodities, including dried fruits such as mango and jackfruit, coffee, tea, and chocolate. Silk is also a common souvenir product especially in Central Vietnam. If you’re heading to Hoi An, check out the products there first if you can. The silk production centres there makes some of the products a little cheaper.
Convenience Stores
There are a few choices throughout Vietnam including Vinmart Plus, OK Mart, and Circle K. These are easy to find especially in the city centres. They are usually pretty stocked even if they’re small, with a selection of snacks, drinks, small meals, water, and toiletries. The options tend to be the same everywhere, and the prices may vary but not by much.
Convenience stores in the city centre may have places to sit for you to enjoy your meal, whereas in more suburban areas they may stock items that you might find in supermarkets but not open-air markets such as cooking ingredients and toiletries.
Ho Chi Minh City
Locals call this city Saigon, though if you refer to it as Ho Chi Minh, they will understand.
We were surprised that we visited fewer establishments where English was spoken in Saigon than in other cities, despite it being quite a big tourist location. This might depend more on the location, as we tended to avoid shops on the main backpacker streets such as Bui Vien.
Shopping in Saigon
Saigon is an excellent place for shopping, because of its wide range of local boutiques as well as a selection of cheaper, fast fashion items. The best place to go to shop for clothes is Nguyen Trai Street, where there are plenty of men’s, women’s, and children’s shopping scattered along the 3km road.
The district can be divided distinctly into 2 areas. The boutique stores can be found on the east side, between the roundabout and the Catholic Church. Prices can vary between around ₫400,000-600,000 (US$17-26) for nice blouses and simple dresses, and shops include some local chain brands for clothing basics.
On the western side, you’ll find many of the cheaper clothes, and this can be found from Pho Le to Animals TV Amusement Park. They tend to be clothes that you might find on the cheaper end of eBay or AliExpress, and the prices range from about ₫180,000-300,000 (US$7-13), and the quality varies just as much.
Danang and Hoi An
Bus Transport
We found that bus fares tend to be within and between Danang and Hoi An to be a flat rate of ₫20,000 (US$0.90). It may be cheaper than this but don’t be charged too much more than that.
Souvenirs
Along Duong Tran Phu, just north of the Cau Rong bridge there are plenty of souvenir stores that are aimed at foreign tourists, and especially Korean and Japanese visitors. They may be a little expensive but are fairly good quality. Note that the silk ties labelled 100% handmade silk is often sold as high as ₫300,000 here, whereas in other areas they can be cheaper than half of that.
To read more about silk and Hoi An, you can check out our articles for how to get there, what you can do and what to eat.
Hanoi
Transport
If you’re in need of transport in Hanoi, the buses are a cheap and reliable way of getting around. Rides only ₫7,000 (US$0.30) per person, as they’re subsidised by the government.
This fare is printed on the window of the bus so you can’t be scammed for more. You can download the Tìm Buyt bus app once you’re in Hanoi to see which route you need to take as well as real-time bus tracking.
Taxi to the Airport
By far one of our best discoveries was the Thanh Cong Airport Taxi, which will take you from Hanoi to the airport for a flat rate of ₫180,000 (US$7.75) if you’re within 33km. This service does not apply leaving the airport and will need to be booked. You can apply via their website (Vietnamese only, use a browser translator for English; email confirmation within 24 hours) or by phone, with some of their call staff speaking English. Once they have your details, they will send you a confirmation text, but make sure to confirm with the driver when your taxi arrives that the ride will be ₫180,000.
