Vietnam travel tips: The ultimate insider guide to logistics, safety, and culture

Do you need a visa for Vietnam?

Travellers from the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand need a visa, and the easiest one is the official e-visa: US$25 for a single entry or US$50 for multiple entries, valid for up to 90 days. Singapore passports get 30 days visa-free and UK passports 45 days. Apply on the official portal, evisa.gov.vn, a week before you fly.

Sources: Vietnam National Electronic Visa portal (evisa.gov.vn), checked 1 October 2026. Exemption lists change, so confirm yours on the portal before booking.

The e-visa fee is not refunded if an application is refused, so check every field against your passport before paying. Agency sites that look official often charge three or four times the government fee for the same document. Your passport should be valid for at least six months after you arrive, and immigration staff will want a free page for the entry stamp. The form also asks for your entry port, so pick the airport you will really land at. Our full walkthrough of the Vietnam e-visa covers the photo rules and the mistakes that get applications sent back.

How much cash do you need, and can you pay by card?

Vietnam runs on the dong, at roughly 26,000 VND to 1 US dollar in mid-2026. Cards work in hotels, malls, chain cafés and most restaurants aimed at visitors, but street food, markets, small shops and many taxis are cash only. Keep around 1,000,000 VND (~38 USD) in small notes for daily spending and top up from ATMs.

Vietnamese notes are polymer and easy to mix up. The 500,000 VND note and the 20,000 VND note are both blue, and paying with the wrong one is the most common money mistake we see in the first 48 hours. Count the zeros before you hand anything over, and keep large notes in a separate pocket from small ones. Many cafés and stalls display a QR code for bank transfers, but those codes are built for Vietnamese banking apps, so treat them as a bonus rather than your plan. If you bring US dollars, carry clean, undamaged notes: exchange counters can refuse torn or marked bills.

ATMs charge a fee per withdrawal on top of whatever your home bank adds, so take out larger amounts less often instead of small sums every day. Tell your bank you are travelling before you leave, because a blocked card on day one is harder to fix from Hanoi than from home. For exchange rates, ATM limits and where to change money without losing on the rate, read our guide to Vietnam currency.

What happens when you land at the airport?

Arrival day follows the same order at Noi Bai (Hanoi) and Tan Son Nhat (Ho Chi Minh City): immigration, baggage, then a SIM card and a ride into town. Immigration is the slow part. When several long-haul flights land together the queue can pass an hour, so walk straight there and leave the toilet stop for later.

Have your passport and a printed copy of your e-visa in hand when you reach the officer. A phone screenshot usually works too, but a paper copy saves you if the battery dies or the airport Wi-Fi drops. Most travellers simply join the queue and wait. If you are landing with small children, older parents or a tight onward connection, a Vietnam airport fast track service meets you before immigration and takes you through the priority lane, which is the one part of the trip where an hour saved really matters.

Once you are through, buy a local SIM or switch on an eSIM before you look for a ride, because Grab needs data. Then choose how to get into town. The app price is the honest benchmark: anyone in the arrivals hall offering a "fixed price" ride well above it is a tout.

Sources: published fare checks for Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City airports, July to September 2026. The app quote on the day is the real price.

In Ho Chi Minh City the airport is much closer to the centre, and a Grab car from Tan Son Nhat to District 1 usually costs 180,000 to 280,000 VND (~7 to 11 USD).

How do you get around Vietnam?

Inside cities, use Grab, Be or Xanh SM: the fare is fixed in the app and there is nothing to haggle. Between cities, sleeper buses are the cheapest option, trains cost roughly twice as much but are more comfortable, and domestic flights save a full day on long north to south hops.

Sources: published bus, train and Grab fare checks, June to September 2026. Around Tet (Lunar New Year), bus and train fares can double or triple and sell out days ahead.

On a GrabBike, the driver hands you a helmet, which is compulsory. Hold the grab bar behind the seat rather than the driver, keep your knees tucked in, and keep your bag on your lap, not slung behind you. Budget airlines weigh cabin bags at the gate and charge for anything over the allowance, so check yours before you pack.

Renting a motorbike yourself is where many visitors get into trouble. Vietnam recognises international driving permits issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention, together with your home licence and a motorbike category. The US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand issue permits under the older 1949 convention, so those permits are not valid here, however official the booklet looks. Police can fine unlicensed riders 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 VND (~77 to 154 USD), and travel insurers can refuse claims after an accident. If you want a motorbike day in the mountains, ride on the back with a licensed local driver instead.

Is Vietnam safe for tourists?

Vietnam is a safe country for visitors, and violent crime against tourists is uncommon. The real risks are smaller and predictable: phones and bags snatched from passing motorbikes in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, overcharging on taxis and drinks, and traffic. A few habits deal with all three.

Snatch thieves work from motorbikes, so check maps with your back to a shopfront, hold the phone with both hands and carry your bag on the side away from the road. To cross a busy street, walk slowly at a steady pace and do not run or step back suddenly: drivers read your speed and steer around you. Use ride apps rather than street taxis at night, and confirm the price of anything not on a menu before you order it.

For health, drink bottled or filtered water, not tap water. Ice in cafés and restaurants is generally factory-made, the cylinder-shaped kind with a hole through the middle. Mosquitoes that carry dengue bite mostly in the daytime, so the CDC advises an insect repellent such as DEET or picaridin. Pharmacy chains like Pharmacity are in every city, but for anything more than a minor problem, see a doctor and keep your travel insurance details on your phone.

What etiquette matters most in Vietnam?

Five habits cover most situations: cover your shoulders and knees at temples and pagodas, take your shoes off when entering a home, haggle with a smile in markets but not in shops with price tags, never leave chopsticks standing upright in a bowl of rice, and ask before photographing people up close.

Chopsticks left upright look like incense sticks burned for the dead. In markets such as Dong Xuan in Hanoi, haggling is expected and should stay light: ask for a better price, smile, and if the answer is no, walk slowly away. If the seller does not call you back, the last price was close to the real floor. Raising your voice makes the other person lose face and ends the conversation. Addressing an older man as "anh" and an older woman as "chị" is a small courtesy that people notice. Tipping is not expected in most places, but it is welcome for good guides and drivers; our guide to tipping in Vietnam lists amounts that make sense.

Where should a first trip to Vietnam go?

With two weeks, most first trips run north to south: Hanoi and a bay cruise, the central coast around Hoi An and Hue, then Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta. With 7 to 10 days, pick two regions instead of three, because Vietnam is more than 1,600 km long and every transfer eats half a day.

In the north, two days in Hanoi covers the Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake, the Temple of Literature and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum; the last two ask for covered shoulders and knees. For the bay, Lan Ha has the same limestone islands as Ha Long with far fewer boats. In Sapa, hiring a local Hmong guide keeps the money in the villages you walk through.

On the central coast, give Hoi An two full days if you want clothes made: tailors need a first fitting and a final adjustment, usually over 24 to 48 hours. Visit My Son Sanctuary at opening time to beat the heat. In the south, the Cai Rang floating market near Can Tho is at its busiest at dawn; by mid-morning it is mostly tourist boats. Weather differs by region in the same month, so check our guide to the best time to visit Vietnam before fixing your route.

More practical guides for your trip

This page covers the essentials. Each guide below goes deeper on one topic:

• Vietnam SIM card: which network to pick, eSIM or physical SIM, and airport kiosk prices.
• Vietnam currency: notes, exchange rates and ATM fees.
• Vietnam travel budget: daily costs by region and travel style.
• Tipping in Vietnam: who to tip and how much.
• Vietnam electric plug: socket types and voltage.

FAQ

What should I avoid in Vietnam?

Avoid airport touts and taxis without a meter or app price, riding a motorbike without a valid licence, holding your phone at the kerb, and tap water. Culturally, avoid raising your voice in a dispute, wearing shorts or sleeveless tops into temples, and leaving chopsticks upright in rice.

Is it better to use cash or card in Vietnam?

Use both. Cards work in hotels, malls and most tourist restaurants, but street food, markets, small shops and many taxis take cash only. Carry about 1,000,000 VND in small notes for daily spending, withdraw larger amounts less often to limit ATM fees, and keep one backup card in a separate place.

Can you drink tap water in Vietnam?

No. Drink bottled or filtered water, and use it to brush your teeth if you have a sensitive stomach. Many hotels offer free refills from filtered dispensers, and the tube-shaped ice served in established cafés is made in factories from purified water.

How many days do you need in Vietnam?

Five days is enough for one city and its surroundings, such as Hanoi with Ha Long Bay or Ninh Binh. Ten days covers two regions comfortably. Two weeks or more lets you travel from north to south without spending every other day in transit, since the country is over 1,600 km long.