# Travel Tips for Vietnam



## staramedia (Sep 23, 2014)

As a long and narrow country, Vietnam shares its borders with China, Laos and Cambodia. It has tall mountains, rice paddy terraces on rolling hills, white sandy beaches and beautiful waterways. Most travellers decide to start off their Vietnam trip in the capital city of Hanoi and then end their trip with a few days at the beach. It's also possible to fly into the country's former capital, Saigon. These days the city is known as Ho Chi Minh City, after the people's hero 'Uncle Ho'. 
More than 86 million people live in Vietnam and most live in the larger cities, however there are still quite a few mountain tribes, especially in the far north. We recommend spending some time in the mountainous area of Sapa to meet the locals during a Sapa tour. If you'd like to get a taste of Vietnamese culture you could visit the town of Hué. Alternatively, if you're looking for a fun time in Vietnam, you can visit Hoi An- a town oozing with character. During our Hoi An travel module where you'll get the chance to explore this charming tailor town at your own pace. You can bike through the surrounding rice paddies, visit a nearby beach or take a cooking class to learn how to make traditional Vietnamese dishes. 
Sound good? You can build your own Vietnam trip with our bite-sized Vietnam tours or choose from our range of suggested Vietnam itineraries. Have a look below for more Vietnam travel tips, or contact our friendly Vietnam travel specialists to have a chat.

Here are some tips and useful information:

- Time difference: It's 3.5 hours earlier in Vietnam than here in Adelaide, Australia.

- Best time to travel: Generally the best time to travel is from October through May. Click here for more climate in Vietnam information.

- Language: Vietnamese is the official language, however luckily many people understand English as well. The guide and driver travelling with you will also speak English. Menus and books are also available in English. In some areas you may even hear people speaking (some kind of) French, since Vietnam was once a French colony. 
Currency: The local currency is the Vietnamese Dong (VND). The exchange rate fluctuates on a daily basis, but to give you some indication... AUD$1 is about VND18,584.

- Telephone calls: You shouldn't have any problem using your mobile to call back home, but depending on your provider this could be quite expensive. A recommendation is to buy an international phone card that you can use from a pay phone booth. If you would like to call our local agent using your mobile during your trip, then dial the Vietnamese country code +84 first.
- Internet: These days you can find Internet access almost all over Vietnam. At times you'll have Internet access from your hotel room, in other hotels you'll have access to an Internet lounge and otherwise you should be able to find an Internet café in most larger cities. Keep in mind that the connection may be a little slower than you're accustomed to back home.

Some experiences of traveling to Vienam in australiaforum.com: International Travel - Living and Working in Australia Forum With Immigration and Travel Information


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## Kendrick (Jul 26, 2015)

You shouldn't worry about how do the Vietnamese treat you, the Vietnamese (we are) very friendly to everybody nowadays, our minds are changing day by day, open to the world to be co-developed. And about the weather, it some time rain in the summer time form Jun till Nov but to bring a laptop it recommended to connect to your friend during your trip. And one thing is that the wifi almost free at 3 star or mini hotel in Vietnam. 4 and 5 star you have to pay a little money around 3 USD per hour. So, enjoy your stay in Vietnam.


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## neha741258 (Aug 7, 2015)

Really ueseful information, thanks for sharing with us.


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## Jolie (Oct 20, 2015)

Hi everybody, iam vietnamese and new member in forum also.
Iam really very happy that you've enjoy your stay with us and tks for thinking of kind about us, too.
@julian12: as u know, the Vietnamese very friendly to everybody nowadays, so you don't need to hire a guide. Though you generally need to buy guidebook. 

Enjoy your trip!
Jolie


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## flyingboxx (Nov 2, 2015)

Visit Vietnam if you guys even have to chance to do so..worth travelling for !


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## vietnam84 (Dec 2, 2015)

Vietnam is a wonderful country and the Vietnamese are friendly so do not worry.


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## kelijones (Dec 17, 2016)

Hi all, I am a food lover and like to travel to different countries to collect knowledge about their culture, people and traditional food. I love to hear about Vietnam and decided to book my flight next week for fantastic destination.Thanks for sharing information.


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## dualcitizen (Dec 22, 2016)

The only thing I would say is that you should be prepared to order random things off the menu. Don't ask, just order and see what happens.

It is a lovely place where you can experience an amazing culture, if you open your eyes.


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## jhen (Mar 10, 2017)

These are great travel tips in visiting Vietnam. There are also a lot to see in Vietnam. Visiting Hanoi is like visiting Vietnam as a whole. As a city of great history and capital of Vietnam, Hanoi has a lot of museums to visit. The most important, or most historically and socially significant one is The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum - the remains of Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, rest in the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.


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## sweetnovember (Nov 10, 2015)

Kendrick said:


> You shouldn't worry about how do the Vietnamese treat you, the Vietnamese (we are) very friendly to everybody .


Precisely! Vietnam is one of the safest destinations in Southeast Asia.


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## juliamiller (Aug 20, 2017)

I and my husband visit Vietnam last year. We had an amazing trip over there. People are so friendly and I am falling in love with Vietnamese food. If you come to Vietnam, you should visit Halong Bay, very spectacular scenery. You can visit Hanoi for 1 day and then travel to halong bay. Our halong cruise company that we booked, they also offer transportation service, their name is bhayacruise
you can check them out. But I think most of cruise company do offer transportation. Hoi An is also a great destination, more quiet and nostalgia than Hanoi


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## AlexeiN (Feb 5, 2018)

*Additional vietnamese felowship*

Vietnam is a majestically beautiful countryside country. The main areas of the cities are polluted though and it is a terrible place to live. There is a lot of corruption and dodgy things going on. It is indeed safe and the people are friendly.

However, the food is awesome especially the street food. Also Ha-long bay is a absolute gem with its rock formations. The south is much more pleasant and free. I have only been there once but have a lot of Vietnamese relatives.


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