Visas

Please note that visas are the responsibility of the individual travelers. The visa requirements for your trip vary depending on where you are from. We keep the following information up to date as much as possible, but rules do change. It is important that you check for yourself.

It is your responsibility to arrange visas before you travel. Your travel agent can assist. Depending on your time of traveling, it is easier or harder to obtain Vietnam visa. Locating in Vietnam and with our relationships, we can help you to avoid that.

Vietnam visa is required for all nationalities, except Singaporean, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Finn and Swedish passport holders do not require a visa for a stay of 15 days or less, if staying in Vietnam for more than 15 days, you will be required to obtain a tourist visa extension in advance. Please obtain a visa before arriving on the tour. You should allow 3 weeks for processing. The cost is US$60 to $100. Remember to keep the customs and immigration form you receive on arrival, as you need it to complete exit formalities on departure.

If you are required to put a contact address in Vietnam on your visa form - please use the address of the starting or finishing point hotel in Vietnam.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is compulsory for all our trips. We require that, at a minimum, you are covered for medical expenses including emergency repatriation. We strongly recommend that the policy also covers personal liability, cancellation, curtailment and loss of luggage and personal effects.

It is advisable that you give us your insurance details as a back-up. And, make sure that your fellow travelers carry a copy all the time. If you have credit card insurance, then we need to know details of the participating insurer/underwriter, the level of coverage, policy number and emergency contact telephone number rather than the Bank's name and credit card details. Please contact your bank for these details prior to arriving in-country.

Note: We have an optional activity of doing motorbike trip in Hue. We have been using them for more than 5 years and got no accidents at all. However, you will not get covered by nearly all Travel Insurance if you have accident sitting as passenger. Please read your Insurance Policy carefully before you decide to take part in.

Check list

The following checklist is to be used as a guide only and is not intended to be a complete packing list. Any other items that you wish to pack are at your own discretion however you should attempt to comply with the suggested luggage weight limit. You can contact us for further details and advice.

Travel documents: passport, visa, travel insurance, air tickets, voucher
Health requirements arranged
Money: travellers cheques/cash/credit card, Money pouch
First aid kit
Day pack to carry your personal needs during the day
Alarm clock and Torch/flashlight
Light weight travel towel
Mosquito repellent
Sleep sheet for homestays and overnight trains.
Hat, sun cream and sun glasses
Refillable water bottle and water purification method
Tampons can be easy to buy in Vietnam
Vietnam travel guide - great for history and general information
Light raincoat or umbrella in the wet season (May to Oct)
Long pants, short pants, T shirt, T shirt or shirt with sleeves to cover your shoulder, swimming costume.
Warm clothes for the winter months (Nov to Feb). The mean temperature in Hanoi in January is just 16 degrees celsius - so pretty cold for South East Asia. Bring a winter weight sweater and trousers when traveling in these months, and a jacket too if you feel the cold.
Trekking boots or shoes are advisable for the trek portion of this trip

Thongs and flip-flops can be used for walking around.

On arrival

It will be easy for those who booked a package tour or airport pick up as somebody will hold a board with your name written down. Come and show them your tour vouchers to define yourselves.

This is for independent travelers.

You can change some US Dollars into Vietnam currency, Dong, using the currencies exchange bureau around the Arrival Lobby. By the time of writing this, the exchange rate is 16,500 Dong to 1 USD. The first sum of money you need is for taxi fare to your hotel.

Noi Bai is a new airport 35 km away from town and the journey takes up to an hour depending on traffic. There are a lot of doggy taxi drivers waiting right at the International Arrival Lobby. To avoid them, simply say “no, thanks. I’ve got somebody to wait for me” and walk out of the airport. There, you will see many people with walky-talkies. They are working for airport taxi companies and they are the most reliable to book an air port transfer. Noi Bai airport taxi, Vietnam Airlines taxi, and Viet Thanh taxi are the only companies allowed to do the transfer. Price is around 13 USD and remember it includes toll fees.

Same thing with Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City. The taxi company there is SASCO and you can pay on the meter. On the meter, there 2 main numbers. One is the fare and the other shows the distance. Take a closer look and you can easily recognize these. The fare that shows on the meter is in Dong. If it shows 100.0 it means 100 thousand Dong not Dollars. The fare to town varies depending on where your hotel locates however, from the air port to District 1, where most hotels locate, is around a hundred thousand Dongs or seven US Dollars.

Checking in hotels

The laws are different from countries to countries and Vietnam is not out of that order.

Your passport with proper visa is needed to check in hotels. They have mini bars in many hotel rooms and remember to compare the number of drinks with the list provided carefully.

Safety

All hotels have a safety box and some higher class hotels even have one in your room. It is better to leave all your valuables such as travelers cheques, passport and flight tickets … when you out and around. We don’t see any point carrying too much money with you at one time as you can use your credit cards for bigger purchase.

Never leave any money in your room even you are just out for 5 minutes. Not only you having access to your rooms. We believe that leaving your money behind just encourage people to be a thief.

You are the best to secure your valuables. Hanoi, Ha Long, Hue, Hoi An are safe cities. The beach in Nha Trang is not advised to go at night as there are a lot of drug addicts, robbers and prostitutions. However, everywhere you go, especially for ladies with hand bag, be careful of bags snatchers. In crowded places, be aware of pickpockets also.

Getting around

Walking is the easiest way to get around. You may get shocked when you see the traffic here. In Vietnam we drive on our right hand side. The best policy to cross the streets is nice and slow, never run. Keep walking and try to make eye contact with the approaching drivers and it is amaze to see how they wave around you.

“Cyclo” is a very nice mean of transportation. You can relax and watch the local life passing by when you move along the streets. The price is different form places to places. It can be cheaper in smaller town and can be more expensive in bigger cities. However, it is around 50,000 Dong for an hour ride. Set the price before you sit on and it is always in Vietnamese Dong. Pay on delivery.

“Xe om” or motorbike taxi are everywhere. The price is around 5,000 Dong for 1 km. Same deal like setting price before you go, always in Vietnamese Dong and pay on delivery.

Taxi is the best for farther destinations. Different companies may charge you different opening door fee. By the time of writing this, the fare is 9,000 Dong for 1 km nationwide. But, be careful of doggy taxies in big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The good taxi companies usually use the Toyota cars. They have a big company name and telephone number writing along their cars and the money counter must be obvious to everybody in the car. You can easily know why they try to hide the money counter. Mai Linh Company is recommended as they have taxis all around Vietnam. You can ask any hotel receptionist, barman, restaurant waiter and waitress to ring you a taxi as they always call the reliable companies. Remember to wait for taxi to arrive before you get out of hotels, bars and restaurants.

Bargaining

In Vietnam, we have price for everything but don’t have price on many thing. Enjoy and have fun bargaining but don’t take it too serious. You can bargain in small shops or street vendors. Like in your country, things with listed price mean no bargaining.

Currency

The currency of Vietnam is Dong with nomination of 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000,10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, 200,000 and 500,000 in both paper and plastic. The note of 10,000 Dong or above are usually plastic and we trying to get rid of the paper ones. We also use coins with nomination of 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 5,000. by the time of writing this the exchange rate is 16,500 Dong for a US Dollar. You can lock on www.xe.com for most update rate.

ATM machines are mushrooming in Vietnam. You can find it in all major towns. ATM machines from different banks accept different cards. The limit of one withdrawal also varies from 2 millions to 5 millions and the biggest withdrawal you can make in a day is 20 millions Dong.

You need to show your passport to cash traveler cheque. In our experience, if you use US Dollar American Express traveler cheque to convert into Dong in Vietcombank, there will be no commissions applied.

It is safe to use credit card in Vietnam. However, you will receive phone calls from your bank to approve the transactions that you made inside Vietnam.

Post and Communications

Post Office are everywhere in Vietnam. They work everyday from 8.30 to 21.00 except on weekend from 8.30 to 17.00.

Never make international phone calls from your hotel as they still charge you even no-one answer the call. Go straight to post office to do it. It is usually 1.3 USD for 1 minute. Or you can find Internet Cafes with Internet call service with very cheap price. However, you get what you pay for.

Mobile phone network cover nearly all areas in Vietnam. The main providers are VinaPhone, Mobifone and Viettel. Global roaming is also available depending on your carrier.

You can post things home in the Post Office and it is really reliable. Remember not to pack it before you go there as they may open it for checking. They also have boxes to sell at Post Office. Sending by ship take from 1 to 3 months depending where in the country you post from. By air is shorter, usually around 3 weeks. DHL, FedEx and EMS are fast service that can be found in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Food and Beverage

It is not advisable to drink tap water in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos or Myanmar but bottled mineral water is safe and available everywhere. Also, there some bad mineral water company that try to copy the brand from the good one. These are some recommendation for mineral water: Lavie, Aquafina, A & B and Joy. Ice in drinks is generally OK in good standard hotels and restaurants but it is best to avoid it on street stalls or in country areas.

The cuisine of Vietnam comes as a pleasant surprise to many visitors and is definitely a part of the Vietnam experience not to be missed. One of the characteristics of Vietnamese food is that it is always fresh being bought the same morning straight from the market. Food is usually prepared with a minimum of oil and served with the ubiquitous fish sauce called “nuoc mam”. Typical Vietnamese dishes you can expect to try include “pho”, a type of rice noodle soup eaten for breakfast, “cha gio”, deep-fried spring rolls and “goi ngo sen”, a delicious salad made with lotus stems, shrimps and peanuts.

Due to the strong Buddhist influence in Vietnam, vegetarian food is widely available.

Tipping

Tipping for good service is not expected but is always appreciated in this developing nation. It is customary, though not compulsory, to tip tour guides and drivers at the end of a tour. It is recommended at least 2USD/per person/per day for your tour guide and 1 USD/per person/per day for your driver. Hotel and station porters should also be tipped.

Dos and Don’ts

Dos

ALWAYS drink plenty of bottled water. During the summer months you should be drinking a minimum of 2 litters per day. If you drink tea, coffee & alcohol you should increase you water intake accordingly as these will help to dehydrate you.

Before venturing out from your hotel, ensure you have a hotel business card from the reception desk. This will make your return to the hotel in a taxi or cyclo a lot easier.

For longer excursions from your base hotel, it is always a good idea to carry a roll of toilet paper in your daypack. You never know when you will need it.

ALWAYS dress appropriately. Not only for the prevailing climatic conditions, but also not to cause offence to the local people. Vietnamese have conservative dress codes and it is only in larger cities that these codes are relaxed a little. Do not wear revealing clothing.

ALWAYS leave your excess cash, airline tickets, passports and valuables with the hotels safety deposit facility.

ALWAYS notice when entering someone’s house, at some houses it is a must to remove your shoes at the front door.

ALWAYS ask his or her permission first when taking a photograph of someone. If they indicate that they do not want you to, then abide by their wishes. DO NOT push the issue or offer money.

Don'ts:

NEVER wear singlet tops, shorts, dresses or skirts, or tops with low-neck lines and bare shoulders to Temples and Pagodas. To do this is considered extremely rude and offensive.

NEVER give your empty water bottles, sweets and candies to the local people when trekking through ethnic minority villages. You cannot guarantee that the empty bottles will be disposed of in a correct manner and most of these people do not have access to dental health. If you would like to give pens/paper, ask your guide to introduce you to the local teacher and hand them to the teacher for distribution.

NEVER sleep or sit with the soles of your feet pointing towards the family altar in someone’s house.

NEVER venture out from your hotel with more cash than you really need for that day. It is NOT something to be paranoid about, simply do not make yourselves a target for pickpockets or drive-by bag snatchers in the big cities. Ho Chi Minh City seems to be a little worse than anywhere else in Vietnam is. On the whole it is one of the safest countries you could wish to travel in.

NEVER lose your temper in public or when bargaining for a purchase. This is considered a serious loss of face for both parties. Always maintain a cool and happy demeanor and you will be reciprocated with the same.

NEVER try and take photographs of military installations or anything to do with the military. This can be seen as a breach of national security.

NEVER take video cameras into the ethnic minority villages. They are considered to be too intrusive by many local people.

Departure

Remember to confirm your flight tickets before hand. These are airlines that you don’t need to confirm: Air France, Thai Airway, Singapore Airline, Malaysia airline, Cathay Pacific.

You need to be at the airport at least 2 hour for international flight and 1hour for domestic one. Departure tax is already included in your airfare.