Plan a trip
Plan a trip
Before you go, learn, itineraries, accommodation, transportation, and living. Partner searches sit below the advice.
Before you go
E-visa and entry
Most visitors apply online before they fly. Use the official portals, not a lookalike site, and treat approval as something you wait for rather than something you receive at the airport desk.
Luggage and forwarding
Carry a bag you can lift onto a train berth and a boat. Long-distance buses store large packs underneath. Forwarding services exist between cities if you want to travel light on a mountain detour.
Money
The currency is the dong, VND. Cards work in cities. Cash still pays for markets, countryside meals, and many tickets. The number of zeros is the thing that causes mistakes.
SIM cards and Wi-Fi
Buy a tourist SIM at the airport or use an eSIM if your phone supports it. You want data before you reach the taxi line, because Grab needs it.
When to travel
Vietnam has no single best month. The north, the central coast, and the south run on different monsoons. Pick the region that matters most, then check the others.
Seasons
Typical windows for rice, flowers, and central-coast floods.
Festivals
Lantern night and Tet. Dates that move say check on arrival.
Learn
Eating manners
Meals are shared, herbs are part of the dish, and a few chopstick habits matter. Street stalls expect you to know the price before you sit only if it is not already on the wall.
Street manners
The street rule that surprises visitors is traffic. Motorbikes flow through intersections. You cross by stepping out at a steady pace so riders can curve around you.
Itinerary ideas
Best of Vietnam in 14 days
Hanoi, one northern landscape, Hue, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Minh City. Fly at least once. Add the Mekong only if you drop a northern night.
Central coast in 5 days
Hue and Hoi An, with Da Nang as the airport. Add Phong Nha only by dropping a day in one of the cities.
Da Nang in a day
The Cham Museum in the morning, lunch on mi Quang, then My Khe. Son Tra or the Marble Mountains only if the day still has room.
Two days in Da Nang
The river and My Khe on the first day. Son Tra and the Marble Mountains on the second, with Hoi An still an easy ride if the hills are enough.
Northern Vietnam in 7 days
Hanoi plus either the mountains or the bay and Ninh Binh. Seven days is not Hanoi, Ha Long, Sapa, and Ha Giang.
The south in 5 days
Ho Chi Minh City plus either Can Tho, Phu Quoc, or Da Lat. Not all three.
Accommodation
Transportation
Buses
Sleeper buses and limousine vans are the workhorses between cities the train misses. Book a company with a named pickup, and expect the advertised time to include traffic.
Flights inside Vietnam
Domestic flights are the way to keep a two-week trip intact. Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, Bamboo Airways, and Vietravel Airlines cover the main cities.
Grab and taxis
Grab is the default ride inside large cities. Install it on Wi-Fi, add a card or cash, and match the plate before you get in.
Motorbikes
A Vietnamese motorcycle license is what makes riding legal. Many shops still rent bikes to visitors without one. A crash in that situation is your problem, and insurance may not answer.
Trains
The Reunification Express runs between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. It is an overnight experience, not a high-speed network. Book a sleeper berth on the long legs.
Living
Living
A longer stay still uses the same practical pages: where to sleep, how to pay, and how to get online. Residence permits and tax residency are not set out here.
Taxes and fees
Entrance fees are recorded on each attraction only when a source exists. This page does not quote a tax rate. Where a fee is missing, the attraction says check on arrival.