How to plan a trip to vietnam
VIETNAM TRAVEL GUIDE 🇻🇳 - 16 Things You MUST KNOW Before Your Visit
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If you are preparing or planning a trip to Vietnam
and want to know best practices before your visit,
this video has you covered.
Hi, my name is Grace and I've solo traveled all across Southeast Asia for seven months.
I spent about a month traveling from the central to northern part of Vietnam, leaving it
as my favorite country traveled to in Southeast Asia.
So in this video, I'm going to be sharing with you
my top travel tips when traveling over to Vietnam, and things that you should know before your visit.
Before anything
First things first, that before heading over to Vietnam, you do need a Visa to enter.
Out of all the countries that have visited in Southeast Asia,
trying to get my Vietnam Visa took the most time.
Most countries that I visited such as Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, I was able to
get my Visa pretty quickly but Vietnam was the only one where I had to wait a couple of days to get.
I did wait no more than three days to get and I've heard mixed opinions on getting visa upon arrival
I've met some people in Vietnam who said that they got Visa upon arrival but it was
also during covid so I'm not entirely sure if they tightened up the rules.
As a U.S citizen, I was only
allowed to stay in Vietnam with an e-visa for up to 30 days but you do also want to know that your
Visa doesn't start from the day you enter into the country, your Visa actually starts from the
day that you say that you're going to enter the country when filling out the application.
So on my actual application, I said that I was going to arrive into Vietnam on a Monday but I
actually got there the following Wednesday, so my Visa didn't start from that Wednesday.
It started off from the Monday date of when I filled in the application.
When I was in Vietnam I was actually
also trying to extend my Visa as well but it was the most difficult thing in the world.
Maybe it was because it was during covet but they just didn't let me extend my Visa.
The second tip and
this is just from a personal preference but when you fly into Vietnam, most likely you're going to
be flying into Saigon and that is the most popular airport that people usually fly into when entering
the country but I would highly recommend that you starting from the north. So I actually did start
from Ho Chi Minh City which is around central Vietnam and I made my way up North but by the
time I went up north, I ran out of time and I did not even get a chance to go down to the South.
If you are starting in Ho Chi Minh City, I would recommend you staying there either for a long
weekend or for about two to three days just so that you can get familiarized with the country,
to get used to the culture, and to understand currencies as well. What I actually usually do
when I go to any country, that I'll try to go to the most popular city and I'll try to ask as many
questions with all the locals, get their advice or opinions because they're going to know best.
The next tip: get ready for a lot of traffic and a lot of honking.
Honking and traffic in Vietnam is something else.
I've heard the most honking in my entire life in Ho Chi Minh City.
I actually. did end up renting a motorbike in Vietnam and I totally get and I understand why people honk all the time.
Instead of giving signals on your bike, people honk to let other drivers know that
you're on your way and I will say too that when I did rent out a bike, I found myself honking but
I totally understand why there's so much honking going on and it's actually not as crazy as you might
think once you're riding the motorbike. In a weird way, it's like a very controlled traffic but if you
are walking, to look both ways and just to make sure of your safety because it does get a little hectic over there.
Aside from all the honking, that if you are walking, you want to make sure
that you don't have your cell phone out in the open because cities such as Ho Chi Minh City
are very known for motorbike pickpocketers, so don't put your phone out while you're walking
around or crossing the street because there is a high chance that you might be pickpocketed.
So the next tip, that all across Vietnam, I will say that the transportation there is so amazing.
It is freaking on point and I've had no problem trying to get around anywhere. If you are familiar and if
you've been to other countries within Southeast Asia, you know that Grab is the most popular ride
sharing app there. But along with this, if you are trying to look to go into other cities, that there
are sleeper buses that go from every major city in Vietnam.
Vietnam is such a long country that when
I actually got up to Hanoi from Ho Chi Minh City, I flew there instead and I flew quite a bit
in Vietnam because the flights are just so cheap and I'd rather spend a little bit more money and
save so much more time. I think at that time I was in Vietnam, my luggage weighed about 20
22 kilos and I couldn't have spent more than $15 USD on checked in luggage.
Leading me up to my next tip is that
if you are planning on flying and traveling to other cities within Vietnam, which you should,
I would highly recommend that you either book your tickets in advance or that you travel on
weekdays because on the weekends, people in Vietnam love to travel in their own country, which I do
find amazing but it can get quite hectic and I will say that the busiest I've seen in airport
was actually in Ho Chi Minh City.
This is the craziest I've ever seen in airport. just look.
oh my God
wow, where am I
The next tip is that when you are traveling in Vietnam, obviously you want to have enough cash.
So if you guys don't know already, you know how much I love my credit cards and my credit card points
and that's actually how I've been able to live for free for six months in Southeast Asia.
I mean that could honestly just be another video in itself but in Vietnam, I was not able to rack up my points and
obviously if you go to higher scale restaurants that you will have more of the leverage to use
your credit cards there but because everything is also so cheap there, are a lot of small businesses
actually prefer not to have to pay the additional credit card merchant fees but just have enough
cash with you at all times. In my personal opinion, Vietnam was the cheapest country
that I've traveled to in Southeast Asia, I mean granted all the countries are really cheap but
I found things to be wildly cheaper over there.
I had my Charles Schwab a debit card with me and
they are not sponsoring this video and I do not earn an affiliate link with them, but I highly
recommend that you get this card because I was not charged for transaction fees or an ATM fee.
The next tip is that when you are traveling Vietnam and honestly any country that you go to,
I think it's really important to learn the basics of the country's language. Personally, I didn't
really have a problem with trying to get around or there were specific language barriers because
a lot of people knew some English, which really helped, but what is also really amazing in Vietnam
is that Google Translate works really damn well. I know there are some countries, for example like in
Korea, Google Translate is just sometimes off.
The next thing to know is that before going to Vietnam,
I had actually assumed that Vietnam was going to be a lot more rural. There are definitely a lot of
parks where there are a lot of rural areas, but Vietnam is actually a lot more developed than I had expected it to be.
Ho Chi Minh city was definitely the most developed and there were actually a lot of skyscrapers and buildings.
The other thing too and I have have to bring this up because I'm a Korean,
but there were so many Koreans in Vietnam. Like every other corner I turned, there was at least
one other person speaking in Korean and I was like, am I in Korea?!
And it's not like it was a bad thing, but I think it was just more of a shock and I was confused, and they actually have a Lotte.
A Lotte Mart in Hanoi.
And the more it went up north, it almost seemed as if there were more Korean
tourists there and I was a lot more confused that way. But they're just everywhere.
We're everywhere.
Next tip: don't expect there to be convenient stores everywhere.
Yes, there are convenient
stores such as Circle K, VinMart+, FamilyMart, but there wasn't as many convenience stores
as opposed to in Thailand where you'll literally find two 7-Elevens on the same block.
Although in Vietnam, there are a lot of more family-owned convenient stores and I kind of almost like
that better because that's where I bought most of my water, my goodies, and I tried out
different types of Vietnam snacks from those local, family-owned businesses.
I swear to you, the people there were so freaking nice.
Everyone there was so kind and okay I will say all across Southeast Asia,
the people there were so damn nice. Everyone there were so nice but here, I don't know.
People were just even nicer and more willing to help me out.
Me, like a stranger.
When I first got over to Vietnam, I stayed in this hotel for about a week.
Hi Mary! If you're watching this, she helped me out
so much and she knew I was by myself, so she just like, she took in my WhatsApp, and she made
sure that I was safe, what I was doing every day,
and I was like, you're so nice to me. Why are you so nice?
So guys, if you guys are in Ho Chi Minh City and if you guys like to party, near Bui Vien Street is where you'll find Mary-Line II.
When I was also in Hanoi, I stayed at this one hotel and I was bouncing around from
Hanoi over to Sa Pa, Ninh Binh and Hong Bay, and they let me leave it in my stuff in the hotel when
I was traveling with the places. So, I just felt like people took care of me really well and all
these people, I will leave their information contacts, hotels in the link description below.
all right so I just called my Grab car and I'm on my way over to the bus stop so actually I'm
planning on heading over to Ha Long Bay for three days and then I'm actually coming back to Hanoi
for one day. But this hotel, they're so good to me. They agreed to just keep my stuff until I come back.
This has probably got to be my favorite one but you guys know that whenever I travel to countries,
I look for coffee shops. Cafes, coffee shops,
just everything around because it's just a part of who I am.
Coffee is a universal language and Vietnam emphasizes so much on coffee.
Their coffee culture is amazing.
Early in the morning, you'll notice that any city that you go to in
Vietnam, you'll find people just in groups drinking coffees in their small chairs outside.
It's really beautiful and I was told that a lot of people, when they want to start off their day, they actually
drink coffee with their friends or just go by themselves, relax, and then they start their work day
which is the complete opposite of what I grew up with because over in New York City, nobody got time
to sit down. Everybody is in a rush, everybody's trying to get from point A to point B as fast as they can,
so going off to Vietnam, it was just a culture shock and it was a 180 for me, but I
absolutely loved it and I would purposely wake up earlier just so that I could experience the full on coffee culture.
It just made me feel so good.
I personally think that some of the best
food I've had in Southeast Asia was in Vietnam. Okay, and this is just an opinion. Just me, but
food all around Southeast Asia was damn amazing. Every country had their own little taste to it
but I think why I really vibed with Vietnam's food is because there was a lot of
vegetables for every dish.
I just felt really good and healthy while I was traveling all throughout Vietnam.
I didn't realize the variety of Vietnamese dishes and food that was there.
My favorite my absolute favorite is
buncha. Buncha I, I had at least three to four times a week until I left because it was just so damn good.
And also yes, there was a reason why Anthony Bourdain has hyped up so many restaurants because
they are actually that good.
The next tip is that if you do plan on renting a motorbike, to note that
if you are planning on parking your bike at places, that you do you usually have to pay for parking
So when I did rent out my bike in Da Nang, every single stop that I went to, I had to pay. when I was
in Hoi An, I had to pay for parking. I couldn't just randomly park on the streets.
Finding parking is not that hard,
but you just have to make sure with your hotels, or the area, or a parking lot that you can park there.
I'm gonna put my camera away because I don't trust myself vlogging while riding the bike.
Safety first.
The one thing that I really loved about Vietnam, although sometimes it was kind of annoying
was that it rained all the time.
So if you are visiting Vietnam during rainy season, which is between June and November,
to always have a raincoat around with you. I'm not lying,
the amount of times that it's rained when I was Vietnam is just too many to count.
Especially in Ho Chi Minh City. But Ho Chi Minh City rained even more than other parts of Vietnam.
At least twice a day. So when you're there, you just never know with the rain and although convenient stores
do sell rain jackets, don't be surprised if they run out because people buy them all the time. So, I
personally kept two. One in my backpack and one in my luggage and it was a lifesaver.
You guys cannot see but this is the view from inside my rain jacket.
Depending on how long you're actually planning on staying in Vietnam,
to try not to rush your time there. From a mixture of city to just
nature and landscapes, I can find myself living there just all alone for like half a year.
That is the first country I'd probably go back to if I went over to Southeast Asia again.
So depending if you are there for a week or a few days, again, I would probably start off in Ho Chi Minh City,
just to get yourself familiarized and then go up North but try not to make it a goal to see everything
although it was really convenient that from Hanoi, they had tour buses that just took care
of you and would pick you up at your hotels and you can do day tours. I did a day tour to Ninh Binh.
Ninh Binh is a place where I wish I had at least two days in, but if you have a limited time like that,
it's really nice where tour buses will just take care of you like that.
So the final tip is that
there are so many places to go to in Vietnam.
I can make an entire video on the best places to go to in Vietnam
but when you are visiting places like Ha Long Bay,
do not forget about Cat Ba Island.
I am telling you, Cat Ba Island is so underrated.
It is so exclusive, and it is a really beautiful, beautiful island.
I am so happy that I got stuck in Cat Ba Island because it forced me
to explore more of the area and I swear if I had a little bit more hygiene and a little bit more of
my stuff, I probably would have stayed there for a little bit more.
I don't have too much battery and
I need to save it
and
concentrate on the hike
okay there's two intersections already I don't
know which one to go to
So overall, these are my top tips on traveling over to Vietnam and again,
I can't have favorites but Vietnam was my favorite country in Southeast Asia.
But also, I think Vietnam has an even bigger and special place in my heart because that's where I started to make
my Youtube videos.
I wish I can do it over and over and over again and I would totally do it solo again
although now I think it's time to find a partner to do this traveling life with.
So, if you guys have any more questions,
leave those in the comment section below and I'll do my
best to respond back to everybody but with all of this being said,
if you guys haven't done so already,
don't forget to to like comment and subscribe onto this channel for more travel vlogs like this
and I will see you guys in the next video
safe and happy travels, y'all
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