Vietnam Essentials
Things You Need To Know For Vietnam Trip
Updated 01 January 2020
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When I was backpacking in Vietnam I realized how important initial research is necessary to visit a country. It is no doubt an amazing country to explore. It is a great choice if are almost broke like me - the super cheap cost of living and plentiful adventure. I spent a month there exploring and yes, of course, will return.
VISA
For Indian, there is a Visa on Arrival. You need to get an approval letter online they are calling it E-visa sometime. It's practically a permission. There are several sites where you can apply.
I applied through applyvietnamvisa.org there are the cheapest trust me 1 searched almost all the sites. This service charged only 11$ other’s charged like 12-25 $ something.And stamping fee is 25$, you can pay online with approval letter or pay in cash at immigration.
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Currency
You will become instant millionaires when you get your Vietnamese Dong from the exchange. Denominations are very high and they use a thousand wise. Like if someone said 250 means 250,000 (250 thousand). So handle the money carefully.
Oh yeah and don’t exchange money on airport rates are much higher there. You can use BookMyForex for local exchange rates which I found is very helpful. Local shops and hostels also give a pretty good rate.
USD & EURO also widely accepted in the country. So you can take both of them and change them from local shops when needed.
ATMs are also available widely. Try to use AgriBank, they have a minimum transaction rate.
Network/Sim Cards
Vietnam is highly connected to WiFi, you can find it in hotels, almost every shop, restaurant, and convenience store for free!
If you want to save money I would suggest do not take a sim card for 2 or less than 2-week travel.
Unless you need to have connectivity during a long bus ride or in rural areas. Actually you can get wifi in the long route buses also. I took a bus from Hoi An to cat ba and it had good wifi.
Viettel & Mobifone are the 2 best service provider. I would suggest taking sim cards also from local shops. Rates are higher in airports.
Also, there are other sims and offers available which are more cheaper, but network coverage is not that good.
Transportation
For long distant journies, you can take domestic flights. They are really cheap. If you have time you can ride trains & buses also. Both are very comfortable and cheap.
You can check prices here
Want to know my experience in local transportation? Check out Hue To Cat Ba Night Bus - Sleeping Bus Vietnam
Accomodation
Accommodation in Vietnam is really cheap. There are many e hostels & hotels around popular cities and tourist destinations. Also, you can get good homestays and resorts at very good prices.
Hostels are around $3 to $6/night and even you can get a private room in budget hostels around $10 to $12, which is pretty cheap. Most of the hotels and hostels have Wi-Fi and basic amenities.
Couchsurfing also works very well. But you need to be very careful about choosing your host.
Try to book via Agoda & Booking.com, these work best in Vietnam.
Food & Drinks
I loved Vietnamese cuisine. Starting from Pho to Com Tam, Vietnam has a variety of food.
You can get a great meal only for $1. Also, you can get drinks like fresh juice for refreshment.
Try the sugar cane one, that was the best.
Vietnam is the second-largest country in coffee production and export. So coffee is no doubt the best there. Make sure you try the coconut coffee and egg coffee.
There are many restaurants that serve western food and Indian food also. But street food is very good in Vietnam. Mid-Range restaurants have a price for a bowl of noodles around 50K Dong, chicken rice 30K Dong.
Backpacking Vietnam is really cheap you can estimate a budget of INR 600 to 700, considering you are staying in a hostel, eating street & local food, availing local transport.
A most convenient way to travel around Vietnam is a motorbike.
Renting a motorbike is very easy and cheap.It cost around
80K dong per day.
Public buses are also available in big cities like Saigon & Hanoi. GRAB is also widely used like othe South East asian countries.