Practical Vietnam Travel Tips: Money, Internet, Packing and Everyday Life

Once the main trip is planned, practical questions often follow: how will you pay, what should go in your day bag, and how will you communicate with local hosts? These tips complement your travel documents and help make everyday arrangements easier.

Money and payments

Vietnam’s currency is the Vietnamese dong. Cards are not accepted everywhere, and cash remains useful outside larger cities. Use authorised exchange services and check fees with your bank. Source: German Federal Foreign Office – money and cards.

Keep a small amount for the day and store your payment methods separately. Check the amount on the screen before confirming a payment. Smaller notes are easier for everyday purchases than very large ones. Before travelling, list what your tour includes and what you will need to pay for yourself.

Six useful tasks on your first day in Vietnam

1. Confirm your collection: Match the name, meeting point and contact details to your confirmed travel documents. Do not leave with someone simply because they name a hotel.
2. Save your hotel address: Keep the street, building number, phone number and a map section available offline.
3. Organise your cash: Separate daily spending money from your reserve. Read each note carefully: 50,000 and 500,000 dong differ by a factor of ten.
4. Test your connection: Send a message to your travel contact. If you need mobile data, check that it works without hotel Wi-Fi.
5. Confirm the next morning: Note your collection time, breakfast arrangements and first destination.
6. Leave room to rest: Avoid filling arrival day with several fixed activities.

Build a budget around your actual trip: Make three columns: included, paid separately and optional. Add meals, drinks, admission fees, independent excursions and personal shopping. For tipping, ask who will be supporting your trip and request guidance for that particular team, rather than assuming one daily figure applies to every tour.

Before buying an eSIM: Check that your phone supports eSIM and is unlocked. Read whether the plan starts at purchase, installation or first network use, as this varies. Arrange activation while you still have an internet connection, rather than waiting until you are at a meeting point.

SIMs, eSIMs and offline information

Compare roaming, a local SIM and an eSIM against your needs. Check device compatibility, data allowance, validity and whether calls are included. Ask the provider to explain registration and activation. Download hotel addresses, meeting points and important documents for offline use too, so finding your driver or hotel does not depend entirely on mobile data.

Temples, photographs and local encounters

Follow guidance at each site and ask permission before photographing people. Light clothing to cover shoulders and knees makes visits to religious places easier. A local guide can explain when photography, entry or touching an object is inappropriate. Give people and places time and space rather than assuming every scene is available for a photograph.

Meetings with local hosts should fit naturally around their lives. For village visits, ask about the arrangements and residents’ consent. Where possible, buy crafts from places that can explain who made them. Leave room for conversation: these exchanges can make a personal journey more memorable than adding another stop.

Plan transfers realistically

Look beyond the distance. Traffic, breaks and rural roads affect travel time. Vietnam’s tourism authority describes several ways to get around, including trains, planes and boats. Source: Vietnam Tourism – transport.

Tell us if you want to avoid long driving days, are travelling with children or need more frequent breaks. Prepare essentials the evening before an early start. Documents, water, necessary medicines and weather protection are easier to reach in a small day bag than in your main suitcase.

Packing and restricted items

Before packing, check current customs and safety guidance, particularly for medicines and electronic cigarettes. Official travel advice states that vapes and related products are banned in Vietnam. Use the current official guidance for restrictions and updates. Current travel advice.

The final check with your travel team

Before departure, go through the services booked, meeting points and how changes will be communicated. Discuss tipping, dietary needs and room preferences clearly. A useful itinerary leaves flexibility while showing who will meet you, when activities take place and where you have free time.