Practical Information for visiting Vietnam

Fly between the regions. Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City is two hours by air against 35 by train, and internal flights are inexpensive and frequent.

The Reunification Express runs the length of the country and is worth taking for a segment — the Huế to Đà Nẵng stretch over the Hải Vân Pass is one of the best rail journeys in Asia — rather than end to end.

Grab works in the cities for both cars and motorbike taxis, and removes the fare negotiation entirely. It is the single most useful app to install before arriving.

Crossing the road in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City is a genuine skill: step out at a steady pace and do not stop or run. The traffic flows around a predictable pedestrian and cannot avoid an unpredictable one.

Motorbike hire is cheap and the main cause of serious visitor injury. Most insurance requires a licence valid for the engine size, and an International Driving Permit alone is often insufficient.

The currency is the Vietnamese đồng (₫), which runs to large numbers — a modest meal is 50,000 and a hotel night several hundred thousand. Note the number of zeros carefully; the 20,000 and 500,000 notes are similar colours and are confused constantly.

ATMs are widespread. Withdrawal fees vary sharply by bank, and several impose low per-transaction limits.

Cash dominates outside hotels and larger restaurants. Street food, markets and local transport are cash only.

Tipping is not traditional but is appreciated for guides and drivers. Bargaining is expected in markets, not in shops with marked prices.

Coverage is excellent and mobile data is among the cheapest in the world.

Tourist SIM cards with large data allowances are sold at airports and phone shops for a few dollars.

Free Wi-Fi is near-universal in cafés, hotels and restaurants, including in small towns.

Vietnamese is the national language, written in a Latin-based alphabet with diacritics and tonal — six tones in the north, five in the south. The alphabet makes signage readable; the tones make pronunciation hard.

English is widely spoken in tourist areas and among younger people, less so in the countryside. Some older Vietnamese speak French, and Russian appears in a few coastal resorts.

Useful: xin chào for hello, cảm ơn for thank you, bao nhiêu for how much.

Forms of address change with the relative age of the speakers rather than using a single word for "you", which is why Vietnamese speakers often ask a stranger's age early in a conversation — it is grammar, not nosiness.

Vietnam is safe for visitors, with low violent crime. The risks are traffic, petty theft and water.

Traffic is the main hazard. Motorbike accidents injure more visitors than anything else, and the road-death rate is high. Helmets are compulsory and frequently poor quality.

Bag snatching from motorbikes is common in Ho Chi Minh City — carry bags on the side away from the road, and do not use a phone at the kerb.

Unexploded ordnance remains in the former DMZ and central provinces. Stay on marked paths.

Rip currents affect the central coast, where beaches are often unpatrolled, and typhoon season brings genuine flooding risk to the centre in October and November.

No vaccinations are required for entry; hepatitis A and typhoid are commonly recommended. Rabies is present — any animal bite needs prompt treatment.

Do not drink the tap water. Bottled water is universal and cheap.

Dengue is present year-round and peaks in the wet season, with no prophylactic available — daytime repellent is the defence.

Street food is generally safe where it is busy and cooked in front of you; the turnover is the safety mechanism.

Air quality in Hanoi is poor for much of the winter and regularly reaches levels that matter for anyone with a respiratory condition. International-standard hospitals are in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City; elsewhere, serious cases are evacuated.

Drug offences carry the death penalty for trafficking, and quantities considered small elsewhere qualify. There is no ambiguity here.

Vietnam is a one-party state. Photographing military installations, border posts and some government buildings is prohibited, and public political criticism can bring charges.

Remove shoes when entering a home, and many guesthouses and temples. Dress modestly at pagodas — shoulders and knees covered.

Pass and receive items with both hands, or with the right hand supported at the elbow by the left. Do not touch anyone on the head.

Your passport is often held at check-in for registration; this is a legal requirement rather than a sign of anything wrong.

113 reaches police, 114 fire, 115 ambulance. English is not reliably spoken on these lines; a hotel or a Vietnamese speaker helps considerably.

International-standard hospitals are in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Public hospitals elsewhere vary widely, and serious cases are usually evacuated to Bangkok or Singapore.

Payment is generally required up front, including at international clinics, so insurance documentation matters at the point of care.

Pharmacies are widespread and dispense many medicines without prescription. For typhoon and flood warnings in the centre, local authorities and accommodation give the most current guidance.