International Flights: Noi Bai airport: USD 14; Tan Son Nhat airport: USD 12; Da Nang airport: USD 8
Domestic Flights: already including in airfares

Business time

Office time in Vietnam is from 7h30 or 8 a.m to 5 p.m and often close for lunch between noon and 1.30p.m, most of thing is shuts down at that time. Saturday, Sunday, New Year’s Day (1 January day), International Working Day (1 May), National Day (2 September), Liberation Day (30 April) and Tet holidays are days off in Vietnam.

Many small privately owned shops, restaurants and street stalls open early and close any time between 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Most stay open seven days a week and another days off except Tet holiday.

Clothing

Light, comfortable and easy clothing is most suitable for traveling in Vietnam. A light raincoat is useful in rainy season. During the winter months in the North and the Center and the rainy season in the South, warm clothing or light jacket should be brought. Visitors to Buddhist countries should not wear shorts, short skirts or other skimpy clothing when visiting temple or pagoda. Shoes should be removed before entering pagoda or temple.

Climate and the best time for traveling to Vietnam

Lying in the tropics and the subtropics, different part of Vietnam has different weather at the same time. When one region is cloudy and rainy, there is always somewhere else that is sunny and warm. Overall, from April to May and from October to November is best time to travel in Vietnam because of reduced chance of rain.

The North, Northern area of the 18 parallel has two seasons: winter and summer. In winter, temperatures average is about ten degree from December to February, February and March can be damped with drizzling rain and overcast sky. Summer last from May to October, temperature is about 30s (Celsius) with occasionally heavy rain and storm.

The weather in the center is very complicated because of Truong son mountain range; it is wet from April to October. Dry season in Nha Trang lasts from January to August while Dalat’s dry season is from December to March. Like the rest of the Center Highlands, Da Lat is much cooler than coastal lowlands. In Da Nang and Hue, weather is cloudy, drizzly from October to December.

The South with its sub-equatorial climate. It has two main seasons: wet and dry season, the wet season last from May to November. During the season, there are a lot heavy and short-lived downpours, temperature are 30s (Celsius). The dry season runs from December to April, it is sunny and humid mostly, temperature is 22⁰C.

The chart below shows average minimum/maximum temperatures in degrees Celsius and average rainfall in millimeters.

Currency and Exchange

The currency of Vietnam is dong, at the time of writing 15.350 dong is equivalent to USD 1. The USD is widely accepted among shops, restaurants, hotel and so on. Travelers checks can be cashed at authorized foreign exchange outlets and banks and require presentation of passport. There is a 3 to 5 percents service charge for cashing traveler checks. Visa and MasterCard are accepted in big hotel, restaurants, and shops almost.

Customs and Formalities

All visitors to Vietnam must fill in declaration forms ( entry-exit form ) and show their luggage to customs officials on request. The copy (yellow page ) should be kept and handed in on departure.

Visitors can bring with them unlimited amounts of foreign currency, objects made of gold, silver, precious metals and gemstones or plated with silver or gold, all of which must be declared in detail on the customs forms. Commercial Video films and printed material that are considered offensive are normally confiscated and sent to ministry of culture for inspection.

Visitors are authorized to bring in the following items duty-free:

Cigarettes: 400 - Cigars; 50 - 100 Tobaco; 100gr Liquor 1.5 litters. Personal effects of a reasonable quantity. Small gift items valued at not more than US$ 300.

There is no limit to the amounts of cash, precious metals and gems that visitors may bring in, but amounts of over US$ 3.000 must be declared.

The following items are prohibited:

-          Weapons, explosives and inflammable objects.

-          Opium and other narcotics.

-          Cultural materials unsuitable to Vietnamese society.

-          Infected animals, plants or foodstuffs.

Electricity

Electricity in Vietnam is mainly 220V at 50Hz, but in some areas is 110V (also at 50Hz).

Food and Beverage

A big surprise to many tourists and is definitely apart of the Vietnam experience that you can not miss. Two of the characteristics of the Vietnamese food are that they are fresh, being bought in the same morning straight from the market and healthy because of the balance of yang and yin. Foods are usually accompanied with a variety of condiments, including chili sauce, fish sauce called “nuoc mam”, and soy sauce. Vegetarians will have no difficulty eating in Vietnam as fresh vegetables and fruits are in abundant supply, in addition to a number of vegetarian restaurants. Typical Vietnamese dishes you can expect to try include pho, a type of rice noodle soup eaten for breakfast, cha gio, deep-fried spring rolls and goi ngo sen, a delicious salad made with lotus stems, shrimps and peanuts. Drinking tap water or ice is not recommended. Bottled water is readily available but remember to check the seal for possible contamination.

Health Requirements

No vaccinations are required except for yellow fever if you are coming from an area where the disease is present. However, visitors should to have up-to-date inoculations against polio, meningitis, tuberculosis, TABT (typhoid, paratyphoid A&B and tetanus), hepatitis A&B, and Japanese encephalitis. Malaria is present in most of the region and it is advisable to take precautions especially if traveling off the beaten track. Medical facilities are rather limited in all countries and it is essential to take out a good medical insurance policy before traveling in case evacuation is needed.

Although international medical centers are available in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city but it can be expensive for emergency care. So, health and emergency medical insurance prior to travel in Vietnam is highly recommended for foreigners.

Clinics with qualified Vietnamese and foreigner doctors to treat foreign patients:

Hanoi:

Viet Duc Hospital - 40 Trang Thi street - Hoan Kiem district - Tel: (84-4) 8253531

Asia Emergency Assistance - 31 Hai Ba Trung street - Hoan Kiem district - Tel: (84-4) 9340500

Ho Chi Minh city:

Asia Emergency Assistance: 65 Nguyen Du street - District 1 - Tel: (84-8) 8298520

Columbia International Healthcare - 08 Alexandre de Rhodes street - District 1 - Tel: (84-8) 8238445

International Flights

Vietnam has three international airports: Hanoi(Noi Bai airport), Da Nang(Da Nang airport) and Ho Chi Minh city (Tan Son Nhat airport).

Cities with directs flight to Hanoi (Noi Bai airport) are Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow, Nanning, Paris, Singapore, Taipei, Vientiane and Seoul.

Airlines currently serving Hanoi: Vietnam Airlines, Air France, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Southern Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Laos Aviation, Singapore Airlines, Aeroflot, Thai Airways.

Cities with directs flight to Ho Chi Minh city (Tan Son Nhat airport) are Bangkok, Frankfurt, Hong kong, Kuala Lumpur. Moscow, Melbourne, Osaka, Paris, Phnompenh, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo, Vienna, Vientiane and Zurich.

Airlines currently serving Ho Chi Minh city: Vietnam Airlines, Air France, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Southern Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Laos Aviation, Singapore Airlines, Lauda Air, Asian Airlines, Royal Air Cambodge.

Cities with directs flight to Danang : Bangkok, Luang Prabang, Kaoshung , Taipei. 

Airlines currently serving Danang: PB Air, Siem Reap Air, Far Eastern Transport, Pacific Airlines and Vietnam Airlines. 

Language

Vietnam has 54 ethnics. Most ethnics has owned language, but it can be divided into 8 linguistic groups and Vietnamese - national language is one of them. Before 1990, Russian was the main foreign language to be learnt at school and University. But nowadays, English has replaced Russian, become the most popular foreign language in Vietnam; everyone has a desire to learn English. Chinese and French are another popular foreign languages too.

Overland Travel

Border crossing into Vietnam is possible from China, Laos and Cambodia. Tourists can pass borders at the following checkpoints:

From China: Lang Son , Lao Cai, Mong Cai

From Laos: Cau Treo, Lao Bao

From Cambodia: Moc Bai

Public Holidays

New Year’s Day

January/February: Tet holiday according to the lunar calendar. Officially 3 days holiday but normally it lasts one week, and most offices shut down for a week. This is the busiest time of a year for traveling in Vietnam. Trains, flights, hotels are always full.'>

April 30: Liberation of Saigon Day

May 1: International Labor Day

September 2: National Day

Religion

Buddhism is the main religion in Vietnam. About 10% of Vietnam’s population follows Catholic, Muslims, Protestants and Caodailism – a special Vietnamese’ religion originates from Tay Ninh province.

Shopping

Ceramics, handicrafts, silk, woodcarvings, paintings, embroidery, marble, hill tribe fabrics, silver jewelers… are things to be looked out for in Vietnam. Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh city are the best places for shopping. Hoi An is a huge shopping place for silk and paintings.

Telecommunication & Internet

To make an international direct dial (IDD) call is easy in most hotel and post office in any city, but sometimes it is impossible in rural area. Fist dial the international prefix (00) followed by the country code, area code, and the local number. If you are unable to contact the requested number, dial 110 for operator assistance.

Long distance calls should be made at post offices, hotels or telephone booths (phone cards are available at post office).

Many travelers prefer to keep contact by e-mail, because IDD call is very expensive in Vietnam, Internet cafe can be seen in every tourist site and it is also available in hotel. Post cards are sold in every main tourist sites; stamps are available from post office and reception desks.

Time

Vietnam is seven hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time/Universal Time Coordinated (GMT + 7 hours). When it is noon in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh city, it is 9 p.m. the previous day in Los Angeles, midnight in New York, 5 a.m in London, 1 p.m. in Paris and 3 p.m. in Sydney.

Tipping

Tipping for good service is not expected but is welcome in these developing countries. It is customary, though not compulsory, to tip tour guides and drivers at the end of the tour. Hotel and station porters should also be tipped.

(Porters, VND 5.000 – 10.000 per bag, restaurant 5-10% of total bill, taxi drivers 10%, tour guides VND 40.000 per person/per day, driver VND 20.000 per person/per day).

Visa

Valid visa is compulsory requirement to all visitors to enter Vietnam. A one-month tourist visa is usually sufficient for most visitors though it is possible to arrange 3 months and 6 months multiple entry visas for regular visitors. All visitors must obtain visa approval from the Vietnamese immigration Department before a visa is issued. Saigontourist can arrange for a visa authorization to be sent to the Vietnamese embassy or consulate where the visa is to be collected once the following information has been forwarded: full name, date of birth, nationality, passport number and sex. This information should be forwarded at least one month before the departure. One copy of the visa authorization will be sent to the embassy or consulate where the visa is to be collected and a second will be forwarded to the person collecting the visa. A fee is payable to Saigontourist for the visa authorization and to the embassy or consulate for the visa stamping. The person collecting the visa must complete two application forms and hand these in with two passport photos when collecting the visa.

In situations where it is more convenient, Saigontourist in Danang is also authorized to issue visas on arrival at international airports (Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh city and Da Nang airport in Da Nang) or international seaports (Ha Long, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Qui Nhon, Nha Trang and Sai Gon). The same authorization procedure and a minimum of 7 working days notice are still required. On entering Vietnam, all visitors must complete an entry/exit card (white/yellow color). It is important that the yellow page of this form is kept safe to be presented to the customs and immigration officials on departure.