10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Going to Vietnam

Mistakes? Oh, I made them while I was in Vietnam. If I had known these 10 things, it would have saved me a lot of money and headaches. Don't make the same mistakes I did. Read this before you book that trip to Vietnam.

So you’re planning a trip to Vietnam? Have you been dreaming about the incredible food, culture, and vibes for years? Yeah, I’ve been there. I had been dreaming about visiting Vietnam since I was 20 years old. This latest tour through Southeast Asia seemed like a great time to book that flight and make my dream come true.

Despite reading countless articles, watching hours of YouTube videos, and even talking to some Vietnamese people, I still made mistakes that hurt me financially, emotionally, and physically (just kidding, my checked bag took most of the beating there). But still, I don’t want you to go to Vietnam with stars in your eyes like me and make the same mistakes I did. 

Here 10 things I wish I knew before going to Vietnam.

1. Don’t play with your visa

When I say don’t play with your visa, I mean it. If you’re coming from the U.S. or in most places in Europe, you can snag a 30-day tourist visa for about $25 USD. The eVisa website is easy enough to navigate and doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out.

The turnaround time for approval is between 3-5 business days. But, I strongly urge you to apply at least two weeks in advance of your arrival. Oh, and make absolutely no mistakes on that eVisa. Any mismatch in information on your application and passport could be cause for a denial.

Here’s a common mistake: not including your middle name along with your first name under the “Given name” slot on the application.

Essentially, write exactly what is written on your passport. Surname is your last name and given name is your first AND middle name. I made this mistake and had my visa rejected. When I tried to fix it, it was too late and I had to get an emergency visa in the Sydney Airport. This simple mistake cost me $300 in emergency visa fees and a ton of stress and headaches. If I could do it over again, I would apply for a visa for Vietnam at least 2 weeks in advance and really make sure I crossed my Ts and dotted my Is.

2. Infrastructure and traffic are not what you expect

If you’re coming from any Western or developed nation, you may be used to sidewalks, clearly delineated traffic signs, street paint, and some sense of order when it comes to traffic and infrastructure. But in Vietnam? Forget about it.

I wish I had known that Vietnam in and outside of the cities is not very walkable. I visited four Vietnamese cities, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hoi An, and Hanoi, and none of these cities had good, comfortable or walkable sidewalks. And if there was a sidewalk, it doubled as parking for motorbikes and scooters. The infrastructure made it tough for me to do my weekly runs, get around, and generally feel safe while navigating cities. I imagine it can be extra tough for those who rely on wheels to get around like those who use wheelchairs and strollers.

Oh and don’t get me started on traffic. I watched tons of videos on YouTube showing how chaotic and sketchy crossing the street can be in most cities in Vietnam, but when you’re in it, it’s even scarier. Traffic is heavy with a mix of cars, scooters, and pedestrians weaving around each other.

One thing you can do is cross when you can and essentially pray that no one hits you. Raise your hand at cars (almost like a traffic cop would) and just start walking, Be slow, steady, and consistent. Do not stop for any reason. Just keep walking and you’ll somehow make it to the other side. With that said, if you’re easily scared of fast-moving traffic or cars, reconsider visiting Vietnam.

3. Don’t buy large-sized stuff, buy what you need from Refillables

If you’re traveling for an extended period of time like I was, you might be tempted to buy full-sized bottles of dish soap, olive oil, and laundry detergent, while you're on your trip. But I strongly caution against it.

When you run out of certain toiletries or raw ingredients, spices, cooking oils, etc, don’t buy full-priced items at the grocery store. You’ll just waste your money and leave 90% of it at your accommodation when you check out.

Instead, if you’re in Hanoi or Hoi An, visit a Refillables store and get exactly what you need in bulk for a fair price. Think of the bulk section at your home grocery store and Refillables is basically the same thing. Bring your own containers or grab one of theirs for a small fee and fill up exactly the right amount of soap, nuts, olive oil, etc that you need for your 3-7 day trip and save your money and tons of waste while you do it. I wish I had known about Refillables before my trip to Vietnam. I could have saved so much money, time, and product. 

4. Save space in your bag for custom clothes and souvenirs 

For many people, traveling to Vietnam is a one-off trip and there’s a temptation to travel light with a carry-on or on the contrary, a bag stuffed to the brim with "necessities" from home. But this is a mistake, especially when visiting places like Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City has tons of markets with incredibly cute knick-knacks that you’ll definitely want space in your bag for.

And if you find your way to Hoi An, you’ll immediately notice that there’s a tailor on nearly every block. From custom made three-piece-suits to traditional Ao Dai dresses, you’ll definitely want to save some space in your luggage for custom clothes. And they can turn around pieces in 24-48 hours. I made the mistake of packing my bag to the brim with all of my favorite clothes from home and totally forgetting that if I needed something, I could just get it in Vietnam. And when it comes to custom pieces from Hoi An, I wish I had packed a far fewer pounds in my checked bag to make room for the amazing bounty I was able to get made. 

5. Don’t spend more than 4 days in any city

Now, take this tip with a grain of salt. If you’re a city person who loves the chaos, energy, and intensity of dense city centers, disregard this. But if you’re anything like me, and you get tired of cities pretty quickly, I suggest limiting your stay in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hoi An, and Hanoi to no more than 4 days.

As a girl from Colorado in a town with more than 100,000 people, big cities exhaust me. And Vietnam’s cities are no different. In fact, their intensity felt 10 times stronger than cities back in the States. So if you, too, are easily exhausted by cities, 4 days is more than enough to see the best of these places. If I could go back, I would have shortened all of my city stays and elongated all of my beautiful nature stays.

6. Make sure you have Google Translate handy

One hack you can do before you leave for your trip to Vietnam is to download Google Translate if you don’t have it already and download the entire Vietnamese dictionary. Yes, you can do that. It's super easy. Just open up the Google Translate app, set the translation to Vietnamese, and then you'll see an option to download it. This is important because downloading Vietnamese on the app will allow you to translate your native language to Vietnamese without the need for an internet connection. It's a game-changer.

Trust me, in Vietnam, you’ll need it. I found myself using Google Translate in taxis, at restaurants, and a whole host of other situations where English was not widely spoken. It helps to clarify what you want to say, capture what someone else is trying to say, and keep everyone on the same page. Plus it’s free ninety-nine so you have nothing to lose.

7. Always negotiate with vendors

I know people feel different ways about haggling in street markets, but hear me out on this. You need to haggle when you’re at markets or dealing with street vendors in Vietnam. I know it can feel icky but it’s expected and culturally acceptable. Never, I repeat, never, take a vendor’s first price at face value. You can always get a fairer rate for that coconut or linen shirt at the market. 

For some people, haggling for 1-2 dollars feels a bit petty, but all of those dollars add up at the end of your trip. I wish I had been better prepared to haggle when I arrived. I ended up paying 50,000 dong (about $2 USD) for a fresh coconut from a street vendor only to learn later learned on that 25,000-30,000 dong  (about $1 USD) is more common.

8. You don’t always need a travel adaptor

You read that right. In many places outside of the West, you need a travel adaptor to charge up your electronic devices. I made the mistake of thinking Vietnam was the same. So I ended up going to a local market first thing when I arrived to get a travel adaptor with the two big round prongs only to discover that the outlet in Vietnam can accept American plugs. Ugh.

It’s actually a pretty cool dual outlet that can accept both European and American plugs. Everywhere I went, the same outlets existed. I could have saved myself a trip to a local market and haggling over an overpriced travel adapter if I had just spent the 2 minutes Googling what the outlet situation was in Vietnam. Don't make the same mistake I did. Save your money on travel adapters.

9. Download the Grab app right away

Before you go to Vietnam, download the app called Grab. Grab is a local Uber of sorts that offers ride shares, motorcycle rides, and even food delivery. It’s a super handy app to use if you need a cheap $1 scooter ride to the other side of town or need a ride from the airport to your hotel.

Grab is nice because, like Uber, rates are clearly stated upfront before money is taken. Sometimes airport taxis and local transport can be a hit or miss on prices and may require lots of haggling. If you hate to haggle, Grab is the way to go. Plus, there’s always a Grab like 2 minutes away in most cities in Vietnam. 

Relatedly, be careful of scams. I’ve never had this happen to me, but I’ve heard of travelers waiting for a Grab when a random guy yells, “Grab?” And essentially takes your phone, cancels your existing Grab reservation, and shuttles you into a private taxi situation where they can upcharge you. In general, if you’re going to use Grab in Vietnam, always double check the license plate of your driver matches the app and never let random people at the airport touch your phone. 

10. Don’t assume that all Vietnamese are “happy”

All of the YouTube videos rant and rave about how “happy” Vietnamese people are. So I came with a perception that the smiling face helping me put my bag in the back of a taxi was really a happy person. I’m going to go ahead and call B.S. on that.

First of all, Vietnamese people are human like everyone else. Just because you see a smile and they’re a willingness to help you doesn’t mean people are happy. So being extra kinda to everyone you meet is important. You never know what people are going through, 

Second, I linked up with a British English teacher in Vietnam who had a lot of interactions with the locals and he gave me the tea. He said, many Vietnamese women do the heavy lifting in terms of work, especially in the tourism sector, and can often be under tons of pressure from their families to perform. Not to mention many do experience domestic violence issues at home but put on a happy face in front of their neighbors because communities talk and rumor spreads. 

So don't make the mistake I did and assume that because a Vietnamese person is smiling at you and being friendly, that doesn’t mean they’re happy. They’re just doing what they have to do. So try not to assume and if possible, be as kind as possible whenever possible.

If you avoid these mistakes, you’ll be golden in Vietnam

Aren’t you glad you read this article before your trip? Trust me, you’ll be happy to have saved yourself tons of time, money, and headaches by following my warnings. If you manage to go to Vietnam and use these tips, leave a comment and let me know which one was the most useful for your trip. Enjoy Vietnam!