FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

You can use American dollars for sure, though in major tourist cities such as Hanoi, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City. When you get to Vietnam, you can change the currency to Vietnam Dong, which will help your shopping time a lot. Most shops and stores will apply very low rate when you pay in dollars so we suggest you to avoid using the dollars whenever possible.

In International airport such as Hanoi Airport or Ho Chi Minh City Airport there will be currency exchange booths for you to change the currency. Current exchange rate is 1 USD ~ 21,600 VND.

Start from 30 April 2016, Hanoi offers a new and quality express bus service that connects the airport with the city center.

Bus route:

R1: Hanoi Airport - International Terminal Level 1 -> Domestic Terminal Level 1 -> Nhat Tan Bridge -> Trang Tien (near Hoan Kiem Lake) -> Hanoi Train Station.

R2: Hanoi Train station -> Hanoi Old Quarter -> Nhat Tan Bridge -> Hanoi Airport Domestic Terminal Level 1-> International Terminal Level 1

Travel time: 55-60 minutes each way

Hours: bus departs hourly from bus stops listed above

Ticket fare: 30,000 VND (1.5$)

If you are sending something to Vietnam, you can leave the address in English or ask the recipients for the Vietnamese version. In general, the number of the house comes first and followed by lane number of street names, districts and cities.

Here are some useful words:
Quận/ Huyện: District 
Phố: Street 
Đường: Road 
Ngõ: lane 
Ngách: smaller than lane unit 
Số: House number 
Khu đô thị: Apartment building complex

Example of an address:

Chu Ngoc H. 
So 4, ngo 12, pho H.H, Dong Da, Hanoi.   

Note: Vietnam does not have postal code.

Question: Is it possible to withdraw US dollars from ATMs in big cities in Vietnam?

Answer: No, it isn’t, even if in the biggest cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang, and so forth. You can withdraw VND only!

Sapa is a popular destination in the Northwest territory of Vietnam, with beautiful scenery, fresh air and wild green hills. There are plenty of methods to go to Sapa and vice versa: by train, by car, by motorbike and by bus.

Train is the most popular way but the drawback is the long time and many people might not be into the idea of taking a night train. With car and motorbike, go with the highly experienced drivers since the road to Sapa is quite a challenge.

Thanks to the development of new highway from Hanoi to Lao Cai in 2014, bus is now a popular means to get from Hanoi to Sapa. 

Schedule: Depart Hanoi at 6:30 A.M, arrive in Sapa at 1:30 P.M.
Cost: $15

Schedule: Depart Sapa at 3:00PM., arrive in Hanoi at 9:00PM
Cost: $15

How to get your Bus ticket:

Contact us: info@vietnamonline.com for reservation.

Vietnam Airlines has several offices in North America, including San Francisco. The address for Vietnam Airlines San Francisco office is:

You can also contact the office by emailing: info.us@vietnamairlines.com

The opening hours of San Francisco office is Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM  - 5:30 PM. Note that the office is closed on Saturday and Sunday and major holidays.

Other useful information about Vietnam Airlines:

Vietnam AIrlines baggage allowance
Vietnam Airlines meals

Hi,

As you do not mention clearly about your travel time as well as your budget condition, so we can only give some general advices.

To travel to Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon, you need to have enough money for these main spendings: transportation, food, accommodation and entrance tickets to tourism destinations, not to mention your spending on shopping and other unexpected fees.

Saigon is such a big city that in order to visit all of the most well-known tourism destinations, you need at least two or three days.

Normally, the minimum budget spent for accommodation will range from VND 150,000 to VND 300,000/day, depending on the quality of the hotel and its location. Public transportation is quite cheap, which will cost you about VND 50,000 to VND 70,000/day if you move around inside the city. However, if you choose taxi as a means of transportation, the fare will be about VND 11,000/ km so each journey will cost you VND 50,000 on average.

As every other city and province in Vietnam, Saigon is a heaven of street food. If you do not mind eating like the locals at street vendors, you will only need to spend about VND 100,000 each day to have very good meals. The ticket for museums will take you about VND 10,000- VND 30,000; while most of other tourism destinations like Notre-Dame Church or Central Post Office have free entrance.

In sum, if you want to travel on a shoe string, you can do so with only VND 1.5 million (or $75) for 3 days in Saigon. $120 will probably give you mid-range hotel and more flexibility with travelling. For top hotels and sit-down restaurants, expect your budget to start from $500 for 3 days in Ho Chi Minh City. You can also refer to our guide to cost of living in Ho Chi Minh City for further information.

We hope this helps!

Previously, Vietnamese people did not have the habit of tipping; however, a boom in tourism allows this western life style to be adapted by the local. The most common situations to give tips are eating at restaurants, taking a taxi or hiring a tour guide. It all depends on the quality of services they provide you as well as yours’ satisfaction. To a taxi driver, 50 cents to $1is greatly appreciated, but not common. In a luxury restaurant, you can leave the change or a VND 50,000 note (about $2.5) which is really generous. In some upscale spa or hotels, a service fee of 10% is often added, so tipping is not necessary.

Airport departure tax for domestic flight is $2 and for international departure tax is $14. The taxes are included in the air tickets, even low cost carriers like Air Asia often include the airport tax so you do not have to worry about paying extra. 

Hi,

Thank you for your question.

Frankly, there is no strict rule or code for gifts and presents when you are invited to enjoy a family meal in Vietnam. Without any wine or flower, the diner guests are still warmly welcomed by hospitable Vietnamese hosts.

However, fruit is always a nice gift and seems to be well received. So, you are highly recommended to pick up some nice fruits for the dessert. Besides, one could bring something nutritious for the elder, some alcohol, pastries for the family, or candy for the kids, though these gifts may make the dinner a lot more formal than it should.

You are also recommended to ask the host if there is anything you could help, and be willing to give them a hand in preparing the meal. Remember to wait for the oldest to eat first, ask once before the meal and once after your finish.

Enjoy the meal.

Read our Article "Visiting a Vietnamese Family" for more detailed insights.