VIETNAM travel guide | EVERYTHING to know before you go😁🇻🇳

cow and welcome to Vietnam today we're Shar everything you need to know before traveling to this absolutely beautiful and super affordable [Music] [Music] country if you're planning a trip to the land of far and Bunny or have always wanted to travel to Vietnam then look no further we'll be covering everything from entry requirements and visas daily budgets where to stay what to pack how to get around scams what to do what to skip and of course safety whether you're a tourist or a future English teacher or a motorbike Enthusiast we think you'll find this video extremely helpful and if you do we'd really appreciate if you could hit that like button and subscribe for more videos like this we used to live in Vietnam in 2018 teaching English and we recently visited a game this year and 100% think think it's thoroughly worth exploring Vietnam has amazing food coffee friendly and fun people incredible Landscapes and best of all you won't break your bank when you travel there either we certainly learned a lot during our 10 months of being in Vietnam and we want to share it all with you now to help you better prepare for your future trip let's get started with how to get to Vietnam if you've looked at Vietnam on a map you'll notice it's an incredibly long and thin country now you can decide to fly into one of the major cities in the middle like dang for example but by far the most popular thing to do is to start at either one of the ends where the two biggest cities of Hanoi and hoim Min City are located we've been to both and in all honesty we'd suggest starting a trip in Hanoi Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and is incredibly Charming hoim City on the other hand is more modern a lot bigger and has more of a young party scene both airports are massive and and see flights from all over the world whichever City you choose you can expect around a 20 to 40 minute drive into the city we'll discuss what transport methods to use a bit later in the video but for now let's touch on visas the majority of countries will need to purchase an EV Visa 3 to five business days before travel using this link the cost is 25 USD for a single entry visa and $50 USD for a multiple entry visa and they are valid for up to 90 days some countries even get a free VIs Vis are on arrival for up to 45 days the UK is one of them but we suggest checking this link to see if your country is eligible Vietnam often changes their visa rules so make sure you check for the latest requirements before you travel when you land you can just show a screenshot of your EV visa on your phone to the immigration officers no outward flight was needed or asked for in case you do plan on booking a one-way ticket the tourist visas are not extendable though so you will effectively need to do a Visa Run if you plan to stay longer in Vietnam and if you're interested in teaching English in Vietnam then check out ninja teachers Channel he always shares the latest work visa information in his videos all right next up is currency the currency in Vietnam is the Vietnamese Dong it is currently around 24,000 Vietnamese Dong to $1 and around 26,000 to the euro and for our fellow South Africans it's around 1,200 dong to one r a dollar in Vietnam can get get you a Vietnamese coffee or a bar me or a fur in some places Vietnam is honestly one of the cheapest countries in the world so how do you get your hands on some Dong Well basically ATMs are basically everywhere there's even one as we got off the plane before we went through immigration then after immigration there's more ATMs by the exit doors it's perfectly safe and acceptable to use these ATMs in the airport some of the big Brands you can trust are bidv m SB veton Bank Agri bank and HSBC outside the airport they are ATM scattered all over the city so as long as you use one of the banks we've mentioned here you'll be perfectly fine then to exchange foreign currency once you're through customs there are many independent exchange boots you can use and there are also these cell phone boots that offer a decent exchange rate as far as exchanging at the airport goes the rate will always be better outside the airport so if you can wait then we'd recommend exchanging in the city again like ATMs money exchange places are pretty common in most cities things like Apple pay and Google pay also work really well so you can tap your Visa card at any of the cafes restaurants and shops we just needed a little bit of cash for shopping in the markets at the street food vendors and obviously tip for our guides Etc because a little goes a long way here you do not need huge lumps of cash we only used about $160 in cash for our 2E trip and we use Apple pay and credit cards for everything else all right let's go the best time to visit as we mentioned Vietnam is a relatively large country and it's long and thin so weather differs by region but you can basically split the weather patterns into the North and South systems our recent trip was all based in the North and the weather for there is as follows there are four seasons winter is from November to March summer is from May to August and the months in between are the transitional spring and ultar months winter is cooler and drier and at times that even snows in the far north that's how cold it can get Summer is humid and wet if you're planning for the north to visit sappa ninan Hanoi Etc then plan for the transitional months of October and November if you want to see sappa rice fields in their Glory then the best month is September before the Harvest and just after rainy season this is when the rice fields are greeny yellow and Lush and there's a lot less rain we went in August and it it was so beautiful but it was still quite hot and it rained a ton our tracking in Sappo was full of mud as well for the south of Vietnam it's basically hot and hotter they are just two seasons wet season and dry season wet season is from May to October and dry season is basically the rest of the year November to April honestly Vietnam isn't much fun in the middle of the rainy season there is a lot of flooding and the beaches get completely screwed when the big storms roll in we knew this because we were in the Chang in December 2018 and we thought we'd get a beautiful beach holiday instead it looked like this the entire time oh Le in terms of peak tourist season for Vietnam cuz this is important they are the Christmas period December Jan Feb and March and the European American summer months of July August and September we visited the north of Vietnam in August in the middle of busy season and we couldn't get over how many foreign tourists there were Vietnam was absolutely popping off and probably still is so in conclusion the best time to visit is in the shoulder months of October November and in April May and June okay up next what to pack pack according to the season you're traveling in as well as the area you intend to visit either the North or the South as mentioned above and always make sure you've got a good rain coat in case it rains if you're traveling to the north in the December to March month then temperatures can range between 15 to 20° C depending on how far north you go and how high up in elevation as well so do make sure to bring warmer clothing if that's the case there are a couple of stores that you can buy some warm kway like fluffy jackets and stuff so besides that if you plan to only visit the south of the country then just pack your normal usual hot weather attire shorts sandals t-shirts swimsuits etc for summer when it's hot in Vietnam it's very hot so be warned the humidity especially in the summer months can be quite hectic so make sure you're wearing like Airy stuff luckily though it's not a conservative country so you don't need to cover up your shoulders and all things like that unless you're going into the temples or pagodas you'll even see Vietnamese men shirtless everywhere hanging their bellies out dude feel free to do the same I'm joking then for shoes we recommend a good pair of hiking or running shoes that you don't mind getting muddy and dirty just look at how cla's got when we were in sapper it was absolutely insane that was during rainy season though yeah just make sure they're very comfy you're going to do a lot of walking in Vietnam it's awesome though fun walking let's go over the rest of what to pack very quickly though a hat or we actually recommend purchasing a Vietnamese hat for the sun and the rain and the memories and the pictures that thing is just a game changer guys next a power bank always have a waterproof camera or a cover for your phone bug spray there are quite a few mosquitoes in Vietnam definitely motion sickness tablets or motion sickness bracelets it's a must you'll be spending a lot of time in transportation buses shuttles all sorts and you're i s it it was hectic it was real uh you'll thank us later next sunscreen is a big M you'll be in the Sun a lot next is a lock for your belongings and your luggage then a driver's license for motorbike rental although in the smaller towns they won't even bother asking if you're going to teach English in Vietnam you need to dress very conservatively they take that quite seriously so bring conservative clothing with you and if you're going to be motor biking bring good protective gear cuz yeah just do it and finally medicines Travelers Di diarrhea antibiotics of course since this is southeast Asia we do not travel without antibiotics uh anxiety Ms this is actually important Vietnam is chaotic and overwhelming you'll need that if you need in general life then ladies thrush is a reality in these type of climates be prepared and if you forget anything you'll find a lot of the stuff in the malls although we found the shopping isn't the best in Vietnam especially with regards to SI in and also Western groceries and finally we took that all in one big check-in luggage bag and we had no issues lugging them around on buses and taxis whatever it was totally okay and then when you do the sapper tracking you'll be hiking and you're only allowed a small backpack but most of the hotels in sappa are so happy to store your luggage for you for free until you check in all right next up is apps to download grab app to AUD your taxis food medicine we use this a ton during our time there and then there's also goj which is the alternative to grab and it is sometimes a little bit cheaper then you're going to want to download vone or Vel or you can get the air outo app for an eim it's cheaper to get SIM cards in Vietnam though but we'll discuss the SIM cards a little bit later next is going to be Google translate although we hardly needed it in the touristy areas and when we were with our guides it can still come in handy though when you go off the beats and track make sure you do download the languages to use offline for when you don't have signal to next is going to be Google Maps the same thing basically you're going to use it to find restaurants where to eat best cafes the nearest beaches Etc we do share our Vietnam Google Map link with you in our resource pack which basically has all the places we ate at the hotels we stayed at and over 20 accommodation options for all different budgets so check the first link in the description we recommend downloading offline maps in case you are not in Wi-Fi range and out of data so that you can still basically work offline then make sure you get Apple pay or Google pay setup as we said we used ours all the time and it was very convenient then if you don't already have WhatsApp we recommend getting it it's used all the time in Vietnam for basically messaging and organizing things with your guides it came in super handy then we always have booking.com we recommended to manage your bookings to check your check-in times talk to your Etc the next app is Airbnb it's actually seem to be a little bit cheaper than booking.com we found when we were in Vietnam we think you get a little bit more value for your money a lot more then definitely you need to get get your guide for all of your tour bookings it's an absolute must we'll leave a link for you down below and in our resource pack and finally the last app is chalk for grocery deliveries if you want to cook breakfasts and meals for yourself it can be hard to find Wast and breakfasts easily in Vietnam so that's super helpful the next section though is accommodation Vietnam is one of the cheapest countries to visit and accommodation is no exception you've got all sorts you've got hostels hotels condo buildings cute airbnbs average hotels fivestar hotels luxury cruises budget cruises absolutely everything the only thing it probably doesn't have is like big Villas that you can share with a bunch of friends and family um you can find hosts for as little as $15 a night hotels in airbnbs for like $ 20 to $30 a night and then you can do it very luxuriously as well staying in our favorite Hotel chain of fusion literally without breaking the bank our first ever Hotel collab was Fusion Resorts fock and they still one of our best hotels we've ever ever stayed at a room there including all meals like multiple restaurants all lavish was like $250 to $300 an item it was an absolute steal and honestly the hospitality in Vietnam is fantastic especially when you're paying a little bit more our cruise in how long bay was around $180 per night and it was super Lux guys it was it was good and then we use Airbnb booking.com as you mentioned to book our accommodation but if you're looking to lock in a long-term accommodation look at xass in Vietnam Facebook groups all right next up is budget ultimately the price of your trip will depend depend on you and your ainer but like we said if you want bang for your buck A B come to Vietnam if you are going to be backpacking then prices will range between 20 to $35 a day for Comfort like us then it should cost you around $35 to $70 a day and then if you plan to be a bit more luxurious you could spend anywhere above $100 a day yeah it's not really that expensive no things that were expensive for Vietnamese standards though were Western Restaurants and Western grocery shops for sure our recent trip to Northern Vietnam in 2023 cost us $930 for two people that's around $66 a day all food accommodation entertainment is included in that because we worked with a local company and tour agency while we were there though one thing we didn't pay for was our transfers to and from sappa and ninin but they weren't too expensive somewhere around $ 20 to $30 for return um obviously the longer you stay the more you'll save on long-term accommodation gym co-working transport Etc by doing monthly deals as well like I said Airbnb has good monthlong discounts our friend Alex got a really nice apartment in herim city for like 450 USD a month crazy wow next chapter is transport how do you get around in Vietnam well first off there's motorbikes and scooters it's extremely popular for motorbike Enthusiast to rent a bike and do a trip down the entire length of the country north to south or vice versa another popular route is to do the hygine loop you need to be a skilled driver here though because the buses and trucks in this area are quite insane it's quite dangerous then the next way to get around is obviously like we mentioned grab and goj these are the ones we recommend and are basically the easiest mode of Transport for a quick trip across the city you're looking at about a dollar super super affordable shuttles are the next mode of transport our tour agency booked these for us most of the time they were really fancy ones with Wi-Fi airon reclining seats and they even came with some water and snacks highly recommend using a shuttle this was definitely the best way to get around and they sto with toilet brakes every few hours if you're looking for the best agency we loved working with Vietnam Escape tours so we'll leave their link down below for you next are buses there are these cool sleeper buses that are dirt cheap with toilets on board we've heard some complete mixed reviews about these though I guess it depends on what kind of traveler you are we'd say go ahead and do it for the experience if you don't mind roughing it a bit just take motion sickness tablets as discussed beforehand and in case and pack some snacks you've also heard they're really loud and you don't get much sleep actually even though they sleeper buses so keep that in mind next up are trains nearly all the tourist destinations are connected by trains it's way faster than the bus it's a little more expensive but definitely more comfortable you can get these luxury cabins with food and toilets on board as well and you can book these on 12g go Asia and then finally flights this is the quickest and easiest way to get around really flights are super cheap and fast as well Sapa ninan halong Bay and Hoy and don't have airports though however most of the other tourist destinations and cities do you can get a vet jet or air as of Fes for as little as $15 or $20 excluding baggage between Hanoi dang hman City fuk Nang D Etc now let's talk about the traffic there's no denying the fact that Vietnam has some of the most chaotic roads in the world but it also depends on where you are and what time you're there the traffic in the major cities no matter the time of the day though is just absolutely Bonkers there is no escaping it there's just a sea of motorbikes tons of hooting and beeping it's flipping dramatic it's so dramatic I remember sitting every morning in the Heat and the bike rooms on the way to school to teach and I just hated my life red also got really sick from the pollution in hman City uh but luckily you won't experience this as a tourist and only if you're planning to teach there long term our biggest trip if you're going to teach in Vietnam is stay as close to your school as possible seriously you'll thank us later one more tip I just forgot to mention if you are going to stay in Vietnam for long periods of time and do spend a lot of time on the scooter then bring a mask it's quite common to wear a mask in the traffic it's not for Co reasons but it's literally just to stop the pollution from going into your LS good tip and then this is very serious guys how do you cross the road in Vietnam because you'll see videos of motorbikes and cars and bikes just going they never ever stop there's actually like very few traffic lights in Vietnam as well so you might feel like you literally cannot go through the road like you cannot cross all you have to do is walk and very slowly and the bikes will literally just flow past you you'll feel like Jesus like you parting the traffic um cars don't they don't stop for you so keep your eyes there if there is a car coming then you have to stop uh otherwise they'll just bash you over trucks as well if you're planning to motorbike Vietnam just PL enough time for travel in the morning and evening peak hours but honestly once you're in the countryside traffic is not bad at all you'll be fine all right next up is language and culture Vietnamese is the official language of Vietnam spoken by about 85% of the population but there are minor languages used and you'll see that especially in the outter regions like Sapa will you need to learn Vietnamese to get by in Vietnam no and honestly you don't stand a chance even if you were to try Vietnamese is a tal language and most English speakers will have a really hard time learning it it takes years of practice we're still not sure how to say thank you properly yet thousands of people have told us come come in come in I don't know luckily most locals will understand English and they'll speak in broken English as well because English learning is so huge there that's why there's so many teaching opportunities guys Vietnamese people are so so friendly and they'll appreciate you trying to speak their language but they'll also have a hard time understanding your broken Vietnamese if you try speaking their language to them everybody will just be confused uh it's fun though the only words we rarely found that we needed in Vietnam were Cafe and and kamun which is thank you like we said we still don't know if we say CCT it's hard guys it's hard the three main religions are tosm Buddhism which is roughly around 55% and then confus ISM we learned a lot about it all in ninin through our guide which was really really awesome in terms of History my goodness Vietnam has a bit of a long and dark history the country has been through a lot from being dominated by China to being colonized by France then the Portuguese coming in there a little bit and then Japan too obviously in World War too and then of course the most recent Vietnam war with America it's all a lot to take in we do encourage you to come here and learn basically for yourself all of the periods have had a huge impact on the country though you'll see it when you there Chinese culture and Norms shine through the language religious holidays and food with red lucky cards and moon cakes everywhere the French and Portuguese Colonial periods have had an influence on religion and the architecture there is a large number of Catholic churches everywhere with 7% of the population identifying as Catholic the French even influenced the food with the baguettes the famous B me and snails you can eat those if you want and the architecture in sap Hanoi and hoan and also the use of the Latin alphabet sunet but our favorite is the Vietnamese modern culture the Vietnamese hats the gorgeous dresses the woman wear the cafe Culture The Coffee Culture the beer drinking on the streets carry on the corner at night huge food markets and the war helmets it's such an iconic country and is really so culturally stimulating next up things we recommend that you do let's go quickly definitely do a luxury Cruise in how long bay we absolutely loved it and you can watch this video linked about to see what it was like and then secondly you definitely have to do the saer tracking with a local and staying in their Homestead it was one of the most memorable times of Our Lives really again you can see that link in our Vietnam itinerary video If you haven't watched that video go watch it after this for real it was so epic we really happy with that trip y it was amazing then we recommend hoan although we haven't been there ourselves most people Rave about it then do a food tour in either hman City or Hanoi you definitely have to dive into that there always a ton of fun to do and you learn so much about the culture and you meet new friends it's awesome and then for the rest of the things we recommend we actually just going to put it in a Vietnam top 10 video so hopefully that's out by the time you're watching this video and you can check that out and then lastly we highly recommend that you do teaching if you're bored of your life and you want to complete change doesn't matter what age you are we would never be where we are today if we never took the risk and moved to Vietnam ninja teacher is the company we did our tesel calls through and they helped us move over there in 2018 one suggestion though you do need mental stability to move to Vietnam it will test you in certain aspects that you've never been tested in before but we'll cover that later on under safety all right next is where to stay oh gosh let's go over this quickly then we're going to cover our top destinations and then wait to stay in each in Hanoi we recommend staying in the old quarter this will be your base from which you explore ninin sappa how long and that's it yeah then in ninin stay in the central Tamp Park area in sappa stay in Sapp toown for a couple of days before you start your trkking and then stay in the local homee in laai during the trick and if you want a break in nature then definitely stay at the topaz eco lodge it's it's spectacular it's out in nature and we actually have phot that we never stayed there how long bay we as we mentioned before about the cruises there's over 200 Cruisers to choose from we did the moner cruise it was Fab but they are the puny and the Orchid cruises that are also really good have a look on Vietnam Escape tours at their websites at all your options and then book through them they'll take care of all the transport and planning they are F guys for Real hoim City stay anywhere in District 1 this is the most happening central part of the city in Danang stay anywhere at miky beach my an was a quaint little neighborhood that we loved so much and then in hyan stay anywhere in the old town to be close to everything as well in fuk qu it doesn't really matter where you are actually suggest staying in Fusion Resorts though there were Fab and then shinin both were fantastic do note though we visited this island in 2019 and a hell of a lot has changed since then we've heard it has become a little bit kit so take it into consideration it's not going to be very authentic there all right now let's talk about what to eat oh wow we love Vietnamese food now but we really didn't enjoy it back until 2018 and 2019 it's pretty important to knowe that it's delicious if you do it the right way and not so good if you wing it you have to be going to the best street food stands and the best restaurants Vietnamese people eat pretty exotic stuff uh there will be all sorts of foreign meals that you come across and we suggest you stick to the basics they are as follows the definitely beef F it's the national dish of Vietnam and of my hearts as well chicken fire is great too as long as it's a nice restaurant definitely fresh spring rolls and deep fried spring rolls so yum definitely ban me bua B and miang miang they are all so good but they have to be at a nice restaurant H bco is one of my favorite dishes in Vietnam it's like a stew I love stew snails you can eat those if you're brave uh like I mentioned before it's from the French influence and then if you're wondering where on Earth all these best restaurants and street food stands are you're in luck because we've listed a number of them basically all of them in our Vietnam resource pack within our Google Map link you're welcome to drink wow definitely Cafe s which is coffee with condensed milk it's amazing then there's egg coffee it sounds a bit disgusting but it's absolutely fantastic don't be put off at all then clary's favorite coconut coffee definitely awesome too then try Saigon beer and also the Hanoi beer the beer in Vietnam is actually really good and super cheap Vietnam isn't really known for its desserts but we do like b b which is a sweet chewy sponge cake made from rice flour water and sugar and it's usually filled with yummy red beans then they are banam which is a donut bow looking thing CED with sugar or honey filled with sweet mung bean paste and sometimes fruits looks quite good Vietnam is actually the least most obese country in the whole world and that's basically because of the food it's actually really healthy guys you'll find when you get there there's lots of leafy greens some rice noodles lots of rice actually in all forms pancakes noodles broken rice all sorts nice broths and then lots of fruits they love their fruits as well it's pretty clean eating all right things to remember always try stuff that's cooked in front of you or always have a local guide on the streets in case then the next category is water and ice you can't drink the tap water but bottled water is as cheap as chips to limit plastic use though we recommend bringing a refillable bottle always travel was one of those and part of the Vietnamese experience is drinking beer with ice in it like everyone serves beer with ice in it but in the 9 months of us living in Vietnam we did not get sick once from water or ice don't stress about it at all the only thing that you do need to be careful of that might make you very sick is alcohol and that brings us to the next chapter Vietnamese people love their beer and they love partying drinking and karaoke in the evenings beer is ridiculously cheap here with a c costing you around 50 cents USD however hard Liquors they can make you extremely sick guys the most sick I have ever seen red ever was after a night out on boan Street in hman City be careful it's horrendous I believe I said something along the lines of I'm hanging like a wizard sleep I wasn't it wasn't even the next day W hanging yet you were drunk AF he was Ill then B and wine are readily accessible in the mini Mar all over the country we even found South African wine in a mini marks in our building that four cousin even and then another alcohol alternative you'll see everywhere in the party streets in Vietnam are balloons I think they laugh in gas we've never tried them and that's because one of our friends literally fell over like this after trying and another one of our friends looked like she was having a freaking stroke her face fell like this oh my word if you have low blood pressure I feel like you should not be trying those balloons please be careful guys well just avoid it I mean if you want to you can I guess marijuana and all other drugs are highly illegal in Vietnam so just be noted bang next up is vaccinations in terms of Co there's no such thing anymore so let's move on in terms of other vaccinations we always travel with upto-date typhoid and hepatitis A and B shots they're not required although they are highly recommended okay let's talk about travel insurance it's not required but as with all international travel we 100% recommend that you sign up for some form of travel insurance to assist you if you have any travel related problems or need to be hospitalized or compensated for like a Mis delayed flight a Mis delayed flight and because you're doing a lot of adventurous stuff like hiking tracking motorbiking boating you need to be covered guys we'll link our favorit sa doing travel insurance down below another thing though if you're doing the motorbiking in Vietnam no insurance will cover you unless you've got a motorbike license and unless you're wearing a helmet I also feel like you'll need a higher coverage in case something does happen to you so maybe consider looking at safety Wings health insurance it does give you a lot more coverage uh one thing I want to mention as well uh hospitals in Vietnam will not help you unless you've got a huge lump sum available up front like you don't pay after the treatment you pay up front so keep that in mind all right next up is the length of stay we recommend either 7 10 or 14 days and it depends on how much of the country you're wanting to see we say seven if you're just doing either the Northern or the southern parts of the country then we say around 10 days if you plan to do Northern Vietnam dang and hoan 14 days if you want to do Northern Vietnam dang hoyan fuak and hoim City and then 3 weeks if you want to do more than that there's also other cities like the lat to explore which is also pretty cool clar doesn't agree or if you want to do it at a slower Pace then definitely plan for 3 weeks next is electricity it should sure to pack the appropriate travel plug adapter that fits the local sockets the type C and D sockets are the official standards in Vietnam and they look like this Vietnam uses the same plugs as South Africa let's talk about SIM cards and internet Vietnam kills the internet and Wi-Fi game no matter where you are you will always have great internet they have a number of providers we've used vone vetal and MOB phone all of them had am amazing coverage and was so affordable I don't understand it we got like 5 gigs data a day for 10 USD Val for 30 days and we picked the S cards up at the airport where they're supposed to scam you where they're supposed to be super expensive and they get it working for you instantly as Fab we always suggest having a SIM card so that you have data on the go to get taxis and to contact people wherever you are a lot of the locals and businesses use WhatsApp so having this s is also super important to talk to our guides and our travel agents in terms of Internet you can connect almost everywhere the cheapest $15 airbnbs had 100 Megs sometimes even 300 megabits per second you won't have a problem in Vietnam at all with Wi-Fi there was even internet at our home state in sappa and then how insane next up is tipping restaurants don't require tipping here but they won't be offended if you do tip toour gues do kind of expect tips from you so make sure you've got cash if you were happy with their service we were overwhelmed with the locals in sappa They begged us a lot and everywhere we went we've never been harassed like that before for money or buying things a lady literally followed us like 3 km down the road into our hotel even after we said no don't feel obliged to give all these people your money though only if they're guiding you or if you want to buy something from them next up is pharmacies there are pharmacies everywhere in Vietnam anything starting with the word farmer is a far Pharmacy we use pharmac City and the more Western Pharmacy called guardian we always experience interesting things Ines in the world first uh in Vietnam they've got headache patches I needed these while we were teaching in Vietnam because the kids were so loud I had headaches every day another thing in Vietnam they are huge Believers of Chinese medicine I saw these strange Health packets with starfish and Snak skin in them their health choices are questionable often using animals for benefits Vietnam are also the biggest illegal importers of rhino horn so because we're from South Africa there's definitely moral crashes there all right next up is laundry because Airbnb apartments are so affordable we suggest booking these instead of hotel rooms that you can do your own laundry if not then laundry mats are basically everywhere in all major cities and it's really super affordable they can mess up your clothing a bit so make sure you check their reviews on Google first let's talk about the weather and natural disasters now the biggest concern in Vietnam are typhoons flooding and landslides all connected to the rainy season flooding some parts of the big cities completely flood in Peak rainy season and it's a nightmare getting around especially on a motorbike it's one of the things we absolutely dreaded when working in hman City rivs can also flood flash floodings occur we're talking water as high as your waste it's no joke and then landslides we had a taste of this in sappa and it was actually terrifying the main road completely closed on the way to Sapa from Hanoi we were delayed by like 2 hours there was a landslide that engulfed two cars and when we got to sappa we saw huge mountains and Rise Fields had fallen next to us roads were covered in stones and mud the paths during the sappa hike were even extremely dangerous we were worried and so were the local guides actually they ended up taking us on a completely different safer routs so we mentioned in the weather section just completely avoid rainy season if you want a smooth sailing holiday next up what to skip we like to do these sections to let you know honestly from the bottom of our hearts what is not worth spending your time and money on first up we think n Chang we lived there for 2 months and honestly we don't think it's worth that unless you're going to go scuba diving or you have an interest in some of the night life then next up is Fu quak our friends recently went there and they just did not enjoy it they've built these huge like theme park areas massive uh artificial kind of Worlds Grand World things and they're inspired by like Italy they've got the Venice canals and all sorts solid no though from us Sweden travel all the way to Vietnam to experience things like that we want the authentic travel you know I think it is more aimed at the local tourists in Vietnam that places probably yeah then delat it's a mountain town but really rather do sappa it's very similar and sappa is way more beautiful and has stunning rice fields delat is only worth seeing if you want Colder Weather and you've got some extra time in Vietnam but we wouldn't prioritize it if you've only got a few weeks there all right next up is safety Vietnam has been ranked one of the safest countries in the world for travelers even for solo females I used to roam around completely by myself on a motorbike and I felt 100 100% safe petty theft can still occur here so always be aware of your personal belongings especially in crowded places like markets and then when you're on the back of a motorbike there are guys that Zoom past you and try and grab your phone or your belongings uh we even experienced that one late nights in hman city and then also when you're standing on the side of the road on your phone just turn your back because they will try and grab your phone from you as well then there's something we've noticed and we just have to address it mental health trigger warning like I said if you plan to live in Vietnam you need a thick skin and you need to be a mentally stable person we've had more friends in Vietnam and Alive themselves in anywhere in the world I'm not exactly sure why it happens I do think maybe people are just going to Vietnam trying to find themselves and fix all their problems and it just doesn't work out for them I just have to bring this up because while teaching in Vietnam was the best thing we ever did it's sadly not the same for everyone and we want our bruise to be safe and happy also I have bomed anxiety in Vietnam so it gives you a bit of an Insider yeah it's very loud there it's loud it's chaotic and it can be lonely all right let's talk about scams these bicycle cart guys in Hanoi they'll try to get you on their cart and then they'll give you a certain price and then they'll overcharge you once the ride is done then these ladies carrying the cute little baskets and then offering for you to take photos with them and then they while you're holding the baskets taking the photo they open up a coconut and then they charge 150 for the coconut instead of like 15 or something like that yeah smart ladies husters bars and clubs selling you cheap alcohol instead of the real stuff that's for real they often for these original bottles was crappy stuff so just be aware it also makes you eill like I mentioned then a lot of hotels bribe their customers with free breakfast in return for a 10 out of 10 rating so don't be shocked when you get your highly rated hotel and ATT shct happened to us in sappa then the ATM's giving you the wrong amount of cash or skimming your cards but as we mentioned before just use the legit ATMs and you should be fine then lastly there are some motorbike rental scams so make sure you always check Google reviews before using a company we have some really good legit ones linked for you in our resource pack though and lastly the other section there's not much to mention in this section except to elaborate on something we mentioned earlier in the video Vietnam has unfortunately Norms that are just a huge moral Conflict for some people we've already discussed the Rhino poaching and the Chinese medicine but they also eat a lot of dogs horses Buffalo worms snails everything it's not always up in your face but if you're sensitive to this stuff Vietnam might not be for you and yeah that's it we've covered everything you need to know about Vietnam if you have any questions or you think that there's something that we missed please leave it down below in the comments don't forget to grab our resource pack and finally please leave this video with a like it really helps more people see it we'll see you Bruce in the next one safe travels to Vietnam time be it time be [Music] it [Music]

Channel: Rhett and Claire

Views: 225,452

Keywords: vietnam 2023, how to travel vietnam, how to travel Vietnam in 7 days, how to travel Vietnam in 10 days, 10 day Vietnam itinerary, northern Vietnam itinerary, things to do vietnam, things to do in vietnam, Halong bay, Halong Bay cruise, Sapa valley vietnam, sapa, sapa vietnam, things to do in sapa, sapa trekking, Hanoi things to do, hanoi, vietnam travel, Vietnam travel guide, Vietnam travel guide 2023, vietnam guide, vietnam guide 2023, vietnam tips, ho chi minh city guide

Id: hd73bwOvsoI

Length: 42min 4sec (2524 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 28 2023