Top 4 Tips for Traveling in Vietnam: What I Wish I Knew Before My Trip

Visiting any new country can be a shock to the system. Even when I was travelling throughout Europe going to places like Germany or Slovenia each new country and culture had its own nuances. But going somewhere like Vietnam is a huge culture shock - everything is different and all your senses feel like they’re being overloaded 24/7!

To help you adjust to the shock of visiting Vietnam, here are four things I wish I knew before I arrived! I’ve also got a TikTok which covers this too - you can check it out here.

Roads: a tale of bravery and courage 

Zebra crossings and green men mean nothing. You’ll see these dotted around cities like Hanoi and Hoi An but motorbikes nor cars pay them any attention. 

The best but initially terrifying strategy is just to step out onto the road with confidence and purpose! This can feel super disconcerting to begin with, especially as in the UK and other European countries doing such a thing is frowned upon and pretty dangerous!

But in Vietnam anything goes! You'll get used to this strategy pretty quickly and even become a bit of a pro! 

The reason this works is because most people are on motorbikes so they can easily weave out of your way and out of the way of any oncoming traffic.

It is needless to say that this doesn’t mean you can just step into the road at any time without looking though! Make sure you still have a cautionary and instinctive check of what is coming first! I don’t want to be the cause of any road traffic accidents on the streets of Vietnam!

To give yourself some peace of mind whilst crossing the crazy Vietnam roads why not check out SafetyWing Insurance if you're a digital nomad or long term traveler.

Karaoke

A massive thing that shocked me is just how much many people in Vietnam love karaoke - it's everywhere! Walking down the road in the middle of the day then you'll likely come across people in their houses or in cafes just jamming and doing some karaoke!

If you're going for a few drinks or doing the Ha Giang Loop then karaoke will likely feature! So, make sure you've got a karaoke song prepared; my go to ones are Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Unwritten! 

Go for a song that people in Vietnam might now like Robbie Williams’ Angels or you might want to share a bit of your culture! I'm from the North so I went for Oasis a couple of times! 

Let me know what your go to karaoke song is! 

How to poop 

The first thing for us UK peeps is that you can't put the toilet roll down the toilet! Instead, you've got to put it in the bin. This takes some getting used to and you'll likely put some loo roll down every so often but don't panic it's only large amounts that will cause problems. 

There are also some squat toilets dotted across Vietnam! These tend to be in places that are more in the areas not typically on the tourist routes. They look daunting but once you’ve done it a few times I would, maybe controversially, say that I prefer them to the Western sitting toilet. Let me know whether you agree!

Cash is King

In the UK and lots of other European countries we’ve very much become accustomed to using our cards and phones to pay for things. But in Vietnam contactless and card readers are few and far between. 

Cash reigns supreme so you will need it! If you’re more organised and better at research than me then you’ll get some Vietnamese Dong from a bureau de exchange before you head off on your trip, but if you’re less of a planner like me then don’t panic it is easy to get cash out at an ATM. 

At an ATM you will be faced with a processing fee and your bank might add a fee too but these are never catastrophic! You can avoid a fee from your bank if you choose to go with some of the more travel focused banks like Revolut. I personally use Monzo and find the fees are not too unreasonable. 

So yeah, be ready to leave your card in your wallet and roll back the years and use some good old paper notes! Oh yeah, that’s a final note (if you’ll pardon the pun) - they only use notes so don’t be shocked by receiving small denominations in notes and not coins!

If you’ve got a trip to Vietnam planned then I hope this article helps you feel a little more prepared than I did and not feel so overwhelmed when you arrive. You can also find more useful tips, tricks and recommendations on my TikTok and Instagram!

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• Kindle

• Backpacker Card Game

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