Tours out of Ho Chi Minh City and across Vietnam
Travel guide
The practical half of planning a trip
Eighteen guides on the things that decide whether a trip runs smoothly — written here, checked against what actually happens to our travellers, and dated.
The essentials
Start with these four
Read first
Visas and entry
Who needs one, how the e-visa works, and the mistakes that cost people a flight.
Read first
Weather by region and month
The three-climate problem, month by month, with what it means for a route.
Read first
Money, cards and tipping
What to carry, where cards fail, and what tipping actually is here.
Read first
Getting around
Flights, trains, road times that are true, and when a night bus is a bad idea.
Eighteen guides
The rest of the guide
Fourteen more, from food and health to border gates and the two clauses to check in a travel insurance policy. Each one carries the date it was last checked.
Guide
Food and eating
Regional dishes, street food sense, allergies and water.
Guide
Health
Vaccines, mosquitoes, heat, pharmacies and doctors.
Guide
Scams and petty crime
Taxis, bag snatching, street sellers and fake bookings.
Guide
Phones and data
SIM cards, eSIM, registration, coverage and apps.
Guide
Packing
Clothes, shoes, rain gear, temple dress and what to buy here.
Guide
Etiquette
Temples, homes, dress codes and the two real offences.
Guide
With children
Ages, car seats, heat, food and the length of a family day.
Guide
Accessibility
What is realistic with limited mobility, and how we help.
Guide
Tet and holidays
Tet dates, what closes, and the other holidays to plan around.
Guide
Photography
Light, seasons, consent, temples and drone rules.
Guide
Shopping and tailoring
Hoi An tailors, silk, markets and how to not overpay.
Guide
Trains and buses
The Reunification line, sleeper cabins and sleeper buses.
Guide
Border crossings
Which gates to Cambodia and Laos work, and with which visa.
Guide
Travel insurance
Evacuation cover, the motorbike clause and the rest.
Method
How these are written, and why they carry dates
Every guide here is written in this office and carries the date it was last checked. That is not decoration: visa rules, border gates and airport procedures in this region change several times a year, and a travel guide without a date on it is a guess about the past. Where something has changed recently we say what it used to be, because half the advice travellers arrive with is last year correct.
We also write what we do not know. If a rule is ambiguous, or the official portal says one thing and the gate does another, that is what the page says. It is more useful than confidence.
Order
What to read before you book, and what to read before you fly
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
How often are these guides updated?
The visa, border and transport pages get checked every month and after any rule change we hear about from travellers. The rest are reviewed twice a year. Each page carries its own date at the top.
Can I ask a question that is not covered here?
Yes, and we would rather you did. Questions that come up more than twice end up as a new section in one of these guides.
Do I need a guide for Vietnam, or can I travel independently?
Independent travel here is straightforward in the cities and on the main coastal route, and genuinely harder in the far north and the delta backroads, mostly because of language and transport rather than safety. We will tell you which parts of your route do not need us.
Related
Read next
Destinations
Destinations
Where to go in Vietnam and the neighbours, with nights and timing.
View this journey
Tours
Tours
Day trips, regional routes and full-length itineraries.
View this journey
Tailor-made
Tailor-made
How a private itinerary gets built, step by step.
View this journey
Contact
Contact
Reach a planner in Ho Chi Minh City.
View this journey
Start planning
Tell us about the trip you have in mind
Dates, party size and the places you care about are enough to start. You get a draft route and an indicative price, not a brochure.
Or talk to us:+84 766 045 399