OK, so you’ve learned that right now is the best time to visit Vietnam, and marked off the must-sees on your wishlist, and gone and done the dirty and bought your ticket to Vietnam. Well done!
Now, all you’ve gotta do is worry about arriving in Vietnam, which, although a little daunting, isn’t too bad at all. To help you out, we’ve compiled a little list of the things to be wary of when stepping off that plane…(this section is relevant for those of you arriving at Vietnam’s international airports, and is based on my own experiences)
| 1. | You hopefully won’t need a visa (see our visa guide for the latest guidelines and fees), but if you’re doing the visa on arrival, you will have to locate the relevant area in the airport, or hopefully have an agent with your name on a board – the decision to pay the extra for an agent is entirely yours, of course. You should have a couple of passport photos with you too, but no worries if not, the immigration guys and gals will stand you up against the wall and shoot you. I mean shoot a photo of you…at no extra charge, bless ’em! |
| 2. | If you don’t need a visa on arrival, head on straight to the main arrivals section, where you’ll be herded through lines until you get to decide on which immigration counter is going to be lucky today…just watch out for some of the more Vietnam-savvy tourists, who seem to have a thing for cutting you off with their little fancy trolley bags. OUR TOP TIP: pay the extra $20 or so for a decent fast-track service (we’ll tell you who and how) that will get you through some of the horrendous queues that seem to be happening more and more frequently… |
| 3. | If you’re in need of a SIM card immediately, watch out for the kiosk as they herd you through. There’s always a pretty young thing who will try and entice you over with promises of 4G and the fluttering of eyelashes. Frankly, I’d wait until you get through immigration first, and then decide on the type of SIM package you need (see below). |
| 4. | Don’t take any pictures of the queues forming at immigration…signs are there to remind you and I don’t think you need to start off on the wrong foot with the immigration fellas. |
| 5. | Be nice and smile (and patient, if you don’t go with the fast-track service), just remember that the immigration guys and gals are only doing their job. I doubt he or she will speak very much English either… |
| 6. | Pick up your bags from the baggage carousel, but be prepared for a wait. Seems the baggage handlers love putting 3 or more flights worth of baggage on the one carousel. And then there are the locals who’ll swarm to the opening end of the carousel to collect their 23 boxes of goodies (less likely on the long-haul flights, very likely on the shorter flights, for example from Thailand). Expect to be pushed aside a tad, but it’s all in good nature. Yep, patience is very much the key to success when picking up your baggage! |
| 7. | Once you’ve got your bags, head on through the green channel to exit the airport…but if you’re in immediate need of a SIM card, some currency (The Mighty Dong), or a taxi, stop by at one of the kiosks as you exit. Shop around at each of the kiosks until you get something that suits your budget – to be honest, you can get better deals once you hit the streets of Saigon, but the savings aren’t major, especially when we’re talking in dollar terms. On our last visit to Vietnam (summer 2024) we picked up a 6GB daily data plan for 30 days at a local Viettel store (probably Vietnam’s biggest telco), with some call minutes, for 180,000 Dong (less than $10). |
| 8. | Once you’ve got your SIM sorted, download Grab and order your ride to your accommodation. This little app will save you some serious Dong over the course of your stay; seriously, Grab is an awesome way of getting around in Vietnam. And yes, the app is in English, though your driver probably won’t speak any English at all. |
| 9. | DO NOT TAKE THE UNMETERED / UNLICENSED TAXIS OUTSIDE THE AIRPORT. These are the guys who will be wandering around outside the airport, waiting for tourists. I had a run-in with one (thought I was clever enough to bluff my way through and get a cheap deal, didn’t I!) who seemed to think he’d get his hands on my wallet to show me exactly how much I needed to pay. And before we’d even set off! It was a quick escape back to the main airport area and a Vinasun taxi (probably the best of the official options) for me! |
With that, you should be on your merry way and onto a memorable time in Vietnam! Don’t miss our FAQ for some valuable tips, and our accommodation pages for some excellent places to stay in Vietnam!