First trip to Vietnam: the 2026 checklist

Current as of March 2026. Visa rules, exchange rates and prices were checked against evisa.gov.vn, UK FCDO travel advice and the US CDC. Visa rules depend on your nationality — always confirm your own.

Visa and documents in 2026

Visa-free entry — check your passport

Vietnam waives the visa for many nationalities, but the length varies. Citizens of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and most of the EU, plus Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, currently get up to 45 days visa-free. Some ASEAN passports get 30. US and Canadian citizens get no waiver and need an e-visa. The one rule that applies to everyone: check the current terms for your passport before you book — the list and the number of days change.

With a visa waiver you get a stamp on arrival — no paperwork in advance. You cannot extend a visa-free stay: to stay longer you either leave and re-enter (a "visa run") or arrange an e-visa beforehand. Full details for every passport and visa type are in the Vietnam visa guide.

💬 "Immigration rarely asks for a return ticket, but some airlines refuse to board you without proof of onward travel — at least have a booking to show." — frequent advice on r/VietNam, 2025

The e-visa — up to 90 days

If the waiver is too short, or your passport gets no waiver at all, apply for an e-visa through the official portal.

You fill in the form in English and upload a passport scan and a 4x6 cm photo. Pay by Visa or Mastercard; the fee is non-refundable if you are refused. Use only the official evisa.gov.vn — dozens of lookalike sites charge a markup. Print two copies of the approved visa: one is collected at the border, one stays with you.

Passport requirements

• Validity — at least 6 months from your entry date
• At least 2 blank pages in the visa section
• Machine-readable biometric passport recommended

Money and currency: dong, exchange, cards

The dong — a quick conversion trick

The currency is the Vietnamese dong (VND), in notes from 1,000 up to 500,000. All those zeros trip everyone up at first — here is the shortcut.

Quick conversion: drop three zeros and divide by 25. That gives you the rough price in US dollars. So 100,000 VND is about $4, and 500,000 VND is about $20.

Current rates (March 2026)

• 1 USD — ~25,500 VND
• 1 EUR — ~27,500 VND
• 100,000 VND — ~$4

Where to change money: best to worst

💬 "Best rates are at licensed exchangers and gold shops on tourist streets. The airport is 5–10% worse — change just enough there for your first ride. $50 and $100 notes get a better rate than small bills, and torn or old notes may be refused outright." — traveller consensus on r/VietnamTravel, 2025

Which cards work in Vietnam

ATMs: fees and limits

• ATMs are in every town and city
• Vietnamese-bank fee: 22,000–55,000 VND(~$0.90–2.20) per withdrawal, plus your own bank's fee
• Withdrawal limit: 2,000,000–5,000,000 VND per transaction (~$80–200)
• Fee-friendly options include TPBank and Vietcombank

SIM card and internet in Vietnam

Which carrier to choose

Tourist SIM prices

eSIM — activate before you fly

If your phone supports eSIM, buy a data plan in advance and be online the moment you land — no queue at the airport counter.

For short trips (up to two weeks) an eSIM is the easiest option. For longer stays a local SIM is cheaper. 4G/LTE works across all cities and tourist areas at 30–50 Mbps, and Wi-Fi is free in hotels, cafés and restaurants. Plans, activation steps and a fuller carrier comparison are in the Vietnam internet guide.

💬 "An eSIM means you're online the second you land, without hunting for a SIM counter — a lifesaver on a late-night arrival when the desks may be shut." — travel community advice, 2025

Health: vaccines, insurance, pharmacies

Which vaccines to get

No vaccines are required to enter Vietnam. But several are recommended, especially for longer trips or rural travel.

The US CDC also recommends hepatitis B for travellers to Vietnam, particularly for longer stays, given how common chronic hepatitis B is in the country.

Vaccine guidance is current as of March 2026. Check with a travel-health clinic before your trip.

Travel insurance

Insurance is formally not required to enter, but strongly recommended. Treatment without cover can get very expensive, very fast.

• Recommended cover — $30,000–100,000 in medical expenses
• Doctor visit — from ~500,000 VND (~$20)
• Hospitalisation — can run into thousands of dollars at an international clinic

What it should cover: outpatient visits, hospitalisation, emergency dental care and medical evacuation.

Popular providers: SafetyWing and Genki suit long-term nomads; World Nomads and Allianz cover shorter trips. Full comparison in the Vietnam travel insurance guide.

Pharmacies and medicine

Every town has pharmacies. Most medicines, including antibiotics, are sold without a prescription. In tourist areas, staff often speak some English.

Check expiry dates — counterfeits exist — and buy from pharmacies attached to private clinics for the best quality.

💬 "Bring your own go-to stomach meds and any prescription drugs from home. Vietnamese equivalents exist but aren't always easy to find or clearly labelled, and you don't want to be hunting for them mid-trip." — experienced-traveller advice, 2025

Hospitals for foreigners

Safety: what to watch for

Vietnam is a relatively safe country for travellers — no terrorism threat, no religious extremism. The main risks are petty scams and pickpocketing, and by far the biggest is the traffic.

Common scams and how to dodge them

Traffic — the real danger

Thousands of motorbikes, chaotic flow, few of the rules you're used to. According to the Asian Transport Observatory, Vietnam averaged about 51 road crashes a day over the first seven months of 2025. Road accidents are the single biggest health risk for foreign visitors here.

For pedestrians the rule is simple: walk slowly and predictably— don't run and don't stop suddenly. The traffic reads your path and flows around you.

💬 "Step off the curb and keep a steady pace. Stopping or bolting is more dangerous than just moving. Drivers read your trajectory and go around you — the horn isn't a warning, it's part of the conversation." — Vietcetera, road-crossing guide

On a motorbike a helmet is mandatory — the fine for riding without one is 400,000–600,000 VND (~$16–24). The full rundown of scams, hazards and a mistakes checklist is in the Vietnam safety guide.

Getting around the country

Grab — the one app you need

Grabis Southeast Asia's answer to Uber. It works in every major Vietnamese city: the price is fixed before you ride, and you pay in cash or by card in the app.

Renting a motorbike

• Under 50 cc and electric bikes — no licence needed
• Over 50 cc — you need an International Driving Permit with Category A(IDP), and technically a Vietnamese endorsement. Without it, insurance won't pay out
• Deposit: cash or a passport copy. Never hand over your original passport
• Photograph every scratch when you collect the bike

💬 "Never leave your original passport as a rental deposit — it's one of the most common beginner mistakes. In a dispute they can hold the document hostage until you pay an inflated bill." — common advice across travel communities, 2025

Intercity transport

Airlines: Vietnam Airlines (full service), VietJet Air (budget — cheapest fares, baggage extra), Bamboo Airways and Vietravel Airlines. For city-to-city planning and routes, see the Vietnam transport guide.

Trains: book through vexere.com. The coastal line is one of the best ways to actually see the country.

💬 "In Hanoi the Grab car showed up right on the GPS pin, no explaining in sign language. From the airport it worked out cheaper and comfier than the taxi rank, and GrabBike is 2–3x cheaper than GrabCar for a solo hop across town." — traveller review, 2025