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In this section you will find general Vietnam visa information and guidance to apply for visa-on-arrival and answers to your other questions about the process. *Please note that when visa procedures change, there may be a short delay before the information on our website is updated.

In this section

Vietnamese people for long have been worldly famed for their grace, politeness, generosity and hospitality. Once coming to the country, the locals are so friendly that you can rest assured that they will make every possible effort to make your trip as enjoyable as possible. And expatriates who reside in Vietnam for study or work are normally not so astonished when they are invited to visit and dine with a local family that they have just got acquainted. That’s simply the inherent hospitality of the Vietnamese.

Generally speaking, Vietnamese people are careful in their dress, especially in public areas. In order to avoid this culturally sensitive matter, foreign travelers are strongly advised to put on proper dress when they are out. For example, when visiting a local temple or pagoda, you should never put on short-sleeved shirt or pants. Instead, a long-sleeved and shoulder-covered shirt and long pants will be much more appreciated. Do keep in mind that, no matter how open-minded and care-free you are, others around you may be judgmental. When you are in Rome , just do as the Romans do.

Do’s

1) Always make sure that you keep a local map with you whenever you are out. The roads and streets in Vietnam may be complicated for foreigners. Some travelers even described the traffic system in Vietnam as “crazy” because sometimes you do not know where to cross the street. Thus, a good map will help. You can get a local map from the reception counter in your hotel, but most hotels provide local map in guest rooms. In addition, be noted that you have the business card of your hotel, particularly when you want to take a taxi because most local drivers can not speak English, let alone other foreign languages.

2) Do drink a lot of water during your trip. During the summer days in Vietnam , you are advised to take at least 2 litters of water per day. In case of drinking too much tea, coffee or other alcohol, you should increase your water intake as it will help you dehydrate. Drink adequate water, but remember that you should take bottled water only. During the tour, you will be provided with sufficient bottled water by the travel agents. And most hotels provide two bottles of water in the room; more can be available upon request. Do not drink tap water because it is extremely harmful to your health.

3) Dress discreetly. Vietnamese people are, to a large extent, conservative in their dressing style. Travelers are advised not to put on too much revealing cloths that show off too much skin as you may become the target of stares by the locals, particularly when you visit a local pagoda, temple or other religiously sensitive places. And don’t forget to leave your shoes at the front door when entering someone’s house.

4) No ostentation of jewelry, money and other valuables. Taking too much money, jewelry and other valuables will risk yourself be the target of thieves or pocket pickers. And whenever you want to go out, remember to keep your valuable things in your hotel room’s deposit box.

5) Ask for permission before taking any photo. When you want to take picture of someone, do not forget to ask for his/her permission first. In case of disapproval, do not insist on taking the picture or offer any money. This should also be kept in mind when you visit military sites.

6) Do clearly know the rate before exchange any money.

7) Do withdraw money from recognized and safe places only.

Don’ts

1) Do not rush as you cross the street. Just be aware of where you can cross and the surrounding.

2) Do not give money to beggars on the streets or tourist destinations. If you want to help local people, there are a number of philanthropic organizations. You can contact them easily. Further more, donation boxes are available in some large hotels where you can put your money in, instead of directly giving to beggars as, by doing so, you are just promoting the begging culture by which the travel environment in Vietnam have been soiled.

3) Do not sleep or sit with your feet pointing towards the altar or shrine when you are in somebody’s house.

4) Do not loose your temper in public or markets, particularly when you are negotiating a bargain as it is considered a serious loss of face for both parties. In all situations, you are strongly advised to maintain a courtesy and happy demeanor. If you treat everybody well, you will be well-treated.

5) Do not try to take pictures of military installations or any military-related sites. By doing so, you can be in breach of national defense.

6) Do not take cameras into ethnic minority villages as it is considered a serious intrusion of local culture.

7) Do not go out alone too late at night, particularly to desolate places.

For those who haven’t been familiar with water puppetry, chance is, the first encounter with the special kind of performance art can be extremely amusing. As expected, the show would take place in a waist-deep about pool about four square meters being the stage where the wooden and lacquered puppets are controlled through the large supporting rods and string mechanism hidden beneath the water by up to eight puppeteers who normally hid behind a screen. Captivatingly accompanying the screen is Chèo (a traditional form of Vietnamese opera) played by the orchestra with instrumentation includes vocals, drums, wooden bells, cymbals, horns, monochord, gongs and bamboo flute. Interactions between the musicians and the puppets are also of importance: a yell would be a warning of danger or a word of encouragement would be a cheerful backup for the puppets.

In Vietnam there are three most famous theatres that offer water puppetry which are the National Puppet Theatre, the municipal Thang Long Water Puppetry Theater and the Golden Dragon Water Puppetry Theater.

Thang Long Puppetry Theater in Hanoi is becoming internationally popular recently and gives out performances on regular basis. With the easily accessible location on 57B Dinh Tien Hoang just beside Hoan Kiem Lake at the city center, the theater attracts flows of eager visitors who mostly are foreigners with their daily performances. The schedule is greatly flexible with five shows everyday at 15h30, 17h, 18h30, 20h and 21h15 with the price being from 60.000VND to 100.000VND. Notably, the theater offer an appealing performance-on-demand service, which makes water puppetry in Hanoi always available for those who want to experience a taste of one of Vietnam’s unique tradition.

Vietnamese Water Puppet
	Water Puppet is a unique art which has it origin in the delta of the Red river in the tenth century. The farmers in this region devised a form of entertainment using what natural medium they can find in their environment. In ancient times, the ponds and the rice paddies after harvest were the stage for these impromptu shows. This art form is unique to North Vietnam and only finds its way to the world stage in recent years as a result of the normalized relation with the West. Today the Thang Long puppet troupe is the most well known in Ha Noi.
Modern, water puppetry is performed in a pool of water with the water surface being the stage. The puppeteers stand behind a screen and control the puppets using long bamboo rods and string mechanism hidden beneath the water surface. The puppets are carved out of wood and often weigh up to 15 kg. A traditional Vietnamese orchestra provides background music accompaniment. Singers of Cheo (a form of opera) with origin in north Vietnam sing songs which tell the story being acted out by the puppets.
	The theme of the skits is rural and has a strong reference to Vietnamese folklore. It tells of day-to-day living in rural Vietnam and Vietnamese folk tales that are told by grandparents to their grandchildren. Stories of the harvest, of fishing and of festivals are highlighted. Legends and national history are also told through short skits. Many of the skits, especially those involving the tales of day-to-day living, often have a humorous twist.

Money:

The official currency in Vietnam is Dong. The Dong is non-convertible and at the time of writing (August 2011) trades at approximately 20800 to USD1. The US dollar, preferably crisp clean bills, is widely accepted among major shops and restaurants. The Euro, Pound and various other currencies are also easy to exchange. Travelers checks can be cashed at authorized foreign exchange outlets and banks and require presentation of passport . There is normally a 2 to 5 percent transaction fee for cashing Travelers checks. Visa and Master card are becoming more accepted in many of the bigger hotels and restaurants, especially in the larger cities.

Make sure that the Vietnamese notes you receive are not torn, this is because many shops and restaurants will not accept them. Also try not to change too much money at one time, as you will end up with a large wad of notes. The largest denomination is currently 500,000 dong (approx. US$ 24). Be careful, the 20,000 notes look only slightly different from the 500,000 one but the value is a big gap. Handy tip: Keep 500,000 dong notes separate from your other dong notes. Less chance of confusion then.

In 2004 Vietnam introduced coins for smaller transactions. These are in the form of 200 (rare); 1,000, 2,000 and 5,000 Dong. Other paper denominations include 200 (rare), 500, 1,000, 2,000; 5,000; 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100000 and 200,000 Dong. Most are clearly identifiable by colour.

When you are agreeing prices with Taxi drivers or shops, try to agree the price in the currency you intend to pay with (Dong or U S Dollars) to save arguments later about the exchange rate you were expecting.  While most will use a rate of around  20,800VND to the dollar, some do try to argue differently.  Always double check the conversion rate you have been offered.

Also with such high denominations of note, be careful of common scams run by street sellers where you are short changed by a factor of ten (eg as part of your change, you may receive five 200 dong notes as “10,000 VND!).

Banking:

There are a number of international banks operating in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with 24hour cash withdrawal facilities, including ANZ Bank in Hanoi and the HSBC in Ho Chi Minh City. Here cash can be withdrawn on Visa and Master cards as well as other cards such as Cirrus.

Withdraw cash advance through ATM: Under VNese law, ATM may only dispense cash in Vietnamese Dong. Current amounts that can be withdrawn at any one time is usually 4,000,000 Dong with a 20,000 Dong additional usage charge if not your own bank ( a number of ATM’s still only allow 2,000,000 Dong to be withdrawn) but ANZ ATM’s allow a far higher limit. There is nothing to stop you putting your card back in to get more money out but remember you are still subject to your own bank’s daily cash withdrawal limits. Also, ensure you tell your bank before travelling to Vietnam if you intend to use your card to withdraw cash from ATM’s. The machines here use the magnetic strip not chip and pin technology.

Most ATMs enables you to withdraw cash from VISA, MASTER CARD, CIRRUS, PLUS, MAESTRO, JCB, DINNER CLUB through its network, 24 hours per day.

While traveler’s checks have become somewhat obsolete in many places due to the advent of ATM’s, in Vietnam they are quite useful.  You can cash U.S. dollar checks at  banks in Hanoi (don’t know about elsewhere) for a 1.25-1.5% charge.  This is no more expensive than using an ATM, once you figure in bank fees.  Note that using travelers checks is most useful if you can buy your checks without a commission, which some banks and other organizations (the AAA in the U.S., for example) offer their customers.

Also note that there are no exchange facilities at Hanoi’s international airport:  once through the immigration gate there is no real choice other than spending any dong at the (reasonably priced) souvenir shops, or donating them to charity. Trip advisor vietnam

Sourse: http://www.tripadvisor.com/

The North of Vietnam is generally cooler than other South East Asian regions in the same longitude. It experiences two main distinct seasons. In winter months, the weather gets colder and colder from November to March and considerably warmer in April (a leap into summer).  This is also time to observe much cloud and frequent drizzle. The average winter temperature is 17.2°C (62.9°F). Particularly, the mountainous areas (Northwest) are often much colder, temperature may keep below 10°C (50°F) for long period. Ice and snow even cover Hoang Lien Son Mountains and nearby Sapa town for some times with the lowest record of -3°C (26.6°F) in Feb 2008.

In the summer (from May to October), the whole region is quite hot. Temperature may rise to 37°C (98.6 °F) in the peaks of June and July. Hanoi and coastal provinces around the Red River Delta generally enjoy equitable weather with high average humidity (80%) all year round though they may occasionally be subjected to typhoons and heavy rain in late summers (September to November). Vietnamese people even identify four seasons in the Northern provinces (from Hai Van Pass toward the north) with their distinct features: pleasant spring (typically March-April) and autumn (October-December), a chilly winter (December- February) and a hot summer (June – July).

Central Pattern

The Central Vietnam with two sub-regions, coastal lowlands and central highlands, can be seen as an in-between climatic area of the North and the South. The coastal strip is usually dry and hotter than the rest in the summer, as the Truong Son Mountains do not allow it to enjoy most rainfall of south-western monsoon (from April to October). Unprotected coasts in their turn, however, make it wet and colder than the rest in winter-monsoon season (from November to March). Also, storms and typhoons strike this area more frequently than the northern coasts in summer months (from July to November). The Central Highlands in particular enjoys nearly double the average rainfall of the country. Two biggest towns in this plateau, Dalat and Pleiku, are ideally cool throughout the year. Near-the-south coastal cities, Quy Nhon,  Nha Trang and Phan Thiet, on the contrary, experiences steamy hot weather (21°C-32°C / 70°F-90°F) all year round.

Southern Pattern

The South of Vietnam, merely 8 degrees north of the Equator, is typical of humid tropical climate which is excellent for growing rice. The region’s temperatures experience little variations in a year (around 27-32°C/80-90°F). There are two main seasons: the rainy and the dry. During the rainy/monsoon season (from May to November), downpours are expected to happen nearly every afternoon, resulting in occasional street flooding in and around Saigon. In the dry season, it is hot from late February to April then slightly cooler when first downpours come. Ho Chi Minh city (Saigon) enjoys rather equitable tropical climate with high humidity all year round. December to March is said to be the most pleasant time to hit this region’s center.

Note: In all, Vietnam climate is so diverse that there is almost no definition of an average temperature for the whole country. Thanks to these regional variations in weather, generally, you can drop in Vietnam at any time of year. Commonly, based on the duration of your stay, you should plan to catch the good weather and places by either dropping in Saigon in February or March then following the coast to north or hitting Hanoi in October-November then tracing southward. The choice is entirely yours.

Whichever way you choose, however, it is important to keep your luggage as light and loose as possible. Vietnam is not subject to extreme weather, thus loading up with clothes is never necessary. And a final word, stay with us for up-to-minute information on Vietnam’s weather and tourism hot news.

Vietnam weather by month

Why can you choose AnBinh Travel?
• AnBinh Travel is a Vietnamese tour operator providing quality travel services in South East Asia, to customers from every part of the world. The leaders of AnBinh Travel have over 20 -years experience in the regional travel industry. We specialize in providing special interest and cultural tours of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, China and Thailand. We are distinguished in the market by our high quality, tailor-made travel services and by a strong focus on secure, traditional values of heritages. Travelling with An Binh Travel, you will have a chance to interact with famous local historians, archeologists, artists, monks, famous chefs and other interesting lecturers to learn a lot more about local history and culture.
• AnBinh Travel offers a wider selection of tours and more varied styles of travel than any other tour operator in Vietnam. Whether you’re joining one of our classic tours, dedicated walking tours, more comfortable relax tours or our family tours, you are guaranteed to experience Vietnam. Designed for active people of all ages, AnBinh Travel guarantees to take you go beyond the guidebooks and get you off the busy tourist trails, as you explore the best of North, South and Central Vietnam.
• We will be easier to contact either by phone or email. We monitor our emails (and check the phones) around the clock and will normally get back to you within 24 hours – in fact usually, very much sooner…If for some reason we can’t answer your queries immediately, we will still contact you to let you know how long you are likely to have to wait and we will keep you updated as the situation progresses.

Trip advisor vietnam

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