How to plan an awesome trip to Vietnam? - SaoLaTours Ask & Answer

How to plan an awesome trip to Vietnam is a typical question for tourists who have little or no experience in arranging trips. A poorly planned vacation can lead to many problems such as canceled flights, language barriers, scams, trouble in finding accommodation and so on. Read on to find out what you should and shouldn’t do  to have an impeccable vacation in Vietnam.

How to plan an awesome trip to Vietnam - Step by step guide

Step 1: Brainstorming

It’s important to have quick brainstorming before planning any type of trip. Just simply find out answers to the following questions:

• How many days do you want to spend in Vietnam?

• What travel experiences best fit your demands?

• Are you a solo traveler or do you come with others?

• How much are you willing to spend on your trip to Vietnam?

Step 2: Choose the places to visit

Vietnam is divided 3 main regions: the North, Centre and South. If you’re coming to southern Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City should be your first stop. If you don’t like the busy and crowded city streets, join the Mekong Delta cruise to explore the tranquill and colorful riverscape.

Central Vietnam is where you’ll find some amazing historical and ancient towns such as Hue, Danang or Hoi An. The North of Vietnam is the perfect place for nature and food lovers. Enjoying the magnificent limestone karsts in Halong Bay, admiring the endless mountain rice of Ha Giang or trying out amazing Hanoi street food are some interesting activities for you to take part in.

Step 3: Prepare travel documents

Make sure that your passport is still valid 6 months before the day you arrive in Vietnam. Not any foreign tourist needs a visa when visiting Vietnam. That’s why it’s important that you check the visa exemption list before applying for a visa.

Step 4: Book your flights

If you’re taking flights your country to Vietnam, the landing sites are either Danang, Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi. For domestic flights, you may want to check out some of the best flight companies in Vietnam such as Vietjet, Bamboo Airways or Vietnam Airlines. If you choose Jetstar or Vietjet Air, there's a high chance that you’ll get an affordable price and promotion. Nevertheless, the flights are usually delayed for 30 minutes or longer.

Step 6: Buy travel insurance

Buying travel insurance is important as it covers all of your needs: adventure travel to city breaks, sightseeing or vacation getaway.

Step 7: Book your accommodation

You can find a wide range of accommodation in Vietnam. The most common are apartments, homestay, guesthouses, hostels, hotels or resorts. You can also stay overnight at a local’s house, especially when you’re visiting the hill tribe villages.

Step 8: Book transfers

Many travelers nowadays prefer to explore Vietnam by motorbikes. However if riding a motorbike is not your thing, you can always catch a taxi, rent a car or buy tickets for bus/train.

Step 9: Take vaccines

If you’re coming to Vietnam for the first time, you may need to get some vaccinations. You may face the risk of catching dengue fever or malaria when trekking through the mountains or forests in Vietnam. The most necessary vaccines should be Typhoid, Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A and B.

Step 10: Prepare your luggage

While preparing your luggage, consider these things:

• Some Vietnamese cash

• Order a sim card in advance online

• Light cotton clothes (or buy new clothes when you come to Vietnam)

• Medicines (if needed)

• Toothbrushes, shampoo, sun cream, hats etc.

How to plan an awesome trip to Vietnam - Travel tips experts

Learn some common Vietnamese phrases

Learning some useful phrases in Vietnamese will make your trip a lot easier. The most typical ones are:

• Làm ơn: Please

• Xin lỗi: Excuse me

• Cảm ơn: Thank you

• Không: No

• Đắt quá: Too expensive

• Tên tôi là: My name is

• Tạm biệt: Goodbye

• Bao nhiêu tiền: How much

Try out the best dishes in Vietnam

Vietnamese food will wow you with its simplicity yet unique and delicious. Each region offers a wide variety of special ingredients to make tasty dishes. Overall, there are some specialities that you don’t want to miss out on such as Pho, Banh Mi, Com Tam, Bun Bo Hue, Cao Lau, Mi Quang, Banh Xeo and many more.

Be aware of the common scams

Although the Vietnamese are friendly and hospitable, you may encounter some scammers here and there, especially at the crowded tourist sites. The most common scams to be aware of are t-shirt vendors, shoe shiners and fake taxi drivers…

How to plan an awesome trip to Vietnam? Choose Sao La Tours

Sao La Tours is proud to be a local travel expert in Vietnam. We provide customized tours according to each and every need of our customers. With more than 8 years of experience working in the tourism sector, we’re confident to give you the best travel experience you’ve ever had.

Now that you know how to plan an awesome trip to Vietnam, why not start to make your own unique travel itinerary? If you have any problems arranging your vacation in Vietnam, don’t be hesitant to send Sao La Tours a message or give us a direct call at (+84) 24.668.999.11. It’s our pleasure to help you organize your trip to the tiniest detail.