In this post we have compiled our Vietnam travel guide, where we were 30 days.

We had read everything about Vietnam: that if you are robbed in hotels, that if people are very cold, that if you were disappointed ... but go! We said, if it is so touristy it will be for something ... And the truth is that we started with a very good footing: the stay in Phu Quoc, although not quite cheap, we liked: super friendly people, beautiful beaches, good cuisine. The thing changed completely when in Mui Ne ... they stole our motorcycle! Hehe now we laughed but it was a bad drink, although it is also true that it could have happened elsewhere and maybe after 5 months of travel something should have gone wrong!

No doubt Vietnam is a country that suffered a lot in the years, and the memory of the terrible War is still alive, we have loved being able to discover more things about the matter, which is really very interesting, and above all to have a more objective look than that of typical Hollywood movies.

Perhaps we expected more from the gastronomy: a backpacker really little choice can have, except Hoi An, gastronomic capital of Vietnam, with different dishes and purse-proof!

Here we bring our Vietnam travel guide for free (in backpacking plan). A complete guide to our trip through Vietnam. Visa, currency, when to go, travel, how much it costs, what is the best and the worst, reference prices, transport and more!

VISA

From July 1, 2015Spaniards do not need a visa for Vietnam, as long as the stay is up to maximum of 15 days (including the day of arrival and departure) and enter only once. If you want to re-enter, it must take at least 30 days from the date of departure.

For longer stays and up to 30 days you will have to apply for an electronic visa before entering the country. The price is 25 USD and is processed through any of these two official websites: www.immigration.gov.vn or www.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn. When the application is approved, you will receive a PDF document by email that you will have to print and present upon arrival

For other types of visas, up to 3 months and with one or more entries, you can process them in the following ways:

• At the Vietnam embassy in Spain or at any of the Vietnam embassies in the world (we take it out in Sihanokville), for tickets both by airport and by land border crossings. The price is $ 45 and takes about 3 or 4 days. You need to fill out a form and submit a photo.
• In some Vietnamese travel agency who process it online like myvietnamvisa, vietnam-visa or vietnam-immigration. Only for tickets to the country by airports. The prices are somewhat higher.

CURRENCY

The official currency of Vietnam is the Dong (VND). You can calculate the exchange rate updated in the following table.

EYE! In Vietnam there have been cases in which they steal in the rooms of the hotels. his modus operandi It is to locate the place where the tickets are stored and steal a few, so that you do not realize until you take advantage of them, maybe a few days after leaving that hotel and thus lose track. It is best to carry a lock and close the two rings of the backpack with the money well hidden inside. They do not usually touch technology and valuables.

Another recommendation is to NOT leave your passport at hotels when checking in. In most Vietnam accommodations they require you to leave your passport during your entire stay, but remember that it is the most valuable item you have and with which they can blackmail you, they can do it when they charge you more in a washing machine, or when doing Check out you get an extra fee ... or even when the motorcycle disappears that you casually rented with them and ask you to pay it ... It is best to leave a copy if they want to have something, or that they do it themselves, as happens in The rest of the sites.

WHEN TO TRAVEL

Vietnam is a very long country and the weather is something different between north and south. In the south of the country the climate is tropical while in the mountains of the north it has a more continental behavior. The monsoon season runs from May to October, at this time there are rains throughout the country and the temperatures in the north are warm. Between november and april the rains stop but beware, in the northern mountain areas (even in Hanoi) it cools a lot. But this would be the best time to visit Vietnam

VACCINES

In Vietnam there is a risk of dengue and malaria, but in the latter case you do not have to worry too much because it is mostly concentrated in rural areas. The most tourist and urban areas are free of Malaria. In any case, take all possible precautions: wear a good mosquito repellent always, sleep every night with mosquito net, avoid the hours of greatest concentration of mosquitoes (sunrise and sunset) and the areas of greatest concentration (rivers, lakes and wetlands) and wear appropriate clothes.

The recommended vaccines They are: Hepatitis A and B, typhoid fever, Japanese encephalitis and tetanus and rabies (which you probably already have).

• More recommendations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Vietnam
• More recommendations from the Ministry of Health

BUDGET

The daily expenditure per person and day has been 12,51€, broken down into these concepts:

• accommodation: 5,470,000 Dongs (€ 200). Divided into 28 days (2 nights spent in night buses). The expense was 3,57€ per person.
•  Food: 6,567,000 Dongs (€ 241). Divided in 30 days are 4,02€ per person.
•  Transport: 4,030,000 Dongs (€ 150) divided into 30 days are 2,50€ per person.
•  Tickets and Activities: 3,100,000 Dongs (€ 115) divided into 30 days are 1,92€per person.
•  Various: 841,000 Dongs (€ 30) divided into 30 days are 0,50€ per person.

PLUG

The plugs that can be found in Vietnam are of three types: the A with two flat pins; Type C, the European with two round pegs, and the less frequent G with three square pegs, like the ones in the image. You can buy a universal adapter or get a specific one as soon as you reach your destination.

ITINERARY

Our trip to Vietnam for free lasted 40 days and led us to know:

• Phu Quoc Island
• Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
• Mui Ne
• Hoi an
• Hue
• Ninh Binh
• Hanoi
• Halong Bay
• Sapa

HOW TO MOVE

Transportation in Vietnam is quite easy, although too trafficked, especially in the vicinity of large cities and within them, where it is a real madness.

There is practically a single tourist route from south to north, from Ho Cho Minh City to Hanoi (more than 1,500 km), with different stops along the way. You can move so much in buses that you can reserve from one day to another (day or night), as in train, in this case the reservations will have to be made some day more in advance. Many agencies offer train reservation services and there are open bus tickets, Open bus, which allow you to travel Vietnam in several stops with the same ticket, depending on how many you include in your itinerary will have a price or another. You can see more information on the website of the agency Sin Cafe Travel.

You can also make reservations on trains and buses from the 12go.asia website

WHAT TO EAT

Vietnam is an ideal destination for foodies travelers. There are lots of different and healthy dishes, besides eating is very cheap. These are the delights you should not miss:

• Pho Bo: it is the national dish: the Vietnamese adore it, and the travelers can only agree. It is a soup of rice noodles with thin slices of veal (there is also the chicken version: pho ga). But beware! Don't think it's a boring dish: every pho It is different and has the touch of the cook on duty. The soup broth is super tasty and flavored, and apart you can "customize" your pho with the fresh ingredients that will serve you: coriander, mint, lime, nuoc man, chili, soy ...

• Bun rieu: it is a tomato and crab flavor noodle soup. It is served with crab meatballs and fried tofu.

• Bun cha gio thit nuong: it is a kind of combined dish consisting of rice noodles, lettuce, minced pork roll, peanuts, pork strips and vegetables. What looks good?

There are two types of rolls:

• Cha gio: a rice paper roll, usually stuffed with minced pork, mushrooms with rice and vegetable noodles and eaten fried).

• Goi cuon: in this case the roll is not fried: the rice paper is raw and filled with vegetables, shrimp and noodles. It is served at room temperature). It goes without saying, it makes me crazy the fried version of the super-fried refried, the raw is so boring, so healthy and "green". But most say they are delicious ... I think Rober also prefers the fried version!

The city with the most culinary personality is Hoi An, the gastronomic capital of Vietnam. It has some typical and tasty dishes that can only be tried there. And best of all, you can accompany them with rods of beers at 15 cents! We test:

• Cau lau: a plate of rice noodles with pork, bean sprouts, vegetables and croutons. All bathed with soy sauce. It is super typical of Hoi An and they say that you can only cook with the water of a well in this city ...

• Won ton: it is fried rice pasta, guarantee that I love hehe, stuffed with pork. Mmm great, and the tomato sauce, peppers and onion a delight!

• White rose: it is a kind of steamed ravioli and stuffed with prawns. Against all odds left us a little indifferent ...

→ If you want you can read our complete gastronomic guide of Vietnam.

THE BEST AND THE WORST

This is one of our favorite sections, here we tell you anecdotes of the trip, personal sensations of the place, things that we have loved but also that we have not liked anything ... in short summary of our passage through Vietnam.

The best

• The seafood of Phu Quoc, we have eaten more grilled cuttlefish there than in the last 10 years.
• Enjoy the Chinese New Year at HCMC, a unique experience!
• Mui ne dunes: the feeling of being in the Sahara, surrounded by Vietnamese and two steps from the sea.
• Stroll through Hoi An, a city with a lot of atmosphere ... and with beer mugs at 15 cents!
• To be able to see the continental hotel of HCMC where Tiziano Terzani spent his Vietnamese hours (he was living uncle bad!
• Share part of the way with Sergey, a Russian both big and nice!
• The water puppet theater, we loved it!
• The Lottery, the Vietnamese response to Mc Donald… one of the best burgers we have ever had! And the fried chicken mmm.
• The birthday surprise that awaited me in Hue!
• Of course ... Halong Bay, and that alone deserves a visit to this country, amazing!
• The Vietnamese national dish, Pho! The soup that you can find at all times and everywhere (very good, although in Hanoi in a street bar almost drugged us: we do not know very well which ingredient has been the culprit but we feel very rare hehe).
• Traveling by Sleeping bus: comfortable and you save a lot of time.
• In general we have to say that we have found ourselves more comfortable in the south of the country, people are perhaps more open than in the north ... go like in Italy, and says one that farther north could not be born!
• Sapa's landscapes, although Roby got lost in the hihi mountains, was surely worth it!

Worst

• Forget our backpacks with the important things in a taxi (two cameras, mp3, mobile ... lost).
• Running out of camera during the week of Chinese New Year, when stores are CLOSED! So we spent a few days without a camera and eager to take pictures.
• Having lost the photos of Phu Quoc.
• They stole our motorcycle, haha, for more details read the chapter of Mui Ne! Pufff.
• Finding bad weather for 3 days in Ninh Binh: we had to give up knowing one of the best areas of Vietnam because of the rain.
• Some men have a cool attitude just for wearing a uniform.

Is Vietnam worth it?

Without a doubt, although there are things that do not quite convince us at all, we cannot deny the historical and cultural importance of this corner of Southeast Asia, and already visiting Halong Bay justifies the trip.

OUR ITEMS

These are the posts we have written:

• TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO VIETNAM (AND NOT FALLING IT)
• 2-WEEK VIETNAM TRIP ITINERARY (WITH MAP)
• 10 THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN HOI AN, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITY OF VIETNAM
• CRUISE IN HALONG BAY: TIPS AND EXPERIENCE
• 20 THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN HANOI
• 7 RESTAURANTS WHERE TO EAT IN HANOI (GOOD AND CHEAP)
• VISAS FOR SOUTHEAST ASIA (FOR SPANISH CITIZENS)
• 10 THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN VIETNAM
• EATING BY VIETNAM. OUR GASTRONOMIC GUIDE
• VIETNAM TRAVEL GUIDE FOR BACKPACKERS
• WE SAPA-RAMOS (FREE TREKKING IN SAPA)
• HALONG BAY: THE DRAGON BAY
• HANOI, WINTER IS NOW
• HUE, THE IMPERIAL CITY OF VIETNAM
• THE LUCECITS OF HOI AN
• MUI NE: THE RUSSIAN SAHARA AND FINAL TRACA
• CAUGHT IN SAIGON ("MALVENIDA" IN HO CHI MINH CITY)
• PHU QUOC: GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

OUR PICTURES

Here we leave you our Vietnam photo album (by the way in the backpack we forgot my camera was also ... so these are the last photos that my Nikon could give me ... I will miss you!)

And remember that at the end of each post there is useful information about each place!

We hope ourVietnam travel guide for backpackers be useful to you For any doubt, question or curiosity do not hesitate to write to us and we will be happy to help you.

Video: How To Travel VIETNAM! Vietnam Travel Guide! (April 2024).