Know before you go: Vietnam

Vietnam’s entry rules depend heavily on your passport, so treat the summary below as a starting point, not a guarantee.

Vietnam grants visa exemptions through two separate resolutions rather than a blanket EU policy. Under Resolution 44/NQ-CP, valid to 14 March 2028, citizens of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland get 45 days visa-free regardless of the purpose of their trip. A second group, covered by Resolution 229/NQ-CP valid to 14 August 2028, gets the same 45 days but only for tourism: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland. Other EU states such as Austria, Ireland, Portugal and Greece are not covered and need an e-visa. Australia, Canada and the United States have no exemption either, so travellers from those countries must apply for an e-visa for every trip. China’s rules have shifted more than once in 2026, so Chinese and Indian passport holders in particular should check the official portal directly rather than rely on older blog posts. British National (Overseas) passport holders are not eligible for the UK’s 45-day exemption and need an e-visa.

For anyone who doesn’t qualify for visa-free entry, or wants to stay longer, an e-Visa has been issued to citizens of all countries and territories since 15 August 2023, for single or multiple entry up to 90 days. It is valid for up to 90 days from your entry date, as a single-entry visa for USD 25 or a multiple-entry visa for USD 50. Approval usually takes about three working days, though some applicants report longer. Whichever route you take, carry a passport valid well beyond your stay and a return or onward ticket, since officers can ask for one at the border.

A real 2026 change: Vietnam’s Pre-Arrival Information (PAI) declaration has expanded well beyond its original pilot. As of October 2026, the form is mandatory at five airports: Tan Son Nhat (SGN), Phu Quoc (PQC), Noi Bai/Hanoi (HAN), Da Nang (DAD), and Cam Ranh/Nha Trang (CXR). Travellers should complete the declaration upon arrival, or not more than three days before arrival, and present the generated QR code to Immigration upon entry. It is submitted through the official portal, prearrival.immigration.gov.vn, and applies to all non-Vietnamese passport holders.

Confirm before you fly: visa and declaration rules have changed several times in 2026 alone. Check your exact nationality on the official Immigration Department and e-visa portals listed below before booking non-refundable flights.

Vietnam’s cities are dense, motorbike-heavy and increasingly served by app-based transport. Ride-hailing is the easiest option for most visitors, but the market has flipped since 2025: Green SM (formerly Xanh SM) now leads Vietnam’s app-based car taxi segment, with about 54.5% of it in Q1 2026 according to market researcher Mordor Intelligence, ahead of Grab at about 41% and Be at under 5%. Grab still has the widest small-town coverage and a bundled food/payments app, so most visitors end up using both Grab and Green SM side by side.

Metro service has grown too. Hanoi now runs two lines: Line 2A between Cat Linh and Yen Nghia with 12 stations, and the elevated section of Line 3 between Nhon and Cau Giay with 8 stations, together covering 20 stations. Ho Chi Minh City’s single line, the 19.7-kilometre Line 1 connecting District 1, Binh Thanh and Thu Duc City, has three underground stations and eleven elevated ones, for 14 stations total; it opened on 22 December 2024 and still doesn’t reach most tourist areas outside the centre.

City buses remain the cheapest option, and the free BusMap app provides live locations, route maps and arrival times in English for several major cities. For long-distance travel, the Reunification Express train connects Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City over roughly 1,700 kilometres, and most travellers choose between domestic flights (around 2 hours), sleeper trains (over a day), or sleeper buses. Renting a motorbike is popular for exploring; an international driving permit and some riding experience are strongly recommended given Vietnam’s traffic.

The local currency is the Vietnamese Dong (VND). Cash is still king for street food, markets, motorbike taxis and small guesthouses, while cards are increasingly accepted at hotels, malls and city restaurants. ATMs are widespread in cities and tourist towns, though most Vietnamese banks charge a withdrawal fee and cap single withdrawals, so plan for a few transactions rather than one large one. Carrying a mix of dong and a backup international card is the safest approach.

Prices swing sharply with the season and around major holidays, especially in Hoi An, Ha Long Bay and other heavily touristed spots during the peak December-to-February window. Domestic flights and hotel rates also spike sharply around Tet (Lunar New Year), when demand surges and many family-run businesses close for about a week, so book well ahead if your trip overlaps with it.

Vietnam’s long, narrow shape means there is no single “best” month everywhere at once. Its climate varies significantly across three main regions, with dry-season windows roughly as follows: the south from November to February, the central coast from February to early May, and the north from late September to November and again in March and April. Broadly, February to April and September to November offer the best balance of weather across most regions, with March often coming closest to a month when the whole country has decent weather, though the south heats up sharply by mid-April.

Be aware of the wet season: most of the country has a rainy season from May to September, when humidity is at its highest. Central Vietnam also has its own typhoon season from September to November, which adds unpredictability and frequently causes flight delays and cancellations. Around Tet, expect higher prices, fully booked transport and many small businesses closed for family celebrations.

Vietnam does not use a single 911-style number. The emergency telephone numbers are 111 (child protection), 112 (life-saving services), 113 (police), 114 (firefighter), 115 (first aid), 117 (domestic violence) and 156 (reporting fraud or spam calls). For visitors, the three to remember are 113 for police, 114 for fire, and 115 for medical emergencies, with 112 covering search and rescue. The Ministry of Public Security plans to merge 113, 114 and 115 into a single emergency number, 113, but the merger is not yet complete. Keep all of them saved rather than assuming one replaces the others.

These hotlines generally operate in Vietnamese only, so having a Vietnamese-speaking friend, hotel staff member, or translation app on hand is invaluable in a real emergency. In major cities, hospitals with English-speaking staff exist, but for minor issues taking a taxi or ride-hailing car directly to a reputable hospital can be faster than waiting for an ambulance. Standard travel-safety precautions apply: watch for pickpocketing and bag-snatching in tourist areas, use registered taxis or ride-hailing apps at night, take extra care crossing streets and riding motorbikes given heavy traffic, and invest in travel insurance that covers medical expenses, evacuation and theft. Register your trip with your embassy and save its 24-hour emergency line before you travel.