Arriving
in Vietnam
A tourist visa is required. Please contact
the Vietnam Embassy in Washington, DC (202-861-0737)
or the Vietnamese consulate in San Francisco, and
allow at least one week for processing. You may also
download the information that you will need for your
visa from the Embassy webpage at www.vietnamembassy-usa.org.
Generally, you will need to provide the Embassy/Consulate
with a completed application form, two passport photos,
a check for the visa fee, your passport, and a return
express mail envelope. Visas are normally good for
30 days from the date you specify that you will enter
the country. You must also decide your port of entry
because this will be written on your visa and cannot
be changed later. If you indicate that you will be
traveling for tourist purposes and arriving by air,
your visa will usually permit you to enter and exit
by both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Because you will be in Vietnam for a short visit,
even if you extend for a few days to visit local institutions,
please apply for a tourist visa. List the hotel where
you will be staying as your contact. It is not appropriate
to list IIE because as a foreign organization, we
have no authority over you and are unable to sponsor
visas. If you list the Ministry of Education and Training
or a university, you will be required to have them
sponsor your visa, delaying your application.
When you arrive in Vietnam, you will first go through
immigration where your passport and entry-exit card
are carefully checked. Next you will pick up your
luggage and clear it through customs. Do not bring
videos, or lots of bulk materials for fair distribution
as this may cause delays. If something is held at
customs for review, ask for a receipt and pick up
the materials later (most often it is more trouble
for the customs officer to issue the receipt than
it is to clear the materials). Also, make sure to
keep your entry-exit card and customs form together
with your passport as they will be checked when you
leave Vietnam.
After clearing customs, follow the flow of passengers
out of the airport. Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh
City have done a good job of clearing the immediate
area outside the airport of independent taxi drivers
and hotel agents so you can get into the city hassle-free.
In Hanoi: If you do not have a hotel car waiting for
you, cross to the transit island directly across from
the exit and take either a Vietnam airlines or Noi
Bai Transport taxi desk. The standard fare into the
city is $15. They will assign a car and driver to
you. In Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, if you have
not already made other arrangements, there will be
metered taxis lined up outside the airport. You need
only tell the driver where you want to go. Please
make sure that they turn on the meter and do not accept
"quoted" prices.
Leaving Vietnam
Vietnamese visas specify from which point(s) you are
permitted to leave the country - usually Hanoi Noi
Bai Airport or Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat Airport.
If you indicated that you will arrive and depart by
air, then your visa should automatically reflect your
ability to depart from either airport. If you intend
to exit from a place not specified on your visa, make
sure to have the immigration office adjust your visa
accordingly. It is essential to reconfirm your departing
flight as soon as you arrive in Vietnam. The hotels
can assist you.
Traveling inside Vietnam
If you have already booked in-country flights, it
is essential that you reconfirm them upon arrival.
Vietnam Airlines, the main carrier, has been known
to delay, reroute or even cancel local flights with
little or no warning. It is recommended that early
morning flights be used if at all possible. Departure
tax at domestic airports has now been folded into
the price of the ticket.
Money
The currency of Vietnam is the "dong" (abbreviated
as VND or "d" with a vertical line through
the stem), and can easily be exchanged at the hotel,
gold shops and of course banks. US dollars are also
acceptable, but shops will only accept clean, whole
bills. USD notes with tears, writing on them, or older
notes (i.e., not the newly issued versions) may not
be accepted even by the hotel or banks. Credit cards
can be used at most hotels and up-scale shops and
restaurants, however a 3% commission is usually passed
onto the customer. Traveller's Cheques can also be
used, but it is best to cash them at the State Bank
of Vietnam to avoid all kinds of additional fees and
commissions.
Health
Various health authorities recommend travelers to
Vietnam get a slew of vaccines including rabies, hepatitis
A, hepatitis B, BCG (tuberculosis), Japanese encephalitis,
polio, typhoid, tetanus and diphtheria. Yellow fever
is not endemic to Vietnam, but you are required to
have it if you are traveling from a yellow fever area.
If you are only planning to stay in Vietnam a few
days and are not leaving the major urban areas, it
is probably only necessary to make sure your regular
inoculations are up to date (measles, tetanus, hepatitis
A and B). There are very good international hospitals
and evacuation services in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
The hotels will be able to assist you in case of emergency.
Climate and Clothing
Vietnam has a remarkably diverse climate as a result
of its wide range of altitudes and latitudes. The
North of Vietnam experiences cool, damp winters between
November and April with temperatures in Hanoi falling
to around 15°C. The South of Vietnam has a tropical
climate with hot, humid conditions. December to April
tends to be very dry and a little cooler though average
annual temperatures still hover around the 28ºC mark.
Dress in Vietnam is more casual than in other Asian
capitals, skirts or slacks for women and short-sleeve
dress shirts with ties for men are considered appropriate.
Warning
Be especially careful of pickpockets in the urban
areas (particularly downtown Ho Chi Minh City and
any market area). In Ho Chi Minh City, it is often
better not to carry a wallet and simply carry your
i.d., credit cards, and other money that you believe
you will need on that particular trip out. Also please
beware of drive-by-snatchings as you cross the street
or stand at corners waiting to cross. The most common
theft in Vietnam is by motorcyclists snatching bags
of unsuspecting tourists. If you must carry a bag,
please walk with it carried away from the flow of
street traffic. Do not wear the strap across your
body as it could cause injury during a drive-by-snatching
if it does not disengage and you are pulled into traffic.
In any event, avoid keeping anything of great value
in your bags when walking on the street. During the
fair, please keep any valuables in your room or the
hotel safe as there have been instances of pickpocketing
at past events.
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