Our Guide to Vietnam. Vietnam and everything you need to know before you go. Vietnam Itinerary & Vietnam Travel Tips!!
Where do we even start with this destination? We spent 1 month in Vietnam and loved it so much we went back again to spend another month and to explore all the places we didn’t get to see the first time. Vietnam is very underrated and very up and coming, we suggest visiting here soon before it becomes inundated with tourists! It was certainly a fave place for us on our worldwide travels. You can see more of our Vietnam Travels and Itinerary here
Vietnam Travel Itinerary
or on our Sky Surfers Family Travel YouTube Channel – Vietnam series.
The Vietnamese culture is so warm and welcoming. You will make friends everywhere you go 🙂 They love when you embrace their culture, try their iconic dishes and walk into their store with a simple Xin Chao (pronounced Sin Chow) which means Hello! Do not leave Vietnam without trying a Coconut Coffe, Pho and Banh Mi. Trust us, you will become addicted 🙂
ITINERARY BASICS – We recommend flying into Hanoi (North) and slowly making your way down south to leave from Ho Chi Minh or Visa Versa – Arriving in Ho Chi Minh then traveling North and departing from Hanoi! There is so much to do in between these 2 cities and we suggest spending at least 2-3 weeks in Vietnam.
Follow our travels on Instagram @sky_surfers_ and see more of our Vietnam highlights in deeper detail.
CLIMATE – Southern Vietnam is warm and humid with a tropical climate. Temperature in Ho Chi Minh averages 30 degrees all year round. It typically has 2 seasons – a rainy season from May to November and a dry season from December to April. As you make your way North towards Hanoi the weather gets relatively cooler. Temperatures range between 16°C and 21°C during the winter, which runs from November to March. Summer begins in mid-April and continues until October when it is hot, humid and rainy. Hanoi is wettest in July and August when the temperature reaches an average high of 32°C. Typoon risk is highest in August – September. You will need to factor all of this in when deciding when to go and your Itinerary, however, the downpours usually are sporadic and only last an hour or so most of the time!
eSIM – Have you ever received a huge roaming bill after a trip abroad? Have you ever lost phone service or connectivity while traveling – and found yourself desperately searching for free Wi-Fi? Have you wasted time anxiously looking for a SIM vendor at the airport? We experienced all of these things, this is why we use Airalo. Simply download and instal your digital data pack, depending on where you are in the world and you are good to go. This saved us so much time, effort and money when we arrived into a new country. We got off the plane and immediately had Internet! See more info here – Airalo ESIM
VISA – You will need to apply for an E Visa or Visa on arrival before arriving into Vietnam. You will need to allow approx 3 days for this to process, so be sure to allow enough time to arrange it. The Visa requirements differ depending on where you are from so you can read more information Here
Transport – It is super easy to get from city to city in Vietnam. You can fly internally, get a sleeper bus, sleeper train or even hire a car. Vietnam also uses the Grab ride – hailing app (which we suggest you have downloaded prior to your arrival into Vietnam) to get around short distances. It works just like Uber. To book your sleeper bus or sleeper train tickets, we suggest booking in advance if you have selected dates. There are a large variety of local companies depending on where you’re going but we used G8 Open Tour. You can browse Vietnam Sleeper Bus Companies here
SAFETY & BUDGET – Vietnam is very safe, we felt very safe as a family and even spent a lot of time road tripping the country! The road conditions were surprisingly great! And as for budget, well, it’s an extremely afforable place to visit! In fact, we’d expect to pay approx $20 AUD to eat out as a family of 5. Safe to say we were eating out for breakfast, lunch and dinner!! You can also find extremely afforable accommodation, especially via Airbnb. When it comes to markets and shopping, don’t be afraid to Barter/Haggle. The general rule of thumb is to half the asking price then barter your way up to an agreed price!
In Summary, Vietnam is a safe, affordable and great place to visit as a family! There is so much adventure to offer; but also the perfect place to holiday if all you want to do is relax. Stay tuned for our next Blogs/Articles covering our full Vietnam Travel Itinerary and all the must do’s that Vietnam offers. Especially if traveling to Vietnam with kids.
Thinking of doing more traveling around South East Asia? You can discover our full range of Travel Itineraries here
Wondering how we were able to travel the world with our kids fulltime? Read our
How we were able to travel fulltime for 1 year with our kids.
