Travel to Vietnam!

A visa is required to enter Vietnam unless you are a national of one of the following countries: Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Laos, Bulgaria, Cuba, Korea, Romania and the Philippines.

Tourist visas are valid for 15 or 30 days but can be extended for a fee at major cities. You will need to apply for your Vietnam visa before arriving in the country so if your travel plans are open ended or Vietnam is not your first stop you need to apply for your visa while on the road. Head to the nearest Vietnamese embassy and bring your passport, one passport sized photo and money to pay the fee. The fee may vary slightly based on what country you are applying in.

We applied for our visas while in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The Vietnamese embassy is open 7 days a week but is closed for lunch from noon till 2pm. From what we have heard from other travellers this is the easiest and quickest place to get them. They cost $40USD for a 30 day visa and we received them in just 15 minutes!

Make sure you double check all visa requirements for your nationality as requirements may change on short notice. See the links below to get started.

Learning to speak a little Vietnamese will be very appreciated by any local you talk to. You'll be surprised how people will lighten up and try to help you out if you just give it a try.

Hello (generic) - Sin chow
Hello (to a female) - Chow-chee
Hello (to a male) - Chow-ahn
Thank you - Cahm uhn
Yes - Yah
No - Kong
Please help me - Sin jupe toy
I don't know - Toy kong beet?
How are you? - Kweh kong
Fine, thank you - Yah kweh cahm uhn

The translations are written phonetically and question marks have been put in so you have a better idea of the correct tone. For more practice or to learn more see the links and vietnamese language programs below.