Most Vietnam guides front-load destination content and bury the practical setup at the bottom of the article. This is backwards. Without the right SIM, the right cash, and the right ride-hail app, your first six hours in Vietnam are friction; with them, they're easy.
This note is the practical layer most travelers wish they'd read before landing instead of after. Compressed, specific, no padding.
The day-zero checklist (do these before you leave home)
- Install Grab on your phone, add a credit card, and verify the card works. Do this before you land. Activating it in Hanoi airport with bad airport Wi-Fi while jet-lagged is its own small hell.
- Buy a Vietnam eSIM in advance (more on this below) so it activates the moment your plane lands.
- Notify your bank you'll be using your card in Vietnam. Some banks block first foreign transactions automatically.
- Save offline Google Maps for at least Hanoi, Hoi An, and your first city.
- Screenshot your hotel booking confirmation including the address in Vietnamese.
- Have $50-100 USD in small bills as backup. Vietnamese ATMs sometimes reject foreign cards; USD is universally exchangeable.
That's the entire pre-trip prep. Don't overthink it.
Connectivity — the SIM situation
You have three options. Pick one. They are not equivalent.
Option 1 — eSIM (recommended)
The simplest, fastest, and most flexible. Buy before you land, activate on arrival, no physical SIM swap needed.
Best providers in 2026 (priced for 7-15 days of data):
- Saily — straightforward app, reliable, $10-15 for 15 days unlimited
- Airalo — best country selection if you're traveling across Vietnam + Thailand or Vietnam + Cambodia, $8-12 for 7 days
- Holafly — daily unlimited plans, slightly pricier ($25-30 for 10 days) but no data cap
- Maya Mobile — newer entrant, often cheaper, similar quality
All four use the major Vietnam carrier networks underneath (Viettel, Vinaphone, MobiFone). Speed is the same as a local SIM. Coverage matches the carrier network.
Drawbacks of eSIM: your phone must support eSIM (iPhone XS+, most flagship Androids), and you cannot make local Vietnam phone calls or receive SMS to a Vietnam number. For 99% of travelers, neither matters — you communicate by data (WhatsApp, iMessage, Messenger), not voice or SMS.
Option 2 — Local Vietnam SIM (Viettel)
Buy a physical SIM at any 7-Eleven, Circle K, or carrier kiosk. Viettel is the most reliable carrier with the best rural coverage (matters for Ha Giang and Sapa).
- Cost: $5-8 for a tourist SIM with 30-60 GB
- Where: arrival airport kiosks (slightly marked up), or any city store within 5 minutes of arriving
- Required: passport for registration (Vietnam requires SIM registration to your passport)
Drawbacks: you have to physically swap SIMs, which means handling your old SIM somewhere safe. The SIM kiosk staff sometimes oversell you a more expensive plan than you need. Most travelers find eSIM faster.
Option 3 — International roaming with your home carrier
Sometimes works. Often expensive. Often slow on Vietnamese towers because home carrier doesn't have premium agreements with Vietnamese networks.
Worth it only if:
- Your home carrier has explicit Vietnam coverage at reasonable rates (some EU carriers do)
- You're in Vietnam for less than 4 days and can't be bothered with anything else
- Your work requires you to be reachable on your home number
Otherwise, eSIM.
Money — cash, cards, ATMs
Vietnam is a cash-first country with growing card acceptance. The mix matters.
Cash basics
Currency: Vietnamese dong (VND). Approximate 2026 rate: 1 USD ≈ 25,500 VND, 1 EUR ≈ 28,000 VND. Round numbers are easier than precision: divide VND by 25,000 for a rough USD estimate.
Bills you'll handle: 10k, 20k, 50k, 100k, 200k, 500k notes. The 200k and 500k look similar (both have Ho Chi Minh on them, both blueish-green) — confusing on day one, you get used to it.
Where you need cash:
- Almost all street food and market vendors
- Most local restaurants outside tourist zones
- Local buses and most taxis (Grab takes cards)
- Small guesthouses and homestays
- Tour operators outside the big platforms
Where cards work:
- Mid-range and higher hotels
- Tourist restaurants (mostly D1 Saigon, Hoi An old town, certain Hanoi old quarter spots)
- Big chain stores (Highlands Coffee, Phuc Long, Lotte Mart)
- Grab (the only universally cashless service worth using)
The honest realistic budget: carry roughly $20-40 USD equivalent in cash per day, plus your card for backup.
ATMs
Vietnamese ATMs are functional but charge variable fees. Patterns:
- TPBank ATMs: free withdrawal for most foreign cards, the most foreigner-friendly. Yellow logo. Look for these specifically.
- HSBC ATMs: free if you have an HSBC card, otherwise fees
- Vietcombank, BIDV, Techcombank: most common, charge 30,000-50,000 VND ($1-2) per withdrawal for foreign cards, plus your home bank fee on top
- Avoid Euronet and standalone "Travelex"-style ATMs at airports — they have predatory exchange rates baked in
Withdrawal limits are 2-5 million VND ($80-200) per transaction depending on the ATM. Some let you do multiple back-to-back transactions; some lock you out for 24h. Don't withdraw your entire trip's cash on day one — spread it out.
Card surcharges
Vietnamese merchants frequently add a 2-3% surcharge for credit card payments. This is technically against Visa/Mastercard terms but ubiquitous. Decide per merchant: small surcharge + card convenience, or cash if you have it.
Currency conversion at point-of-sale: always pay in VND, not your home currency. Card terminals frequently offer "Dynamic Currency Conversion" with terrible rates. Decline it.
Transport — Grab and what it replaces
Grab is the South-East Asian Uber. Vietnam edition does:
- Grab Car (regular car)
- Grab Bike (motorbike taxi, you wear helmet provided by driver)
- Grab Food (delivery)
- Grab Express (parcel delivery, you don't need this)
Grab Bike is the fastest way to get anywhere short distance in Hanoi or HCMC, ~$1-2 for under 3km. Wear the helmet. Hold on. Don't text.
Grab Car is fine and air-conditioned but slower in traffic. Worth it for airport transfers ($8-12 from most city airports to city center) and longer distances.
Why Grab over taxis:
- Fixed price shown before you book — no meter shenanigans
- Driver photo and license plate visible in app
- Route tracked in app — share with someone if you want
- Card payment built in
- No language barrier
The few times taxis beat Grab:
- Airport pickup where Grab pickup zone is far from the arrivals exit (some airports do this)
- Late-night when Grab supply is low (rare)
- Multi-stop trips where Grab's flow is awkward (also rare)
Taxi companies that are honest (if you need one):
- Vinasun (white, green text)
- Mai Linh (green, sometimes white)
Both have meters that work and standard rates. Other taxis: variable trustworthiness. Default to Grab.
Bolt as backup
Bolt operates in Vietnam too, with slightly thinner coverage but similar pricing. Install it as backup if Grab has surge pricing or driver shortage. Usually 10-15% cheaper than Grab for the same trip.
Don't:
- Don't accept ride offers from people approaching you at the airport. They are not Grab. They are not metered taxis. They are scams.
- Don't take cyclos (pedaled rickshaws) for transport. They are tourist experiences at tourist prices ($10+ per hour). Fine for a 30-minute photo experience around Hanoi old quarter, not for getting somewhere.
Apps to actually have
In addition to Grab:
- Google Maps — basic but reliable. Offline maps for your destinations.
- Google Translate — point camera at menu, instant translation. Save Vietnamese as an offline language for use without data.
- WhatsApp or Telegram — what Vietnamese tour operators use for customer comms. Facebook Messenger is the default though.
- Vietnam Airlines / VietJet apps — for domestic flight bookings
- 12go Asia — for buses and trains
- Booking.com or Agoda — for hotels (Agoda often has better Asia pricing)
You do not need:
- Vietnam-specific currency converter app (use the built-in calculator)
- A separate "Vietnam phrasebook" app (Google Translate covers this)
- "Find a Pho" type apps (the good shops aren't on these apps)
The Vietnamese phrases worth knowing
Vietnamese is tonal and the pronunciation is hard for English speakers. You will not master it in a week. The phrases that actually help:
- Xin chào (sin chow) — hello
- Cảm ơn (gum un) — thank you
- Không (khom) — no
- Có (gor) — yes
- Bao nhiêu? (bow nyew) — how much?
- Đắt quá (dat qwa) — too expensive
- Không, cảm ơn (khom, gum un) — no, thanks (the most useful phrase, for vendors)
- Một (mote), hai (hi), ba (bah) — one, two, three
- Phở (fuh, not foe) — yes the pronunciation matters
- Đi đâu? (dee dow) — where to? (taxi drivers say this)
You won't be punished for not speaking Vietnamese. English coverage in tourist areas is solid. Outside tourist areas, Google Translate's camera function on menus is the actual tool. Don't stress.
Tipping
Mostly not expected, sometimes appreciated. The honest matrix:
- Restaurants: not expected. Most locals don't tip. If service was exceptional, round up the bill or leave 5-10%. Higher-end Western-style restaurants increasingly expect 5-10%.
- Taxis / Grab: not expected. Round up if you want.
- Hotel housekeeping: not expected. $1-2/day in tourist hotels is a kindness.
- Tour guides: expected. $5-10/day for group tours, $15-25/day for private guides.
- Massage / spa: expected. $2-5 for a 1-hour massage is standard.
- Hotel porters: $1-2 per bag.
- Easy Rider drivers (Ha Giang etc.): $10-20 at end of trip is standard appreciation.
Bargaining
Vietnamese bargaining is a real thing in markets and certain transactions, and not a thing in:
- Restaurants (price is the price)
- Cafes (price is the price)
- Grab / taxis (price is the price)
- Convenience stores
- Most hotels (price is the booking)
Where bargaining applies:
- Markets selling souvenirs, clothes, handicrafts
- Street vendors selling fruit, hats, etc. in tourist zones (often quoted high)
- Cyclos and unmetered taxis (not recommended, but if you must)
- Tailoring price negotiation at tier-2/3 shops (see the Hoi An tailoring note)
The rule of thumb at tourist markets: first quoted price is often 2-4x what locals pay. Counter at 30-40% of the asking price; settle around 50-60%. If you feel awkward bargaining, ask for "good price" once and accept the second number — you'll overpay slightly but stay relaxed.
Do not bargain at small family-run street food stalls or in residential markets where locals shop. The prices are already what locals pay; bargaining is insulting.
The first-day playbook (Hanoi or HCMC airport)
What to actually do in the first 60 minutes:
- Land. Pass immigration. E-visas (most travelers) require no separate stamp queue.
- Get cash from a TPBank ATM at the airport. 1-2 million VND ($40-80) is plenty for day one. Skip the airport currency exchange — terrible rates.
- Verify your eSIM activated. If not, walk to a Viettel or Vinaphone kiosk in arrivals and grab a physical SIM ($5-8). Connect to data.
- Open Grab. Book a Grab Car to your hotel. Do not engage with the taxi touts in arrivals.
- Set up offline Google Maps for the area if you didn't before flying.
- Pho lunch somewhere near your hotel within 1km. The first meal is the start of the trip.
That's it. You're set up.
Last note — what to expect from your first hours
Vietnam is sensory-intense. The traffic noise, the heat, the smells, the constant motion. First-time travelers from quieter countries sometimes find Hanoi or Saigon overwhelming for the first 12-24 hours. This is normal. By day two, your brain has adjusted and it just becomes background.
The trick is to not over-schedule day one. Land, get set up, eat one good meal, walk a little, sleep early. Day two is when the trip actually starts.
For the specific city playbook on arrival, see Hanoi in 48 hours or Saigon in 48 hours. For the broader budget context for the trip you're starting, see the three-tier Vietnam budget guide.