Articles about Vietnam
General information:
Capital: Hanoi
Language: Vietnamese
Religion: 86% No religion, 6% Catholics, 5% Buddhist, 3% other
Population: 100 millions (2023)
English-friendly: Being a popular tourist destination at the time of writing, more and more people speak English nowadays. In smaller towns however the situation is different and you may find it hard to speak with locals.
Wi-fi reliability: Wi-fi is is commonly available in hotels, hostels and guesthouses.
Currency: Vietnamese Dong
Average cost per day: From 40 to to 80 USD (2024) depending on your lifestyle. Eating out is pretty cheap, you spend the most for activities.
Visa: Many nationalities don’t need visa to enter Vietnam. If you do, you can probably to an e-visa and get the visa on arrival.
Safety: Vietnam is pretty safe throughout. However, in some remote areas, venturing out of the beaten tracks can be dangerous due to the risk of unexploded devices of the Vietnam War.
When to go:
Dry season (October – April) : Dry season is the best time to travel to Vietnam. While in the south and centre of the country temperatures are generally mild and pleasant, the north can be cold. Sapa and Ha Giang can be particularly cold in December and January. Locals told us that normally Hanoi experiences one week of cold weather a year…..we were there in January and there were 8 °C in Hanoi and 3 °C in Sapa. Overall, we were told March and April are the best months. Average temperature: 17 °C – 30 °C
Wet season (May – September): Particularly the south of the country experiences a tropical climate. If you travel to Vietnam during the wet season prepares a good rain coat for the afternoon downpours. In the north it may be better but many roads in the remote areas may be flooded and traveling around the country could be challenging. Average temperature: 25 °C – 30°C
*Average temperatures for Hanoi