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Do you live in or plan to move to Vietnam and wonder how you can open a local bank account?
There are plenty of benefits of opening a local bank account and oftentimes it’s needed for you to stay in Vietnam long-term, at least if you work there.
In this article, we explain why you should consider opening a bank account in Vietnam, what documents you need, what banks we recommend, and more. Let’s start and review why you should open a bank account.
Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing countries in the world at the moment and we see skyscrapers popping up here and there in Ho Chi Minh City. As living expenses become more expensive in China, we also see increasingly more foreigners relocating from the Middle Kingdom to Vietnam.
Some of the reasons are that living costs are lower, the weather is warmer, and you’ll be close to other Southeast Asian nations, like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and more.
As a result, increasingly more foreigners look for local jobs in Vietnam. Therefore, we have written this article where we explain how you can find a job in Vietnam, the requirements, about local salaries, the best job searching websites, and more.
The online dating scene has exploded in the past 5 years, something that used to be tabu has become completely normal. Vietnam is not an exception and we’ve seen both international and local dating apps that are gaining more and more traction in the country.
If you live in Vietnam and would like to know what are the most popular dating apps, don’t look any further. In this article, we list some of the best and most popular dating apps in Vietnam.
Do you plan to travel to Vietnam and wonder whether going by bus is the right choice for you?
Vietnam has become an increasingly popular tourist destination and doesn’t only attract backpackers, but regular travelers and retired couples. Nowadays, more and more travelers choose to go by bus, especially with distances that take less than 6 hours.
In this article, we explain the pros and cons of traveling by bus in Vietnam. You’ll also learn how you can buy bus tickets, what bus types that exist, about bus schedules, and some general suggestions.
Let’s start and review the pros and cons of traveling by bus in Vietnam.
Do you plan to travel to Vietnam and want to buy a prepaid SIM card? In this article, we list the different options you have to get access to the internet while traveling in Vietnam.
Later, we will list different service providers that offer local prepaid SIM cards to foreign travelers. The companies are the biggest in Vietnam in terms of users and they offer robust data plans.
If you don’t want to wait until you arrive in Vietnam to buy your SIM card, we will also present a couple of other options available. First, let’s start and review the types of SIM cards that are available for Vietnam.
Do you plan to move to Vietnam and want to know more about general living costs? Don’t look any further.
In the first section of this article, I will explain the general living costs in Vietnam. Here, we will not review detailed numbers, you’ll get a better understanding of why cities like Ho Chi Minh City have become more expensive in the previous years.
In the second part, I will go into more detail and present prices for rents in the city center and outskirts, inexpensive and mid-range restaurants, SIM cards, alcohol, transportation, and more. After, we continue and review the average salary in Vietnam as a whole, for you to get a better understanding of how much you can expect to earn as a foreigner.
Finally, I’ll give you some tips on how you can save money in Vietnam.
If you have any information that you would like to share about the cost of living, feel free to drop a comment at the end of the article!
In this article, we will list several moving companies for sending your goods to Thailand or Vietnam (if you are moving there) or from Thailand or Vietnam (if you are planning to leave the country).
Also, via the form below you will be able to get up to 5 free quotes from trusted moving companies chosen by our moving service partner.
If you are going to travel to Southeast Asia need one or multiple visas, in this article, you will find some of the best agencies for applying for your visa easily and without worrying.
If you are traveling to Thailand for tourism, you don’t need a visa, depending on your country of origin, for stays less than 14, 30 or 90 days:
This article is a complete guide with all the information necessary to apply for a visa for Vietnam (if you need one).
In this article I’ll explain how and where to book a hotel (or hostel) in Vietnam. If you’re interested in booking a hotel in a specific city, click here to read our reviews.
If you need firsthand information on how plan your travel in Vietnam, click here to read our complete guide.
Despite the existence of many online portals that allow you to book one or more hotels, in my opinion for Vietnam the best are without a doubt Agoda and Booking. [Read more…]
This article is a complete guide with everything you need to know about enjoying a tour in Vietnam. Below, you will find the subjects that we will cover in this article.
Located in the Gulf of Thailand, 500 kilometers from Koh Chang and just 50 from the Vietnamese coastline, Phu Quoc is an excellent destination for those looking for warmth and tropical beaches all year long.
Thanks to its geographical position, Phu Quoc isn’t much influenced by the seasons, making it a place to visit 12 months out of the year. The best time period however is from December to March, when the weather is drier compared to other months and temperatures reach a high of 28 degrees, with calm seas that are ideal for fans of diving.
April, May and June could also be considered a good time to visit the island. During these months temperatures rise to as much as 35 degrees and the humidity is constant, though these factors make it possible to more easily find lower prices on hotels and flights.
Even though it’s a rather big island at almost 600 square kilometers, Phu Quoc isn’t a very well known international destination. This has kept the beaches from being overrun and you can still enjoy the local Vietnamese atmosphere.
90% of the island is covered by forest, and 70% is made up of a national park protected by Unesco and the Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve.
The Phu Quoc district is made up of a good 28 islands, the majority of which are uninhabited. Up until the midway point of the 18th century, the island was scarcely inhabited even by the local population, who supported themselves by selling so-called sea cucumbers to the Chinese Emperor, which are invertebrates that live on the sea floor and are today considered a species threatened by extinction.
Various nations, including a few European empires, have occupied Phu Quoc from the 1800’s onward. In 1869 the island was occupied by the French and passed under the Cochinchina administration, a region in the south of Vietnam, with Ho Chi Minh City as its capital, considered to be a French colony. [Read more…]
An interesting option to cross Vietnam (or just to cover a part) is to take the train: which is certainly the oldest and most famous means of transport in Vietnam. From the trains you can enjoy breathtaking views and have an authentic experience in contact with the local population.
Vietnam’s shape is perfect for going from north to south, or viceversa, and you certainly won’t get lost anywhere. Moreover, traveling by train has other advantages, especially if you’re in a rush and want to slowly enjoy the atmosphere of the trip in order to discover the country.
Traveling by train within Vietnam is a different and stimulating experience, even though many young travelers prefer to cross the country seated on an old motorbike or in a bus.
After deciding how to travel and where to go, to buy a ticket you can go to one of the ticket offices found inside the station. Remember to bring your passport with you, because it will be required in order to buy your ticket or confirm your booking and information on your ticket. [Read more…]
In these articles I will bring you to discover Ha Long Bay, one of the 7 wonders of the natural world!
Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. Known for its emerald waters reflecting millions of limestone rocks and islets that shoot up from the water, the bay recreates an almost surreal and mythical scene.
Many of these rocky formations are islands where nature provides a true spectacle: jungle, caves and vast marine and animal biodiversity.
The bay is located in the northeast of Vietnam, in the Gulf of Tonkin, off of the provincial capital of Ha Long, a few kilometers from the Chinese border.
To visit the bay you can stay in Ha Long City or get there from Hanoi.
Hanoi is located 165 kilometers from the bay and in 4 hours you should get to your destination. There are various ways for getting from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay; for sure the most comfortable way is by bus, which you can also book directly at your hotel, or the minibus, a comfortable option that comes right to your accommodations.
You could also opt for a private car and driver. This last option is certainly not as cheap compared to the previous choices. [Read more…]
The eleventh longest river in the world, and one of the longest in all of Asia, the Mekong is certainly the most important in ex Indochina. The famous river starts in Tibet and, after crossing more than 4,000 kilometers through six countries – China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, it empties into the South China Sea.
The Mekong is called “Cuu Long Ciang” by the Vietnamese, or the “River of the Nine Dragons”, a definition of the eight estuaries of its delta. After doing some reading, I discovered that the number eight is an unlucky number in Vietnam, and for this reason a dragon was added to its definition.
The dragon, a mythological creature that’s revered in Vietnam, symbolizes size and strength; in this area the watercourses are an important source of life, both for transporting merchandise of all types and for agriculture. For this reason the river is likened to a dragon. [Read more…]
In this article you’ll find a lost of tourist itineraries for Vietnam. To make it easy, we’ve divided it into three categories (click on the links below to go directly to the category you’re most interested in):
If instead you’re interested in our “general” advice for traveling in Vietnam, you can read this article.
The emotions and multiethnicity that you’ll discover when traveling in Vietnam will stay with you your entire life. It’s an experience so profound that only time will cause it to vividly emerge in your mind, ready to be recounted.
In this article I’ll bring you to the northwestern region of Vietnam, specifically in Ha Giang Province, on the border with China’s Yunnan Province, where the two countries share an immense spiritual and cultural heritage of Buddhism and Confucianism, ethnic minorities and an impressive natural landscape.
Ha Giang is a peaceful town immersed in the green karst mountains at the base of the Dong Van high plain. I suggest that you choose it as a base for the trip I’m about to recommend.
Like Sapa, the region’s attraction is the limestone mountains that extend over a wide area. But here, compared to the northeast they have a unique rocky formation, with peaks and villages of countless ethnic groups clinging to the mountains or at the bottom of valleys, where I still wonder how they manage to live and grow things there.
But let’s go in order.
Ninh Binh is located in north Vietnam, along the Red River Delta, and is also known as “Ha Long Bay on Land”, because it looks a lot like famous Ha Long Bay with its karst formations; but unlike the famous bay, this is located in the interior and “floats” on immense rice paddies and waterways.
In this area you can see, and if you want, participate in the rural life of Vietnam. In fact the entire province is relaxing, without much traffic and very few tourists. You can also fully enjoy the panorama, from ancient temples, fishermen among frangipani, rice paddies and karst formations.
Ninh Binh is the perfect place to relax after visiting Hanoi, the chaotic capital. It is located about 100 kilometers south of Hanoi, and 200 kilometers southeast of Ha Long Bay; it is therefore easily reachable by train or bus from main towns.
The ideal time for visiting this part of Vietnam is in my opinion the rainy season (from May to October), because it is in this period that nature is at its lushest and the rice paddies are a shiny green. During the rest of the year, the beauty will be just as disarming but the colors will tend towards yellow. [Read more…]
First of all I feel I should recommend this park to you because it is one of the natural wonders of Asia, not to mention a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s the most spectacular national park in Vietnam, with mountains covered with tropical jungle and rivers that proudly flow out of the gorges that open out of the mountains.
Here nature was gentle and superb, gifting Vietnam with an impressive underground system: the largest caves in the world.
The park is located in central Vietnam, more or less where the country begins thinning out and everything becomes more serpentine, between Laos and the sea.
There are lots of ways to get there, whether you’re coming from the north or south of the country, seeing that it’s the park destination with the greatest natural interest. [Read more…]