This post is also available in:
What should we know when traveling to Vietnam? When I started organizing my trip to Vietnam, I had so many questions. As someone who hadn’t been to this part of the world before, I couldn’t wait to make my planned journey, but I also had many fears about all the unknowns ahead. To gather the necessary information, I spent many days and nights searching for information and verifying its accuracy.
That’s exactly why I decided to write TOP 5 for traveling to Vietnam, the first in a series of articles about my journey to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia, starting with the essential information needed for a first visit to these lands.
Main Attractions in Vietnam: Here
TOP 5 for Traveling to Vietnam
1. Visa
If you’re a Bulgarian citizen, you need a visa to travel to Vietnam. You must have it before starting your journey. The official website for applying for an online visa is this one. While it states that visa processing takes up to 3 days, mine was ready on the fourth day. Therefore, I advise you to apply for the visa as early as possible. You’ll receive the completed visa by email, but you should also check the website. Although I specified exact travel dates, my visa was issued for 30 days. It’s single-entry. When I visited in April 2023, multiple-entry visas weren’t available. The cost is $25.
2. Currency
In Vietnam, you can exchange both euros and dollars. The official currency is Vietnamese Dong. The main thing you need to know is that CASH IS KING here. If you decide to pay by card, there’s a 3% fee. Currency can be exchanged at any gold shop.
IMPORTANT!!! It’s very important to carefully check the banknotes you receive as change and those you buy before leaving Bulgaria! They shouldn’t have any tears, scratches, or any marks on them! It happened to us several times that they wouldn’t accept our euro or dollar bills, and we had to take them back to Bulgaria.
3. Vaccines for traveling to Vietnam
When I decided to travel to Asia, I checked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website for recommended vaccines. There are no mandatory ones. I couldn’t find 90% of them in pharmacies or health centers, and ultimately didn’t get any vaccines. Despite eating at street food stalls, markets, and places with questionable hygiene, we didn’t have any problems.
4. Local operator SIM card for internet
This is the first thing you should buy when arriving in Vietnam. All communication with hotels, organized tours, buses, etc. goes through WhatsApp. Without internet, any organization will be very difficult. The cost is about $6 for 30 days. Everything varies depending on how many GB you want and for how many days, but it’s certainly not expensive. We were recommended the Viettel operator and were satisfied.
5. How to get around when traveling in Vietnam in cities and their surroundings?
Grab
I recommend downloading the Grab app, which makes it very easy to order taxis, see exactly how much you’ll pay, what car you’ll get, etc. The prices are very good, the cars are new and clean, and the drivers are courteous.
Scooter
If you want to explore tourist attractions in smaller cities, I recommend renting a scooter. The price is between $6 and $7 per day. The only thing they’ll ask is that you wear helmets. There’s no signing of documents, insurance, or protocols. They just give you the scooter key and agree on when to return it. You can fill it up for $2 and ride for 3 days. 
These are the main TOP 5 things that will be quite useful when organizing your trip to Vietnam. Look out for my upcoming articles about the routes and places we visited.
Phu Quoc Island: attractions
