What to Arrange Before Traveling to Vietnam

The first decision is not ticket or hotel, but legal entry. Vietnam e-Visa official website is the official Vietnam e-Visa portal, and Vietnam.travel official e-visa guide directs travelers to the official website. If you need e-visa, apply early and check spelling, passport number, date of birth, nationality, entry date, exit date, single-entry or multiple-entry, entry port, and purpose.

Russian citizens may have a 45-day visa-free tourism scenario: Vietnam.travel visa exemption update says Vietnam grants visa exemption to citizens from 12 countries including Russia for up to 45 days from the date of entry if entry conditions are met. Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and other CIS passports have different rules, so do not copy Russian logic to another citizenship.

For a longer trip, do not plan “I will figure it out there” without a calendar. Before departure, know how many days you can stay, what happens if you exit and re-enter, whether multiple-entry is needed, whether entry port can change, when to buy onward travel, and how much buffer you need before expiry.

Before non-refundable tickets, check passport validity, blank pages, name match in ticket and visa, second passport if any, child documents, child travel consent if relevant, medication papers, and bank cards. Airlines and border procedures may be stricter than “it worked before”.

Create an offline folder: passport, e-visa or visa waiver notes, entry stamp after arrival, insurance, policy, tickets, first nights, housing address, contacts, driver/transfer, emergency card. Keep copies in cloud and phone, but do not send passport data to random intermediaries in Facebook, Telegram, or Zalo.

Printing e-visa or keeping a phone PDF is not a matter of taste. Airport internet may be poor, phone may die, and airline check-in may ask for the document before boarding. A paper copy weighs less than stress at the check-in counter.

Prepare three layers: main payment card, backup card in another place, and cash USD/EUR or another convenient currency to exchange into VND. If you travel from Russia or another CIS country, check which cards work abroad, how emergency transfer will work, whether you need RUB, USD, EUR, USDT, or another exchange route, and where you will need cash instead of QR payment.

Vietnam can be cash-friendly, but arriving with no VND and no working payment route is risky. Prepare first 2-3 days: airport transfer, SIM/eSIM, water, food, first shopping, temporary housing deposit if needed, Grab/Xanh SM/Maxim/inDrive taxi, and emergency reserve.

Smartraveller Vietnam safety advice warns about card skimming, card fraud, scams, and theft after ATM withdrawals. Set limits, enable notifications, check 3-D Secure/OTP, save bank contacts, and do not keep your only card in one wallet with passport and phone.

Vietnam.travel health and safety guidance recommends buying insurance before travel, consulting a doctor or travel clinic, and preparing medicine. Practically, the policy should exist before a motorbike fall, dengue symptoms, food poisoning, or sea injury.

Check exclusions, not only price: motorbike, alcohol, outpatient care, emergency, medical evacuation, dental, chronic conditions, pregnancy, diving, SUP, eFoil, trekking, children, sports. For long stays, confirm full duration, visa runs, neighboring countries, and trip extension.

Medicine is better handled at home: prescription, international name, supply, packaging, doctor note for restricted medication, and analog list. Pharmacies exist in Vietnam, but finding an equivalent at night in an unfamiliar Da Nang or Nha Trang district is a bad plan.

Before departure, book the first 2-7 nights with clear address, reviews, check-in rules, late arrival, lift if needed, Wi-Fi, and extension option. This matters for late arrivals at Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, or Hanoi, and with children, older parents, or heavy luggage.

Long rent for months should not be fully fixed before viewing. Photos do not show noise, mold, smells, weak internet, nearby construction, flooding after rain, real route to sea/clinic/shop, or building manager behavior. Check the area in the morning, evening, and rain.

If you must rent before arrival, reduce risk: video call of apartment and entrance, exact address, contract draft, deposit receipt, owner/agent identity, utilities, electricity price, water, internet, parking, registration, move-out terms. Do not transfer a large deposit to an unknown channel because “the option will be gone today”.

Before departure, decide how you leave the airport. For Cam Ranh - Nha Trang, Da Nang airport - My Khe/An Thuong/Hoi An, Tan Son Nhat - District 1/Thao Dien, and Hanoi airport - Tay Ho/Old Quarter, have a clear plan: app, hotel pickup, known driver, or pre-agreed transfer.

If using apps, install and test Grab, Xanh SM, Maxim, inDrive before departure: card, phone number, payment method, English housing address, map pin. With luggage or night arrival, confirm car type, luggage, parking, tolls, waiting, child seat if needed, and VND payment.

Do not enter a car just because someone has a sign or says “cheap taxi”. Name, phone, route, price, luggage terms, and final address should match. After a long flight, people make mistakes on simple details.

You can buy SIM in Vietnam, but decide before departure whether you need internet immediately after landing. If you arrive at night, travel with children, use app transfer, or do not speak much English, an eSIM for the first day may be cheaper than stress. For long stay, compare Viettel, VinaPhone, MobiFone, hotspot, top-up, and validity after arrival.

Before the trip, install Google Maps offline area, Google Translate, Google Lens, Zalo, WhatsApp, Telegram, Grab, Xanh SM, Maxim, inDrive, banking app, insurer app, and airline app. Do not expect everything to download smoothly on airport Wi-Fi after a 10-hour flight.

Check access: email, 2FA, backup codes, roaming for SMS, recovery email, Telegram/WhatsApp on a new device, Apple Pay/Google Pay, bank, and cloud. If the phone is lost in the first days, these settings decide how fast you recover.

Vietnam is not one climate. Nha Trang, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Sapa, Phu Quoc, and Hoi An may need different clothing and plans. Before flying, check rainy season, heat, humidity, rough sea, typhoon risk, flooding, and airport-to-housing route.

For weather warnings, save National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting (NCHMF). If flying to Da Nang, Hoi An, or Hue in autumn, plan backup route and first nights; if flying to Nha Trang or Cam Ranh during unstable sea, do not prepay all island tours, diving, SUP, or eFoil without cancellation policy.

Pack not “everything for a year”, but what is hard to replace fast: medicine, prescriptions, glasses/lenses, adapter, power bank under airline rules, documents, basic medical kit, sunscreen, light rain protection, document copies, and first-24-hour items in hand luggage. If your trip overlaps Tet, some shops, drivers, clinics, and services may work differently, so a first-days reserve matters more.

Do not pre-buy a full “life setup” without verification. Better decide after arrival: long rent, permanent district, motorbike rental, local bank account, regular cleaning, most tours, gym, language school, massage/spa, long coworking, and repair workers.

These depend on district, season, routes, actual apartment, noise, budget, language, health, and habits. What is perfect for one person in Nha Trang may be inconvenient for another in Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh City.

Before departure, build shortlist and questions: areas, agents, clinics, drivers, exchange options, tours, shops. Make the final decision after first viewing, first route, first night, and first bill.

72 hours before departure, check passport, e-visa/visa waiver logic, tickets, baggage allowance, insurance, medicine, first nights, airport transfer, SIM/eSIM plan, VND/cash/card, emergency contacts, weather, housing address in English and Vietnamese, document copies, and chargers.

GOV.UK Vietnam getting help lists Vietnam emergency numbers: police 113, fire 114, ambulance 115, national search and rescue 112, and child protection hotline 111, and notes they are operated in Vietnamese. Save not only numbers, but hotel, driver, insurer, consulate, and a person who can help locally.

If entry, passport, money, insurance, or first night do not align at this point, do not hide the problem under new bookings. Fix the basic risk first; then add tours, rental, shopping, and the “nice trip plan”.