VIETNAM TRAVEL FACTS

 

 Use these to jump around the page or read it all:

Visa Notes when arriving Money Climate Health & Insurance Security Food and Water Accommodation

Transportation People & Languages Holidays What to bring Things to buy Emergency Common Q&As

Visa

Visitors must have a visa approval entering Vietnam. Paradissa Travel can arrange visas for visitors who book our tours. The procedure is as follows:

1. Passport details, arrival and departure dates are faxed to Paradissa Travel no later than 14 working days before visitors' departure.

2. Paradissa Travel submits above mentioned details to the Immigration Department.

3. The Immigration Department informs Paradissa Travel of visa approval and sends a fax/telex approval to the Vietnamese Embassy, or Vietnamese Consulate in the country of visitors' residence.

4. Paradissa Travel sends a fax copy of the approval to the ones concerned and inform them to go to the Vietnamese or Consulate to get the visa.

  Guests can obtain a visa upon arrival, but this is extremely expensive and recommended only in cases of emergency.

For more information, please contact us at: info@paradissa.com

 Notes when Arriving in Vietnam

 All visitors have to complete an entry card and customs form which will be given during the flight for customs and immigration processing. Once processed, you will be handed back one copy of this form. Do not loose this as you will need it again for exit formalities.

For those passing over a landborder, these forms can be obtained at the border check point.

 Money

 Vietnamese official currency is Dong, at the time of writing  is traded at 15000 Dongs to 1 USD.  Foreign currency can be exhanged for Dong at the banks, at authorized exchange bureaus, at hotel reception desks. The banks offer the best exchange rates. The black market ( some jewellery shops, or individuals approaching you in the street offer you good exchange rates) should be avoided. No transaction fee should be applied when swapping cash US dollar for Dong.

The US dollar is widely accepted in major cities throughout the country. Other currencies are not widely accepted.

Traveler cheques can be cashed at some banks and authorized exhange bureaus, transaction fee is 2 USD. Traveler cheque can also be accepted to pay for services in major hotels.

Visa, American Express and Master cards are accepted in some major hotels, restaurants and shops.

Bringing US dollars in small denominations is recommended. 

Local Time

GMT + 7 hours

 Climate

 North: Pleasant( 20-25 Degrees Celsius), dry from March to May,  Mid September to November; hot (30-33 Degrees Celsius) and wet in June, July; cold (15-19 Degrees Celsius), dry in December; cold(13-19 Degrees Celsius) and wet January, February.

Central Vietnam: Wet from May to November. In other months,  quite pleasant.

South: Sunny and warm all year round. From May to November, there is daily short-lived downpours. It's dry in the other months.

We recommend the best time is from March to May or from Mid October to November.

The climate in Vietnam keeps changing recently. So please check for the  weather before you travel.

 Health and Insurance

 No actual vaccinations are officially required. Visitors are advised to check with their doctor or travel immunization clinic regarding the advisability of inoculation against typhoid, tetanus, hepatitis A & B and Malaria.

 The country still lacks adequate medical care for serious illnesses and injuries. Therefore, having insurance covering emergency medical care is strongly advised.

 Security

 Vietnam is generally very safe(recently claimed the safest country in Asia! ). Women and independent travelers have found it hassle-free and easy to travel in Vietnam. Visitors just have to be aware of the surroundings when walking. And in HochiMinh city, be careful with pickpockets and drive-by bag snatchers.

Do make use of hotel safe deposit facilities. Do not carry, your passport, visa, large amount of cash, or valuables with you. 

Food anh Water

Rice, noodle, beef, pork, fish, chicken, springroll, vegetable, fruit dishes are popular. No problem for vegetarians for there's abundant supply of vegetables. Food is generally not spicy. Make sure your food is well-cooked.

Drinking tap water or drinks with ice is not recommended. Bottled water is available, remember check to make sure the seal is intact when you buy.

 Accommodation

Accommodation ranges from international standard hotels to family-run guest houses. International standard hotels can be found only in big cities or popular tourist destinations. Most hotels have AC, private bath/shower, television, safe box. For more on international standard hotels, please refer to our Hotels section.

 Transportation

 Planes: Vietnam Airlines is government-owned servicing all domestic routes in Vietnam. Destinations in Vietnam include Hanoi, DienBienPhu, Hue, DaNang, NhaTrang,BuonMeThuat, Dalat, PhuQuoc island, ConDao island. Your flight is most likely to be on a French-built Airbus 320(150 seats),  US-built Boeings 767(221 seats), Fokker 70(79 seats), ATR-72(66 seats).

There is also a joint stock company called Pacific Airlines. But this one just has flight from Hanoi to HoChiMinh city or vice versa.

  Flight delays or cancellations are expected in rainy season due to bad weather conditions.

Cars : modern and air-conditioned vehicles are available ranging from cars to 45-seater coaches. Foreigners are not advised to drive in Vietnam for the traffics in here are different from their home country. Meter taxis are available in most cities.

Trains : The Reunification Express are the only rail tracks that link Hanoi and HoChiMinh city with the distance of 1726 km. The entire trip can take between 32 to 42 hours. The Reunification Express trains have different types of carriages ranging from soft and air-conditioned sleepers to hard seats. Other local trains may not have that diversity, only hard seats or hard sleepers. There are several daily trains  departing from one station to another. The most comfortable carriages  are on the E1, S1, E2, S2 Reunification Express trains.

  People and Languages

  The Vietnamese population is composed of 54 ethnic groups, each with its own language. The majority is the Kinh, which accounts for 87% of the population. The rest 53 minorities inhabit mainly in mountainous regions, many are dressed in their traditional attires with beautiful colors and designs, some still live relatively isolated from mainstream society. Vietnamese is the national language, its alphabets are based on the Roman ones.

Holidays in 2005

 

January	01	International New Year's Day
January	28-2	Lunar New Year (Tet)
April	30	Reunification Day
May	01	Labor Day
September	02	National Day

 

What to bring

Bring as little as possible. You can buy almost everything in Vietnam! Following is the recommended checklist:

1. Travel documents: passport, visa, travel insurance, air tickets.

2. Money: travelers cheques/cash/credit card

3. Money pouch

4. Medical kit

5. Small padlock for your backpack/bag

6. Day pack to carry your personal needs during the day

7. Alarm clock and torch/flashlight

8. Camera and spare batteries

9. Hat, sun cream, insect repellant

10. Earplugs & eye mask for train

11. Light raincoat/poncho

12. Tampons

13. Long pants, short pants, long sleeved shirt, T shirt, swimming costume, warm clothes for the winter months in the North( Nov-Mar).

14. Toothpaste, toothbrush

15. Shoes, sandals, slip-off thongs

16. For those on trekking tours: degradable soap, towel, toiletry, hiking shoes.

Things to buy

 Handicrafts, paintings, clothing, hilltribe brocades, stamps, gems, silver, jewellery, music, lacquerwares, home furnitures, antiques, marble, ceramics, woodcarvings, army uniforms, badges,bell...

 Emergency

 International S.O.S

Hanoi : 31 HaiBaTrung str., Tel: (04) 934 0555

HoChiMinh city : 65 NguyenDu, Dst1., Tel:(08) 8298520

Common Questions and Answers

• How do you define your service standards?

Choosing "First Class", you will stay in 4 or 5 star hotels, choosing " Second Class", you will stay in 3 star hotels or old style houses, or villas.  ( That excludes tours that have homestays and tours that good accommodations are not available. And in these tours, we indicate it very clearly in our program.)

•  Who are your travellers?

Paradissa Travellers are of different nationalities,all ages, of different backgrounds, who just love  travelling in Vietnam, discovering the cultures.

• Why should I travel with Paradissa rather than other tour operators and travel agents?

Paradissa was founded by a group of Vietnamese tour guides who have been working in travel industry for years, having vast  knowledge about places and tourist services throughout Vietnam. We can negotiate and get more competitive pricings, so traveling with us is more cost-effective. And also with many years of working experience, we can design tour programs that exactly meet your interests and know how to help you get most from your holidays, optimizing the places you visit.  All of our tour guides are Vietnamese and very open-minded, so they can give you the local perspectives about different things, they also know how to engage you in normal life of the Vietnamese people. SO WE PROVIDE YOU WITH BETTER VALUE FOR MONEY!!!

• Why do you have very few itineraries?

We specialize in tailor-made tours. The tour programs featured on our web are our best-selling programs and are samples. When designing our web, we tried to pack information as neatly and clearly as possible.

• What will happen when I arrive at the airport? Will I have to take a taxi and start an endless quest for my hotel?

Paradissa Travel tour guide will be holding a signboard with your name on it waiting just right ourside the customs area. After you get through the customs, just come to the one holding the above-mentioned signboard. He will escort you to our car, and off we drive to the hotel.

• Who are Paradissa Travel Vietnam tour guides? What will he do for us during our trip?

We are all Vietnamese, have at least one university degree, we love and have vast knowledge of our country and culture !  We all like people, love meeting with people, get addicted to travel and  have traveled extensively throughout the country. We are so curious about foreign cultures and love learning more, so let be our teachers!!!

  Paradissa Travel Vietnam has tour guides in all three regions of the country. When you move from one region to another, our local tour guide will meet you and take you to your hotel. Your tour guide will give you information about each place  you visit, the traditions and customs of the region, answer your questions about Vietnam and its cultures, give you the Vietnamese insights!  He would solve any problem that should come up. He is Vietnamese, so he knows a lot of useful contact addresses when needed. Be prepared, he will take you to places not seen by other tourists and engage you in exotic experiences  So with Paradissa Travel Vietnam, you will have knowledge of Vietnam from the Vietnamese!

• Will you and your tour guides cut some parts of included services?

  Paradissa Travel are united tour guides striving to become the most-trusted and the best-customer-serviced tour operator in Vietnam ! We know that our existence and success depends totally on our clients' satisfaction of our services, not cutting parts of their trips, and we know that you know what we are doing. We'll give you full information when booking the tour about inclusions and exclusions and what you should expect to have from us. After each trip, we will hand out a feedback form so you can give us your evaluation of our services,  should any problem happen we would correct it soon.

• What are your services such as accommodations, transportations like?

We use modern and safe cars which all have good air-conditioning. We contract with hotels of old style, and usually hotels of 3-star standard or above ( with good location, warm atmosphere,  satellite TV, private facilities). 

• Will my tour be private or will I have to share?

All tours directly booked through Paradissa Travel Vietnam office are private. We do so because we think we can do more for you with your own interests without hassling others. For those booked through our agents, you will be informed  before booking whether your tour would be private or not. But to minimize negative impacts on the local environment, on the local culture and to maintain our service quality, group size is limited to 12 people.

 But do remember that in some tour programs, we have to use airplanes and local trains or ferries, and surely you would be expected to share the  means of transportation.

• Why some meals are included, some are not?

 Vietnamese food  is very cheap and very good, so generally we just include the food in the tour prices when in places there is no good restaurant such as trekking etc...(and we can hire someone to prepare your food) or some other times, we like you to socialize with the local people or to exchange cultures with your tour guide. When you arrive at the place, we will recommend some good restaurants and also you will know more about the food of the region and may like to try different dishes and different restaurants. So we think it's better to leave the choice to you. And if you still like us to include food in the tour price,  so will we do. 

• What about tips and hidden cost?

There is no hidden cost at all! All trip costs on our web site are VAT included and just that! Tips and personal expenses are not included in our tour prices. If you are really satisfied with your tour guide or your driver, then small gratuity is a way of expressing your appreciation, totally at your pleasure! Usually an amount of  USD4/day would be highly appreciated.

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VIETNAM TRAVEL FACTS
Visa Notes when arriving Money Climate Health & Insurance Security Food and Water Accommodation	Transportation People & Languages Holidays What to bring Things to buy Emergency Common Q&As