10 Lifesaving Tips to Safely Travel Vietnam

1. Be Careful About Animals in Traffic

In Vietnam, a motorbike is the most common vehicle since it’s affordable and it can serve well for locals to transport things, usually too many things, but it’s working. There are some speeding cars, buses and truck that are racing all the time and seem like they don’t care about anyone in traffic.

It’s astonishing how not only vehicle operates in traffic, but also flocks of cows, angry dogs, lazy cats, buffalos and many other animals. Be extra careful when driving through small towns or villages in the countryside since dogs can run across the street puts you in a very uncomfortable situation.

Always slow down when you see an animal in traffic since they are unpredictable and can cause accidents. We were talking with many travelers who experienced accidents because of the unpredictable animal in the traffic!

Be extra aware of dogs in cities. Owners usually let them off the leash and they aren’t used to traffic. Dogs or cats typically run across the street without any concern. We saw countless crashes, many dead dogs and scratches on people partly because of (poor) animals in the towns/cities.

Don’t speed in the cities as you never know what’s around the next corner.

2. You Can’t Overuse the Honk

Don’t be scared to push that honk button more often than needed! We’re coming from Croatia where honking is considered rude and offensive, so we’re using that button only when we need to release our anger and others.

In Vietnam, the story with honking is totally different since people are real artists using the honk. Some got to the point of composing beautiful melodies while passing you on the road.

We also had our own melodies on honks! It’s a thing you have to do - compose a few melodies regarding the situation!

Anyway, using honk in Vietnam is a very essential part of a daily routine in traffic since there are literally millions of bikes in traffic each second. Nothing is going by the rules and people will pass you from different angles and sides so honking is just a reminder that someone is there.

Its purpose is signaling people 'Hey I’m here!'.

Don’t worry - it’s never too much of honking. Also, you can let your frustrations out without offending anyone! So use that honk button!

I’ve got in two crashes during my time on the road in Vietnam - one was nothing serious, while other was including another local person. Both time, it happened because I didn’t use honk!

3. Have Glasses for a Night Drive

Glasses can be beneficial while driving, especially during the night drives around the countryside. The roads are dusty and when any vehicle drives on the street, the dust is getting to the air causing all the particles ending up in your eyes. To prevent that, we suggest buying a full-face helmet or wearing sunglasses during the day and regular glasses during night drives.

Having a pair of glasses can help a lot since it will improve your visibility and protect your eyes from dust (and who knows what else can end up in your eyes?).

Also, driving around the countryside during the rice harvest season is the pain in the ass, especially during the night drive. The reason is mighty flies; or better said, the rain of the flies.

At some points, there are so many flies that makes driving hard and painful (without any kidding!).

Without glasses, it can be very very hard to continue your drive so think in investing some money in glasses or a good full-face helmet.

Non-dioptry glasses in Vietnam are very cheap and you can get one for as low as 300,000 VND.

4. Avoid Night Drive By All Cost

Driving through the night can be very slow and dangerous since the visibility is scarce. The fascinating thing about Vietnamese roads is that they lack the light network. When driving through the countryside, it’s scarce that you’re going to stumble upon some working lights on the road, maybe around the town center, the lights pop up here and there.

When driving on the highway, you'll stumble on tiny patches of light through small towns. Time your trip and try to avoid night drives as much as possible.

One traveler had the accident while driving during the night on a highway crossing over the massive rock that was literally lying on the middle of the road.

We drove during the night some parts of our routes since we would always start our journey a bit later than expected (not early risers here), which makes our trip a bit slower and more dangerous, but luckily, nothing bad happened.

Were there any close calls? Too many, but luck is on the side of crazy people!

6. Don’t Forget Your Raincoat

Never drive without a raincoat below your seat or next to your hands. The weather is very unpredictable, so even if it’s sunny one minute, the next minute you can experience a colossal rain pouring from the sky.

It’s very funny how people handle the rain as nothing happens. When it starts to rain, people just park their bikes for a second, put the raincoat on, and continue as nothing happens. It’s very amazing!

We bought our raincoats at Big C supermarket for around 250,000 VND. After 10 months, we’re still using the same raincoats.

In the beginning, driving through the rain can be very frustrating since the visibility and road conditions are bad, but after a while, you’ll get used to it.

Remember, in case you’re frustrated, just use that honk button on your left handle and everything is going to be alright!

Don’t be cheap and invest in a good quality raincoat as it will save you much hustle while driving. We advise you to get your hands on double part raincoat specially designed for the bikers. You can buy one in the supermarkets.

7. Mechanics Are Everywhere!

There is an inevitable chance that you’re going to buy a motorbike that has many cross-country trips under the milage. Add to that low-quality parts, the lack of maintenance and you have the perfect equation that results with an unexpected breakdown, preferably in the middle of nowhere!

It is so interesting, but almost every breakdown we experienced was in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, friendly people always jump in and help! Mechanics are just everywhere!

Just look for signs 'Xe May' or 'Hon Da' which represents a mechanic shop.

Don’t worry though as you'll find local mechanics shops on every step, even in the most remote places.

There is a possibility that you’re going to put your physical strength in work since the pushing of the bike is proper training, but not for a long.

8. Don’t Rely Much On Google Maps

Google Maps is a useful app to have, but always have a backup plan since the maps and navigation aren’t the most accurate thing ever.

From our experience, we can say that Google Maps works like a charm when you’re traveling between the cities or places, but you want to go to a specific place in a city, the app tends to freak out.

For navigating around specific locations we found out that Maps.me works so much better and you can use it offline after you download a certain map (whole country's maps available)

Always have both apps installed on your phone in case you get lost or cannot find the location you’re looking for.

Asking people on the road about the specific location doesn’t help since the language barrier is real. We lost so much time figuring out the location once our hope disappeared together with the map.

9. Don’t Put All of the Money in the Wallet

Never have all of your cash in one place when driving (good general advice!).

First, it can be horrible if you lose your wallet as you instantly need to deal with the loss of your money and possibly some documents. Second, traffic police is known to be on a corruption side (especially the countryside) and they won’t mind asking anyone for coffee money.

If the police stop you, the last thing you want to have is the wallet full of money! These guys are seriously greedy.

Instead, buy another wallet and put some money in. Preferably break down large banknotes into smaller ones. If you ever got caught by the police and they really want a 'tip' from you, always remember to bargain and offer them 'all you have' in the wallet you have on you, while the main wallet is on the safe place!

Usual coffee price for a police officer is around 200,000 VND. Don't forget to read our article 

Our services include:

• English Speaking certified Adventure Guide
• Road Bike, Helmet, 1 biking water bottle per person
• Drinking water including 5 litres per person per cycling day
• Beautiful snacks and local fruits
• 1 assistant guide for 8-15 cyclist, 2 assistant guides for 16+ cyclists
• Vehicles: (varies based on local conditions and vehicle sizes available). Private air-conditioned vehicle for transfer and back up as itinerary.
• 1 first aid kit per guide
• Each guide will have a full set of travel bike tools
• Spare parts:
  • spare tubes, chain lube,  rags, 1 bottle of chain degreaser, 1 peddle wrench, 1 floor pump,
  • Or 1 spare bike

• Sightseeing tickets and zone entrance fees where mentioned in the itinerary
• Flight reconfirmations
• Luggage transfer
• Meals as mentioned in the itinerary (B – Breakfast, L – Lunch, D – Dinner

Our services don’t include:

• Visa arrangement
• International and domestic flights
• Soft drinks, or beverages beyond water
• Beverage and alcoholic drinks at mealtimes
• Meals other than mentioned above
• Supplement for other language guides
• Tips
• Energy drinks or powders, performance bars, or performance gels (Gatorade, Powerbars, Gu, Isostar, etc)
• Personal Travel Insurance
• Personal expenditure (laundry, telephone etc.)
• Credit card/bank transfer fees
• Any other services not clearly mentioned in the itinerary and in the inclusive portion
• Supplement for other language speaking guides

Updating...

 1. How do I reserve my tours with Viet Green Travel/Viet Green Golf?

2. Do you have tours available on specific dates?

3. I don’t want to make a reservation online, what can I do?

4. Can I make a reservation directly through a travel agent?

5. What if the preferred hotel is not available?

6. What is the latest time that I can make my reservation?

7. How far in advance can I book?

8. How do I make a reservation for someone else?

9. What happens to my tour booking if my flight is delayed?

 All our tours packages and hotels operate on pre- paid basis. So we can only accept the payment in advance by bank transfer or credit card. If you wish to make wired bank transfer, please transfer to our bank account listed below:

International Trading Name in English: VIET GREEN TRAVEL

Company Name in Vietnamese: CÔNG TY CỔ PHẦN DU LỊCH VÀ TRUYỀN THÔNG MÀU XANH VIỆT

Company Licence: 0104736080 issued by The Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment.

Tax Identification Number: 0104736080

Account Name: VIET GREEN MEDIA AND TRAVEL JOINT STOCK COMPANY

Account No: 0021 00000 3333

Name of Bank: Vietcombank - Hanoi Branch

Bank address: Builinding 198 Tran Quang Khai Str,Ly Thai To Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi City, Vietnam

Swift Code: BFTVVNVX

Webiste: www.vietcombank.com.vn