When To Go

There is probably no such thing as a bad time to visit Vietnam, although weather is usually a factor for most visitors. Most hotels and tourist places are air conditioned, so it does not matter much anyway.

November through January are probably the most temperate months of the year in the South, though Hanoi can be chilly in the Winter. Because there are many Roman Catholics in the South, flights and accommodations may be at a premium over the Christmas period as Viet Kieu (Vietnamese living abroad) return for family reunions.

July and August are rainy season, and the weather can be refreshingly cool, though punctuated by daily torrential downpours. Many Japanese visit Vietnam during the Summer months to avoid the miserable weather at home.

Tet (Lunar New Year, which is also celebrated as Chinese New Year in many parts of the world) is always a heavy travel time. While the exact date changes each year, Tet normally comes in February. Since most businesses close and people return to their home villages, tourists will find very little to enjoy during this time unless you are with a Vietnamese family.

To Tour or Not to Tour

Costly mistakes and wasted time can be avoided if you use the services of a travel agent who has experience with Vietnam. For the most part there is no extra cost for using a travel agent since they are paid by the airlines, hotels and sightseeing firms they work with.

Needless to say, business travelers will be wasting their money on escorted tours. However, some travel agencies offer package deals that are convenient to book and save a bit of money. Normally, these include accommodations, round-trip transportation between the airport and the hotel, and an introductory sightseeing excursion.

Vietnam is finally finding its way into many Orient ‘‘grand tour'' itineraries, and a few tour operators are offering extensive Vietnam tours. If you are traveling for pleasure, have two weeks or more, and want to venture beyond Saigon or Hanoi, it may be worth looking into organized tours. For most first-time vacationers, however, it is best to use a knowledgeable travel agency to book the basics and nothing more.

Local guides are available through Vietnamtourism, a state-operated tour operator . Virtually all hotels can arrange for these guides, who charge about US$25 for the day, not including transportation or meals. Most guides are trained at the government tour guide school and are well worth the modest fees they charge.

Passports and Visas

A valid passport and a visa are required of all foreigners visiting Vietnam. Visas are issued by Vietnamese embassies and consulates. Detailed information on this subject is found elsewhere on Vietnam Online. Another way is to get a visa online directly from the internet.

Health Matters

Vaccinations are not required to enter Vietnam, unless you are coming from an infected area. However, it is wise to ask your own physician (or a medical clinic which specializes in overseas travel) about prudent health precautions before you go. Vaccinations for cholera, typhoid fever and Tetanus may be in order. If you plan to travel outside major cities you may also want to consider taking an anti-Malaria drug. Regardless of where your plans take you, a precautionary prescription for Ciprofloxacin or some other antibiotic which treats diarrhea, could be worth the trouble and expense.

If you take prescription medicines regularly, keep them in your carry-on luggage instead of the bags you check. Lost luggage could end up causing an unnecessary health crisis. Very few pharmaceuticals require a prescription in Vietnam. However, Vietnamese pharmacies do not have the great variety of medicines available in many other countries.

Money

Vietnam's official currency is the Dong. There are no coins, and the smallest bill is worth about a quarter of a US cent. Depending on where you exchange money, you will get between 10,000 and 13,000 Dong for each US Dollar. Changing $100 into Dong will make you an instant millionaire and get you a wad of bills as thick as a good ham sandwich.

Vietnam's unofficial currency is the United States Dollar. At major shopping areas, hotels and restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, you can use Dollars and Dong interchangeably and in practically any combination. For foreigners there is no black market for currency.

You can exchange foreign currency and travelers checks at banks throughout Vietnam, though some banks charge a commission of as much as four percent. Most merchants and hotels will not accept travelers checks at all. Cash can be exchanged at hotels and some shops, particularly jewelry stores. You will get a better exchange rate with a clean $100 bill than a worn $5 bill. If bills are damaged or worn they may not be acceptable for exchange.

Vietnam's first ATM appeared in 1996 at the Hong Kong Bank branch in HCMC's (Hi Chi Minh City's) New World Hotel building. If your bank at home is part of the Plus or Star systems, you can withdraw from your ATM account at home in either Dong or Dollars. Vietnam's only other ATM is outside the ANZ Bank in Ha Noi.

Travel Within Vietnam

While there is an extensive network of trains and busses within Vietnam, it is easier and more comfortable to fly. Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Air serve just about every major city between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, including Nha Trang, Dalat, and Hue.

It is cheaper to buy domestic air tickets once you arrive in Vietnam. For example, airfare between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi is about $230 if purchased abroad or $160 in Vietnam (although Vietnamese pay only $40.) The grueling 40+ hour train trip is about the same price. If your travel agency specializes in Southeast Asia you may be able to find an excursion or ‘‘circle trip'' fare which costs even less.

What To Take With You

Appropriate dress differs from North to South. Southern Vietnam is tropical year ‘round and people dress comfortably and casually. Light weight cotton and wool fabrics will be comfortable at any time of year. While they may resist wrinkles, synthetics and are blends miserably hot. Generally, short pants are inappropriate anywhere but a beach resort or a farm and you will look like a foolish tourist on the streets of most cities. Jeans are almost always fashionable except for business occasions.

Winter (November through April) can be cool in Hanoi, and a coat may be necessary. Dress here is a bit more formal and somber than the fashionable South.

If traveling on business, jackets and ties are usually appropriate, regardless of the weather. HCMC's business community is very image oriented. It's all right to ask your business partners here what kind of attire is appropriate and expected.

Remember that Vietnam is a tropical country. Most of the year it is warm and humid. If you are not used to tropical weather, be prepared to shower and change your clothes two or three times a day. Practically every hotel in Vietnam has a laundry service, which is usually quite inexpensive.

Here are a few things you should not travel without:

•Photocopies of your passport and visa.
•Cash in US $20's and $100's.
•A folding umbrella if you plan to visit during the rainy season. The wettest months are July and August.
•Zip lock bags. They are cheap, disposable, and keep all kinds of things fresh and dry.
•Business Cards. You will discover that practically everyone in Vietnam has a calling card of some kind. The proper way to offer your card is to hold it by the corners with both hands.
•Photo film. While 35mm print film is widely available, it may not always be fresh or properly stored. Slide film may be difficult or impossible to find.
•Money belt or fanny pack. As you will soon read, cash and small personal items are attractive to pickpockets. Leg wallets are uncomfortable.
What to Leave At Home

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is understandably very particular about the things which it will allow visitors to bring into the country. Explosives, firearms, seditious propaganda, or items that are culturally offensive are positively forbidden. Culturally offensive material includes books and magazines which customs officials may determine to be dangerous, including books or magazines with nudity.

You may not take video tapes, audio tapes into Vietnam without the permission of the customs inspector.

Illegal drugs of any kind are absolutely forbidden and possessing them could cost you your life.

Check Your Attitude

Whether or how much you enjoy your visit to Vietnam can depend a lot on your attitude. Many things we take for granted at home are sometimes challenging here. Something as simple as crossing the street can become a maddening ordeal. In some places you will be pestered dozens of times a day by children selling gum, cigarette lighters, shoe shines and tourist junk. Sometimes the heat is simply miserable. People may gawk at you like you just stepped from a spacecraft.

Humor, patience and kindness are great virtues here. Taking these with you will enhance your adventure in Vietnam. However, anal retentive people who are obsessed with timeliness, cleanliness and order will probably have a terrible time and should stay home.

Traveling Safely

Although it is not illegal to own firearms, violent crime is not commonplace anywhere in Vietnam's orderly and well-mannered society. You will probably notice that most police are not armed-even with a stick. While carelessness about personal safety is just as foolish in Vietnam as it is at home, foreigners need not feel particularly unsafe on Vietnamese streets. Unlike some American and European cities, tourists are not gunned down in Vietnam.

Petty thefts and pickpocketing are not unusual, however. Not only are Vietnamese extremely poor, they are wildly fascinated by the wonderful things foreigners bring with them. While money belts are not altogether a bad idea, you are more likely to lose a camera, a watch, or a pair of eyeglasses, no matter how cheap. Any personal property which leaves your hands for even a moment could quickly find its way into the deft fingers of an otherwise-honest person who cannot bear to live without the glittering treasure you have been so careless with. You are "rich" and will probably not miss it anyway.

With a little common sense you can avoid creating temptations that turn nice people into thieves and spoil your wonderful visit to Vietnam. Carry a photocopy of your passport and leave the real thing locked up safely at your hotel along with a list of your credit card numbers. Don't set your camera down on a park bench next to you, as I did. And don't set your five dollar drugstore eyeglasses with the shiny golden frames down on the table of a dark karaoke bar when they can just as easily go into your pocket. (Yup, I did that, too).

And if you should have the misfortune to lose something small, let it go peacefully. Although the afternoon I spent in a Saigon police station trying to "do something" about an old camera nimbly purloined by children in a park remains one of my most fascinating Vietnam experiences, an afternoon of shopping, drinking beer beside a pool, or a bit of romance would have been much more enjoyable.