Safety in Vietnam

Traffic: The single biggest hazard is the road. Cross slowly and predictably, because riders are used to flowing around pedestrians who do not make sudden movements.

Theft: Bag snatching from passing motorbikes does happen in Ho Chi Minh City. Wear a backpack on both straps and never hold your phone out near the kerb while navigating.

Taxis: Avoid unmarked cars touting at airports. Order through Grab, or use the green Mai Linh taxis, which run strictly on the meter.

Sun: Tropical sun is deceptive even under cloud. Use factor 50 and wear a hat, since heatstroke ruins more holidays here than anything else.

Overcharging: Market prices and tour prices quoted to foreigners can be several times the real rate. Ask the price up front and haggle with a smile rather than an argument.

Water: Never drink from the tap. Bottled water costs almost nothing, and ice in decent cafes is made commercially from filtered water.

Health: Carry a basic kit and proper travel insurance. Medical care in the big cities is genuinely good, but treatment costs for uninsured foreigners can be brutal. Check your own government's travel advisory before you go.

Violent crime against tourists is rare in Vietnam, but street theft and overcharging are industrial.

Motorbike snatching. Ho Chi Minh City's signature problem, especially around Pham Ngu Lao and Ben Thanh. Bags and phones are torn from your hands at speed, sometimes pulling you onto the tarmac with them. A phone in your hand on a pavement beside traffic is bait; carry your bag on the side away from the road.

Banknotes. The 20,000 dong and 500,000 dong notes are both bluish and easily confused. The difference is 25-fold, and "mistakes" with change are built on it. Count the zeros, not the colour.

Taxis. Doubled meters and "broken card machines" are standard in unmarked cars outside airports and stations. Order through an app, or use only Vinasun and Mai Linh.

"Closed today." Outside the Temple of Literature or the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, a friendly local explains the site is shut for a ceremony but offers to drive you somewhere wonderful instead. Walk up and check for yourself.

Shoe shiners and "free" coconuts in Hanoi and Hoi An: service first, a tenfold price after. Agree the amount before, never after.

Drugs. Vietnam is one of the few countries that still executes for drug offences. Trafficking 100 grams of heroin carries a death sentence, and possession of small amounts brings years in prison. Foreigners are convicted regularly, and your embassy can do nothing about it.

Vapes are illegal. Since 1 January 2025 Vietnam has banned e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products — production, import, storage, transport and use alike. This reaches tourists directly: the device is confiscated and destroyed, with a fine of 3 to 5 million dong. There is no personal-use exemption, so leave the vape at home.

Politics. Criticising the Communist Party, joining a protest or distributing "anti-state material" are criminal offences that foreigners have served time for. Social media is read here.

Photography. Military sites, border zones, ports and airfields are off limits. Near the Chinese and Lao borders this is taken seriously.

Documents. Hotels are legally required to take your passport for registration. That is normal, but collect it the same day and keep a copy on you.

Vaccinations. None mandatory. Doctors usually suggest hepatitis A and typhoid, plus rabies and Japanese encephalitis for long rural stays. A yellow fever certificate is checked only if you arrive from Africa or South America.

Dengue. The country's main infectious threat, with outbreaks every rainy season and a mosquito that bites by day. There is no traveller's vaccine — repellent and covered skin are the whole defence. A high fever on day four of your trip means a blood test, not paracetamol and hope.

Water. Never from the tap, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City included. Ice in cafes and restaurants is industrially produced and safe — a rare case where avoiding ice is unnecessary.

Roads. Vietnam's road death rate is among the world's worst and is the single biggest physical risk of the trip. Renting a motorbike without a category A licence means your insurer pays nothing.

Healthcare. State hospitals are weak and overcrowded. Aim for the international clinics in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City — decent standards, but consultations start around 100 dollars, and anything serious means evacuation to Bangkok. Do not come uninsured.

Vietnam sits mid-table on the Corruption Perceptions Index, and petty extortion exists — though for tourists it mostly happens on the road.

Traffic police. They stop foreigners on motorbikes readily. The classic pretexts are no helmet, no valid licence category, or an unsignalled turn. A fine paid on the spot with no paperwork is a bribe; a real fine comes with a written report. You are entitled to demand one, but expect it to take an hour.

Licences. Your national licence is not valid in Vietnam. You need a 1968-convention International Driving Permit with category A for a motorbike. Rental shops hand bikes to anyone and never ask — the police and your insurer do.

If something happens to you. Police will take a report for your insurer but will not investigate a petty theft. Get the report anyway: without it there is no payout. Larger tourist cities have English-speaking officers; elsewhere, bring someone from your hotel.

Emergency numbers are 113 for police and 115 for an ambulance. English is not guaranteed.