Vietnam is a Southeast Asian country on the South China Sea known for its beaches, rivers, Buddhist pagodas and bustling cities. Hanoi, the capital, pays homage to the nation’s iconic Communist-era leader, Ho Chi Minh, via a huge marble mausoleum. Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) has French colonial landmarks, plus Vietnamese War history museums and the Củ Chi tunnels, used by Viet Cong soldiers.

Population: 90 Million (2013 est.),
Capital City: Hanoi
Government Constitutional Monarchy

Currency: Vietnamese dong (VND)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 29%
15-64 years: 75%
65 years and over: 7%
Nationality: Vietnamese
Ethnic groups: Vietnamese and Chinese and other
Religions: Buddhism; however, many believers practice a mixture of Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism,

Languages: Vietnamese, Vietnam’s official language, is a tonal language that can be compared to Cambodia’s official language, Khmer, and Chinese, English, French, Khmer, and the tribal languages of Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian.

Location: The bordered on the North by China, on the East by the Gulf of Tonkin, on the East and South by the South China Sea, on the South-West by the Gulf of Thailand, and on the West by Cambodia and Laos.

Map references: Southeast Asia
Electricity 220V, 50Hz (American and/or European plug)

Country code: +84
Time Zone: GMT +7hours
Business hours: Governmental agencies work 8 hours/day from 7.30am to 4.30pm (excluding one-hour lunch). Saturday and Sunday are close

– Banks are open from 7.30am or 8am to 11.30am and from 1pm to 4pm. Saturday and Sunday are close.
– Private shops are open from 8am or 8.30am to 9pm or 10pm.
-Telephone and Internet access
-For domestic calls, visit the post office, where public phone service is offered at affordable rates, or buy a domestic phone card at any post office or phone company branch.
-Internet phone service is available at most little Internet storefronts.
-If you have a GSM cell phone that accepts SIM cards, you can buy an affordable plan at any post office or telecommunications center. The trick here is that receiving calls from anywhere is free of charge.

Credit Card: Major credit cards are also widely accepted in tourist centers.
Climate Vietnam is entirely located in the tropical belt lying between the equator and the Tropic of Cancer. While there are slight variations in temperature, depending on the season and the altitude, the primary seasonal changes are marked by variations in rainfall.

In the North -the rainy season extends from mid-April to mid-October; the city of Hanoi has a mean annual rainfall, and in the mountains, annual rainfall sometimes. Daily temperatures fluctuate considerably in the Red River Delta region, particularly in the dry season, when the thermometer may drop as low as 5°c (41°f) in the region of Hanoi. During the rainy season, the average temperature in Hanoi is about 30°c (86 f).

The south is more tropical; temperatures in Ho Chi Minh City vary only from 18–33°c (64–91°f) throughout the year. Temperatures in the Central Highlands are somewhat cooler, ranging from a mean of about 17°c (63°f) in winter to 20°c (68°f) in summer. The rainy season extends from early May to November, with annual rainfall in lowland regions. The typhoon season lasts from July through November, with the most severe storms occurring along the central coast. Typhoons in this region frequently lead to serious crop damage and loss of life.

Tipping guideline
Bellow is suggestion for normal tips

 Restaurant: Some restaurant already included services charge which you do not need to tips, some do not included tips expecting is 10% from your total bill.
 Hotels: Bellboys who take care of your luggage equivalent US$1.00/bag.
 Boatman: About US$5.00 for a boat ride
 Cruise crew: US$3.00 per person tips for entire crew
 Driver: US$2.00 per person daily
 Tour guide: US$3.00 per person daily

Things to remember when you are in Vietnam
• Avoid cyclo ride after dark.
• Dress modestly and appropriately when visiting local dwellings and religious sites, etc.
• Leave your valuables behind before a night out on the town, or going to the beach.
• When crossing the road, especially in Ho Chi Minh city, always keep looking to the left and right and walk slowly!
• Do not offer money directly to minority people – instead donate to a local charity or offer a small gift which they can use efficiency likes soap, shower gel, books…
Things do not to miss
• Try at least once the delicious, local street food like PHO, BUN, Fish cake in Hanoi, Nem lui in Hoian, Banh Xeo in Ho Chi Minh city
Always ask permission first before taking photographs, especially in minority areas
• Sleeping out on deck on a boat in Halong Bay
• Taking a slow cyclo ride through the French Quarter of old Saigon
• Eating pho ga (chicken noodle soup) at a street side noodle stalls.
• Watching the traditional water – puppet performance in Hanoi.
• Taking a boat along Hue’s Huong (Perfume) River, visiting the Royal Mausoleums.
• Overnight in a homestay in the Mekong Delta’s riverside orchards.

Useful Telephone Number:
Police dial 113
International Telephone service dial 110
Ambulance dial 115
Connecting Customers to Consultant for tourist dial 1088

Destination
Hanoi is the capital of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the center of culture, politics, economy and trade of the whole country.

Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is second the most important in Vietnam after Hanoi. It is not only a commercial center but also a scientific, technological, industrial and tourist center.

Sapa, visitor to Sapa in summer can feel the climate of four seasons in one day. In the morning and afternoon, it is cool like the weather of spring and autumn.

Halong Bay is famous internationally, and is recognized as a World Heritage by UNESCO for its thousands of natural islands.

Hoi An is so special about Hoi An is that this little port town is in an incredible state of preservation. It offers some of the most densely concentrated sights in Vietnam with its old streets bordered with ancient houses and assembly halls

Hue, for approximately 400 years, Hue has become a great landscape and architectural site. Hue royal complex has been officially recognized by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Nha Trang is endowed by nature with deep, quiet and warm waters all the year round, surrounded by archipelagoes, islands, mountains and white sand beaches – a wonderful and attractive tourist resort.

Dalat, the temperate climate of Dalat is suitable for flowers such as orchids, roses, lilies, and camellias. Nowadays, tourists not only limit themselves to Dalat

VIETNAM VISA EXEMPTION
Who need and who do not need a visa to Vietnam:
Nationals of certain countries may visit Vietnam without visa for a period of time, hereunder is the list of countries and regions that have visa exemption arrangements with Vietnam.
Updates on 18-06-2015: Starting from 01/July/2015 to 30/06/2016, visitors from the following countries may not need a visa to Vietnam for less than 15 days: Germany, France, the UK, Italy, and Spain.

Areas: Asia

Countries:
-Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia , no need a visa to Vietnam for less than 30 days.
– Philippines, no need a visa to Vietnam for less than 21 days
– Japan and South Korea, no need a visa to Vietnam for less than 15 days

Areas: Nordic

Countries:
– Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, no need a visa to Vietnam for less than 15 days.
Areas: European (July2015-June2016)

Countries:
– Germany, France, Spain, Italy and United Kingdom, no need a visa to Vietnam tor less than 15 days.

Special Exemptions
– APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) holders economies may visit Vietnam for less than 60 days.

Other countries are not in the list above, need a visa for Vietnam, you can apply to get visa on arrival, we can arranged the visa on arrival for you,

If you book tour with us, we will free arrange visa approval letter for you. But on arrival you just show letter, 2 photos (4×6) and US$25 in cash to get stamp (pay direct to Immigration Department).

It’s take 3 – 4 days to process visa approval letter.

Disclaimer: Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information is correct and up to date, there may be changes which we are not aware of.

Customs:
Customs procedures in Vietnam are quick and simple. To enter and exit Vietnam, visitors are required to fulfill the entrance and exit procedures in the form (in Vietnamese or in English languages).

Luggage of people on entry (including clothes, personal belongings with reasonable quantity in service of the trip purpose) must be declared in case as follow:
• Luggage exceeds duty free concessions
• Luggage sent before or after trips
• Professional equipment temporarily imported and re exported or vice versa;
• Addictive medicines
• Other medicines exceed 30 USD in value
• Foreign currency exceeds 7,000 USD (seven thousand US dollars) or its equivalence other foreign currency, or over 15,000,000 VND (fifteen million Viet Nam Dong) in cash.
* Goods prohibited to import: weapons, ammunition, explosives, military technical equipment, drugs, toxic chemicals, debauched and reactionary products, firecrackers of all kinds, toys with negative impacts on the dignity education, social security and safety, cigarettes beyond the stipulated quantity, etc.

* Goods prohibited to export: weapons, ammunition, explosives, military technical equipment, antiques, drugs, toxic chemicals, wild animals, rare and precious animals and plants, documents related to the national security, etc. A quantity over 300g of gold must be declared and be permitted by the State Bank.

* Duty free concessions for the baggage of arriving passengers:
– For liquor: Liquor at 22º and above: 1.5 litres; Liquor below 22º: 2.0 litres; Alcoholic beverage: 3.0 litres.
– For cigarettes and cigars: – Cigarettes: 400 pieces; – Cigar: 100 pieces; – Tobacco: 500 g
– For tea, coffee: – Tea: 5kg; Coffee: 3kg
– For Clothes, personal belongings: With reasonable quantity in service of the trips purpose
– Articles other than those mentioned at items above (outside the list of goods banned from import or subject to conditional import): Total value not exceeds 5,000,000 VND.

Note: Foreigners on entry carry luggage, which exceeds the duty-free quotas, presents and gifts with the total value not exceeding VND 1,000,000 (one million) shall be exempt from taxes.