Love this, completely agree with your pros and cons, we loved Vietnam! 🇻🇳

I really appreciated your honesty about cons and pros in Vietnam. These things need to point out so that people are watching your videos are aware and try to avoid if they are planning to visit Vietnam. Scams are everywhere and can happen to anyone, foreigners or locals. You just make sure to be careful and be caution. Vietnam is a cheap and safe place to visit and also experience different culture and environment comparing to the west. The most important is to have a good time and enjoy the visit.

In my opinion : Weather we cannot control. South east asia is hot and humid. Unless high elevation. Language well depends on who colonised them(it is the french). But travellers cannot expect host country to speak english. Only 3 countries in south east asia speak proper english...singapore, philippines, malaysia.

Awesome video! There is a tonne of really valuable information packed into this video!

Great video and I agree with all of your pros and cons - it was precisely on a visa run in 2020 (at the end of my 3 month visa) which got me stranded in Malaysia for several months when all the borders closed - I sure hope that three month visa comes back soon - like you said, visa runs are a pain and I love going to countries where I get three months right off the bat, like the EU or Mexico, etc. A one month visa is just too short!! I was most recently in Vietnam for a month in April just after it dropped all restrictions and I had a great time as always. Personally, I LOVE Danang and always base myself here because of the convenience and one of the world's top 10 beaches. There is a lively expat community, Hoi An is half an hour away by motorbike, Hue is a couple hours away in the other direction and the international airport is right in the city - 15 minutes from the beach with lots of cheap domestic flights (like a dozen a day to Hanoi or HCMC) and daily flights to Bangkok and other regional centres! Yeah, it is blazing hot in summer, BUT, there is always a nice breeze by the ocean (heaven help you if you go inland!!). I would put in a strong pitch for Phu Quoc Island as well, where I spent a month in early 2020 - awesome place to kick back. Rents are even cheaper than Hanoi or HCMC in Danang. I paid $300 usd for a large new studio on the 9th floor with a nice view of the ocean, utilities included and wifi, fully furnished, 5 minutes from the amazing My Khe Beach. People in Canada don't believe me where average rents are now north of $2000 in major cities and quite frankly I try not to tell them because I don't want everyone to suddenly immigrate to Vietnam en masse, haha - but true story. Also, you can start with an airbnb but if you are going to stay longer than a month, just tell them directly and you will usually get a much cheaper rate. My apartment went from $475 to $300 when I did that. It is so cheap that you can book one airbnb for a month and leave your stuff there while spending weekends in other cities. SO CHEAP!! Like the taxi from Danang airport to downtown is around $5!! Grab is awesome, renting a motorbike is cheap, eating out is cheap and delicious, oh man, this video has already got me planning my next trip - Bourdain said it was his fav country - mine too. Oh, and the people of Vietnam are wonderful - I made friends there at my very first hotel stay in 2018 when I was working in China and came down for a short vacation. I ended up having such a great time I came down again a month later, then a month after that - then I said screw it and moved there for awhile. I have so many friends there now and so many great memories - love the people!!!! Having said that, don't take the motorbike taxis in HCMC, high liklihood of getting scammed, especially if it is your first time. Better to get your own motorbike instead and join in the general mayhem - once you get used to the only two rules - 1)never look behind you (trust me, you don't want to know) and 2)never hit anything in front of you - you are good to go. Looks crazy but somehow it just works.

It’s really true! Love your feedback and reflections.

Good video,thanks for sharing❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

thanks for doing a summary of your country tour. *this really helps* !

Thank you for sharing the prons and cons about vietnam👍

Love your videos ❤️❤️❤️

Very professional,keep up the good work.

Thank you for sharing. 😍😍😍

Hi Skye! 👋 Cant wait to see your next adventure!!! 🧡 I want to go do the Hajjang Loop now because you looked like the happiest girl in the world!!!🏞🏍

Thank you for sharing 😊

Here some place in Vietnam you would want to see and you can google image how the place look like: Phu Quoc Island, Dalat, Danag, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Ha Long Bay, The Marble Mountain, Ninh Binh, Dragon Statue Mountain in Tam Coc, Hue, Bà Nà Hill, and Ban Gioc waterfall.

Thanks . Love from Vietnam ❤️

it's sad that you haven't explored much in the southern region.Thank you very much for coming to vietnam.have a good time and good luck.

Great video ^^ I remember the first time I came to Hanoi, in 2012 I believe (jeez 10 years ago !!) and I couldn't agree more with you about traffic. I saw a girl READING a book while driving her bike...!!! True story :O I can't wait to get back to Asia, just a couple of month now ! (And then on how to stay long term overthere as a self employed...)

Great vid! Sorry if you mentioned but what SIM card would you recommend?

Thanks!

Vietnam here I come

Nice vlog Sky, agreed the Visa is problematic, even a Visa on arrival for less that 15 days you have to obtain an approval letter not much difference in cost to the E Visa, can't wait for the next instalment 😎👍👍

hi skye i agree with u all the way

So helpful, thank you! Im heading to Vietnam in March with my boyfriend and the most difficult thing to wrap my head around is the visas!

I'm going to try veitnam next year. You'll love Malaysia people are so friendly.

I love northern part of Vietnam, really beautiful

Thank you for sharing! Do you buy insurance before traveling to each country? I wonder how the healthcare, accidentals, loss of valuables would be covered if things happen.

Love your videos on KZfaq and Tik Tok!

scams are everywhere you travel. But in Vietnam you just need to be on the alert and avoid interact with people approaching you voluntarily. your chance of getting scam will reduce down to zero... Its good that you provide the CON items. Like all the up and coming countries Vietnam needs to be aware so they can work on improving. That's the one thing I know about the Vietnamese. They always work hard to change things for the betterment of their country future...

Started following yas here. Just on the adorable ‘la’ observation in Malaysia, I never noticed til your vid, my gf here in danang throws that la thing around constantly, la😂. Cute, la. Hope yizzer well, great vids…

Hi Skye. As an oversea Vietnamese, I feel privileged for having you visited my country. I am hooked on the HaGiang series and had put it on my bucket list. I think your assessment of the pros and cons was objective. Two cons stood out for me are the visas and the scams. These are something that the local authorities can do something about to encourage tourism in VN. Anyway, I wish you fun and safe travels. Warning: Malaysia is on the equator.

Hi I'm curious what month exactly you were there as you said it was super hot. I'm looking into going end of April/beginning of may

As an American expat who has lived in Vietnam (mostly in Hanoi) for the past 3 years, I agree with everything you said but I would add the following: CONS: pollution, useless police. PROS: best women in the world, stress-free living. Once I learned how to avoid the scammers and found a Vietnamese gf (now wife), life became amazing and I have never been happier.

Hallo what are current requirements when entering Vietnam? Are they pretty much the same as before Covid? If not, I had a booster shot over a year ago, is that still valid? Thanks.

Thanks for being honest. It's unfortunate, but I hope VN can fix this Visa issue if they want more visitors. But it is a small country and real estate is limited.

would love to see a video detailing the costs of travelling around the S.E.A countries

Went to June 2023 and landed in Hanoi.. came from 16*C to 40*C from a 17h airplane with AC.. thought my skin would melt away.. took two days but then it was ok -and I like when it's 10*c and love the winter here in the north of Europe.. but yeah.. summer is rought!! Regarding the traffic it also took 2-3days to get used to but after that I was walking around without any troubles and crossed the streets like a pro and almost only kept my eyes out for the cars and trucks. When getting to Ho Chi Minh City it felt like a walk in the park.. they had street lights and everything!! ..I liked the feeling of Hanoi better though. Some people say that many parts of Hanoi is dirty and yea compared to standards I can agree as I'm not used to the whole -bring out the trash to the sidewalk and they pick it up- thing.. all were gone in the morning ..but compared with our visit in London where any other eoad smelled like piss Hanoi smellt nice and clean wherever we went... it was a mindF for me... If I were to move there long term though I think I liked Nha Trang the most though our visit because it had a little of both cities combined.. Ha Long were also nice and the views from the water were breathtaking.. but long term I think thats my pick. My worst part after returning is that cash is king in Vietnam.. last time I used cash must have been about 10-15 years ago so I don't like to carry it with me. In Ho Chi Minh it's not that large of a problem but it's more common that uncommon that you'll need to pay with cash. Another problem as non-asian were that I'm not that fond of larger groups of people and just Hanoi have more people living in the city than my whole country.. and if going to a market they all grab you and point for you to sit down and eat at their place.. I'm a little too polite and/or shy so I just say sorry.. but after some days when not walking around with a backpack and just say "kông may" they ignored me because they thought I were not new. Though when we sat down to the place we were going we always got a good table up front with great service wherever we went.. the service were always good anywhere but in crowded places it felt like thay also used us to say to others that "look, others like you eat here -you should too" ...can't complain on that part because damn it's smart 😂😂 Grab however is the best thing ever!!! The taxis take pay per mile but grab is just like uber.. you see the route and payment for it. Once going to a place in Halong Bay with grab he told us the route differented with 300k and asked if we had change.. we tooked up 300k and he were "no 200" and we were baffled.. he handed us 500k and tried to explain that the price for grab were too high so he wanted to give us 300k but only had 500k to give us back.. so instead of just dropping us up with extra earnings he took money from his own pocket to give us a better price. We ended up reversing him with 100k in tips anyways and left with a fair ride 200k lesser than we were supposed to pay if he would have kept silent... so the scam part is sad but from our visit we only met people happy to see that tourism were going up again... good to have it in mind though that scams and pickpockets can still be around. Note: a common thing at many places is that you can be brought to a table while eating and they might present you with extra things to eat. If you take things you didn't order you will have to pay for them. It's optional food that you can have and if you don't they wont pay you for it. And if you go for cruises at Ha Long Bay all the drinks are at extra cost and the prices are extra high due to taxes etc, and also often in cash.. so do research. Ending: if you are vegan or vegitarian I'll be sitting in a courner and giggle because this really is the land of pork and egg-lovers ^^

Everything you say is true. There is one thing I don't think Vietnam is less safe than Thailand. Thank you very much from Vietnam.

Best.

Thanks for the video! I'm going to Vietnam for the first time on Oct 20th. I'm flying in with VietAir to HCMC. I read one of your comments below about not recommending VietAir, oops! Haha. You mentioned that you did do 1 visa run. I've never did a visa run to another country border and back before. If I like Vietnam after 30 days, then I would need to do a visa run. Is it as simple as taking a bus to the Cambodian border, enter Cambodia, and then re-enter Vietnam the same day for another 30 days? If you could explain to me how this works and the exact process, that would be great! Thanks in advance!

How do i obtain a evisa for vietnam and what are all the requirements to go to vietnam?

The 4-day tour in the North... what company did you do it with? Thanks

Skye,just a quick heads up if you're thinking of coming back to Thailand again. From 1 October they are extending the visa exempt (which both of you qualify for being UK passport holders) from 30 days to 45 days. You can then extend this for another 45 days at any immigration office for 1900 baht so it's possible to stay 3 months without having to leave.

Visit jakarta, white crater, mount bromo, borobudur temple

I really liked the fried Squid!

I need to do a border run for 31 days in vietnam. My flight got changed. All that hassle for 1 day. It's gonna suuuuucccckk!

my favorite food in thailand is vietnamese food. udon thani: VT Namnueng nong khai: Daeng Namnuang Vietnamese Restaurant

How do international students then apply for visas?

Hi! I got to Vietnam end of October for a month what do you think the weather will be and how in advance do you sort your E visa?

Hi there ! I am flying into Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City and also flying back home thru there as well... my plan was to check out vietnam, thailand and possibly Bali, but have learnt that e-visa is not a multiple entry visa, and single entry only. Do you have any suggestions on what to do... should I do the visa run? Reschedule my return flight from a different place? Tell me more about the visa run, I wasn't totally clear on what that is, even after googling it lol

I agreed with you about the English limit for the older generation. You could speak French with them and they will respond to you easier than English.

Hello ma'am I will be da nang month of July and stay positive to enjoy simple minimalist lifestyle

My only con was leaving Vietnam 😂 I did get scammed, but because of it I could see the genuine people of Vietnam!

Hello. This is my 1st Video of yours I've seen. I decided to Search Vietnam Vloggers and saw a Few & yours is what I liked so Far. I used to be a Correctional Officer but we're Hurt on The JOB. I had Knee Replacement Surgery and didn't take it well. America is on a Collapse I'm not Happy Here anymore! As far as Online Jobs because I never had any do you have Suggestions? And far as Paid is the Pay in American Currency and it can be transferred into Vietnam Currency? It's a bit too ask but I won't know unless I ask. Thanks.

What about the weather in Hanoi in late-Jun early-July?

I just want to let you know that you can get a VN visa that is valid for 5 years. It's around $80.

Like!

What you say are absolutely true Skye. Im a 31yo Vietnamese and still so many people try to scam or over charge me when I visit other regions or touristy places it's really sad and annoying. Of course since Im Vietnamese I wont fall for that but clueless foreigners will. In my opinion it's the ugliest truth about tourism in this country. Also sad to see you're leaving but I hope to see you come back one day.

If you can use three words/phrases to describe Vietnam destination image what would it be?

See you again! Have fun in next country :D

Yes I completely agree with all the Pros and Cons you said about VN . But about the scams here , it generally happens with street vendors and illegal taxi drivers ( always use Grab or legit taxi companies like VinaSun or Mai Linh ). And even if they do overcharge you , it' s definitely not a big amount , like 1 or 2 $ max. That compensates a bit the very low cost of living here . At the end of the day , you are still paying a very cheap price comparing to what you used to pay in the west . At the local markets , don`t be shy to bargain . It' s completely normal here . The vendors are always expecting the customers to haggle , so they tell a high price at the beginning , but after 5-10 minutes of negotiation both sides will get to a compromise . You have the price you are ready to pay and the vendor gets the price she (he) wants to sell If you are not good in haggling or don`t want to waste your time , so never go shopping at the local markets , go directly to the modern shopping malls where all the prices are set , like in the West .

Would you mind sharing more about the scam(s)? I am thinking of going to Vietnam as a solo female traveller and would appreciate knowing what to look out for and how to be safe :) Thanks!

I'm travelling from Thailand to Vietnam and back but i'm only in Vietnam for 14 days. Aren't I correct in saying I don't need any form of visa? I don't think UK citizens have needed one if you're there for less than 15 days since March. Just clarifying cause don't want to be hit with a surprise fine lol, thanks!

You said in your video you would put a link to E Visa in the description, it’s not there

Where is that? 3:33

It was fun watching your Vietnam series….you have a great personality 👍

need them long term visas back, miss that jungle beach life.

My wife and I love so much that we moved to Hoi an and never looked back! Amazing country with incredibly friendly people! Sam Adler

Thank you for recomedations for and guides to Vietnam . All it's true, all the discomfort and lack have to be corrected, improved, but please come to our country next times, you will discover more values of vietnam and Vietnamese people and culture, deeper understanding. You're always Welcome.

Great video! Question please! How good is it for a honeymoon?

The visas are too expensive for the style of holiday. Only been to Ho Chi Minh, loved it, food had to be VERY CAREFUL where you choose to eat, but Thailand wins on hospitality, spirituality and modern development

Hết 30 ngày bạn có thể gia hạn thêm thị thực mà

I’m from Vietnam so I know that😊

I think the fact that less people speak English in Vietnam is a pro and not a con. That forces you to find ways to communicate using other means, including attempt to speak the language. There's always Google Translate to assist in that. Everywhere you travel, if you attempt to speak the local language, the people there will most likely treat you better because they know that you're trying.

Sorry watch Forest life skills DT, Hoang Thi Binh, and Ana's bushcraft. Amazing people.

True for the cons! Scams are actually everywhere not just VN but yes be aware of scams in VN :)

Well i followed paddy doyle. He is amazing too. Thumbs up to british travellers

3 month visas are back 👍

Now that you mentioned it, each country has its "pattern" of scam, I haven't bumped into much of this but I can say the most popular pattern in Vietnam is "imitating" - it's not straight up fake but sits on the gray area, most of the time you're gonna get worse experience & rarely you can even find hidden gem which is funny. I noticed you guys bumped into banh mi Hong Hoa in Saigon, actually "one of the best banh mi in HCMC" which trumps almost every other store in that district 1 is Huynh Hoa; but Hong Hoa is ok, I know the place also, sits among the "fair deal" spectrum anyways, so I didn't mentioned at that episode lol. Imagine you came to Da Lat for holiday, decided to eat at a famous bistro named "Ba Toa Beef Hotpot", just to found out there're literally 10 beef hotpot bistros named "Ba Toa", and another 10 bistros with very slightly different name than "Ba Toa". Btw the central & south has quite some lush beaches & islands apart from the popular ones but not foreigner friendly like, at all, sadly.

City traffic is chaos in Henoi and there are trashed everywhere, but Thailand seems better…..

One thing I want to point out: the visa issue. The reason the visas are only 30 days is because of digital nomads like yourself. Many were squatting there tax-free because it is so cheap. If you're going to live and work there, you have to pay taxes just like you would any Western country...the difference is that you'll have to pay WAY more for living, food, entertainment, etc., in Western countries.

Really wish Vietnam had more long term visa options 🥲

Wow I wish I saw this video before I went back! I went during August and the Heat was unbearable. My kids and I could not do anything, not even at night because of the humidity. Staying in HoChiMinh was insane with the traffic. I would pay a grab just to cross the street. Definitely not a country to travel to if you didn’t do your research even for someone whose parents are from Vietnam. 😂😂😂

Did you get some mooshy peas luv and we're dey cheap?

Can get much cheaper monthly apartments in Thailand, especially Chiang Mai, Pattaya area, even outskirts of Bangkok, for a least half the price you quoted, or even better deals the longer you stay, I believe you stayed awhile in Phuket, that is the most expensive area of Thailand! Yes probably everything else is a little cheaper in Vietnam, but not much, in my experience. Big ups for pointing out the problems you can encounter👍

Uber got bought out by grab not long ago in Vietnam.

The scam thing is real. Some restaurants have 2 menu, one for locals and one for foreigners. I would recommend go with a Vietnamese to avoid this scam.

What on earth is going on with the visa 😲😞

Agree with most everything- apart from Vietnamese food. I have been many times now - there is Zero health and safety - meat that is thrown into the pho is not fresh ! A lot of fresh vegetables maybe - meat , a couple of days out in the sun - certainly not a fridge. Take your life in your hands. Pretty much the same wherever you go.

Was Charlie out getting ice cream?

One con of Vietnam is they don’t speak English what a disrespectful comment, you do know your not in England ,try learning the lingo and please keep these silly comments to yourself embarrassing 🙈…

Oooh, my god.

Ang vietnam lit bit dirty, right?

Aloha from Hawaii, please watch these vietnamese rain forest farmers, will give prospective - Forest Skills DT, Hoang Thi Binh, Ana's Bushcraft. Start will oldest videos.

South vn is the best.

Disagreed on English part. Why do you think people of the world must speak your language?

One of the cons for animal lovers to come to Vietnam or Southeast Asia in general is to witness the barbaric dog and cat meat trade and slaughtering of these stolen, domestic animals infront of people without any conscience.

Vietnamese Dong convert to Australia Dollars $10,000 Dong = 0.65 $20,000 Dong = $1.30 Dollars $30,000 Dong = $1.95 Dollars $40,000 Dong = $2.60 Dollars $50,000 Dong = $3.25 Dollars $60,000 Dong = $3.90 Dollars $70,000 Dong = $4.55 Dollars $80,000 Dong = $5.20 Dollars $90,000 Dong = $5.85 Dollars $100,000 Dong = $6.50 Dollars $200,000 Dong = $13.01 Dollars $300,000 Dong = $19.51 Dollars $400,000 Dong = $26.02 Dollars $500,000 Dong = $32.52 Dollars $600,000 Dong = $39.03 Dollars $700,000 Dong = $45.53 Dollars $800,000 Dong = $52.04 Dollars $900,000 Dong = $58.54 Dollars $1,000,000 Dong = $65.05 Dollars Vietnamese curency is so low compare to Australian Dollars. Not even close to Australian $100 Dollars.

P.S. Philippines has worst WiFi so good choice not to travel there as a Vblogger.

The barrier in languages also falls upon you and your educational backgrounds. You sounded spoiled and disrespectful if you expect every country around the world must know English and wait for your visit? You could have prepared yourself by learning the culture and the language of the country that you intend to visit. You need to be more open minded that Thailand was colonized by the British and did not have wars. Vietnam had wars and was colonized by the Chinese for 1000 years; with the French for 100 years+; WWII with the Japanese about 10 years; and finally, the 20 years Civil War between the North & the South (which the country was divided in half at the 32-degree Latitude) which the US helped the South, and the Soviet Union/Russia helped the North, that ended 04/30/1975. Vietnam was closed to the world, during which they also had wars with Cambodia and China. Vietnam opened the country to the World for tourism and free marketing in 1996 until the present time. Therefore, the younger generations learned many foreign languages to keep up with careers and foreign companies and industries residing in Vietnam, including tourism, restauranteurs, hospitalities, etc. Vietnam is the second produce & exporter of coffee in the world (Brazil ranked 1st). With the common sense, you came to Vietnam after Thailand. They both lie near the equator. You went to Thailand earlier in the summer season, of course the weather would be less hot & humid. You were right about travel to the tropical countries in the winter times. About the scams during your trips, lol. Scams happen everywhere you go even in England, US, France, Italy, Germany, Russia, China, Thailand, Japan, Australia, Canada, Mexico, ..., around the World. You need to be more mindful of your rudeness and attitudes when you make a total, general judgement about a country or a group/population of people of such things, which could stigmatize the integrity of every individual of a country. Vietnam is a fast-developing and modernizing country as they are trying to catch up to the first World countries after long histories of wars and colonization from other countries. Learn to enjoy and to appreciate Vietnam and the people more, who try to make money to survive their harsh daily survivals/livings for themselves and their families. Thanks for your pro's comments and your visits to Vietnam. I hope you will visit Vietnam again in future times and hopefully Vietnam will improve more as they get more modernized.