All about Taking a Backpacking Vietnam Trip

Vietnam, is an eastern country in Southeast Asia on the Indochina Peninsula. Recent years, Vietnam has become a major tourism destination especially in coastal regions. Especially for backpackers, Vietnam is heaven for them to seek new world, new things and enjoy their healing time.

Reasons of Taking a Backpack in Vietnam

Firstly, Vietnam is one of the most popular destinations among backpackers. Though Vietnam is a small developing country, it seems not worth traveling here, for those who want to seek a fantastic adventure, unique experience and memory, mouth-watering street food, exotic charm of the ancient historical scenery, Vietnam is the right place for you.

There are both traditional streets and modern architectures in the Vietnam city such as Ho Chi Minh City (the biggest city of Vietnam) and Hanoi (the capital of Vietnam), so you can experience the charm of culture integration here. Also, beautiful pollution-free sea and beaches are the essential attractions of Vietnam’s tourism value. Visiting Vietnam and having a relaxing healing tome on beach are on most of backpackers’ wish lists.

Taking a Backpack in Vietnam

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Backpacking in Vietnam

Firstly, and also the most important point, backpackers always plan their travel with a limited budget. In Vietnam, the lower price create a very favorite condition for backpackers. Pay less and experience more will be really cost-effective no matter what kind of route you plan.

Secondly, you could be quite free backpacking in Vietnam: make your own schedule and there is no time limitation. You can change the arranged schedule and route at any time as your preference or if there is an emergency. It is totally an individual trip for yourself, and you can control every step getting rid of the constraint of travel agency. Avoiding the normal tourism attractions, you can visit everywhere you want.

In addition, you can spend more time in Vietnam than traveling entrusting upon traveling agency. Some backpackers prefer to spend more than 2 weeks or even over 1 month traveling around Vietnam as there are many worth-going attractive regions. Completely feel the local culture through a long-time journey.

But, there are some disadvantages of backpacking in Vietnam. Due to the limited budget, it will be more suffering with living in hostels or budget hotels, and walking a lot to get every destinations especially in the hot tropical climate. It will not be a luxury and very comfortable travel than the normal one. Besides, you have to plan the whole schedule and confirm every detail of your trip such as the proper routes, booking airline tickets and accommodation, local traffic conditions and so on. It could be a tedious and troublesome process before setting off. In addition, the language barrier could be a big difficulty for backpackers traveling in Vietnam. The official language of Vietnam is Vietnamese, and most Vietnamese can speak a little English with a heavy accent. So if you don’t speak both Vietnamese and English, it will be really difficult backpacking in Vietnam.

The Best Time to Take a Backpacking in Vietnam

As Vietnam is a really long country, it also calls for the great regional diversity. Considering the tropical monsoon climate dominated by the south monsoon from May to September and northeast monsoon from October to April, temperatures in the south remain equable all the year while the temperatures in north will be distinct seasonal varieties.

Backpacking in Vietnam

Along the central coast, the rainfall pattern reverses under the influence of the northeast monsoon and the coast of central Vietnam is the most dangerous zone to be hit by typhoons. The typhoon season last from August to November in general. As a result, it is hard to conclude a particular season to recommend as the beast time for visiting Vietnam. Due to the different region you plan to visit, September to December, March to April might be the popular periods to visit Vietnam.

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Vietnam visa

Getting a Vietnam Visa

After planning all the schedule of the trip, you need to get a Vietnam visa before you actually start off to Vietnam. There are two common ways for you to get visa to Vietnam. The Vietnam visa system is more complicated than other countries in Southeast Asia, so please check out the ways that I list below to get how you can obtain a Vietnam visa without troublesome.

The villas are stone-built and all have wooden floors, antique furniture, and canopied beds, for that added romantic appeal. Looking out of the patio windows, it gives the feeling of a secret forest cabin, and is ideal to escape from the outside world with your newly betrothed. Each villa also has its own heated pool, claw-footed bathtub, and sumptuous rain shower, a peculiarity of Vietnamese hotels and resorts.

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1. Getting a Vietnam Visa on Arrival

You can apply for an approval letter online with providing your full name, date of birth, nationality, passport number, date of arrival and type of visa then pick up at Vietnam airport. It is the most convenient way to get a Vietnam visa.

2. Getting a Vietnam Visa at Vietnamese Embassy

The progress of getting a tourist visa is almost the same with getting a business one. Many tourists choose to get their visa through the Vietnamese Embassy in their countries of residence before entering Vietnam.

You need to fill in an entry permit form they provide, two close-up photos with the certain size, your original passport and certain visa fee by country. By specific situations, the process will last 2-3 days until you are called or emailed by the staff of Embassy. Then you will get your Vietnam visa and get ready to start off your trip.

Traveling around Vietnam

For backpackers traveling in Vietnam, riding a motorbike could be the best transportation across the city in a low budget. You can rent a motorbike easily along the street or consult your accommodation for help with a low price. Not only to ride instead of walk in order to save energy but also experience the county in an authentic way watching the scenery along the way. It will be more relaxing and cozy than driving around traveling. Besides, there are lots of bicycles fill the streets of Vietnam for a short-distance going out and the price is also very profitable as motorbike.

Must-gos for Backpackers in Vietnam

There are several popular places that the backpackers must visit in Vietnam. You can choose some of them as your destinations due to your schedule and individual preference.

Backpacking Hanoi

Hanoi, as the biggest city of Vietnam, is really a beautiful combination of old meets modern. There is a lot to discover in Hanoi with plenty of museums and a vibrant old quarter that you can spend hours getting lost in. And Hanoi is worth being exploring for several days. Among all the museums, War Museum is the most worth visiting one as it has a great collections of weaponry making of the entrance. It will be a really good introduction to explore Vietnam’s past of war. And for those who enjoy the natural scenery, Hoan Kiem Lake could be a best choice to visit. Hoan Kiem Lake, also known as the Lake of the Restored Sword, it is the best place to see the sunset and sunrise for backpackers.

Vietnam Hanoi

In Hanoi, be sure to find the street food vendor to have traditional pho, bun cha and other Vietnamese dishes to enjoy the exotic taste. And Vietnamese coffee is also a popular beverage to be chosen. You can cross through the streets of Vietnam having the local snacks to experience the charm of backpacking in a real way.

Backpacking SAPA

Located on the banks of the Saigon River, around 20 minutes upriver by boat from the city itself, the An Lam lies in the heart of the dense jungle that fringes the river for hundreds of miles. A perfect retreat for those that are looking for that sub-tropical jungle getaway, it has all the charm of the natural landscape with the modern amenities of a big city hotel.

SAPA, as a paradise for explorers for its trekking and rice paddies, is suitable to arrive here in the morning. Leave your bag in accommodation, ride your motorbike or bike, explore the beautiful scenery and incredible sight freely. There is the famous Thac Bac Waterfall in SAPA, you can watch it with the fantastic beautiful countryside scenery around or trek along the sides of the valley. There is also Fansipan, the highest mountain in Vietnam which is 3143m, could be pretty impressive. You can challenge yourself by explore it by bicycle or trekking for more adventurous experience.

Sapa

While backpacking in SAPA, please remember that SAPA is in the mountains and it will be really cold especially at night. So it is necessary to wear or bring warm clothes.

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Backpacking Halong Bay

As a UNESCO world heritage site, Halong Bay is often known as the Eight Wonder of the world, featuring 1600 islands rising from the sea. It is a must-go place for tourists though there are plenty of people attracted by its fame. And the most popular route is an overnight one. You can explore Halong Bay by taking a Junk Boat at night and it includes food, transport and accommodation for your whole adventure. At the end of traveling of Halong Bay, you can take an overnight bus to the next region----Hue. It will cost less money than flying to Hue and you can sleep on bus to save the accommodation fee.

Halong Bay

Backpacking Hue

Hue is a beautiful small town, is one of the royal cities in Vietnam. The highlight of Hue is the imperial tombs and mausoleums. Hue was used to be the capital of Vietnam and many rulers are buried in tombs surrounding the city which are very impressive. Ride your motorbike or bike to the tombs as they are outside of the city center.

Vietnam is a really incredible country, you can feel the charm through backpacking into it. Why not check out all the information above and plan a backpacking trip to Vietnam, explore and seek more for your life.