Transport and getting around — Travel Ideas– tax –

A rundown of what Vietnam residents actually stay alert to — from why you shouldn't dash suddenly while crossing the street, to cautions about using Grab at the airport, to the foods residents watch out for even more than water or ice (coagulated blood and shrimp paste). This is a hands-on safety guide that goes beyond the usual general precautions.

A beer costs around ¥100, a kilo of tomatoes around ¥200. Prices in Ho Chi Minh City are genuinely cheap — yet when you look back at the end of the month, your spending hasn't dropped as much as you'd expect. A resident breaks down exactly where the line falls between cheap and expensive, with real 2026 figures.

Phu Quoc, the island resort in southern Vietnam, and Singapore, Southeast Asia's giant hub, are being connected by a direct flight. New carrier Sun PhuQuoc Airways announced it will launch a Phu Quoc-Singapore route on July 25, 2026. One round trip daily, just under two hours each way, alongside Taipei...

Da Lat, a highland retreat sitting at 1,500 meters. Its gateway to the skies, Lien Khuong International Airport, has finished about five months of full renovation and is scheduled to resume operations on August 19, 2026 (the official timetable is pending). It was a large-scale project with an investment topping 1 trillion dong, spanning everything from the runway to technical facilities...

Sa Pa's Fansipan cable car reached a cumulative 10 million passengers on June 20, 2026. We look back on its 10-year journey with verified figures and lay out fares, access, and the best season in a table, considering the current state of northern mountain tourism.

In 2026, eSIM is the new normal for travel in Vietnam. We compare the latest plans from Saily, Airalo, Holafly, Gigago, and MobiFone MVNO, and explain a new way of using them, running Grab and Xanh SM in parallel on separate devices for each family member, with fare tables and setup steps.

Xanh SM, the electric-vehicle-only ride-hailing service from VinFast, has overtaken Grab to take the top spot in Vietnam's ride-hailing market. According to data from several research firms, its share is roughly 40 to 44.7 percent (varying by metric and quarter), ahead of Grab. Xanh SM is VinFast's...

The largest hub airport in the south will run a 750-flight schedule over the April 30 holiday. In line with the nine-day "Southern Liberation Day and May Day" holiday from April 25 to May 3, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) will raise the hourly slot allocation at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat International Airport from the usual 44 flights per hour to 46...

A resident explains flight times from Japan to Vietnam (Hanoi about 5h / Ho Chi Minh City about 6h), the four direct-flight carriers (Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, JAL, ANA), departure airports, and points to watch when carrying souvenirs home.

The "digital arrival card (PAI)", a pre-arrival declaration filed before entering Vietnam, went into pilot operation at Ho Chi Minh City (Tan Son Nhat) on April 15, 2026 and expanded in June to the airports at Hanoi, Da Nang, Phu Quoc and Nha Trang (Cam Ranh). Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security and the Japanese embassy say it is not mandatory, while the U.S. Embassy describes it as mandatory. Registration is free from three days before your scheduled date of entry, and you can also file it at the airport after you arrive.