With a growing economy, stable socio-politics, diverse and attractive tourist destinations with rich beauty, Vietnam is attracting tourists from all over the world. Along with booking tours from reputable tour operators, some tourists want to truly enjoy life in Vietnam through self-guided trips. With the desire to help tourists have a full experience of life and people in Vietnam, Hanoi Green Tour travel agency would like to send you some information about essential applications when traveling to Vietnam for your reference.
These applications may not be popular in your country, but are very popular in Vietnam, partly because they are local applications.
- Google Map
Google’s famous navigation application. This online map works stably and is quite accurate in Vietnam. In major cities, Google Map will work with up to 99% accuracy. Not only does this online map help you avoid traffic jams at any time, which is quite common in big cities in Vietnam with a huge number of motorbikes.
One thing to note is that Google Map will be less accurate in local provinces and cities, especially in mountainous areas due to low coverage. When deciding to travel to mountainous areas, the first thing you need to do is buy a Viettel Sim with 4G signal – because this is a network with nearly 100% coverage in Vietnam (of course, in some special areas, the phone signal will be lost due to obstructions from natural obstacles such as mountains and rocks..).
Of course, new phones with 5G features and 5G SIM cards are also available in Vietnam, so you don’t need to worry. Just a 4G SIM card will work well.
- Grab or Be
Grab and Be are the apps I recommend when you want to explore and travel around Vietnam’s city centers by motorbike. Both of these apps are available on the Android and Apple app stores.
Grab is popular in Vietnam because it is a pioneer in the online car booking revolution. Over time, Grab has gradually been competed by apps created by Vietnamese people, typically Be. Be has emerged as a purely Vietnamese app with more competitive prices.
Both Brab and Bee have taxi apps, but they are also popular with illegal taxis, so I do not recommend you book a car using these apps.
If you travel during the day, the prices when using Grab and Be are quite reasonable. However, both apps will increase the price during peak traffic hours, when it rains, or when you book a car in the evening, so you need to be careful.
- Xanh SM
This is a taxi company founded by the largest private corporation in Vietnam – Vingroup. 100% of Xanh SM taxis are electric, all green. You can easily find Xanh SM taxis on the streets. If you want to book a motorbike or Xanh SM taxi, you need to download the application on the Google Play or Apple app store with the keyword “Xanh SM”.
Xanh SM is a young company that has quickly attracted a large number of customers because it is environmentally friendly, has professional staff, and clean new cars. In particular, you will not be afraid of being cheated of fares when using Xanh SM. In case you forget something in Xanh SM’s car, you can contact the hotline number 1900 2088 for instructions on how to get it back.
- Zalo
This is a domestic OTT application that is commonly used in Vietnam both in daily life and at work due to its convenience and usage habits. On this application, you can do many things: text, call, send photos – videos, send your location, video call… To use Zalo application, your phone must have 3G or higher signal or Wifi.
- Google Translate
Translating your mother tongue into Vietnamese is necessary when traveling to Vietnam, especially when you travel to the localities. Vietnamese people are very kind, ready to guide you, just ask, but they must clearly understand what you want to guide you.
- Cash or international payment card
Cash or (application) international payment card will be necessary when you want to use it for anything. Although currently, in big cities, cashless payment is popular, but in the localities due to consumption habits, cash is still popular.
It is better to keep some Vietnamdong cash on you in case you need it. You should also not bring too much cash, just about 200-300$ is enough. Vietnamdong cash of different denominations should be kept in separate compartments for easy distinction, if you are not familiar with the denominations of Vietnamese currency.
The above are some suggested applications that Hanoi Green Tour introduces to you. Wishing you a safe and happy trip in Vietnam and have many beautiful photos. Hanoi Green Tour also sends you a list of phone numbers in case of use:
- 112: number to request help and search and rescue nationwide (in cases of storms, floods, flash floods, landslides, sinking ships, drifting, damaged and disoriented..)
- 113: police phone number: traffic accidents, robberies…
- 114: fire department, rescue phone number: fire, explosion or trapped in buildings, elevators…
- 115: medical emergency phone number: first aid, trauma…