Vietnam Tours & Vacations

Health and Vaccinations

There are no mandatory immunisations for travellers to Vietnam though you should be up to date with Typhoid, Tetanus, Polio and Hepatitis A. Malaria is present in some parts of Vietnam. Please note we are not medical professionals and so we highly recommend you seek advice from your local GP or travel centre as to the correct immunisations and preventative treatments.

Currency

In Vietnam the official unit of currency is the Dong.  
To check out the latest exchange rate for the places that you are visiting you can go to www.oanda.com.

Cultural Sensitivity

On our tours we frequently interact with local people, each with their own distinct customs and traditions. We therefore ask you to be considerate and to treat them with respect. Your guides will be able to advise you accordingly. 

At Wild Frontiers we are very aware of the ethical impact tourism can have on ancient cultures. We realise that taking tourists through such a region can have a negative impact on the lives of those who live there and on all our tours we therefore go to great lengths to minimise the negative and accentuate the positive…after all, there are also many good things that the tourist can bring. 

To help this process we ask that our clients do not hand out pens or sweets to children. As one sign in Egypt emphatically put it, ‘Please don't make beggars out of our children!' No matter how well intentioned, in our opinion the dolling out of free gifts fosters a ‘beggar mentality' that is ultimately extremely destructive to a society. In addition, we do not condone giving out money to beggars or ‘students'.  

However, we also realise that we are exceptionally privileged to be travelling in areas where most of the people have far less than us and that the desire to ‘help' can be very powerful. As a result, we ask that you refer to the Responsible Travel section of this document which highlights the Wild Frontiers Foundation, which supports specific projects in the areas where we travel.  

Language & Religion

In Vietnam, the major language is Vietnamese. English, French, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and German are popular foreign languages. The religions of Vietnam are varied and rarely clear-cut. Although some people call themselves Buddhists, they do likely practice Confucian and Taoist principles, ancestral worship, a little animism, and superstitions as well. Actual beliefs have developed over centuries from a melting pot of many ideas. 

The strong influence of Buddhism resulted in certain characteristics of Vietnamese people such as: gentleness, tolerance, hospitality, generosity, non-violence, compassion and humility.  Other religions practiced in Vietnam include Christian, Catholic, and Cao Dai. 

Time

Vietnam is 7 hours ahead of GMT. 
A useful website to check the time zone differences is www.worldtimezone.com.

Food and drink

Rice is the foundation for meals in Vietnam, and almost all dishes are cooked with fresh ingredients such as vegetables, freshwater fish, poultry, duck, pork, beef or water buffalo. Lime juice, lemon grass and fresh coriander give the food its characteristic tang, and various fermented fish concoctions are used to salt the food. Hot chillies, garlic, mint, ground peanuts, tamarind juice, ginger and coconut milk are other seasonings. 

Most local people drink watery beer or strong local alcoholic drinks, similar to Mekong whiskey, made from sugar cane or rice. Popular brands of beer include 333, Saigon Export, Saigon Lager, Castel, Huda and Halida. Local brands tend be flat and more watery than the national brands. Bia hoi is the name for cheap, draft beer mostly associated with Hanoi and northern Vietnam. BGI is a golden lager brewed in My Tho by a joint venture between the French BGI group and the Vietnamese government. Foreign brands brewed under license in Vietnam include Carlsberg, Heineken, Thai-produced Singha beer, Singapore-produced Tiger beer. Chinese brands of beer are sometimes available.

Travelling Solo In Vietnam

All of our small group tours are designed to cater for solo travellers: the number of solo travellers will vary from tour to tour, but usually over half will be travelling alone. Get all of the excitement of discovering new places combined with the security of travelling with an organised group, with like minded people.