We love Vietnam and despite having already visited twice for several months we know we’ll be back. It’s a fascinating country with friendly people and great food, but unfortunately there are a few shady individuals who have devised a number of tourist scams, particularly in the big cities.

We’ve outlined all the common mistakes that people make in the country to help make sure your trip goes off without a hitch.

15 Big mistakes to avoid in Vietnam

That doughnut seller scam, Hanoi

Ah the donut seller scam. This was a new one for us and something we didn’t encounter on our first visit but was on virtually every street corner on our second. Now normally we don’t get scammed that often anymore but this one got us. Everyone in Hanoi had been so unbelievably friendly we were lured into a false sense of security.

Basically it happens like this - a lovely smiley woman will engage you in conversation and be so sweet that when she insists you take a donut you find yourself reaching over and accepting this incredibly kind offer. At the moment your hands close around the proffered donut the rest of the bag is thrust at you and an exorbitant amount of money is requested (for us that was 150,000 dong - $7.50 USD).

I quickly dropped the bag back on her lap but had to pay up for the one that she gave me initially.

We’ve listed all the possible similar cons we’ve come across or heard about in this blog on Hanoi scams.

In case your wondering, we love Hanoi! And by and large the people are a delight, we just don’t want you to get scammed by the 1% that will try!

Thinking that the Uber or Grab price is the final price

Unfortunately this is another scam. You’ll order an Uber or a Grab pick up, trying to avoid the dodgy taxis and find that when they see you are a foreigner and when you have got in the vehicle you’ll be told the price no longer stands. The new price varies but was 10 times the amount for us. We refused to pay and things got a little heated but we stood our ground and got out.

Don’t be afraid of using Uber or Grab, we used them a lot and this only happened once but it’s something to be aware of as we heard it happen to others too. Just get out the car before the journey if you can, to be totally safe when you sit down you could always quote the amount the app tells you and make sure they confirm it. If they don’t it’s time to get out.

Using any taxi company other than My Linh

So if you don’t like using the aforementioned ride apps then we’d recommend taking My Linh taxis. For whatever reason they are known as the ones that will not con you and we had no problems using them all over both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Things can change though so it’s always a good idea to check with your hotel or hostel in either of the major cities to make sure they are still on the good guys list.

Getting your zeros wrong

The Vietnamese dong will make you an instant millionaire and that means it’s probably one of the most confusing currencies for foreigners to use in the world. To put it into context, 1 USD is 23,212.82 dong. The most common problem this causes for travellers is getting the zeros wrong. This happened to my sister when using a rickshaw and then realised instead of paying $4 she had paid $40. A pretty annoying mistake to make if you’re travelling on a tight budget.

Not hiring a local guide in Sapa

We are big fans of independent travel and hiking and had no intention of hiring a guide in Sapa. We spent several days trying to walk on our own and finding the walks were pretty lack lustre. On our final full day we were basically adopted by a few guides on one of our strolls and it turned out to be by far the best walk we did. They took us on a route we would never have found on our own and helped us (well, me) over some fairly tricky bits. They were great company and we found ourselves wishing we’d just been with them from the start.

We still didn’t love Sapa but it made us like it a lot more than we would have otherwise.

Arriving at the Golden Bridge anytime other than 8am, Da Nang

This might sound drastic, but trust us, it isn’t. Unless you are totally cool with mega, and we mean mega, crowds and lots of pushing and shoving, not to mention possibly being taken out by a selfie stick, you need to be on that first cable car at all costs. And that means in the queue and ready to go at 8am. Even then you won’t be alone but you also won’t be in a crush.

The Golden Bridge is incredibly atmospheric in the morning and it looks amazing even in the fog so it’s also the best time to go up for photographers too. We’ve outlined exactly what to expect as well as pictures of the crowds at various times of the morning in this post.

Not realising how big the distances are between north and south

If you’re planning a trip to Vietnam and think you can see both the north and south you might be surprised to find that it is quite some distance. Between Ho Chi Minh City in the south and Sapa in the north is around 36 hours driving, and that’s without traffic.

Yes you can fly between certain destinations but if you only have a short holiday we’d recommend focusing on either the north or the south.

There’s a lot to see in both but we’d recommend the north for first timers. Focusing on one region will allow you to have a more relaxed holiday and spend less of your time travelling and more really soaking up each destination.

That’s why our 2 week Vietnam itinerary focuses on the region between Hanoi and Hoi An.

Missing out on the street food

We’ve heard the street food called dirty before and that it’s best to be avoided. That was quite the opposite of our experience. Everything we tried on the street was delicious and the high turn over of customers means it’s generally super fresh. If you don’t give it a try you really are missing out on one of the great joys of travelling in Vietnam.

Our top tip for finding the best is to look at where the locals are going. Generally a big queue is an excellent sign.

If you are a real foodie or a bit nervous about taking to the streets alone you could try one of the highly regarded street food tours.

Wearing a cross body bag

This one mainly applies to the major cities but it’s worth bearing in mind where ever you are really. There is a bit of a bag snatching issue in places like Hanoi and HCMC, as there is in many cities around the world. The issue with wearing a cross body bag is that many of the bag snatching takes place when the perpetrators are on motorcycles. If they make a clean cut you’ve only lost your bag, if they miss you can end up being dragged along by a motorbike which is of course much more serious.

I personally wouldn’t use a cross body bag in any Vietnamese cities and would recommend using a backpack instead. Similarly if you are yourself riding a motorbike don’t have a cross body bag on either as motorbike to motorbike bag snatching is also a thing. Keep your bag on your back or in the compartment in the bike itself.

This isn’t to scare you but just to make sure you are not at risk.

Doing a day tour to Halong Bay

If you really have just one day spare to visit Halong Bay then go for it but Halong is best done as an overnight excursion. The day tours tend to have pretty bad reviews and the consensus is that they feel very rushed. We know because we researched heavily when we were planning to do an overnight cruise on Bai Tu Long Bay but still wanted to see Halong.

In the end we went for Halong and watching the sunset over the limestone karsts and experiencing being out on the water at night was a highlight of our whole trip. We also heard that the best boats are used for the overnight trips and the day boats can be crowded and dirty.

You can read about how to find the best cruise on our post on Halong vs Lan Ha vs Bai Tu Long Bay.

There’s a lot of myths surrounding Halong Bay and we’ve debunked them all here for you.

Believing that La Ha Bay is too dangerous to kayak without a guide

My single favourite day in the whole of Vietnam was the day we went kayaking independently on Lan Ha Bay. We’d read and heard from people that Lan Ha is hard to navigate and that going without a guide is dangerous.

Not being fans of guided tours generally speaking, we decided to throw caution to the wind and hire our own. It was absolutely fantastic, not to mention easy to do and not in the least bit scary.

You’ll want to do it in decent weather but other than that we don’t believe you can go far wrong, unless you’ve never kayaked before and feel nervous about it.

If you’ve had a bit of kayaking experience and you want an adventure we couldn’t recommend it more highly.

Everything you need to know about kayaking Lan Ha Bay and other things to do on Cat Ba Island are in this post.

Not giving egg coffee a go!

Egg and coffee. Two things I did not believe went together until we got to Hanoi and ventured into the cafe that created this unlikely concoction. Contrary to what I had imagined, it doesn’t actually taste eggy, rather it’s creamy and quite delicious. If you can put out of your mind that you are drinking eggy coffee then you’ll be in for a real treat. And as we’ve never seen it anywhere else in the world, it really would be rude not to give it a try, when in Vietnam.

Thinking you can climb Ban Tho Mountain, Halong City

We were fully intending to get that amazing shot you’ve probably seen on Instagram of someone sitting on an innocuous looking green roof with one of the world’s great views surrounded by masses of towering limestone karsts. Unfortunately we arrived in Halong City to find that it is sadly closed due to travellers starting a fire up there a few years ago (if that’s true, how sad that a few people ruined it for everyone!). You’ll find various reports online that you can get through a hole in the fence but that is no longer the case. It has been officially closed for years but now it is truly shut off.

It’s a shame because it looked like one of the best views in the entire country but luckily there are plenty of other wonderful photography spots in beautiful Vietnam.

Not knowing the train times for Train Street, Hanoi

Train Street has become an Instagram sensation but you might not know that despite it being in Hanoi’s busy city centre it only runs twice a day and one of those times is after sunset so you won’t see much. If you just want a photo on the rails then you can come any time (obviously not just before the train rolls in!) but if you want to see the train pass through, and you should, then you will need to time your visit to coincide with the timetable.

The time you’ll want to go for is 3.30pm and bear in mind it could run late. We’ve outlined exactly how to get there and everything you need to know about visiting Train Street in this post.

Taking on the Hai Van Pass by motorbike if you’re a novice

The Hai Van Pass is one of Vietnam’s most beautiful roads and riding a motorbike along it is one of the country’s most sought after adventures. It won’t disappoint but what you might not realise is that the road is both steep and very windy.

Now that might not sound too bad but the most dangerous thing about the road is the others drivers on it. The bus drivers in particular seem to have little regard for how close they come to the motorcyclists and we saw more than one hairy near miss.

For those reasons we don’t recommend the Hai Van Pass by motorbike if you’re an inexperienced driver. A good alternative could be taking a group motorcycle tour where you will stand out more to other drivers or the tour where you can sit on the back while someone else drives you.

For other adventures around Da Nang read this post.

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, we will earn a small commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase. This helps towards the costs of running our website. Thanks for your support.