Vietnam forum

Hi,

Currency used are in USD for most hotel and shopping area. However, if you are on the road, some amount of dong will do, road side stall etc. You can always change it using the USD from most hotel.

Thank you.

I would take mainly USD and a little dong. Basically everywhere takes USD (guesthouses, restaurants etc). However, dong is useful for small purchases. ATMs give out money in dong and all guesthouses exchange USD to dong (1USD = 16,000 dong)

HI folkes,

So reading your replies it seems that its best to take USD with me then and change into dong if i need to? Or should i take some dong as well?

Thankyou so much for your help guys!

Daz

Posted from within Vietnam.

just take the US if you want - is easy to exchange it to dong... and it's almost there first currency with tourists! everything you can get in dollars and get change back in dong

wish we brought more US with us because you can only get about $150AUS out at one time at the ATMS (That's prob about $120-130 US)

I was just in Hanoi for a few months and I never used USD. I was using an ATM to get Dong.

anyone can advise whether HKD can be readily changed into dong in HCMC / mekong delta?

Hi

As a vietnamese who regularly go back for holiday, i recommend you exchange your USD in large amount and keep it somewhere. Say if you were bringing $1000 back, change about $500 into dong and the rest keep in USD. And do not change money at the airport, hotels. Banks sometimes give you low rates, however change them at jewllery, they will give you the best rates.

Try get smaller notes in both currency as there are people who always try to rip off

ie, catching a motobike to a certain location might cost $30,000dong, but the driver say he has no change etc...

USD are to buy souvenirs in proper shop, pay for your hotel rooms, always ask how much they charge in USD, because if they tell you in VND, they will eventually convert them into USD at a lower rate.

hope this help

Changing money in Vietnam is simple and I prefered the dong over anything. I brought Canadian dollars with me and exchanged to dong whenever I needed. Haggling in dong is more precise and is recommended.

The Vn dong is rendered useless outside Vietnam so make sure you get rid of all of it before you leave.

In Can Tho you should be ok, but in smaller cities I'm not sure how you'd go with Canadian currency.

Just returned the trip from Hanoi, if you intend to change currency from US to Dong, do so at a good hotel, walk around you will definitely get some good rates.

Taking a taxi, buying stuff from small shop along the street, ensure that you do have small notes, otherwise they will say they have no change and persuade you to get more items etc.

The most popular, I would still recommend staying around "Old Quarter" although it is nosy but you get to see diffent type of lifestyle, enjoy the walking along the different street. The hotel rates are pretty resonable from US 15 - US 17 - standard room with bf. (assuming you are not looking for swimming pool, more facilities in the hotel). There are only 2 major shopping centre, the biggest is Vicom Tower, you may have to take a taxi, cost around Dong 30,000 to 40,000 by metter from Old Quarter. The other which is near to Hoan Kiem Lake.

No need to take any US or other currency to Vietnam. ATM's are plentiful. You can expect to pay less than the equivalent of $2US per withdrawal. Just be careful about what your bank charges for overseas withdrawals. On a recent trip one of my travel partners was being charged more than $8.00 per withdrawal by their bank, as I was not being charged by my bank I just took the cash out for him and we did internet transfers for him to pay me back.

Posted from within Vietnam.

This thread was only recently revived by a spammer putting a URL on here, but since there is a new real question I'll give it a shot...

I wouldn't exchange money at all. I'd bring some USDs as kind of a backup, and then take money out of ATMs while you are here. They are very easy to find in all the tourist areas and the service charges aren't likely to be any more than what you lose at an exchange place. That also keeps you from having to carry around a huge amount of money for your whole trip all the time.

It's worth keeping in mind that most ATMs, with the exception of some in Saigon and Hanoi, limit you to 2 million dong per day, which is about US$100. Fortunately that amount of money goes a long way here so it works out okay.

In my 3+ months here I've discovered that all the hotels will take USDs and in some cases they've actually given me an exchange rate that is above the official interbank rate for the day. In other words, the "official" exchange rate has usually been just under 19,000 dong/1 USD, and most hotels (at least the cheap ones) credit you with 19,000 or even 20,000/1 USD. I've never seen that phenomenon in other countries, or at least ones with hard currency.

Has anyone got any tips for banks in VN which don't charge an ATM withdrawal fee? Or which has the lowest withdrawal fee? (I mean the VN bank adding on a fee as part of the withdrawal, not my bank/visa adding their fee). Maybe Citibank, HSBC or the Agribank?

Hi,

How many cm is a pack of 2 million dong in half "high" notes and half "low" notes? Does it fit in a wallet?

Cheers!

Oh ok, thanks!

Thanks guys! with the $au fast collapsing, I'm keen to keep $'s in my pocket, not the banks

Posted from within Vietnam.

Regarding the original post, I think travelers cheques are not easy to use here as many places do not change them. ATMs are abundant here but I would read the fine print very carefully from both your bank and the bank whose ATM you are using. Also, be careful when using credit cards may have high fees added when used here (plus, many places don't take them). I do not have experience using USD for purchases here. However, I know the larger hotels will take them. Still you are better off using VND here because USD are certainly not taken everywhere. In Vietnam, cash is king. If you feel comfortable traveling with cash, I would recommend bringing as much as you plan on spending and changing it as necessary.

You can change your Dong to $us easily & with good exchanges rate in HCMC in the business district (there's a few down side streets off Nguyen Hue Street in district 1). They were even happy to change 700,000 dong with no commission & about 300 dong higher the xe.com rate.

Speaking of Nguyen Hue Street, taking to an expat who said he found an ATM down there that didnt charge fees. He said is was 1/2 a block from the river on the LHS (when walking towards the river) opposite a bank (who has an ATM inside which did charge). he couldn't remember what the bank was.

Ho Chi Minh airport to downtown. How much to pay taxi? Normal to add tip? Recommendations? Our hostal charge $18 which seems a lot.

Last year I found many hotels wouldn't take US$, though I stay in small family hotels.

I found the Agribank the most reliable to get more than 2 million dong (since my home bank charges $4 for every transaction this makes a big diffference). Since they are everywhere, including some reasonably remote places, like Cao Bang, this is helpful. They charge 20,000 (about a dollar) whatever amount you get out. HSBC is also good for larger amounts but they are only in big tourist cities and charge 1% per transaction. I was told by another traveller that DongBa bank would give you more and not charge but I never found one that would.

Vietcom bank are the most reliable and cheapest for changing travellers cheques but are no longer free. The fee is the same for $100 or $200. There are vietcombaks in most towns.

Here is my own experience about money exchange in vn. I'm from Canada and within 11 trips for the past 15years to vn...To me, the best rate you could get (BETTER THAN ALL THE VN BANKS) is at...EVERY JEWELRY STORE IN VIETNAMESE MARKET. They would exchange Canadian, Australian and US dollars to vn Dong. For my own safety, I did exchange no more than 300Can at a time. That's it. Keep in your possession a valid visa in case of emergency, go to any bank in any city to withdraw money (high charge, though). To get cheaper rate on food, shelter....stay away from tourist areas, only a few blocks away you could get better deal with the same thing. That's all....

Do not take dong into the country. You either withdraw from the ATM, or you can exchange at the border, as the buses will usually make a rest stop and there will be an exchanger on board. It's about 1 USD = 20,000 dong (now 21,000 to 1 or so). In HCMC in district 1 (backpacker)

HCMC Airport taxi to the backpacker district should be no more than $10 usd. $6-8 and you did well. I forgot the name of the road, as the taxi driver may not know what 'backpacker' means. But if you see another foreigner, you can ask them what to tell the driver. You might be able to split a taxi.