A month in Hoi An

[Quickstatus]

haggling storekeepers

what sort of discounts were you seeing?

 

[drcam]

it is standard practice to omit the last 3 "000"

Dong!**

**My version of "Damn!" with some degree of sarcasm added.

 

[GarrettM]

So... Saturday was a travel day home. We woke up early, ordered some coffee and fruit for brekky via Grab, and waited for our pre-arranged ride to Da Nang airport.
That arrived about 20 minutes early, and our host Minh was there to see us off. But not before providing us with some gifts. Evidently we were amazing guests, despite the occasional screams and high-pitched profanities. She said her father, who lives in the back portion of the villa, really enjoyed listening to kids run around for a change. The villa is usually booked by groups of travelling adults who all want their own rooms and come and go at all times. So having a family essentially in residence was a nice change.
Minh also told us having us stay for an extended period was good for her as it gave her a break from the stream of 3-4 day tenancies and associated cleaning and upkeep stuff. She runs two or three villas so I can imagine she gets busy.

In any event she gave us two large silk lanterns, and also TWO even larger wall hangings that we had to find space for in a suitcase. To be honest I think they'd been sitting around for a bit looking for an excuse to exist. But there was no prospect of us saying no as that would have been super insulting.

With all that out of the way the drive to Da Nang and check in for VN119 was smooth.

Security was not. Vietnam still enforces the shoes off policy at airport security. This came as a surprise to us, and a massive mental load for Miss10. Ordinarily she LOVES the airport security process, but the demand to remove her shoes really put her out.

I don't know that I've seen fish for sale at the airport before.


The wife did a little shop exploration before boarding, while I watched the kids.

Although at times the kids sort of looked after themselves.

Boarding was a bit of a mess, but we all got there in the end. The A321 departed about 1125 and landed in SGN around 80 minutes later.
I was in 26B, with the kids either side of me. MrsGM enjoyed some quiet time in 25C.
Smooth flight, nothing to report.

 

[GarrettM]

what sort of discounts were you seeing?

I didn't do heaps of shopping. But I can say when the family bought things the price paid was generally around 50% or less of the original price quoted.

As ever you have to hold your ground and be prepared to walk away.
I've seen sellers chase back a departing customer by agreeing to their price.
At the same time I keep in mind that everyone here is doing their best to survive, as there's no help from other sources. So every sale, every dong, matters more to them than me.

 

[Quickstatus]

As ever you have to hold your ground and be prepared to walk away.
I've seen sellers chase back a departing customer by agreeing to their price.

Yes
I'm happy to haggle but not so stingy
VND 100,000 = Aud $5 so haggling in less than 6 figure dong is hardly worth it.

 

[GarrettM]

Our immigration fast track got off to a ropey start when we couldn't find the guy we were looking for. Miss10, having still not recovered from the shoe removal incident, didn't help things much by demanding I find a new guy, presumably by just pulling someone from the crowd.

But after some back and forth messaging Johnny Visa's emissary eventually located us, and guided us through immigration. It probably saved us about 30 minutes in the queue. Given our plane was departing 40 minutes earlier than I had previously thought that's probably not a bad thing.

What was a bad though, was the order to again take shoes off. Knowing it was likely Miss10 was somewhat steeling herself for it.
But once we were through security, she basically fell into an almost hyperventilated state. We aren't sure what it is about the requirement that triggered her, but then again neither was she and that moment was not the time to unpack it all. It took about 15 minutes but eventually she calmed down enough to have a snack before boarding. Not a fun experience for her or us though, especially as her final memory of Vietnam.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Just spotted this on Fb @GarrettM best VND you spent I reckon!

 

[Quickstatus]

Why don't everyone just buy fast track ?

 

[GarrettM]

Just spotted this on Fb @GarrettM best VND you spent I reckon!View attachment 492082

Yikes.

 

[GarrettM]

Why don't everyone just buy fast track ?

That is a good question.

If not for the kids we probably would not have done so. Perhaps people are concerned about getting ripped off. I certainly had some doubts right up until we were through.

Maybe others don't know. It shouldn't actually be a thing, but it's no surprise someone found a way to squeeze more money out of airport travelers.

A case of Everyone'sMMV I guess.

 

[Quickstatus]

Perhaps people are concerned about getting ripped off

Especially when it is not service officially offered by the authorities.

We will be arriving into SGN at 1540hrs and departing 1100am from same. Likely at least the arrival will be in peak hours
Exit immigration is a PITA in KUL and seems to be also in SGN and i suspect Fast track is more important on exit than on entry.

Another question please. Did you use a local sim card?

 

[GarrettM]

Especially when it is not service officially offered by the authorities.

We will be arriving into SGN at 1540hrs and departing 1100am from same. Likely at least the arrival will be in peak hours
Exit immigration is a PITA in KUL and seems to be also in SGN and i suspect Fast track is more important on exit than on entry.

Another question please. Did you use a local sim card?

Happy to answer questions. It's not often my knowledge helps more experienced travelers.

I think most people do use it for arrival actually. The thinking being you've hopped off a medium haul flight and don't have the patience for queues. But you'd need to satisfy yourself I think. There are conversations around that discuss which times of day are better than others. But if you're willing to be patient you'll eventually get through no matter what. If we had been staying in SGN rather that connecting it's likely we wouldn't have worried about it.

I used an esim from Saily

$18USD for 30G / 10 days, and I hadn't used it all by the time we left. Obviously we had wifi at the villa, and most cafes and restaurants have open/free wifi.

It took me a bit of figuring out to get going, as I'd never used an esim before, but once I had it worked out it was seamless.

 

[Quickstatus]

Happy to answer questions

Thanks @GarrettM
VN "never ever" beginner here
I think we will be including more VN in the future.

Will start with 3 days in SGN in about a month

 

[GarrettM]

I can't imagine you'll be disappointed. Like most places, careful planning and wise decision making is crucial.
I'll have more in depth commentary in coming posts.

 

[Quickstatus]

I can't imagine you'll be disappointed

Correct, Have travelled to Asia lots just not to VN.
SGN this time was a spur of the moment when I though the original itinerary to MY/KUL was just a bit too long. But luckily for me an excellent VN TR popped up.
The heat and humidity will always kill me though

 

[GarrettM]

Correct, Have travelled to Asia lots just not to VN.
SGN this time was a spur of the moment when I though the original itinerary to MY/KUL was just a bit too long. But luckily for me an excellent VN TR popped up.
The heat and humidity will always kill me though

It was consistently 22-25 degrees for us. Somewhat sticky though.
Practically everywhere in SGN will have aircon to some degree. Our last trip there it was late spring. Pretty warm.

 

[Quickstatus]

It was consistently 22-25 degrees for us

for Northern VN. Is there much of a difference between North and South temps?.

 

[GarrettM]

Boarding was again a little bit of a mess, but we managed to settle into this tube. This time divided into pairs. Miss10 and myself in 40A/B, and MrsGM and Mr6 in 41E/F.

But as it turned out I had a shadow to the right of me, so an hour or so into the flight the boy joined me and MrsGM moved to the aisle for a little extra stretch. This meant by the end of the trip I had both kids leaning on me trying to sleep while I tried to watch The Blacklist on my tablet. Comfy.

The VN experience was a little hit and miss. Firstly the Y seat is actually pretty comfortable. I didn't feel squished and there was a fair bit of leg room. Having an empty seat next to me (for a bit) helped.
The food options were just ok. Pork and rice or chicken and rice. I chose the pork and it wasn't bad. About what you'd expect. The two kids also got the pork. One of them only ate the rice, while the other only ate a bit of either, so I got to finish them both off. There was also a small pork and prawn salad. I didn't mind it. Later on there was icecream, or more accurately frozen yoghurt. Only in strawberry, but I'll take it.

The IFE was a letdown. The contents were pretty lacklustre both in terms of quality and quantity. I got excited when I saw The Pitt, but they only had the first two episodes, which I watched on the SQ flight a month ago.
I did watch Materialists which I'd been keen to see. I didn't mind that.
Also my particular screen was incredibly laggy and unresponsive. Half the time it wouldn't respond to my inputs, and every now and again when the person in front of me move the whole screen just went off. Clearly some loose wire issue.
So I was a bit disappointed.
Also they kept pushing long stretches of ads into their announcements, especially towards the end of the flight. Four or five minute chunks of promotional stuff for the airline and the country. You couldn't even turn the screen off to avoid them.

I had read in their onboard magazine that VN's CEO has claimed a 2026 goal of pushing the airline into SEA's top two carriers.
I think their somewhere around five right now.
Based on this experience they've got some work to do.

The flight itself was uneventful aside from a brief bumpy period. Service was fine

 

[Flyfrequently]

Thanks @GarrettM
VN "never ever" beginner here
I think we will be including more VN in the future.

Will start with 3 days in SGN in about a month

Not sure if this coincides with your travel dates @Quickstatus ? See below.

As far as humidity goes, we travelled in July/August last year- shocking!
February in HCMC should be a tad better.

"Grab" for ~$2 was our friend even to just go 900 metres !
As @GarrettM states, most places are air conditioned but poorly, ie Reunification Palace ( partially open air) and only fans at Ben Thanh Market if that is your thing.

At SGN airport, no distinction between J/Y class for arrivals, might be the best ~ USD30 you spend.

You will really enjoy Vietnam

• Ho Chi Minh City

Tuesday, January 20, 2026, 11:01 GMT+7

Ho Chi Minh City announces Lunar New Year holiday schedule for 2026​

The Ho Chi Minh City administration has confirmed the official Lunar New Year holiday schedule for 2026, granting five days off to government employees, public workers, and staff in political and social organizations.​

Ho Chi Minh City is transforming vacant land lots in the city center into temporary parks and flower gardens to serve residents and visitors during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, which starts in mid-February 2026. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre​

Vietnam's Lunar New Year, or Tet, is the country's most important holiday and typically involves busy travels and family gatherings.
According to the municipal People’s Committee, the Tet holiday runs from Monday, February 16 through Friday, February 20.
The break includes one day before Tet and four days after, in line with Vietnam’s Labor Law and the Ministry of Home Affairs’ guidance.
During the holiday, all government offices, schools, hospitals, businesses, armed forces units, and households across Ho Chi Minh City are required to display the national flag.
For agencies and organizations that do not follow a fixed Saturday-Sunday weekend schedule, leaders must arrange time off according to their specific work plans while ensuring compliance with legal regulations.
The municipal People’s Committee instructed ward- and commune-level authorities to remind residents to hang the national flag and to assign staff on duty to maintain public order, fire safety, and security at offices, residential areas, and public spaces.
Agencies must also ensure continuity of operations, with personnel available to handle urgent matters during the holiday period.
Health and safety remain a priority.
Local authorities are tasked with monitoring and preventing potential disease outbreaks during the holiday.
The city’s Department of Agriculture and Environment has to coordinate with other departments to guide communities in maintaining cleanliness at markets, schools, offices, factories, and along streets.

 

[Quickstatus]

Vietnam's Lunar New Year, or Tet,

Yes will be visiting during Tet and yes this will be a factor for F-T at the airports