Safety and extra things to know

I want to preface this section by saying that at no point did we feel unsafe in Vietnam. However, taking general safety precautions when travelling is always super important, especially when you have kids with you. You should never travel without travel insurance.

Food & water safety

Unfortunately this is something that did impact us on our trip. We were only a few days in to our time in Vietnam (we were in Hanoi) when my husband got food poisoning. Even though we had both eaten the same things from the same places up until then, he was the unfortunate one to get unwell.

In general, you should:

• never drink the tap water

• use hand sanitiser before and after meals

• check the reviews and ratings of restaurants before dining (although this isn't always accurate)

• find places that are busy, especially if they're filled with locals. This often indicates that their food isn't sitting around and is cooked fresh.

We also found that our guide gave us some great tips on our food tour for finding safe places to eat. I highly recommend booking one for the start of your trip, no matter where you start, to make you more comfortable eating at local Vietnamese restaurants and stalls.

Air pollution

This was something that was far worse than we were expecting, especially in Hanoi. Outside of Hanoi it didn't seem to be as big of a problem. If you're concerned about air pollution you may wish to pack some face masks to help with this!

Mosquitos

Mosquito-borne diseases like Dengue and Zika are quite common in Vietnam, so taking precautions is important! We packed lots of mosquito repellent for our trip, but also found it was readily available to purchase there too. Checking for current outbreaks before your trip is important, as it will help you decide if you'll need additional protection. Vaccinations are often recommended before visiting Vietnam, however they are not required,

Valuables

As with any travel destinations, make sure to keep your valuables on you or locked in your room. Be aware that bag snatching occurs, especially in busy crowds.

Scams

Scams are also something to be aware of while travelling Vietnam. We almost fell for one when taking a coconut boat tour in Hoi An (see pin). There are also taxi drivers and other operators that commonly try to scam tourists.