What you can't always know about Vietnam... until you get here - S6-E14 - What About Vietnam

Throughout this series, I've answered the questions travellers know to ask.

But today, for the final episode of Series 6 – One Question at a Time, I want to answer the questions you probably won't even think to ask… because they're the little things you only discover once you're here in Vietnam.

You've listened to the podcasts. Read the blogs. Watched the YouTube videos. You've done your homework.

Yet Vietnam still has a wonderful way of surprising you.

In this episode, I'm sharing seven of those unexpected realities that no booking website, weather app or guidebook can fully prepare you for. These aren't travel mistakes—they're simply the little nuances that experienced travellers learn along the way.

From choosing the right hotel atmosphere for your travel style, to understanding why distances take longer than expected, navigating immigration queues, and leaving enough room in your itinerary for those magical unplanned moments—these are the insights that can quietly transform a good holiday into a great one.

If this is your first trip to Vietnam, consider this the conversation I wish every traveller could have before they arrive.

In this episode

00:00 – Welcome to the Series 6 finale: the questions you don't even know to ask

02:10 – Why Vietnam's weather forecast doesn't always tell the whole story

05:15 – Your hotel has a personality too—and it may not suit yours

08:35 – Vietnam measures time differently: why distances can be deceiving

11:45 – When English suddenly disappears in rural Vietnam

14:55 – Immigration queues, airport arrivals and why your holiday may not start quite as you imagined

17:50 – Why hotel photos don't always tell the full story

20:50 – The biggest mistake isn't what you booked… it's what you didn't leave room for

23:20 – Final thoughts and thank you for joining me throughout Series 6

Three Key Takeaways

✓ You won't find the biggest influences on your Vietnam holiday on Google or booking websites—they're only discovered through experience.

✓ Vietnam rewards travellers who allow flexibility, go with the flow, adapt and stay curious. The trick is to NOT over-schedule every moment.

✓ The memories you'll treasure most are often the ones you never planned.

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Transcript

What You Can't Always Know About Vietnam Until You Get Here

Xin chào and welcome to the What About Vietnam podcast. So folks here I am, final episode of series six and I thought perfect place to do this as I'm sitting in Phu Quoc and enjoying a beautiful day of sunshine. I guess over the course of the series I've really hoped to answer some of the questions I get asked the most. When should you book?

Where should you go first? What happens if you get sick? What food should you try? You know, those kind of questions that kind of crop up very easily but probably you think about later in the planning phase.

Today I wanted to finish a little differently. I want to talk to you about the things you don't even know to ask. The little surprises, the nuances, the things that no amount of planning can fully prepare you for until you're actually here. You're standing in Vietnam and you're going Oh gosh, would have been really good to know this.

I mean, I want to be straight, none of these are deal breakers. In fact, many become part of the story you'll laugh about later or you'll think, yeah, that probably wasn't one of our better ideas. But knowing they exist might just help you have a smoother, more enjoyable trip. So here are seven things you simply can't know about Vietnam until you get here.

1. The Weather Forecast Doesn't Tell the Whole Story

All right, let's talk about the weather forecast. Doesn't tell the whole story. If you've listened to my podcast for any length of time, you'll know I'm always talking about the weather. And we're always chasing it like some trophy that we've got to get right.

And there's no real wrong or right about getting the weather the way you want it. It's about how flexible you're prepared to be. Vietnam doesn't have or behave the way many travellers expect. A forecast might show rain all day, you panic, you cancel your plans, yet the reality is a spectacular morning, a dramatic afternoon downpour lasting no more than 45 minutes and then sunshine again.

It was classic in Saigon this trip. I was travelling with Kelly. We were planning our days out and it was predicting rain. I think the most we got caught was trying to get from a restaurant about 7pm at night.

There was a crashing downpour. The lovely staff had umbrellas standing outside with us waiting for our grab car. We literally got a dribble of water on us getting into our car back to our hotel. 40 minutes later, it was gone.

It was all over. I mean, if you're traveling to Sa Pa and you're expecting incredible mountain views, only discover the cloud has rolled in and your visibility is 10 meters, yeah, that is a real bummer. The forecast was technically right, it just didn't tell the whole story. One thing Vietnam teaches you very quickly is to stay flexible.

2. Your Hotel Has a Personality

So number two, so your hotel, It has a personality and it does. I couldn't think of any other way to say it. One thing booking sites can't tell you is the mix of guests staying at a hotel. Some resorts naturally attract families and young children.

Others cater mainly to tour groups. Some are popular with honeymooners, while others are designed around wellness and relaxation. That atmosphere can have a huge influence on whether a property feels the right fit for you. As I'm recording this, I'm staying at a beautiful resort in Phu Quoc.

The resort itself is lovely. The rooms are truly unique. The setting is right opposite the beach. I can actually hear The sound of the waves is either serene and calming or the next minute it's like a washing machine.

But what is different is while the hotel itself is great, The gardens are immaculate and the staff are wonderful. It's also attracting a very family orientated market. And that creates a completely different atmosphere around the pools, at breakfast and public spaces that, you know, not everyone will want. I personally am a bit open to that kind of thing until it gets too crowded, too busy, too noisy, et cetera.

And it's not a criticism so much, it's more of an awareness. How have I found that out until I got here? I couldn't have. there's nothing that would really tell me that because even the reviews while they'll say it's great they're not going to mention this because it's their experience and if they've had a great experience that that's what they're going to say.

So this isn't a criticism, this is more about something that you are going to find out when you get here. And hopefully when I'm creating plans for people, I'm taking you as a person and the people you're traveling with into consideration so that it's a match. It's simply something you can't really know from a glossy photo or a booking website.

3. Vietnam Measures Time Differently

Number three, Vietnam measures time very differently. Distances might look short on a map, but Vietnam doesn't measure experiences really in kilometres. It measures them in traffic, in weather, in stopping for coffee, in getting distracted by a tiny alley, in wandering through a market. I've lost count of the number of travellers who tell me they wish they'd allowed another day somewhere as they're feeling like they're getting moved on because their guide is being instructed to make sure that you see all these wonderful things you want to linger, you didn't realize that it would take up so much time to get to this place and you're feeling rushed.

And this is just one of the things that when you get here it's a nuance which we can't really control. All we can say to you is keep in mind that extra time is really valuable as it just helps you pace, helps you experience and helps you kind of get into, I use that word vibe, I shouldn't really use it as much as I do, but I feel like there is a vibe to just being able to hang a little bit longer, you know, deliberate over your coffee, do some people watching that you can't really plan in unless you've got time. So Be understanding of your guide and the pressure that they're under to make sure that you get to see everything. But feel free to express your opinion and say, look, could we stay here longer?

How long is it going to take us to get to the next place to get an understanding of that time, that time value? Sometimes Vietnam really rewards those that slow down and don't try and squeeze too many destinations into the itinerary. I think I've mentioned that quite a few times over the series, many series.

4. English Isn't Everywhere

Alright, number four. Let's talk about language. English isn't everywhere. If your trip is centered around the major hubs of Hanoi, Hoi An, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, you'll probably feel quite comfortable to start talking English without even thinking about it or not even jumping into Google Translate or whatever translate app you have.

You'll be able to kind of share the basics of That is unless you're kind of jumping into a cab or jumping into a car with a driver and think that they automatically will have anything beyond hello, how are you and that's about it. If you start to say oh what is that building over there or how long will it take, that will not happen. You will have to use Google Translate. And travel in the more remote regions, everything changes again.

Bus stations, village restaurants, local markets, small family-run accommodations, suddenly very little English is spoken. Google Translate becomes your best travel companion. And it's not a problem and there's various apps that make it easier than others and I suggest if you are travelling a bit more off the tourist map or you want to understand these things or express your opinion or ask a question to the driver and you don't have an English speaking guide then I definitely would invest some time in mastering a Translate app because it will enhance your experience. I don't want to make it a problem provided that you expect it.

For some travellers it's one of the most authentic parts of visiting Vietnam, being able to use their language even in small parts. You know, like occasionally I will say, choi oi, when something really magical happens, really wow factor. Because choi oi in Vietnamese means, oh my God. It means, oh, how fantastic.

It doesn't have a direct literal exchange, but you watch their eyes light up when you say, choi oi, they get it, they understand that you are wowed. So keep that one up your sleeve, it goes over really well.

5. Arriving in Vietnam Isn't Always as Quick as You Imagine

Number five, arriving in Vietnam isn't always as quick as you imagine. One of the biggest surprises for first time visitors can happen before your holiday has even begun. You've landed, you're excited, bit tired but excited, you think you'll be through the airport in about half an hour. Look, sometimes you are, like sometimes luck just has it that not many planes have landed at the same time but you've arrived into Ho Chi Minh City and you're the only plane and you get through, you know, pretty quickly.

Others, there will be a convergence of four or five planes and you are absolutely goggled at the queues. Sometimes you're joining a very long immigration queue after several international flights have arrived together. If you've had a long overnight flight, those extra 45 minutes or even an hour can feel much longer. For some people, they get really nervous because they're connecting to other flights to go to other cities in Vietnam.

So It adds a level of anxiousness to the whole arrival process. It's one of the reasons I often recommend fast track services for travellers who are tired, travelling with children, have mobility concerns or simply want a smoother arrival. I mean Let's just take me. I want fast track when I come.

I look at those queues every time and I go, thank God my queue is just this long and not that trailing snake that I see going on and on and on over in the other queues. I might add, when Fast Track first came in and they gave you the VIP treatment, which is the Fast Track queue, then those queues were very short. But because now people are wising up and hearing more on social media that Fast Track is the way to go, the Fast Track queue itself is getting longer. So while it won't be the snake that you see everyone else having to endure it does have its own cue now.

So once again fast track in your mind and how you're thinking will or may not look as fast as you think until you get here. And it kind of falls into the theme of this last program around things you won't know until you get here. No one really talks about this part of arriving in Vietnam but it can make a surprisingly big difference to how your holiday starts if you can discuss the option of fast track and don't pay the earth for it. Make sure you get a reputable company to do it and happy to answer any of your questions and I always include it for my clients.

6. Hotel Photos Don't Always Tell the Full Story

All right I'm up to number six now. Photos. Don't always tell the full story. We've all done it.

You see a beautiful hotel online, the infinity pool looks incredible, the rooms look spacious, the balcony appears enormous, then you arrive. Like the pool is much smaller than you imagined. I can't begin to tell you the amount of times I've tried to get and stand in the right angle of how they could project that pool to look so much bigger than it really is because when I'm standing in front of it, it is the size of a postage stamp. So don't be fooled Get some information, ask the hotel.

Ask me how big the pool is if you want a big pool. The same with your room. If you want a room with space, the rooms can feel very cramped. You've got a good deal, you're in a great hotel, but there's no window because you overlooked that detail when booking.

I can remember being in a hotel I was traveling with my friend again, Kelly, at the time, and I was told I had a window. So I thought, I'm fine. Now I'm a short person standing in that hotel the window I had to stand on a chair it was in the top corner of the room and I swear to God it was the size of an A4 laptop computer it was that big. It was a room with a window.

So once again make sure you check the information or if you're speaking to a travel agent or myself, you ask about these things if it's not clearly obvious. Maybe the bathroom has clear glass walls that looked stylish in the photos, but you're traveling with your best friend and you don't really want to be, dare I say, sitting on the toilet looking at your friend while she's sitting in the other room and she can see you back because that doesn't kind of work for you and your travelling companion in that situation. If I may say, none of these things necessarily make it a bad hotel. They simply remind us that photography is designed to show a property at its absolute best, at its various looks and feels, and it's trying to project all kind of scenarios that could suit people.

that glass, that clear glass, that may work for, you know, a young couple or, you know, younger people who don't care about that kind of privacy. But if you're like me and you do care about your privacy, then that won't suit you. Reading the room descriptions carefully is every bit as important as looking at the pictures. I mean I'm a big fan.

I don't want a room in Vietnam under 25 square meters because I don't want to feel cramped. I am possibly staying longer than the average bear in the room. I've got luggage, I've got you know a laptop, I'm also doing some work while I'm traveling and I'm seeing lots more people do that kind of thing. You do not want to be sitting in a hotel room feeling cramped, feeling uncomfortably surrounded by too much furniture and just your bed.

You want to be able to hang in that room and feel comfortable. So 25 square meters is not a biggie, but it's definitely worth thinking about.

7. The Biggest Mistake Isn't What You Booked

All right, I'm up to number seven. The biggest mistake isn't what you booked. It's what you didn't leave room for. Some of my favorite travel memories have never appeared on an itinerary.

A cafe I stumbled across, a conversation with a local, a market I wasn't planning on visiting but I went out to it. It was out in district 10 or it was out in a strange district that I haven't been to before but guess what? It was eyeball gazing wonderful. An afternoon watching life go by because it started raining, a definite one.

Yet I also meet travellers who have every single hour planned. And it's one of the downsides I get of when people book as in a group tour, and they are obligated and they bought the package. They bought every single component so it's all prepaid and it's all wonderful but you've got to go with the group and you've got to keep moving with the group at the group pace, not your pace. And disappointingly so The people who finish those tours don't always rave about them because whilst the trip enabled them to meet other travellers, and that's a definite benefit of a public tour, it kept them such on the move that it was a country that just kept them moving and they were so rushed and pushed and the pacing of it took some of the joy away.

And I really feel for those travelers because that's not something that obviously hits you when you see the the sales brochure and the website and you get the whole spiel because you go wow this has got everything it's fantastic. How can that really tell you about pacing and about how rushed you're going to feel, how a little bit dehydrated you are and you are really feeling the pains of that dehydration. And guess what? You just want to lie by the pool or sit in that cafe that you passed or just chill out over happy hour looking over the river in Hoi An.

But guess what? You've got to have your bag ready because you're moving on to the next place. Vietnam really is affordable even for those people who want a private trip planned. Anything is doable and I really urge you to make sure for yourself when you are booking a group trip, a public group trip, a trip a deal or any other the brands that you know put the groups out.

Make sure it fits you, make sure it is what you want and when you are reading the descriptions and the itineraries once again just take note of that and I'm happy to get feedback from people on that because as I said some people love it but some people don't. So people I'd like to close here if I may. I hope you've enjoyed this series and the questions which don't always appear obvious but I think you know through the course of me understanding travelers and organizing people's tools these are the things that come up as we get to know one another and as we get to plan a trip. If you've got any questions please don't hesitate to get in contact with me.

Thank you so much for being a listener, a supporter, I hope you'll keep following my social media and enjoy the series as we go on as I take a bit of a step back and re-evaluate what's next for What About Vietnam, what's next for you, what I think serves you best. So for now, until next time, safe travels and I'll see you again very soon.

Thank you for listening. Check out the episode notes for more information. What about Vietnam? Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review and stay tuned for more fun adventures in Vietnam.

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