Hi again,
OK, I think these questions are pretty specific, and unless I missed it I can't find the answers on the forum. My travel guides give fairly vague answers about money, but I'm wondering what some of your actual experiences have been.
1) What about laundry? I'm travelling light, how / where / when etc. can I get my laundry done, or find places to do it myself? A friend suggests hotel room laundry, which I'm fine with, but over 3 weeks it would be nice to get one or two good washings for my clothes, I think.
2) What do people think about cash / traveller's checks / credit-debit cards in Vietnam?
- I've read that people have had trouble sometimes cashing TC's.
- I have credit cards which I adamantly don't want to use in ATM's for cash advances, and I have debit cards which I'm glad to use, but are ATM machines on the Cirrus / Nice network common in Vietnam (sorry I forgot, I'm American with a US bank account, if that matters).
-How often can I use credit cards to make purchases? I figure outfitters, tour operators, etc. will take cards for scuba diving, tours and the like. Will buget hotels accept them?
-When I arrive in Hanoi, of course I'll exchange some cash for Dong - where's the best place to do that? In Africa people were all over us to change money, illegally but at much better rates (that was over 20 years ago), does that happen in Vietnam? Is it safe?
Thanks,
Chris
There are many places to get your laundry done. You can drop your laundry off one day and get it returned the next day. The prices are really inexpensive. Ask at the places that you are staying for recommendations, or shop around yourself.
I used a combination of cash, debit-cards, and traveller's checks. There are a few Amex travel offices in the major cities in VN. Any of them should work. However, if going to Hoi An, you might want to take out enough money to last you a while, as there were only a few ATM machines when I last visited, and they ran out of money really quick.
It is best to use cash for purchases. You can use your cc or atm to get dong. Most merchants will tell you they accept credit cards, but will want to charge an extra 3% for their use. This is also true of airlines, unless you go directly to the Vietnam Airlines ticket office.
There are many places for exchanging money throught out the country. This will not be a problem
what guides are you using?
The MOON, LP, Roughguide, and shoestring cover the issues you ask about in detail.
Vietnam-
Laundry is not a issue
ATM and money are easy, you can use local Dong, USD, or Amex TC's as well.
You should exchange money at banks or at the airport.
You can also exchange money at jewelry shops (mostly located in Hang Bac Street) in Hanoi. There are also a lot of women who carry HUGE amounts of money who walk around tourist areas, asking you to exchange money.
It is NOT safe to exchange money w/ these people because 1) they will most likely miscount the money (i.e. instead of giving you 10 bills, they will give you only 9 but make it look like it's 10) and 2) they will most likely give you fake money because you're not familiar w/ Vietnamese dong so there's no way to tell if it's real money or fake.
Most hotels in Hanoi do not exchange money for outside guests, so just be aware of that.
You can use ATMs or go to any banks like Vietcombank or Agribank (some of the bigger ones in Vietnam) to get your money changed.
From what I've seen, most places that cater to tourists accept Visa and Mastercard. However, if you're at a budget hotel, it might be wiser not to give out credit card information. Same with random shops who say they accept credit cards. Best to just use cash. You never know who might end up w/ your credit card info so just give them out to well-established businesses.
And thanks for asking the laundry question! I was wondering about that, too, and now I know haha!
Happy travels!
Laundry is cheap, though the prices are related to the cost of the hotel you stay at. So if you stay at small and cheap guest houses, you'll find good prices. If you stay at 3-star places, it will be more expensive. If you stay at, say, the Majestic in HCMC, it will be super-inflated costs (think it was 4-5 bucks to get a SINGLE ITEM washed).
But in general, laundry is easy. I stayed at generally upscale places but, though I'd splurge on lodging, it drove me nuts to pay a fortune in cleaning. I'd just tote my clothes to a laundromat in the backpacker area, which is where I was buying tickets for tours and stuff anyway. You'll see lots of signs in English around tourist areas advertising laundry (around Sinh Cafes are good places to start looking) and prices are competitive.
I forget what it was like in Vietnam. In Cambodia and Laos it seemed to be about $1 per kilogram (which I seem to remember is about an outfit's worth of clothes if you're having them wash everything, and honestly, for those prices why not?).
Getting your clothes washed, ironed, & nicely packed in clear plastic bags is one of my favorite things I get to enjoy while traveling in VN. You can get it done at your hotel or at the shops on the streets everywhere.
Where are these laundry places? I live in Hanoi and I don't see any.. I guess I'm blind haha... Where are they located??? :S:S
You LIVE in Ha Noi & you don't see any? You've got to be kidding. Where are you in Ha Noi?
When I was in Ha Noi last summer, I found some on Cau Giay St. & Buoi/Lang St.. You just have to ask & look around, you will see some.
In HCMC, there are plenty in the backpackers area.
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