Planning a trip to Vietnam and thinking about what apps are a must-have for tourists? Some of the Vietnam apps can really make your traveling much easier. When you are preparing for a trip, download the 10 best apps for Vietnam travel on your smartphone, as these apps can be very useful during your stay.
Vietnam SIM card
During your trip in Vietnam, internet access on your phone can greatly simplify your life. It’s best to buy a local SIM card with an internet connection to stay conveniently connected on your holiday in Vietnam. Local SIM cards are not expensive and easy enough to get upon arrival so you can use all the apps right away. To save money, pre-book a Vietnamese SIM card online via the links below and pick it up at one of the airports in Vietnam:
SIM Card at Ho Chi Minh Airport (SGN)
SIM Card at Hanoi Airport (HAN)
SIM Card at Da Nang Airport (DAD)
SIM Card at Nha Trang Airport (CXR)
Otherwise, if your mobile phone is eSIM compatible, you can get eSIM Vietnam by instant email delivery and use it right after landing in Vietnam.
Best Apps for Vietnam Travel
Your Vietnam trip will be much easier if you download most of the below-listed apps to use in Vietnam. 10 best apps for Vietnam travel that will be really useful on your trip are the following.
1. KLOOK
If you are planning to visit Vietnam and looking for the best deals on attraction tickets and activities, then KLOOK is one of the must-have Vietnam apps for tourists. KLOOK is the platform where you can order a SIM card or book travel activities, tickets to amazing tourist attractions, and local experience tours around Vietnam, like the Ba Na Hills Cable Car, Halong Bay Day Tour, or Fansipan Cable Car in Sapa, all at competitive rates. Various promotion codes offering additional discounts are also available for the users of this app!
To get the best offer, we usually compare deals on KLOOK with another great app with a fantastic selection of tours and guides all in one place - GetYourGuide.
2. Hotel Booking App - Agoda or Booking
Agoda and Booking.com are hotel booking platforms that consistently offer the most competitive prices all over Vietnam. These applications are easy to use and let you check the price, hotel location, and daily deals fast and often include a free cancellation option. You can switch to the map and see the rates of hotels in your preferred location. These apps make comparison of the hotels in Vietnam for tourists really easy. Normally, the prices are lower if you are using the app on a phone than on a desktop computer.
Even if Booking.com is better known worldwide, it’s not uncommon to get better hotel deals on Agoda when it comes to finding a hotel in Vietnam, so it can be said that Agoda is the best app to book a hotel in Vietnam.
3. 12Go
12Go is one of the best apps for booking transport tickets in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. This app is very convenient, as you can book flights, bus, train, ferry tickets, and even private transfers with the use of just one app. On the 12Go app, tourists can compare different transportation options between a wide range of destinations. You can book a bus from Hanoi airport to Sapa, a private transfer from Da Nang to Hoi An, or a taxi from Ho Chi Minh Airport to the city directly through this app.
4. BusMap - Transit & Bus Ticket
BusMap is a useful application if you want to get around using local buses in Vietnam. It makes public transport easy and accessible, even if you don’t know Vietnamese. You can track the bus, get route suggestions based on your location, check estimated times, and even know the price. There is a feature for real-time bus tracking and the station list feature, so you will know exactly when to get off the bus.
To look up detailed information about the routes of Vietnamese electric buses, such as the Phu Quoc bus, Nha Trang bus, and others, to see bus waiting times, and to track bus location, you can use the VinBus app, which is offered by the electric bus service provider.
5. Grab
Grab, similar to the Uber application, is an excellent must-have app for travelling in Vietnam and any other country where it's available. It is an app that allows you to get a taxi fast and easily without advance reservation. It can be your first choice for taxis when you're in Vietnam. You can download it at the airport and start using it right away. Grab also offers a wide range of travel options, including taxis, personal cars, motorcycles, and delivery services. All you need to do is choose the origin and destination; this app will calculate the distance, expected time, and estimated fare, and you will only have to wait for your taxi to arrive and take you to your desired destination. In addition to transportation bookings, it is possible to use the delivery service feature and order food with a wide variety of restaurants and stores, plus great promotions.
6. Zalo
Zalo is one of the best and most popular messaging apps that provides fast, stable, convenient, and private connections for both Vietnamese people and anyone living in Vietnam. Zalo is a free application that only needs your phone's internet connection to send and receive messages, videos, and high-quality calls. The app also handles multimedia files smoothly and keeps you updated on localized events during special holidays. It's really convenient to have while travelling in Vietnam, as it is an easy way to communicate and connect with locals.
7. Google Translate
One of the major issues when going abroad is the language, and not many Vietnamese know English well. Knowing “sin chow” for saying “hello” or “gum urn” for saying “thank you” is not enough for travelling in Vietnam. This is why the Google Translate application needs to be installed on your phone. This app will make your trips abroad easier; you can communicate with drivers who can’t speak English or read signs in Vietnamese. The translation is excellent and really comes in handy while traveling in Vietnam.
Now it comes with features like image translation, where you can even scan the text with your mobile camera and translate it automatically into the language you want, so it can be very useful for translating restaurant menus, signs, or transport tickets in real time. The live translation feature for conversations in a foreign language will help you to communicate with locals and learn about Vietnamese culture easily.
8. Learn Vietnamese
Learn Vietnamese by ATi Studios is a great learning tool for the Vietnamese language and picking up Vietnamese vocabulary. It's one of the best apps for beginners, as it features the lessons that are simple to understand, and you can start saying phrases on the first day in Vietnam. You can also use it offline, so it’s a great translator for your trip, especially when you don’t have an internet connection; just download the application beforehand.
9. Google Maps
Google Maps is a must-have navigation app on your smartphone when traveling to Vietnam. It’s become an indispensable tool for anyone who needs to navigate the world, whether they're driving, walking, or using public transportation around the country. Google Maps lets you know your location and traffic conditions with a single click. It helps you decide transportation options to reach your destination. This application will also help you plan your trip in advance by making a list of the tourist places you want to visit, the hotels you want to stay at, or the best restaurants to eat at with reviews and finding nearby places.
An interesting function and undoubtedly a great advantage of using Google Maps is that this app lets you download maps of the city beforehand so you can use it offline in case you have no network coverage in certain areas of Vietnam.
10. Vietnam 63Stravel
Vietnam 63Stravel is the application that promotes Vietnamese tourist spots to international travelers. It covers everything you need to know—what to eat, what to visit, and where to stay in all 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam. The app also features stunning photos of tourist spots, regularly updated to showcase the beauty of each location. The 63Stravel app, available in Vietnamese, English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, makes it easy for both local and international tourists to explore Vietnam's history, culture, and top travel spots.
Install these useful applications on your smartphone and make your travelling around Vietnam much easier!
Tips
Consider buying a local SIM card to stay conveniently connected on your holiday in Vietnam. Booking a Vietnam SIM card online is much cheaper and easy enough to get upon arrival so you can use all the apps right away! Depending on your airport of arrival, a SIM card can be booked online via the following links:
SIM Card at Ho Chi Minh Airport (SGN)
SIM Card at Hanoi Airport (HAN)
