Mobile phones, especially smart phones are an essential part of international, inter-connected travel nowadays. Whether it be for calling home, contacting hotels/tour operators, planning travel logistics, map surfing, navigating, or just using social media, your phone will be an invaluable tool during your Vietnam trip. Although most unlocked phones should be able to work in Vietnam, each country has its own unique cellular network system, so we have put together a simple 5-step process in understanding the ins and outs of how to use a mobile phone in Vietnam.
1. THINK ABOUT YOUR PHONE
To use a mobile phone in Vietnam, you have three options: bring a locked phone with you, bring an unlocked phone with you, or buy a relatively cheap phone here. If you bring a locked phone, make sure you understand the terms for international roaming (this can expensive depends on your service provider; for example, T-mobile charges several dollars a minute and does not offer mobile data here). With an unlocked phone or a phone that you buy here, you can simply purchase a SIM card and have a local number. Keep in mind that the unlocked phone that you bring must be a GSM phone, but most phones are these days. Smartphones are beneficial here because you can have access to the 3G/4G network if you get a SIM card with a data package.
2. Buying A Vietnam SIM Card
The easiest way to buy a SIM card is to buy it at one of the many SIM kiosks located in the airport you fly into.
** The information provided in this section is specific to the Tan Son Nhat International Terminal in Ho Chi Minh City however the general locations of the kiosks in other Vietnam airports should be similar. **
When you get off the plane and head towards Immigration, there will be a single SIM card booth in this area. We recommend skipping this booth however and waiting until you get past Immigration to purchase a SIM card since there will be many more SIM kiosks there, offering more choices and most likely less wait time. The staff at all the kiosks usually speak good English, and should be able to describe all the various voice and data packages to you and help you install and test the SIM.
Shown below is a basic layout of the area inside Ton Son Nhat International Terminal where the SIM kiosks are located.
Once you decide which kiosk to buy your SIM Card from (we recommend sticking with Viettel or Mobifone), let the kiosk staff know what you want to do with your mobile phone, so they can determine if you only need a SIM for only phone calls, a data only SIM or a SIM that includes both a calling and data plan.
When you know which SIM card package you want to purchase, ask the kiosk staff to help you install the card in your phone immediately so that you can test it to make sure everything is working correctly. We recommend that you write down your mobile number somewhere so you can easily share it with friends or family. We would also advise that you learn how to check the remaining balance on the sim card.
WHERE TO BUY A SIM CARD OUTSIDE THE AIRPORT IN VIETNAM
In Vietnam, there are 5 phone carriers: Mobifone, Viettel, Vinaphone, Vietnammobile, and Gmobile however we recommended sticking with the 2 largest carriers Viettel and Mobifone to get the best coverage. Viettel and Mobifone control 90% of the mobile market in Vietnam so it will be easier for you to find mobile phone shops for these 2 companies if you need assistance.
If you didn’t get a chance to buy a SIM while at the airport you can easily buy one from one of the many mobile phone shops found throughout the country. For the purposes of this blog post, we will only focus on mobile phone shops in Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City
