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 Traveller's Tales: Shopping suggestions in Vietnam
Get the best advice on shopping in Vietnam. You may read about shopping malls, souvenir items and best buys in the area. Also, you might want to read our
Central Vietnam city guide,
Halong Bay city guide,
Hanoi city guide,
Ho Chi Minh city guide,
Phan Thiet city guide,
and Hoi An city guide.
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| L Laws |
15 December 2004 |
Stayed at New World Hotel Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Be careful with the cyclos as they are going to rip you off. Ben Than Market is five minutes walk from the hotel and they got beautiful handicraft but you have to bargain with the price. Dong Koi area is good for tailored silk which is good value of money.
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| P Sohonie |
06 December 2004 |
Stayed at Melia Hanoi - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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The best thing about Hanoi at this time of the year is the weather. It's cool and dry. Not much to see, Ho Chi Minh's museum was closed for annual refurbishing and the one legged pagoda a big dissappoint. The fine arts museum was worth a visit. Halong Bay is a 3 hr drive, very picturesque. Restaurants - recommend Little Hanoi Cafe, Indo Chine, Emperor and Lotus at Melia Hotel.
Taxis are easily available and also enjoyed bicycle rickshaw rides in the evenings when it was wonderfully cool.
Shopping is the main focus in Hanoi. Excellent lacquerware, table linen and plenty of art galleries to choose from. Do be careful, prices vary by 100% for certain artists!! Difficult to figure out the art scene but the Vietnamese artists are worth buying. Copies are excellent, so don't hesitate to buy them.
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| D Wulff |
31 August 2004 |
Stayed at Hoi An Riverside Resort - Quang Nam, Vietnam.
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In Hoi An (Vietnam), you will need to develop a thick skin, as you will be approched by hundreds of locals asking you into their mothers/sisters/uncles/etc fabric shop. They will invariably comment on how handsome or beautiful you are. This attention can be very annoying at first, but eventually you will learn how to handle it, and start to enjoy the beautiful surroundings.
If you are looking for a good tailor in Hoi An, I recommend Mr. Xe (71 Nguyen Thai Hoc St, Hoi An). Tell him that David and Lisa sent you.
We actually met Mr. Xe in the departure lounge at HCMC airport when we first got to Vietnam. He is a very funny man and will always ask "how's it hanging".
We went to other tailors in Hoi An, but now wish we bought all our clothes from Mr. Xe.
Mr. Xe's staff are very efficient and his prices are very reasonable. Mr. Xe will not let you take the clothes until you are 100% happy with them and he is satisfied with the quality.
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| P Carr |
17 August 2004 |
Stayed at Palace Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Saigon is an excellent place to start a holiday in Vietnam. Travelling on open tour buses was a new experience seeing some wonderful scenery and meeting local and overseas travellers. Hoi An, Dalat and Mui Ne
where outstanding places to visit.
Can recommend shopping at Saigon Tourist Plaza in Ho Chi Minh.
Will certainly be visiting Vietnam again next year.
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| M Wilson |
04 May 2004 |
Stayed at Majestic Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Allow plenty of time to travel from central Saigon out to airport - not far but traffic was bad early morning. Lots of good restaurants - Vietnam House and Lemongrass have good food and pleasant decor. Espana tapas bar good if you want a change from Asian food. Saigon Tax shopping centre has a wide choice of gifts and is less crowded than the markets.
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| Y Nagai |
19 March 2004 |
Stayed at Rex Hotel Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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It takes 20 min from the airport at USD 3. The Don khoi street which is main shopping street is accessible by foot in 5 min. Super maket is next to the hotel so that you could get something easily.
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| K Mercier |
08 March 2004 |
Stayed at New World Hotel Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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I had liposuction in Ho Chi Minh City! A lady dentist friend of mine living in Saigon recommended me to a plastic surgeon to whom she was also having the same surgery. I paid $1,000. The experience was frightening. But so far I am okay, able to travel to Danang, to the Faruma Beach Resort Hotel. This hotel is beautiful and the beach is quite stunning from the balcony of my room. Although it was overcast the day I was there. I only stayed for one night. They have a free shuttle bus taking you to 4 different sight seeing destinations. One is Hoi An.
I had a lot of clothes made there. The quality of the material is not good, but the workmanship is excellent at Trinh 95 on 95 Phan Chu Trinh - Hoi An. I brought a dress that I love and couldn't find another like it. Well, they made the exact replica of my dress. The only problem was the dress didn't feel same cause the material was not same. So I suggest if you are having clothes made...bring your own material.
You can buy an airline ticket for about $100 round trip. If you wish to visit Hanoi and other places while visiting Ho Chi Minh City. It's only an hour away by air. I have been to Vietnam twice in the past 2 years and one thing I always needed was another suitcase to carry all my gifts. The quality of the bags there are cheap and will tear by the end of the day. So don't forget to bring along a good duffle bag big enough to hold all your gifts. If you are staying at the New World Hotel, they will furnish an empty box and some tape for you. No problem.
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| N Roy |
11 February 2004 |
Stayed at Lucky Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Comments from other travelers that they were being ripped of by cyclo's and taxi drivers in Hanoi may be somewhat unfounded. After renting a m/cycle for a week we found that the one way system in the city is limited with regard to a-b travel, also travel around the central lake area is limited for cyclos. We never paid more than we wanted to. Food was ok. Some CDs turned out to be a bit jerky. Handspan travel rocks. Hoi-an, Halong Bay and Sapa treks are great. We made up a small conversion chart for Dong/$US/Yen that was invaluable to both of us in those tight bargaining situations or at a glance shopping. Be polite in your refusals. No, means, no thank you. Anything you have made will be of poor quality, in the end be prepared to throw it away and you won't be disappointed. Kids collecting coins for their school etc...is a scam, they resell them. On that happy note, we'll be going back again nice people and a great place and you don't need to spend a lot to enjoy yourself. Oh, stay away from the night cludb on Cat Ba Island, met a traveler who was drugged there, and we saw a guy phasered there for what seemed like trying to dance with the wrong person, then taken to the alley for.
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| D Baillie |
09 January 2004 |
Stayed at Empress Hotel Ho Chi Minh City - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Vietnam is a wonderful place but, if you do not have a host, read the travel mags before you get here.
The people are friendly and helpful if you can get around the language barrier. Be prepared to negotiate extensively and when you can have a local (i.e. hotel bellman) buy things you want. Foreigners are overcharged but once you have negotiated a price I have yet to have someone try to short change me or alter the deal later.
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| D Nguyen |
03 January 2004 |
Stayed at Amara Hotel Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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I loved HCMC! I went to visit the War Crimes and History museums, which were worth the effort. The Cu Chi tunnels were an absolute must, if not for the sweaty tunnel crawl, then the propagandist films, shooting range and random caged animals dotting the whole theme parkish place. Shopping is an experience in itself, with everything for sale at a fraction of the price. I bought a North Face backpack for six dollars, and several hand painted souvenir dishes for a quarter each. Do bargain, as they expect it. My friend got authentically labeled Diesel jeans for sixteen dollars!
Food was ridiculously cheap, obviously more so at the local restaurants. As for spas, I went to a pretty upscale one called Qi Saigon Shisheido. They have a nice package for 54 dollars for a five-six hour treatment. Afterwards, if you have the time, get your nails done for two dollars. They do a wonderful job and it may not be the dollar massage at some sketchy street corner, but it also is not what you would pay back at home. Do check it out if you have the time, and the men's section is reputable.
One more last thought. I swore to my mother I would not get on the back of a moped for a xe om, but now I wonder why I didn't as much as I should have! It was so fun, pretty safe (they do know what they are doing) and way cheap!
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