I know it’s always a bad rate at the airport but I always like having a small amount of cash on me, are they all pretty much the same there? I don’t know how cashless Vietnam is but if I have to get more cash is it best to change $ or € rather than £?
Share your experiences or just ask people a question? Click to see the community
Got a question or an idea you want to discuss? Start a discussion here to get opinions and connect with other members.
Have a story, valuable experience, or a detailed guide to share? Contribute a high-quality article to enrich our community.
To ensure quality, all new posts are not immediately visible on search engines like Google, Bing... Our team prioritizes reviewing high-value, insightful posts to feature publicly. You'll receive a notification when your contribution is selected!
Ha Giang
Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh City
Ha Long
Sapa
Mekong Delta
Da Nang
Hue
Hoi An
Ninh Binh
Da Lat
Nha Trang
Phan Thiet
Phu Quoc
Quang Binh
Quy Nhon
Vung Tau
Thai Nguyen
Tiếng Việt
한국어
中文 (中国)
日本語
ไทย
Deutsch
Español
Destinations
Instagram
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Threads
Tiktok
David Nguyen
You can shop around to find the best shops, but the exchange rate might be off by 1%.
—————
Yes and what is that 1%. Let’s say the current rate is 30k (it’s nearer 35k now but historical value is nearer 30k). So we are talking 300 dong/£. That equates to 1pence. Even the 4% that Stingray mentions is 1200dong. 4pence/£.
Back in 2022, the exchange rate at HCMC airport was nigh on a par with the Gold shops. I’ll find out myself what Hanoi Noi Bai is like as I will be changing some cash for VND when I arrive. As ever, if you can get near the Xe.com rate, you’re doing okay.
What I would call horrendous is the amount you lose changing £’s to VND in the UK. Average, about a 10% lost.
But in Vietnam, I’m on holiday. Time is also money lost. I don’t go walking around trying to find that all elusive last dong. I walk in, if the rate looks ok – thank you smartphone data. I’ll change it. Not that it will last long. For when Tet arrives, all the kids will be waiting for those red envelopes. Now that is a lost! 🙂
Sorry should have added that there are no retail (7 11) based ATMs in Vietnam. All are bank ones as far as I know.
As I said earlier, the cash change at airports is not horrendous. In fact for you could say for an airport it’s quite good.
I wouldn’t recommend changing lots of money there but plenty change a small amounts just to get them into town.
All ATMs give the same rates. It’s either MasterCard or Visa that set that rate. What makes it differ are charges put on top by your home bank or by the ATM provider. That’s a whole can of worms.
At the moment the only ATM we know that is fee free is VP Bank. That doesn’t mean there aren’t others. It’s just nobody has investigated them yet (over 30 banks in Vietnam).
The 7-Eleven ATMs in Japan were good because they didn’t charge a fee, but as said they still just gave you the basic MasterCard or Visa rate. I loved them, especially as they talked to me in English.
In Japan, the 7-11 ATMs are said to give the best rate..
———-
That’s equal to the gold shops in Vietnam.