Money, Tipping and Haggling in Vietnam: What's Normal
The dong has a lot of zeros and the notes look alike. Where to change money, when to bargain, what to tip, and the two scams that catch most visitors. Vietnamese money confuses people for a week and then stops. The currency is the dong, the denominations are large, several of the notes are similar colours, and the exchange rate means you spend the first few days doing arithmetic. A short primer removes most of the friction. Reading the notes Circulating notes are 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, 200,000 and 500,000 dong. The 10,000 and above are polymer; the smaller ones are paper and increasingly rare in daily use. There are no coins in practical circulation. The dangerous pair is the 20,000 (blue) and the 500,000 (blue-green) . They are similar in colour and size, and handing over a 500,000 believing it is a 20,000 is the most common self-inflicted error visitors make. Sort your wallet by denomination on the first day and check the number of zeros every time. A useful mental shortcut: drop three zeros and you have roughly the price in tens of thousands. Prices are frequently written as "50k" or even "50", meaning 50,000. Getting cash ATMs are everywhere in cities and reliable. Most charge a withdrawal fee of 20,000 to 60,000 VND and cap the withdrawal at two to five million dong, so take the maximum each time. TPBank, Techcombank and Vietcombank machines generally have the higher limits and lower fees; the machines that advertise themselves in English…
- Published
- 2026-05-15
- Author
- Betel Editorial
