Useful apps for Vietnam: transport, maps, translation

Set up before you land. Buy an eSIM or plan to pick up a Viettel, Vinaphone or Mobifone tourist SIM at airport arrivals — passport and a face photo are required for registration. Download offline Vietnamese in your translation app, save your hotel address in Vietnamese script, and add a payment card to Grab so you are not typing card numbers at the kerb (check).

Ride-hailing is the single biggest quality-of-life app in Vietnam. Grab is the default across the country; Be and Xanh SM are local competitors worth having as a second app (check). Fares are quoted in the app before you accept, which removes the negotiation that catches first-time visitors (check). At airports and bus stations, walk out of the immediate pickup scrum before you request the car.

Google Maps is the usual choice for city navigation and for finding cafés, but treat rural pins and small alley addresses as approximate (check). Street View coverage is patchy outside the main cities (check). For long-distance planning, check bus and train times on the operator's own site rather than trusting a map estimate.

Zalo is how Vietnamese businesses actually communicate — hotels, homestay hosts, tour guides and drivers will often ask for your Zalo number instead of WhatsApp. Set it up with your Vietnamese SIM number if you can. Keep WhatsApp too; foreign-run guesthouses and dive shops tend to use it.

For money, keep your bank's app with travel notifications switched on so a declined card does not strand you. Cards are accepted in hotels, malls and mid-range restaurants; markets, small eateries and taxis often want cash (check). See the currency and cards pages for the cash side.

Translation matters more outside the tourist belt. Google Translate's camera mode handles menus and signs; offline Vietnamese is worth the download because rural data can drop. A phrasebook screen with your allergen or dietary need saved in Vietnamese is faster than typing at a stall.