Vietnam Travel Apps We Used (and the Ones We Wish We’d Downloaded Earlier)
Traveling in Vietnam is surprisingly app-driven. From ordering rides to translating menus and booking last-minute activities, a handful of apps can make traveling around the country much easier (and save you a lot of stress along the way).
Before our most recent trip, we downloaded a small collection of apps that helped with everything from transport to accommodation and currency conversion. Some we used constantly, others we only discovered halfway through the trip (which we definitely regret).
If you’re the planner of the group, I recommend sending this list to everyone before you travel – it makes life a lot easier when everyone has the same tools on their phone.
The Vietnam Travel Apps We Found Most Useful
Pre-booked Accommodation and Experiences
If you’ve booked your accommodation or activities online, and they also have an app available, it’s very useful to have it downloaded before the trip.
We used the Booking.com app, and we used it far more than expected. It’s handy for quickly checking reservation details, messaging hotels, and accessing booking confirmations while traveling. We even arranged an airport shuttle through the platform, and their customer support was excellent when we needed assistance.
We also booked several experiences through Klook, but without the app, I was constantly hunting through emails for QR codes. Lesson learned: install the app before you travel. It makes ticket access effortless.
Staying Connected in Vietnam
There are so many eSIM providers available now, which makes staying connected while traveling incredibly easy. While buying a physical SIM is cheaper, having an eSIM ready to go upon landing is so convenient.
For Vietnam, we tested a few options and eventually found one that worked really well for us in terms of price and reliability.
Google Translate
Google Translate is one of those apps you don’t realise you need until you’re staring at a menu you can’t read.
Vietnamese menus, signs, and instructions are often only written in Vietnamese, so the camera translation feature is incredibly helpful. Pro tip: make sure everyone in the group downloads it. Things can get a little chaotic when only one person is responsible for translating everything.
Grab
Vietnam’s main ride-hailing app is Grab, and it’s essential for getting around cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.
It works similarly to Uber, but it’s far more widely used across Southeast Asia. You can order cars, motorbike rides, and even food delivery directly through the app.
A small tip: link your debit or credit card before you travel. If you’re using a multi-currency card such as Wise, connecting that can help avoid unnecessary foreign transaction fees.
If you don’t already have WhatsApp, it’s worth downloading before your trip.
Many businesses, tour providers, and accommodation hosts in Vietnam communicate through WhatsApp. It’s often the easiest way to confirm bookings, ask questions, or let the business know you’re running late because of traffic.
Managing Money Overseas
If you travel internationally often, you’ve probably heard of Wise.
The app makes it easy to manage multi-currency accounts and monitor exchange rates. I used my Wise card to withdraw Vietnamese dong from ATMs, and the conversion rates were significantly better than traditional bank cards.
A currency converter app also helped us quickly convert prices from AUD to VND while traveling.
Vietnam is an easy country to travel through once you have the right tools on your phone. With these apps downloaded before you arrive, navigating cities, booking transport, and communicating with local businesses becomes much simpler.
And if you’re traveling with a group, make sure everyone installs them before the trip.
It will save you a lot of time (and a few hungry arguments over untranslated menus).
