Travel trends in 2021 include free and independent travel (FIT). There are so many reasons for designing your own trip without depending on any available tours. Let’s go to the convincing reasons for arranging an independent trip to Vietnam.

1. New travel trends after COVID-19 pandemic

The explosion of the pandemic around the globe significantly impacts the way people socialize. Instead of opting for bustling and crowded places, people have preferred to experience independent trips with natural sites. 

Group-guided tours lost their popularity because of the emergence of small travel groups with their own self-planned itineraries. 

The aviation industry promises to recover after the pandemic with both domestic and international flights. Travel services companies (accommodations, tourist attractions, travel vehicles, and travel activities) will launch numerous sales promotions, which is beneficial for travelers.

Thus, this is the best time to make a plan for your independent trip!

2. Keep your own pace when travel independently to Vietnam

Unlike guided tours that travelers must follow rigid itineraries from travel agencies; in your independent travel trip, you can independently control your plan and fully enjoy the trip, including:

• Companions: Instead of sharing the trip with strangers, you can have a great time with your friends and your beloved ones.
• Time: You personally decide when your trip takes place or how long it takes based on your working schedule and your personal life. Moreover, you can pick the right time for your destination.
• Place: The itinerary including places to go and where to eat is up to your interests.
• Expense: The expense of the trip depends on your financial ability and travel purpose. Therefore, you can have an economical vacation with incredible experiences.

In general, everything in your independent trip will be personalized as you wish. Hence, you can completely enjoy the trip and your travel experience in Vietnam can be optimized.

3. Get to know new cultures

Culture is not something out there but it exists in daily life. Vietnam is a country of a thousand-year civilization with ethnic diversity and hospitable residents. An independent trip is a proper opportunity to learn about new cultures, promising lots of amazing surprises.

• Through conversations with the locals, you can know more about local folktales. That may be the tales of the Great Whale told by the fishing village’s man or stories about the origin of the west-northern inhabitants.
• Harmonizing with the local lifestyle, cooking some special food, and partaking in local activities are some great ways to know about their life.

• The culinary background of each region is clearly presented in dishes. For instance, Hanoi is the capital with an age-old culture. The cuisine there is famous for elegant and courteous dishes namely green rice flakes, bun thang, banh khuc, Thanh Tri steamed rolls, and Uoc Le pork sausage.
• By paying a visit to historical sites and museums, you can comprehend the culture and history of the destination. If you have a trip to the Con Dao archipelago, you might thoroughly understand a dark period of the resistance war in Vietnam.

4. Stay away from tourist traps

Some unexpected problems sometimes happen during your trip. It may be tourist traps, which travelers usually face up in guided tours. These are some types of them:

• Low-budget tours: Low-qualified accommodation, access, and attractions are easily found in these tours. Also, reality usually doesn’t meet expectations. Travelers even have no travel insurance. 
• Zero-dong tours: The same fashion as low-budget tours. Travelers have to spend most of their time in shopping malls while visiting attractions is merely a minor part.
• Fake tours: These types of travel scams do exist in the form of fake travel agencies or fake travel websites. Travelers pay for a ghost tour that never happens. As a result, their trip is canceled without a refund.

Planning your own itinerary lowers the risk of being swindled. Because during making a travel plan, you did find sufficient information of your destination, including:

• The common prices at the destination (for example: tickets for visiting tourist attractions and prices of local dishes). You will not be overcharged or offered unacceptable prices from travel agencies. 
• Booking in advance as many things as possible, even local vehicles. That helps you to avoid being taken advantage of by local travel services.
• Some places to eat with tasty dishes and reasonable prices. The locals are hospitable.

5. Independent travel improves personal skills

Independent travel in general and independent travel in Vietnam in particular not only bring memorable moments but also enhance useful personal skills. When making your own plan, you will learn to:

• Find and select proper information: These skills are helpful both in your daily life and work. Picking and choosing suitable materials for the trip helps you to improve these skills.
• Make a plan and detailed itinerary: After some independent trips, you can enhance your organizational skills.
• Communicate: The conversation with the locals or other travelers will be open to you. Therefore, you have a chance to upgrade your communication skills.
• Negotiate: Bargaining is one of the most practical skills to get some lovely souvenirs and is useful for your other trips.
• Train your body: Lots of fascinating sport games and outdoor activities in some famous tourist attractions might improve your physical health, namely diving in Cu Lao Cham (Cham island), kayaking in Ha Long, and high rope adventure in Da Lat.

Obviously, you will have a chance to accumulate more experiences through every single trip, which makes you become confident gradually.

6. Help the locals to become travel ambassadors

Do you know that the locals can become local travel ambassadors in your independent trip? Let’s give them an opportunity by talking with them, letting them share about their life and community.

• The hospitable locals will give you suggestions and directions to many popular sites in their hometowns. Also, their recommendations about what to eat, where to visit, and when to go are notable.

• Independent travelers often have no tour guide who presents interesting details about destinations. Meanwhile, the locals who deeply understand their places can be your trusted tour guide. Furthermore, their viewpoints are so true and close, which is much more inspiring than the mechanical presentations of tour guides.
• If you rent a homestay, don’t forget to ask them to let you join hands in cooking their traditional food. For instance, you can try to make bun bo on your trip to Hue or banh xeo when you travel to the Southwest.

7. Create and strengthen your relationships 

Traveling creates the best occasion to strengthen your relationships with your family, friends, and colleagues.

• During the planning time for the trip, you will get to know more about them through their choices.
• During the trip, you can keep all the unique and memorable experiences with them. Thus, your relationships with your beloved ones will become tighter.

What’s more, you can make friends with other travelers during your trip. It’s a great way to expand your relationships.

8. Get supports from technological development

Independent travel is strongly supported by technological advancement these days. Notwithstanding that Vietnam is a developing country, its technological foundation is outstanding with a high-bandwidth network. Now, you can find no struggle to make your travel plan, based on:

• Plenty and a diversity of information on many platforms: A great deal of reference enables you to identify proper data for your personal trip.
• Booking apps: Have become popular from booking flights to accommodation, even local vehicles. All of them can be booked in advance. That paves the way for planning an independent trip without any hassles.
• Free wifi: Is available in lots of public places of many metropolitan areas like Hanoi, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh; and wifi in restaurants and cafeterias, facilitating internet access. Hence, tourists can take advantage of it to find information swiftly.

There are so many compelling reasons to travel your way in Vietnam at least once in your lifetime. Whether your experiences are enjoyable or not, it is still your personal feelings and your choices. We can always learn from it then arrange a better independent trip later. You have no wish for others to create your own memories, don’t you?>>> Want to know more about helpful independent travel tips? Let’s check out: The ultimate guide for independent travel in Vietnam!