Vietnam has a lot to offer independent travelers, who are ambitious and have their own goals of fulfilling their experiences or understanding the culture and traditions of a place. They crave authentic experiences and travel with an open mind. Are you an independent traveler hunting for a new destination? Discover why Vietnam should be your next travel destination in 2023.

1. New travel trends after the COVID-19 pandemic

The global spread of the epidemic has had a massive impact on how people socialize. People have opted to experience solo vacations with natural attractions rather than go to hectic and crowded destinations.

Small travel groups with their self-planned itineraries have decreased the attractiveness of group-guided excursions.

Following the epidemic, both local and international flights are expected to resume. The launch of many sales programs by travel service providers (hotels, tourist sites, transportation, and travel activities) will be beneficial to tourists.

Thus, now is the ideal moment to start planning your independent trip!

2. Keep your own pace when traveling independently to Vietnam

Unlike guided tours, where travelers must follow strict schedules provided by travel companies, independent travel allows you to actively manage your itinerary and thoroughly 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 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 on 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 with a long and turbulent history which has led to a unique mixture of culture, tradition, and natural beauty. 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 learn 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 fooled. Because during making a travel plan, you did find sufficient information about 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

Traveling independently in general, and independently in Vietnam in particular, not only provides unforgettable experiences but also helps people develop valuable personal skills. Making your own plan will help you how:

• 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 sports 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

You may not be aware of this, but locals can serve as your independent travel’s local travel ambassadors. Allowing people to talk and share about their lives and community will offer them a chance.

You can get advice and directions from friendly people to numerous well-known attractions in their hometowns. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that they offer advice on where to eat, what to see, and when to travel.

Independent travelers often have no tour guide who presents interesting details about destinations. Meanwhile, the locals who deeply understand their places can be your reliable 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 

The best opportunity to improve your bonds with your loved ones, friends, and colleagues is by traveling.

You will learn more about them through their choices during the planning stage of the trip.

You can keep all the special and unforgettable experiences from the trip with them. As a result, your bonds with your loved ones will grow closer.

Additionally, you can make friend with other travelers while you are traveling. You may strengthen your connections by doing this.

8. Get support from technological development

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

• Tons and a diversity of information on many platforms: A great deal of reference enables you to identify proper data for your trip.
• Booking apps: These 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: This 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 convincing reasons to travel your way to 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 and 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: Essential Guides For Independent Travelers In Vietnam