Currency and Banks in Halong Bay

The further you get away from the tourist trails, the lesser the chance of people accepting USD or credit card. Even if they do accept it, the exchange rate will be a rip-off. Therefore, make sure you carry enough cash with you when traveling in Vietnam. When people give you the change, don’t accept the notes having small tear, missing a corner or looking too tatty because others will not accept those notes.

Is it easy to find an ATM in Halong Bay?

In big cities or major tourist destinations, there are usually ATMs where you could withdraw money in VND. Banks with the largest networks of ATMs and branches expanding to even remote places are Vietcombank, Agribank and Techcombank. The banks here has ATM’s display in English menus. Visa, MasterCard and those credits cards and ATM cards displaying the Cirrus and Maestro symbols are always accepted.

What is the smallest and largest amount you can withdraw in an ATM cash machine?

The smallest amount is usually 100,000 VND. The largest amount might be 2,000,000/5,000,000/8,000,000 VND depending on each bank and each ATM. The withdrawal limit per single transaction for most banks in Vietnam is 2 million Dong, but you can do multiple withdrawals until reaching your account limits.

What credit cards are accepted in Halong Bay?

Most of the internationally accepted credit cards are usable in Vietnam. These include: Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. Credit cards are accepted in large shopping malls, stores, cruises, restaurants and hotels. Credit card symbols are usually displayed in the visible place outside the establishments.

Where can you exchange Vietnamese money?

You can exchange cash and travelers’ checks at exchange desks in big hotels and at authorized foreign exchange banks in the main cities and it would take commission. When cashing travelers’ checks you may be asked for your passport. Refuse any badly torn notes (you will find it hard to use them later) and ask for a mix of denominations so that you always have a few low-value notes in hand.