The Vietnamese postal system offers you most telecommunications services. You could find herein some special services such as: EMS (Express Mail Service), DHL Worldwide Express, UPS, Freight Forwarders.

Email & Internet: Thanks to the technology, E-mail and Internet services are available in most hotels and posts in Vietnam. Other places where you could find the same services are in the Internet Cafes located in many streets of the major cities. Normally the post will charge you from 3000 VND to 6000 VND per hour for internet service but it could be more in the hotels.

Telephone Booth & Telephone Card: Using a telephone booth is an easy way for you to call home. You can find telephone booths at post offices or in the street of major cities. Telephone cards are on sales at GPO, shops, restaurants, book stores. However, it is getting more popular and cheaper to make phone calls over the Internet. These days many Internet Cafes offer you this option.

International calls: Costs for direct dialed international calls are still high. However, you can make a phone call to talk with your relatives in your country with half of the cost with 178 or 171 services. With these services, cost is about 0.60USD per minute to most of countries in the world. How to dial it? Very easy:

Dial 171 (or 178) + 00 + country code + city code + number

Kindly note if you use this service from your hotel’s telephone, the charge might be a little higher as the hotel will put some service charges over it. Again, making international phone calls by Internet is another relatively cheap option.

Mobile phone: In Vietnam, GMS (Global Mobile phone System) is presently operated by three main suppliers: VINAPHONE, MOBIFONE and Viettel. Your mobile phone could be used here by roaming service. These suppliers offer also VINA and MOBI Pre-Paid Card services. The best way for you to use a mobile phone in the country is to rent a mobile phone and buy a pre-paid card. It is easy to rent a mobile phone at your hotel or at a Mobile Phone Service Center in the street.

Time: Vietnam lies in the same time zone with Thailand, meaning seven hours ahead of GMT/UTC. So close to the equator, Vietnam has no daylight saving time (summer time).

Source: www.ecotravelvietnam.com