Vietnam for Digital Nomads

• Low costs. A modern one-bedroom apartment with a cleaner and fibre costs $400 to $700 a month in most cities, and a bowl of phở is about $2.
• An e-visa for everyone. The 90-day e-visa is open to all nationalities, costs $25 or $50, and takes about three working days.
• Three very different bases. Da Nang for beach life, Ho Chi Minh City for big-city energy and Hanoi for culture and four seasons.
• Coffee culture. Vietnam has a cafe on every corner, and most are happy for you to work all day over a ₫30,000 iced coffee.
• Fast domestic internet. Fibre of 150 to 500 Mbps is usually included in the rent.
• Easy travel. Cheap domestic flights and a north-south railway connect everything, and Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are two hours away.

Vietnam suits budget-conscious nomads, food lovers, people working with Asia, Australia or Europe, and anyone who likes the idea of moving between a beach city and a big city. It is a good fit for stays of three months at a time.

It suits you less if you need US business hours (9am in New York is 8pm or 9pm in Vietnam), if you want a visa that lets you stay a year without leaving, or if your work depends on fast connections to servers abroad, because damaged undersea cables slow international traffic every year or two. Traffic, noise and air pollution in the big cities take some getting used to.

These are the Vietnamese bases with full digital nomad guides:

Monthly costs are what one person spends living comfortably: a one-bedroom apartment on a monthly lease, eating out most days, a coworking desk, transport and a social life.

• First time in Vietnam: Da Nang, for beaches, low costs, clean air by Vietnamese standards and an easy-going nomad scene.
• Big-city life: Ho Chi Minh City, with the most coworking spaces, nightlife, international food and the best hospitals.
• Culture and history: Hanoi, with the Old Quarter, lakes, street food and a real winter.
• Small-town charm: Hoi An, a short ride from Da Nang, with rice fields, a lantern-lit old town and beaches.
• Cool weather: Da Lat, in the highlands, at 18 to 25°C all year.
• Quiet beach: Quy Nhon or Phu Quoc.

Vietnam has no digital nomad visa. The options are:

• E-visa: 90 days, single entry ($25) or multiple entry ($50), open to every nationality. Apply only on the official e-visa site, about a week before you travel.
• Visa-free entry: 45 days for citizens of 24 countries, including the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries, Poland, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea. You can now leave and re-enter straight away. Americans, Canadians and Australians need the e-visa.
• Phu Quoc: foreigners flying straight to Phu Quoc island can stay 30 days without a visa, as long as they don’t leave the island.

Long-stayers usually do a visa run every 90 days: a cheap flight to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, a new e-visa, and back. Remote work for foreign clients on an e-visa is a grey area that is rarely enforced; working for Vietnamese companies needs a work permit. Our Vietnam visas guide covers each option in detail.

A comfortable month for one person costs about $1,400 in Da Nang and Hanoi and $1,600 in Ho Chi Minh City. A lean budget in a local-style apartment, eating Vietnamese food, is about $900 to $1,000; $2,200 to $2,500 buys a serviced apartment with a pool and plenty of Western dining. These are ballpark figures at about ₫26,000 to the dollar.

Costs that catch people out:

• Short lets on Airbnb cost 30 to 50% more than a monthly lease found on the ground.
• ATM fees of ₫50,000 to ₫110,000 per withdrawal on foreign cards, with low withdrawal limits.
• Visa runs: budget $150 to $300 every 90 days for flights and the new e-visa.
• Imported goods, wine and cheese, which are expensive.
• Health insurance, which you need, because public hospitals are crowded and private care is billed up front.

The taxes and money page has costs by base, banking and how tax residency works.

Vietnam is on UTC+7 all year, with no daylight saving. That suits people working with Australia, East Asia and flexible teams. Your afternoon overlaps with the European morning (Vietnam is 6 to 7 hours ahead of the UK). US hours are hard: 9am in New York is 8pm or 9pm in Vietnam.

Vietnam is long and thin, and its three regions have very different climates.

Hanoi’s air is among the worst in Asia from November to March, and Ho Chi Minh City also has hazy days in the dry season. Check the IQAir app daily and run an air purifier at home. Da Nang, Hoi An and Da Lat have much cleaner air.

Domestic internet is fast and cheap. Most apartments have fibre from Viettel, VNPT or FPT, usually 150 to 500 Mbps and included in the rent. The weak point is international traffic: Vietnam relies on a handful of undersea cables that are damaged every year or two, and when they are, connections to servers abroad slow down for weeks. Coworking spaces with several lines cope best.

For mobile, Viettel has the best coverage, with Vinaphone and Mobifone as alternatives. Prepaid SIMs with large data packages cost a few dollars a month, registered with your passport, and eSIMs work well too.

• Flights. Vietnam Airlines, VietJet and Bamboo Airways link Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Da Lat, Quy Nhon and Phu Quoc, usually for $30 to $90 one way.
• Trains. The Reunification Express runs from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City in about 34 hours, with sleeper berths. The stretch from Hue to Da Nang over the Hai Van Pass is one of Asia’s great train rides.
• Sleeper buses connect almost everywhere cheaply, if not comfortably.
• In town, Grab, Be and the all-electric Xanh SM cover cars and motorbikes.

Many nomads rent a scooter, but Vietnam only recognises an International Driving Permit issued under the 1968 convention (the US issues 1949 permits, which are not valid). Riding without a valid licence is common and risky: insurers often refuse claims.

The big cities have good international hospitals and clinics: FV Hospital and Family Medical Practice in Ho Chi Minh City, Vinmec hospitals in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Nha Trang, and the Hanoi French Hospital. A private consultation costs about $40 to $100. For serious or specialist care, people sometimes go to Bangkok or Singapore, so get nomad health insurance that includes evacuation.

Dengue is common in the rainy season, so use repellent. Don’t drink tap water, and be careful with ice from street stalls for the first few weeks.

• Working. Remote work for foreign clients on an e-visa is tolerated in practice. Working for Vietnamese companies or clients needs a work permit.
• Drugs. Penalties are among the harshest in the world, including the death penalty for trafficking.
• E-cigarettes and heated tobacco have been banned since 2025.
• Politics. Avoid criticising the government or the Communist Party, including online.
• Licences. Riding a scooter without a valid licence brings fines and leaves you uninsured.
• Registration. Your landlord or hotel must register you with the local police when you arrive. The everyday life page explains how.