Irkutsk Woman Details Vietnam Holiday Using Russian Services
Arina Cherenkova from Irkutsk tries to go traveling every year—both across Russia and abroad. In November 2025, she decided to explore Vietnam and spent 12 days there. Arina told an IrCity correspondent about the nuances of a holiday in this country.
«Slept Along the Way»
The Irkutsk resident noted that she had visited Thailand several times before, so this time, when choosing where to vacation, she and her partner settled on Vietnam.
«I have a goal to go somewhere three times a year, and not necessarily to the sea. If we«re talking about budget travel, it»s either Thailand or Vietnam. Since I«ve been to Thailand several times already, we decided to try Vietnam,» Arina says.
The couple booked their tour package through a travel agency they hadn«t used before. Reviews for the company were mixed, but in the end, the Irkutsk travelers were satisfied: everything was clear and well-organized, with no hitches. The flight and accommodation in a four-star hotel with breakfast cost them 160,000 rubles (approx. $1,800 at current rates).
«We arrived at Cam Ranh airport, were met there, quickly oriented about which bus to board. The buses themselves were very comfortable, with legroom, you could recline the seat and relax. They also provided us with drinking water,» shares the Irkutsk woman.
For her vacation, Arina chose a popular resort area in southern Vietnam—in the suburbs of Phan Thiet. But wanting to avoid the bustle, the couple didn«t stay in the Mui Ne resort zone, which tourists usually flock to, but on the opposite side, in a small, quiet village. It takes 3–5 hours to get there from the airport, depending on road conditions.
«We drove for four hours, managing to sleep along the way. There were also technical stops where you could eat and freshen up. Everything was very convenient. We stayed in a hotel that was created for Russian tourists. The whole time we were there, we only saw one couple from France and one from Azerbaijan,» notes Arina.
The couple arrived right at the start of the season, so the hotel was quiet and not crowded. According to the Irkutsk woman, the hotel had everything needed for a good rest: a fantastic breakfast selection and its own relaxation areas with a pool and sunbeds.
«Everyone behaved quietly and calmly, no noisy parties, and if they drank by the pool in the evenings, it was without any rowdy toasts. I was quite comfortable. Initially, I wanted to practice English, but because we were vacationing in a Russian environment, it turned into a real mental break as well,» Arina recounts.
«Ate Snails, Crocodile, and Ostrich»
Regarding local cuisine, the Irkutsk resident notes it«s more adapted to our stomachs than Thai food. At the very least, it»s not as spicy, all spices are brought separately: add them if you want, or don«t. This is explained by Vietnam»s long history as a French colony, so the cuisine is closer to European.
«Hotel breakfasts are simply fantastic, for all tastes. There«s milk porridge, omelets, coffee, tea, various cereals, fruits, and vegetables. And their vegetables are quite tasty, not like in Thailand where they can be inedible. Overall, our breakfasts were very diverse and delicious,» she says. «Only three cafes operated near the hotel, we tried them all and chose just one because the food was good and the prices were pleasant.»
The Irkutsk travelers also tried delicacies. There are a huge number of them in Vietnam, Arina notes.
«We ate snails, crocodile, scallops, oysters, mussels, eel, snake, crab. The crab, of course, doesn«t compare to our Primorsky crab, ours are bigger and tastier. We tried ostrich, but didn»t like it because it was tough. But everything else was incredibly delicious,» says Arina. «We also tried the local pho bo soup. It«s noodles in beef broth plus herbs and spices. The interesting thing is that it»s precisely the herbs that make it tasty. Once they forgot to bring them to us, and it wasn«t very good. But as soon as we added the herbs, the taste changed immediately.»
Delicacies cost around $10–20, whereas a simple bowl of pho bo costs $1–2 per serving.
How to Pay in Vietnam?
Incidentally, you can exchange money right in cafes, as well as in shops, pharmacies, and at hotel reception desks. At that time, 1 dollar was equal to 27,000 dong.
«For a «hotel-beach» format vacation, you can take a thousand dollars with you. We had $1,500 with us, which was enough for both excursions and shopping. Part of the time we just relaxed in our room or on the beach,» Arina recounts.
But even if you run short of cash, you can easily pay expenses by card—via UnionPay, the Mir card, or by transfer through Sberbank.
«You pay in rubles, they are automatically converted at the rate into dong. Almost all Vietnamese have Sberbank, so even if you didn«t bring dollars, you can safely rely on rubles. That»s a big plus, of course,» shares the Irkutsk woman.
What«s the Best Way to Book Excursions?
Arina prepared for excursions in advance, booking them with a local tour operator. The price difference for excursions between him and the tour operator the Irkutsk couple used to book their Vietnam package was $10–15.
«We did it this way. We took one free sightseeing tour, two excursions with our tour operator, and one more with a local one,» she notes.
So, the couple visited an amusement park in Bao Loc province, home to a 60-meter waterfall, the highland city of Da Lat, and the local deserts.
«The desert tour is individual in any case. You don«t need a Russian-speaking guide here; they pick you up by car, drive you to the UAZ minivans—which, by the way, are painted bright colors—and then they take you to the desert. They have white and red sand dunes. You travel across them on ATVs and sleds. Then the route goes to Fairy Stream, where you just walk and look at the limestone deposits. So the excursion is quite simple,» Arina explains.
However, going to Bao Loc with the local tour operator turned out to be uncomfortable because his buses were very inconvenient, which is critical given the very long journeys in Vietnam.
«But the guides were very interesting, told us a lot about Vietnam, the Vietnam War, what Vietnamese people do, and local life peculiarities,» adds the Irkutsk woman.
She has something to compare it with, because she went to the highland Da Lat with her own tour operator. The journey took five hours, but that time was spent comfortably in good buses.
«We slept all five hours in the end. It was so comfortable and convenient that we weren«t at all upset about paying almost twice as much for the excursion,» Arina shares.
In the end, the Da Lat excursion cost the Irkutsk travelers $90 per person, the sand dunes—$45 per person, and Bao Loc—$35 per person.
The Irkutsk woman noted that four excursions over 12 days were enough for her. Another day was spent on shopping. The couple browsed the shops in Mui Ne.
«In Vietnam, the Maxim taxi app works; you open it and it automatically switches to Vietnamese. Moreover, ordering a taxi through the app is about twice as cheap as hailing one on the street,» shares Arina.
She recommends taking at least $1,000 for shopping. Many brands manufacture their collections in Vietnam, so you can buy clothes at low prices. For example, at Adidas, a T-shirt, tank top, three pairs of shorts, and the latest model sneakers cost the couple just 17,000 rubles (approx. $190).
«Considering that Adidas sneakers here cost about 12,000 rubles, it turned out very inexpensive, in principle. The branded items are of very good quality,» notes the Irkutsk woman.
«The Sand All Around Is Incredibly Enchanting»
In Vietnam, she continues, there«s quite a lot to see—from nature to architectural landmarks.
«The waterfalls, of course, were a delight. They are just incredibly huge, especially the 60-meter Dambri Waterfall in Bao Loc. And in Da Lat, I liked the glass bridge and the «Crazy House.» It was built by the daughter of a Vietnamese press secretary, and she studied at the Moscow Architectural Institute. The house is of incredible size, consisting of labyrinths that soar upward and then go down. Your head spins when you walk through it, but the imagination of the person who came up with it is amazing,» notes Arina.
And, of course, the journey through the sand dunes—a mini-desert in the heart of Vietnam—provided huge impressions.
«When you«re in the desert, with sand all around you—it»s just an incredibly enchanting view. I really liked it. We walked barefoot, the sand burns your feet,» recounts the Irkutsk woman.
Another interesting attraction was an amusement park located 30 minutes from the couple«s hotel. They built »Noah«s Ark» there—a huge ship with stuffed animals.
«The stuffed animals start to move when you approach them. The story of Noah is told, showing what his ark«s kitchen and bedrooms were like. The ship stands on a high hill, and when you go up to the very top, the third floor, you see the sea, cottage villages, and the beach strip,» recalls Arina.
The houses of local residents also amazed the Irkutsk travelers. They are built on a «staircase» principle: first comes a garage-like space, and further back are rooms that get smaller and smaller.
«If you look at a house from the side, its roof looks like a staircase. The houses are very narrow, about 2.5 meters wide. It turns out they are built this way because of the high land tax in Vietnam. But here the income tax is small—from 3 to 5%, so practically all Vietnamese are businesspeople. Many of them open their own little shop right at the front of the house, with apartments further back. Since Vietnamese live in families with the older generation, they can build a second and third floor,» explains the Irkutsk woman.
«Vietnam Is for Adult Vacations; With Kids—Go to Thailand»
Arina Cherenkova noted that overall, she was pleased with her vacation. She found what she was looking for.
«You need to understand why you«re going to Vietnam. I chose a getaway from the hustle, with a minimum of people and children. So we went to such a suburb where it»s not noisy, there are no shops, few cafes, a real middle of nowhere. When we passed by the hotels in Mui Ne that we initially wanted to book but were full, I was even glad we were turned down, because otherwise I would have been more tired than rested,» she says.
In her estimation, the vacation turned out to be quite adult-oriented. In her opinion, Vietnam isn«t very suitable for traveling with children due to the long journeys to excursion sites. And even if you take them, they should be old enough—it would be hard with toddlers.
«If you go with children, then definitely no excursions, because all the trips are along winding mountain roads. When we went to Da Lat, my blood pressure kept changing, I even thought I had altitude sickness. It«s a mountain city, 1,500 meters above sea level, I felt sick, nauseous, and dizzy almost all day. And only when we started descending from the mountains on the way back did it begin to ease,» she says.
In Vietnam, compared to Thailand, the climate is milder; Siberians find it easier to bear the heat because it«s dry. In Thailand, it»s comparable to the feeling in a hammam (steam bath). Also, in Vietnam there is no smell of garbage. Fallen coconuts, leaves, and branches lie on the streets, but household waste is regularly removed by garbage trucks.
«Plus, different seasons. In Vietnam, after all, the end of November when we were there is not the season. There were even floods in central Vietnam. In Mui Ne, the season was just beginning, but there were still waves. And in Thailand at this time you can find beaches with calm water where even children can swim,» notes Arina.
Overall, if considering a vacation with children, Thailand, in her opinion, is preferable also because there are now many Russian cafes there, making it easier to feed your kids.
«And in terms of cost and flight time, it«s about the same to Vietnam as to Thailand. But in Vietnam, you can still strongly feel the remnants of the USSR. And so, for us Russians, it»s somehow closer, you could say,» concludes Arina.
