Tipping in Vietnam: who, when, and the cash to carry in the north

The short answer

Tipping in Vietnam is appreciated almost everywhere and required almost nowhere. That is our view as hosts, and it matches what guides write about Trang An: a tip is not required, it is appreciated, and it is usually not asked for. Our boat days and cruises list tips as not included, and on our Lan Ha day they are never expected.

Will your card work? For small things in Hanoi, often not: one Hanoi resident guide says cash is still king there, and that street food stalls, local pho shops, xe om drivers and most markets are cash only. We print no tip table on purpose, and the reason is below. Carry small notes.

We are a family on Cat Ba who run a guesthouse and sell boat and island days. We do not run trips around Hanoi, Ninh Binh or the mountains, so those parts of this guide are compiled from independent guides and tour company pages, read against each other. In our view, the tip conversation in Vietnam is really a cash conversation.

Ask for small notes when you change money, and keep the day's cash flat in one pocket with the reserve somewhere else. That is our advice, not a rule. Our own trip notes say cash in small notes. For scale, one Hanoi guide prices a glass of bia hoi, a bowl of pho and the airport bus at tens of thousands of dong or less. We are not quoting item prices, because they move.

Is tipping in Vietnam expected?

Not in the way it is in some countries. We found no tip table we would trust, so this guide does not print one. What we can give you is the principle and a few places where a tip is a normal gesture.

The end of a guided day is the clearest case. One writer on the Ha Giang loop says to carry cash for snacks, souvenirs and a tip for the driver at the end of the tour. At Trang An, a tip for the rower is described as appreciated, not required. Here is how we would think about it, person by person:

• Guide on a walking or trekking day: a small note at the end, in dong, if the day earned it.
• Driver at the end of a long road trip: the same. The Ha Giang writer above counts the driver's tip among the reasons to have cash.
• Boat rower: see the Ninh Binh section below. The ticket is one conversation and the thank-you is another.
• Boat crew on a day cruise: the same small note. Our Ha Long day cruise lists tips for guide and crew as not included.

Our advice is simple. If the day earned it, hand over a small note yourself at the end, in dong, and do not stress about the exact figure. Rounding up a taxi fare, or leaving something for the person who cleans your room, is what we would do. We cannot point to a source that calls either one custom.

The Ninh Binh rowers, handled fairly

Ninh Binh is where the tipping question gets loud. Start with the ticket, because that part is not a negotiation: prices are set in dong at the ticket office. Per the 2026 price list, the Trang An complex lists adults over 1.3 m at 300,000 VND, and the provincial tourism centre's list agrees. The Tam Coc-Bich Dong ticket is 250,000 VND for adults without the electric shuttle. Check at the ticket office, because prices change. Older blogs still print 250,000 VND for Trang An, which is why you may see two different numbers online.

Each Trang An boat carries up to four passengers plus the rower, and groups are combined with strangers. A private boat means paying for all four seats. We give no total, because the ticket price is the one that moves. At the ticket counter, one guide says, prices are clearly stated and no vendors try to sell you items. The same guide says the rower picks up another group once your tour has ended, and that there is an extra set of oars in the boat if you want to help row.

Tam Coc gets a different report. Several guides describe rowers stopping mid-route to ask for a tip, vendors pulling alongside, and visitors being nudged to buy food or drinks for the rower. The writers heard this second hand, and two of them did not take the Tam Coc ride themselves. We do not run trips there, so treat this as reports, not experience, and not as a verdict on the people rowing.

Our advice: carry small notes, decide your gesture before you board, and hold the line politely if you are asked for more. Our guide to the Ninh Binh boats compares the two routes in more detail.

Cash or card in Vietnam, place by place

In the places below, cards and machines are patchy in several spots; this table shows what our sources say, one source note per row. Where they say nothing, we say nothing.

Two habits cover most of it. First, take out cash in a city before heading for the hills, since the mountain notes above mention limited machines and cards that often do not work. Second, keep the day's spending in small notes and the reserve somewhere else, split across pockets. Both are our advice.

How we handle it on our trips

• Tips are not included in the price. The 2D1N lists tips under excluded, the Lan Ha day says tips for guide and crew are never expected, and the Ha Long day cruise lists tips for guide and crew.
• Tulip Cruise and Celina of the Sea list tips for the crew and driver as excluded.
• The 2D1N and 3D2N trips tell you to bring cash in small notes.
• On the Viet Hai village trip there is no ATM and cards are unreliable, so we say bring cash in small notes.
• The Ha Long to Cat Ba ferry is bought at the pier window, in cash and in dong, and there is no online booking.
• The national park trek needs cash only for lunch afterwards.
• Unsure mid-trip what a fair gesture looks like? Message us on WhatsApp at +84 961 737 103. We will tell you what we would do, though we do not set a tip figure.

In our view, the tip is rarely the hard part; the cash is, so arrive with small notes rather than only large ones.

Before you go

Our guide to two days in Hanoi covers the capital before the coast, where the cash notes above matter most. Still deciding on the length of your trip? Our guide to how many days to give the north helps you fix the route before you plan the cash. And what to pack for northern Vietnam is the place to plan the rest of your bag. For the boats at Ninh Binh, our guide to the Ninh Binh boats is the longer comparison.

What we read for this guide

The Trang An ticket page and the Ninh Binh 2026 provincial price list, independent and tour company guides to Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Mai Chau, Pu Luong, Mu Cang Chai, Ha Giang and Cat Ba, and our own trip pages, all read in October 2026. Rules, fees and prices change fast in Vietnam, so check close to your dates.