Vietnam shopping offers plenty of chances of acquiring the fine local products for very reasonable prices...

Vietnamese shopping specialties include:

1. Fine arts: Lacquer paintings, oil-on-canvas paintings;

2. Jewelleries: Gems including ruby, saphire...; gold; silverwares; pearl necklaces/bracelets

3. Handicrafts: embroideries, table cloths, mother-of-pearl inlay on ornaments, wooden or rattan furniture, wooden statues, stone-carving items, ceramic wares, artistic pottery, home-made footwares, style bags and the ubiquitous conical hats.

4. Clothings: tailor-made Ao Dais (female national costume), silk clothes, silk scarfs, ethnic brocades.

Most shops in Vietnam open 7 days/week. Shopping hours: 0800/0830-2100/2200.

Haggling is ecpected at most shops in Vietnam, except for those with price tag. Normally it's reommended that you should check a few shops to have an idea about prices, as there's no rule applied to the price initially offered by the shop keepers. Shopping in the afternoon is normally better than in the morning as local people believe the first clients in the morning dictate their sales for the whole day. This is not necessarily true for all shops.

When shopping big items which need shipped back home, please check with the shop keeper or the postal company who is responsible for shipping your item the insurance policy and the delivery policy. It should be delivered to your door and the insurance policy covers the intactness of your item.

For currency Information, please refer to our Money and Banks guides to the travellers.