Time Zone & Time Difference in Vietnam – Horizon Vietnam Travel

Time issues in Vietnam and Indochina are very important for foreign tourists, especially those coming from Europe or America, so very far from Southeast Asia. There is the distance and the time difference that matters, the different pace of life between the two continents, then the opening and closing times of shops, banks, embassies or consulates, some administrations in Vietnam. All this needs to be taken into account for a foreign tourist visiting Vietnam. Better information on these various points will allow you to better prepare your trip to make it as pleasant as possible. If the Vietnamese often say “Health is worth gold”, it is certainly also so that the trip of Western tourists remains exotic from several points of view thanks to a typical environment and that, despite significant modernization, some things remain characteristic of Vietnam.

time zone time difference Vietnam

Time Zones

In terms of distance, there are more than 9,000 km between Vietnam and France, and about 15,000 km between Vietnam and the United States. That’s more than ten hours of flight! (not counting possible layovers which, in many cases, last quite a while). For tourists from Europe or North America traveling such a distance for the first time, these numbers are not insignificant at all.

But time zone is undoubtedly the greatest difficulty for most tourists from Europe or North America traveling to Vietnam. There, great effort of adaptation will be necessary. But some of our information and tips will certainly be useful to you!

Compared to GMT, for the United States, the time difference is 7 hours in winter and 6 hours in summer. That is, if the clock shows 7 o’clock according to GMT, it will be 14 hours in Vietnam in winter and 13 hours in summer. Between France and Vietnam, there is a difference of 6 hours in winter and 5 hours in summer. That is, if it is 12 o’clock in Paris, it will be 18 hours in winter and 17 hours in summer, in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam, Laos and Thailand have the same time zone. In short, the difference is significant enough to tire most travelers, especially those not used to flying such a distance.

To ease the effects of time zone on you, we have some tips to suggest to you:

+ Position yourself as comfortably as possible on the plane and try to sleep during the flight.

+ Take your time on the first day to avoid excessive fatigue.

+ Try to sleep as much as possible during your first night in Vietnam, even if it’s not very obvious; adjust your meal and sleep schedules to those of Vietnam.

+ Avoid naps during the day, try not to consume too much alcohol or coffee during the first few days, drink at least one or two liters of water per day from your arrival.

For our part, when planning your activities and tours in Vietnam, we always plan rest time for you, which is long enough after your arrival and check-in at your hotel. This will allow you to rest a bit after your arrival in Vietnam and be in good shape for any tours.

If you’re curious to discover local daily life, know that the Vietnamese have a pace of life very different from yours. First, they wake up very early in the morning. As early as 4-5 in the morning, you can meet on the paths on the outskirts or in the city, in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, small merchants on motorcycles or bicycles going to the markets. In the countryside, people wake up as early as 5 or 6, you can already see people feeding pigs or chickens. On this point, it can be said that the Vietnamese are one of the hardest-working peoples in the world! Conversely, knocking on a merchant’s door too early is considered improper, despite the fact that popular catering responds to the needs of those leaving for work and opens very early in the morning, between 6 and 9 am. In Vietnam, in general, people start working at 8 o’clock. Some sectors open a bit later, around 9. Very recently, according to new regulations in force to prevent morning traffic jams, the various sectors of activity start a working day at different times, especially in city centers. Conversely, shops close quite late. Large shopping centers close between 21.30 and 22.00. Small shops are very dynamic and generally close quite late in the evening. In this regard, there is no official regulation. If the Vietnamese, especially the young who are increasingly numerous to go out in the evening, and who generally still live with their families, dinners are for them an occasion for family gatherings which one must not miss without a justified excuse.

Here are the opening hours of some business sectors in Vietnam:

+ Small private shops generally open from 9 am to 19.30, but you will find some open until 21:00 in the city center of Ho Chi Minh City.

+ Administrations are generally open from 8 am to 11.30 am and from 1 pm to 4.30 pm.

+ Banks have similar opening hours, with hours ranging from 8 am to 11.30 am and from 1.30 pm to 4 pm, and this from Monday to Friday in most of the country. It is only in large cities that you will find bank branches open on Saturdays.

+ Post offices, on the other hand, open over a long period: from 7 am to 8 pm, and are generally open every day of the week, including Sundays. The central post offices of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City even open their doors from 6 am to 10 pm.

You also have every interest in knowing the opening hours of the embassies in Vietnam:

Embassy services are open (Monday to Friday) at the following times: