Hi,

Am I supposed to take a minimum amount of cash into Vietnam? Where is the best place to exchange it?

Thanks,

Buzzer

Buzzer:

There is no limit on Thai Baht into Vietnam since there is no posted exchange rate and you can not change baht into dong (at least everywhere I have been and I travel there monthly).

I usually change Thai Baht into US Dollars here in Thailand and then change the dollars into Dong upon arrival in HCMC. I use my credit card for all hotel bills and use the Dong for taxis and food. Your credit card or ATM card will work in the ATM machines as well.

Hope this helps.

Bob

There may be no limit on the Vietnam side, but there's a limit from the Thailand side.

http://www.customs.go.th/Customs-Eng/Trave...?menuNme=Travel

"For Thai currency, the amount of Baht 50,000 or more must be reported on departure to Customs, except those traveling to Lao PDR., Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam are allowed to take out Thai currency not exceeding 500,000 Baht."

Buzzer:

There is no limit on Thai Baht into Vietnam since there is no posted exchange rate and you can not change baht into dong (at least everywhere I have been and I travel there monthly).

I usually change Thai Baht into US Dollars here in Thailand and then change the dollars into Dong upon arrival in HCMC. I use my credit card for all hotel bills and use the Dong for taxis and food. Your credit card or ATM card will work in the ATM machines as well.

Hope this helps.

Bob

exactly the way how to do it !

if you bring Thai Baht to Vietnam and try to change it there, you may easily lose 20-30% of the value !

when travelling from one Asian country to another (except Singapore and Hongkong), ALWAYS change into US$, SG$, € or UKpounds before.

A little background information on entering Vietnam. If you have anything with Chinese writing (kanji) on it, declare it or hide it well. If you declare it it will be held until you leave. This was my experience a couple of years ago,.

I'd bought an antique Chinese vase in Hong Kong, and HCMC customs didn't like it, so I picked it up on the way out. I should have read Lonely Planet because the then current edition had mentioned the problem.

Well I disagree I've never had a problem changing Baht into Dong, money changers will and last trip (November 08) I changed at a bank next to the lake in Hanoi.

Okay there is one problem, a big one ... they give a very very bad rate. Change baht into dollars or Euros and then change to dong and you will come out ahead.