What to carry on your Phu My Shore Excursions? Shore excursions from Phu My Port to Vung Tau City, Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong Delta are great chances for cruise passengers to learn more about the architecture, history, culture, tradition, and local life of Vietnamese people in Southern Vietnam. What should you bring on the tours from Phu My cruise port? Passport and credit card should be carried along because you may need them to fly to the next port if you miss the ship.
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The ultimate Phu My Port Travel Guide
Shore Excursions from Phu My (list of tours)
Ho Chi Minh City Shore Excursions (list of tours and travel guide)
Table of Contents
Passport
When you are on a tour in Southern Vietnam, police officers rarely ask you to show your passport. However, in case your belongings are lost or stolen, you will need to show the passport. If your cruise ship docks at Phu My Port for a few days and you book a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City or Vung Tau City, you must have your passport with you and show it at check-in. At hospitals in Vietnam, passports and visas are required. Moreover, you need your passport to fly or travel by car to the next port if you are late returning to the cruise ship. In addition, you should bring travel documents, including travel insurance information documents.
What to carry on your Phu My Shore Excursions? Passport
Do not hesitate to contact Tracy Do & Bill Bui at +84938314386 (Whatsapp/iMessage/Viber/SMS) for detailed information about Phu My Port, shore excursions from Phu My Port, including transfers and tours to Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City center, Cu Chi Tunnels, and Mekong Delta from Phu My, and the best prices for your group
Cash
In some Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Cambodia, the U.S. dollar is accepted commonly, even street vendors accept to be paid in U.S. dollars. In Vietnam, most vendors only accept the payment in Vietnamese Dong. Your tour agency or transportation business can accept the U.S. dollar. You can also tip them in a foreign currency. So it is recommended to have some cash in the local currency and US dollar.
Besides the U.S. dollar, you can bring other common foreign currencies such as Euro (EUR), Japanese yen (JPY), British pound (GBP), Swiss franc (CHF), Chinese renminbi (CNH), Canadian dollar (CAD), Australian dollar (AUD),… Certainly, US dollar is the most popular and easiest to be used in Vietnam.
What using cash is better than credit in Vietnam?
You can buy a bottle of water or snacks at a convenience store on your Phu My shore excursion. A bottle of water costs 5,000 – 20,000 VND (~ 0.25 – 1 USD), snacks cost from 10,000 VND. At some convenience stores, they do not accept the U.S. dollar. You can tip a boat driver or sampan rider, waiter/waitress 20,000 – 200,000 VND (~ 1 – 10 USD) on your tour. It is more convenient to have some Vietnamese Dong although they are still happy with tips in US dollars.
You can pay in full or pay a deposit of 50% of the value of the Phu My shore excursion online via credit card. At the end of tour, you can be asked to pay in cash to the tour agency or the tour guide. Moreover, there is a transaction fee of 3% – 5% if you pay online via credit card.
Some tourists book a private transfer from Phu My Port to Cu Chi Tunnels or private transfer from Phu My to Ho Chi Minh, then explore the tunnels on their own without tour guide. At the booking office, they buy the entrance tickets, the price is 125,000 VND/person (~ 5 USD). It is easier and quicker to pay the tickets in Vietnamese Dong.
How to exchange foreign currencies to Vietnamese Dong?
You can get Vietnamese Dong from your international card at ATM machines in Vietnam. The driver can stop at any ATM on the way and the tour guide is pleased to help you to withdraw money. You can exchange foreign currencies at gold shops in some cities in Vietnam. Your tour guide can also help you to exchange your cash in foreign currency to Vietnamese Dong if he/she has enough Vietnamese Dong.
What to carry on your Phu My Shore Excursions? Cash
Credit card
You can pay with credit card at some restaurants in Ho Chi Minh and Vung Tau City. As mentioned above, a credit card is needed if you need to buy a flight ticket to fly to the next stop of your cruise ship. In addition, you can withdraw money from your credit cart at any ATM in Vietnam. Cruise passengers should carry credit cards with them on shore excursions from Phu My Port.
Snacks
Although most tours include meals, you should bring some light and healthy snacks such as dried fruits, nuts, energy bars, protein bars,… to make sure you are not hungry on the way. In Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh, Mekong Delta, tourists usually walk, climb stairs up to hills and mountains, around fruit gardens, ride bicycle so they consume a lot of energy.
Insect repellent
In gardens in Mekong Delta and at Cu Chi Tunnels, visitors can get bitten by mosquitoes and other insects. So an insect repellent is safe and effective when properly used on your shore excursions from Phu My Port.
What to carry on your Phu My Shore Excursions? Insect repellent
Sunscreen
Vietnam features a tropical climate, the sun is strong in both the dry season and the rainy season. You should protect your head and skin from the strong sun from 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM if it is not raining. Wearing sunscreen and sunblock are the easiest ways to to protect your health and skin’s appearance at any age.
What to carry on your Phu My Shore Excursions? Sunscreen
Smartphone and video camera
A smartphone with a travel sim card is necessary in recent days to keep in touch with home, cruise line, tour agency, and tour guide. You can use your smartphone to pay for services online. Especially, many smartphones have good cameras for photography and videography. Certainly, chargers should not be missed.
What to carry on your Phu My Shore Excursions? Smartphone
Medications, vitamins or supplements
Regular prescription medications should be packed for your Phu My shore excursion. For example, old adults should not forget blood pressure medications.
Hand sanitizer
You should sterilize your hands regularly on your trip from Phu My Port. At some popular tourist attractions, you can climb the stairs, climb in the holes, crawl through underground tunnels, touch many strange things, travel on boats and sampans, try catching fishes and feeding crocodiles,… You are probably picking up bacteria and potentially viruses. In some situations, hand sanitizer can quickly reduce the number of microbes on hands. You should also wash your hands at toilets at stops on your tour.
Extra set of clothes
If you stay overnight at a hotel on a two-day tour, you must pack extra clothes. For full-day tours, there is no need to bring clothes.
Raincoat
If you go on the wet season, a raincoat should be carried on the shore excursion.
How to store necessary things in your carry in a safe way?
- Use anti-theft bags for travelers because pickpockets and bag snatchers exist in Vietnam.
- Do not bring to much.
- Pack light and small things.
- Do not use a too big bag. The bigger your bag, the more difficult your journey becomes.
Please contact Tracy Do & Bill Bui at +84938314386 (Whatsapp/iMessage/Viber/SMS) for detailed information about Phu My Port, shore excursions from Phu My Port, including transfers and tours to Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City center, Cu Chi Tunnels, and Mekong Delta from Phu My, and the best prices for your group
