SIM Cards and Mobile Data in Vietnam

Mobile data in Vietnam is fast, cheap and almost everywhere. The question is not whether to get a SIM — it is which one, and where to buy it without paying triple.

The three networks

Network	Owner	Coverage	Reputation
Viettel	Military-run	Best everywhere, including mountains and remote islands	The default. Slightly more expensive.
Vinaphone	VNPT	Excellent in cities, weaker in highlands	Good 5G rollout in HCMC and Hanoi
Mobifone	State	Strong in the south, patchy in the north-west	Used to be the favourite; less so now

If you are going to Sapa, Ha Giang, Phong Nha or any remote beach, get Viettel. For city-only trips any of the three will be invisible to you.

Tourist plans, May 2026

Walk into any official Viettel shop with your passport and ask for the tourist data plan. Current pricing:

• ST30K — 30 days, 4GB/day, unlimited speed for the first 4GB then throttled. 200,000đ (~8 USD)
• ST15 — 15 days, 3GB/day. 100,000đ
• 5G UNLIMITED — 30 days, unmetered 5G in covered areas. 300,000đ

Vinaphone and Mobifone have near-identical packages within a few thousand dong. All include domestic calls; international calling is per-minute and you should use WhatsApp or Zalo instead.

Do not buy a SIM from the man in the airport arrivals hall holding a "SIM 4G" sign for 500,000đ. The same SIM at the official Viettel kiosk two floors up is 200,000đ.

Where to buy

Official network shops — Viettel, Vinaphone and Mobifone all run their own storefronts on most major streets. Bring your passport (legally required for registration). The clerk fits the SIM, runs the activation and waits while you test data before you leave. 10–20 minutes.

FPT Shop and TheGioiDiDong — these phone-shop chains sell pre-loaded tourist SIMs at the same price as the official network shops, with English-speaking staff in city locations.

Airport — only the official Viettel/Vinaphone/Mobifone counters past immigration. Prices match downtown. Avoid every other booth.

Convenience stores and guesthouses — they sell SIMs but at a markup, and registration is often skipped which can cause your number to be deactivated mid-trip.

eSIM — the no-queue option

If your phone supports eSIM (iPhone XS+, Pixel 3+, most modern Samsungs) you can land already connected.

• Airalo Vietnam — 5GB / 30 days for ~10 USD, 10GB for ~16 USD. Activates over wi-fi, runs on Vinaphone's network. No passport registration needed.
• Saily — NordVPN's eSIM brand, similar pricing, decent app.
• Holafly — unlimited eSIMs at a premium (~6 USD/day), useful for very short trips.
• Viettel eSIM — only sold in-store with passport, but you keep the local number afterwards.

For a one-week trip an Airalo eSIM beats queuing at the airport. For a month or more, buy a physical Viettel SIM in town — cheaper per GB and works in the mountains.

Hotspot and tethering

All Vietnamese tourist SIMs allow hotspot by default. With a 4GB/day plan you can comfortably work from a beach, run a video call and still have headroom. There is no carrier-side block on tethering and no surprise upcharge.

Where it matters: cafe wi-fi in Vietnam is usually fast but often unreliable for video calls. A SIM hotspot is a more dependable backup than the cafe router. See wifi and internet for more on this.

Topping up

When your plan ends, you can renew without re-inserting anything:

1. Dial *098# (Viettel) for a menu of packages.
2. Or buy a top-up scratch card at any convenience store and text the code to 9100.
3. Or use the MyViettel app — pay with a Vietnamese card or VietQR. See money and banking.

If your SIM goes dormant for 60+ days the number is recycled. For long stays, keep it active by buying the smallest possible renewal each month.

Calling emergency services

Vietnamese SIMs reach 113, 114, 115 and 112 with no credit and no plan. See emergency numbers for what each does. Save your embassy's number in your contacts the day you arrive.

A note on registration

Since 2023, all SIMs must be registered to a real ID — your passport for foreigners. Unregistered SIMs are auto-deactivated. Buy from official shops or recognised retailers (FPT, TheGioiDiDong) and you will not run into this.