The best Vietnamese souvenirs to bring home

Vietnam is known to be vibrant, colorful and full of rich culture. And this reflects in their clothes, accessories and souvenirs as well. Walking around in Hoi An for example, you’ll see tons of colorful, bright lanterns with unique Vietnamese designs. But there’s of course more to it than just lanterns. so just make sure to pack lightly so you can bring home lots of souvenirs, both for you and for your friends and family. Here is a list of the best Vietnamese souvenirs to bring home.

1. Ao Dai – Vietnamese traditional dress

This dress is the national wear for females in Vietnam and is one of the best souvenirs you can bring back home. The long dress is worn with long pants and is usually worn during special occasions. Ao means shirt and dai means long. If you want a plain finished product, expect the prices to start from 30 USD. But you can also get one tailor made and then the prices will rise to about 70 USD.

Coffee

Vietnam is the second biggest coffee producers in the world and it should come to no one’s surprise that coffee here is good. Really good. So if you’re a coffee lover or know anyone who is, why not bring back a few bags of coffee. You can complement it by buying the traditional Vietnamese drip filter called “Phin”. The filter itself is small and easy to carry, so even if you don’t have a lot of space in your bag, you’ll definitely be able to squeeze this in.

Silk

Back in the days, silk was considered very luxurious and therefore was only available for noble families. But flash forward to today and now silk is accessible to everyone. Vietnam is the perfect place to buy silk fabrics which comes both in plain colors and beautiful patterns in all kinds of different colors and sizes. If you’re looking for already finished products, there’s lots of gorgeous scars made of silk, clothes, suits and silk painting. It’s the perfect souvenir to bring home.

Chopsticks

If you thought chopsticks are just plain, wooden sticks, then you’re wrong. In Vietnam you can find both the more traditionally made chopsticks, but also more unique ones with different kinds of designs. Some are made of wood, others with steel, so you can choose which style suit you the best. Buy a couple of them so you can invite your friends for a bowl of warm pho, which is a Vietnamese style noodle soup. It’s a souvenir that you’ll have a lot of use for.

Paper lanterns

These ready-to-go paper lanterns are not just beautiful to look at, they’ll give any room a more stylish look to it. You can hang them anywhere as well – in your garden, bedroom, living room, you name it. It’s up to you. The lanterns come in all kinds of color and no lantern is like the other. The best place to buy them is either in Hoi An or Hanoi, where you’ll find an abundance of stores selling them. You can either opt for a smaller one, or why not go all the way and go for the biggest lantern. Safe to say, it’ll make an impression wherever you decide to hang it.

Bamboo products

Do you want to get more environmentally conscious? Why not start investing in bamboo products that are biodegradable and much better for the environment than plastic. Vietnam has a ton of bamboo products so you can just pick and choose. Replace your plastic toothbrush with one made of bamboo, get some bamboo bowls, brushes and baskets. Not only do they look stylish, they’re also helping to reduce plastic waste.

Herbs and spices

If you’ve tasted the Vietnamese cuisine, you know how flavorful and good it tastes like. And a lot of it is thanks to the herbs and spices that the locals use. What better thing to bring back than spices? Now you channel your inner masterchef and start cooking authentic Vietnamese food in your home.

Please note that you need to apply for a Vietnam visa before you arrive to the country. You have three options to choose from. Either you get a Visa on Arrival, an E-Visa or go to your nearest Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate. The E-Visa is only available for certain countries though. If you’re planning on arriving with any other means of transportation than flying, you cannot acquire a Visa on Arrival. Then you must through the Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate.