Vietnam Currency: The Indian Traveller's Dong Guide

The first time you pull money out of an ATM in Vietnam, you become a millionaire. Three million dong sounds like a fortune, yet it is only about ₹11,000. The Vietnam currency, the dong, has so many zeros that the real challenge for Indian travellers is not finding cash but keeping track of it.

This guide covers what the notes look like, a quick way to convert prices into rupees, the note mix-up that costs tourists the most, and the cheapest way to get dong from India with the amazing Vietnam tour packages. 

Rates were checked on 18 October 2026: 1 INR = about 272 VND, and 1 USD = about 25,900 VND. Rates move daily, so check again before you travel.

Vietnam Currency at a Glance

What things cost, as a rough guide:

• Vietnamese coffee: 12,500 to 25,000 VND (₹46 to ₹92)
• Banh mi: 12,500 to 37,500 VND (₹46 to ₹138)
• A bowl of pho: 37,500 to 62,500 VND (₹138 to ₹229)
• A short Grab ride in town: 20,000 to 75,000 VND (₹73 to ₹275)

Most street food is paid for in cash, so our list of Vietnamese street food doubles as a guide to where your small notes will go.

The Quick Trick: Converting Dong in Your Head

To convert Vietnam currency to INR, drop the last three zeros, multiply by 4, then take away 10 percent.

• 50,000 VND: 50 × 4 = 200, minus 20 = ₹180 (exact: ₹183)
• 100,000 VND: 100 × 4 = 400, minus 40 = ₹360 (exact: ₹367)
• 500,000 VND: 500 × 4 = 2,000, minus 200 = ₹1,800 (exact: ₹1,835)

It comes out slightly low, which is the safe direction when bargaining. The number to remember is that 1 lakh dong is about ₹367.

Menus and market stalls often write prices with a "k" for thousand, so 45k means 45,000 VND. Vietnamese also uses full stops instead of commas, so 50.000 ₫ means fifty thousand.

The Blue-Note Trap and Other Zero Scams

The 20,000 and 500,000 notes are both blue, both plastic and easy to mix up in a dim street stall. Hand over the wrong one and you have paid about ₹1,760 extra for a ₹70 snack.

How to tell them apart:

• Size: the 500,000 is longer (152 mm against 136 mm) and pokes out beyond your fingers.
• Shade: the 500,000 leans purple; the 20,000 is a deeper navy.
• Back: the 20,000 shows Hoi An's Japanese Covered Bridge.

A few other habits will save you money:

• Keep large and small notes in separate pockets.
• Count your change slowly, in front of the vendor, before you walk away.
• Be wary of "no change" claims, a common way to keep the difference.
• Book rides through Grab, so the fare is fixed before you get in.

Where to Exchange: Banks, Gold Shops, Airports

Officially, only banks and licensed exchange agents may change money in Vietnam. Most tourists end up at one of four places.

• Gold and jewellery shops: usually the best rates, often within about 1 percent of the market rate. Use shops that display a rate board and an exchange licence. Hanoi's best-known cluster is on Ha Trung Street in the Old Quarter. Most close by early evening.
• Banks: slightly worse rates, but official, with a receipt. Carry your passport. Hours are roughly 8 am to 4:30 pm on weekdays.
• Airport counters: open around the clock, but rates can be 3 to 5 percent worse. Change only enough for your ride and first meal.
• Hotels and tour desks: convenient and the worst value. Use them only in an emergency.

Landing at night? The simplest answer to where to exchange money in Vietnam is about USD 20 at the airport, then a gold shop or bank the next day.

ATMs and Cards for Indian Travellers

ATMs are everywhere in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and they dispense only dong. Most cap each withdrawal at 2 to 5 million VND, and many charge foreign cards a fee, about 50,000 VND at Vietcombank. In April 2026, VPBank was reported to be fee-free for foreign cards, with a 10 million VND limit.

Finding an ATM in Vietnam for Indian cards is easy, as long as your card carries Visa or Mastercard. The fees are the catch, and they depend on the card you carry.

The Forex-Card Verdict

On a regular debit card, a 3 million VND withdrawal (about ₹11,000) can cost ₹600 or more once the markup, GST, the local ATM fee and your own bank's fee are added. A zero-markup card cuts that to the local ATM fee alone.

Before you load a forex card, check two things. First, the currency it holds: most Indian forex cards are loaded in US dollars, and spending or withdrawing dong from a dollar balance usually adds a cross-currency charge. Some providers, including BookMyForex, now quote a dong rate for their card, which skips that step. Second, the fee your card charges for ATM withdrawals, on top of the Vietnamese bank's fee.

Our verdict: make a zero-markup card your main wallet, carry USD 100 to 200 in crisp notes for arrival and emergencies, and keep a regular card on a different network as a backup. Withdraw larger amounts less often, and if a machine or shop offers to charge you in rupees, decline and choose dong. Some smaller merchants add 1 to 2 percent for card payments, so use cash for small bills.

Card or Cash?

UPI does not work in Vietnam yet. India and Vietnam agreed in 2026 to work towards linking QR payments, but local wallets such as MoMo still need a Vietnamese bank account.

Leaving Vietnam: The Leftover-Dong Plan

The cheapest dong is the dong you spend in Vietnam. Changing it back in India costs you twice: once in the margin when you bought it, and again when you sell it.

Your Last 48 Hours

• Keep 2 to 3 lakh dong (about ₹730 to ₹1,100) for the airport ride, a last coffee and snacks.
• Pay the hotel bill with leftover cash first, then put the balance on your card.
• Stop withdrawing two days out. Work out what you still need and use what you have.
• Spend small notes at the airport on coffee or snacks before you reach the gate.

If You Come Home With Dong

Some Indian forex dealers will buy dong notes back. On 20 October 2026, BookMyForex quoted ₹0.0037 per dong to buy them back, against ₹0.0044 to sell them to you. So 10 lakh dong left over would fetch about ₹3,700, though the same notes cost about ₹4,400 to buy. Not every dealer takes dong, so check before you go.

RBI rules also apply. Returning travellers must surrender unspent foreign currency notes within 180 days, but can keep up to USD 2,000 in notes for a future trip, and coins without limit. That makes leftover dollars easy to hold on to, while leftover dong is worth spending before you fly.