The Vietnamese postal system offers you most telecommunications services. You could find herein some special services such as: EMS (Express Mail Service), DHL Worldwide Express, UPS, Freight Forwarders.

Email & Internet:

Thanks to the technology, E-mail and Internet services are available in most hotels and posts in Vietnam. Other places where you could find the same services are in the Internet Cafes (~95% are using ADSL) located in many streets of the major cities. Normally the post will charge you from 3000 VND to 6000 VND per hour for internet service (about 0.19 to 0.38USD) but it could be more in the hotels.

Telephone Booth & Telephone Card:

Using a telephone booth is an easy way for you to call home. You can find telephone booths at post offices or in the street of major cities. Telephone cards are on sales at GPO, shops, restaurants, book stores. However, it is getting more popular and cheaper to make phone calls over the Internet. These days many Internet Cafes offer you this option.

International calls:

It is very easy to telephone inside Vietnam. All hotels will let you make local phone calls, many don't even charge you. Most hotels now have IDD (international direct dialing) phones in rooms and it is possible to send faxes from hotels and post offices although be warned these services are expensive. Away from the major cities it may not always be possible to make international calls.

Costs for direct dialed international calls are still high. However, you can make a phone call to talk with your relatives in your country with half of the cost with 178 or 171 services. With these services, cost is about 0.60USD per minute to most of countries in the world. How to dial it? Very easy:

Dial 171 (or 178) + 00 + country code + city code + number

Kindly note if you use this service from your hotel's telephone, the charge might be a little higher as the hotel will put some service charges over it. Again, making international phone calls by Internet is another relatively cheap option.

Mobile phone:

In Vietnam, GMS (Global Mobilephone System) is presently operated by three main suppliers: VINAPHONE, MOBIFONE and VIETEL. Your mobile phone could be used here by roaming service. These suppliers offer also VINA and MOBI Pre-Paid Card services. The best way for you to use a mobile phone in the country is to buy a pre-paid SIM card for your mobile phone. You can also rent a mobile phone at your hotel or at a Mobile Phone Service Center in the street. 

Postcard

Post cards can be bought at all the main tourist sites and stamps are available from post offices and some hotel reception desks.

Ordinary postal services

Local, international mail service includes the followings

Letters & Postcards Publications, publications for the blind, small packages. (Weight limit of small package is not over 2kg). 

Parcels - Local and Overseas

Weight limit of local parcels is defined by post. office of each province. General maximum weight for one parcel is 31.5 kg. 

Postal Financial Services

* Remittance by mail & telegram is provided throughout : the country .Vietnam Postal Service has opened one way international remittance service from France, Japan, Belgium, USA, Czech, Slovakia, Latvia, Singapore, China, Malaysia to Vietnam. 

* Express money transfer is available in towns, centers of cities and provinces within Vietnam.

* Post Saving is provided throughout the country in the following ways:

- Time Saving

- Demand Saving

- Collection Saving

- Personal Saving Account

- Pay salary in personal saving account

Telegraphic bouquet service: including telegraphic bouquet with congratulation, greeting and telegraphic bouquet with condolence 

Press Distribution

* Newspapers and magazines are retailed at any Post Office and Kiosk.

* Period subscription of domestic and imported publications:

Customers can purchase domestic press at any Post Office at any time with long-term or subscription modes.

- For subscription of imported overseas publications, Post; Office will announce the list of those and receive orders 2 times a year.

- Post Office will deliver publications at customers' addresses. 

Express Mail Service (EMS)

Express Mail Service (EMS) delivers letters, parcels, mail items, goods.. domestically & internationally on schedule of VNPT as announcement to each region & country. Weight limit for EMS parcels to overseas depends on the agreement with target country. EMS is available in 54 cities and provinces within Vietnam and to 51 countries in the world.

* Other postal services:

- Consignment post service

- Subscribing mail boxes service

- Unaddressed mail drop service

- PTN service (From Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh, Haiphong, Hai Duong) 

Accept delivering of postal and parcel with special service:

When sending postal items and parcels, customers can use other special services as following: 

Par avian: Items and parcels are transported by airway (If airway is available on the line). 

Registered: Parcels will be tracked by separate codes, recorded in to files during processing in order to be traced when necessary. 

- Certification at sending (A parcels): A parcels are normal parcels with certification of sending. Senders should pay at the price & will be issued receipts. 

- Express mail service: Senders require immediate delivery of parcels to receivers after arrival. This service is available for the receiver. With address within delivering area of the Post-Office in the cities & towns, accepting request at the time of applying postal items & parcels.

Postal items and parcels using Post Retante are not allowed to use express. 

- Advice of Delivery: Service provider is responsible for informing the senders of delivery

- A Main Propre: Items & parcels will be delivered to receivers whose names and addresses are indicated on them. 

- Post Restante: P & T will keep items and parcels at delivery post office and receivers themselves will receive there. 

- Items Pasted at the address requested by the sender: Provided when senders request or have contracts with Post Office. 

- Items delivered to the address requested by the sender or the addressee: Provided when senders or receivers order Post offices to deliver at requested addresses once or usually, except postal items under 500gram. 

- Insured items: Senders enumerate articles' value. Items and parcels are insured by the value of price stated maximum stated price for a document article is 1,000,000 dong and for a goods article is 30,000,000 dong.
 

Below are important phone numbers you should always have with you: