Vietnam By Thumb

Let’s Go never recommends hitchhiking as a safe means of transportation, and none of the information presented here is intended to do so.

Though hitchhiking is nearly ubiquitous in Vietnam, Let’s Go strongly urges you to consider the risks before you choose to hitchhike. Hitching means entrusting your life to a stranger and risking assault, sexual harassment, theft, and unsafe driving. For women traveling alone (or even in pairs), hitching is just too dangerous. A man and a woman are a less dangerous combination; two men will have a harder time getting a lift, while three men will go nowhere.

Flagging down a bus is similar enough to hitchhiking that some travelers find themselves hitching a ride by accident; travelers standing by the side of the road are fair game for bus drivers and motorists alike. Many drivers who pick up hitchhikers expect some compensation, and may try to scam you once you’ve been driven to your destination, demanding money for gas, wear on the car, etc.

More Transportation in Vietnam

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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.