Rules for overlanding in Vietnam

Only an International Driving Permit on the Vienna Convention model lets you drive, always carried with your Italian licence and valid for the specific category of vehicle you intend to drive; check what applies to the licence you hold. Driving without a valid licence carries very severe penalties, including prison where a crash kills or seriously injures someone. With a residence visa of at least 3 months you can instead convert an Italian licence into a Vietnamese one, a paid procedure at the Vietnamese motor vehicle offices that takes about 5 working days; an international permit cannot be issued inside Vietnam.

Renting a scooter relaxes none of this: on motorcycle rental the ministry points straight back to its licence section and to the severe penalties for riding without a valid licence.

Bringing a foreign vehicle in is tightly regulated. The authorisation must be started through an authorised international travel agency roughly 2 months before your planned entry, the fees can be heavy, and the whole route from entry to exit must be driven with escort vehicles, coordinated by the agency that handled the paperwork.

A foreign vehicle may stay a maximum of 30 days in the country, extendable by 10 days in a case of force majeure.

You must hold insurance covering road accidents.

0.05% for motorcyclists and 0% for every other driver. The 2025 road traffic and order law raised the administrative penalties and allows licence suspension. If drink-driving causes a crash there can be criminal liability and prison, plus an obligation to stay in the country until the local proceedings end.

Helmets are compulsory for motorcyclists and their passengers from age 6, and for anyone on an electric bicycle. Seatbelts are compulsory in the front seats.

Traffic drives on the right. Crashes are frequent because the road network is in poor condition, traffic is very dense and basic rules of conduct are ignored. The ministry says driving at night is particularly dangerous and should be avoided.

Crashes involving Westerners on mopeds are frequent: keep your speed very low and in line with local traffic, which does not behave like European traffic. There have been rental scams, so use a reliable agency with proper paperwork, ideally including theft cover, and never leave your passport as a deposit. Cars can only be rented with a driver.

Use carries 3 months to 5 years in prison, facilitating use up to 20 years for large quantities, and the worst international trafficking cases carry the death penalty. Anti-drug checks in bars, clubs and other venues have increased sharply along with arrests of foreigners, and the rules are applied with maximum rigidity and no exceptions for non-residents.

Carrying, using, distributing or selling e-cigarettes, vaping devices and vaping liquids is banned. Offenders face heavy fines or prison.

Cash over USD 5,000 or 15 million VND must be declared, as must precious metals, jewellery, cameras and electronic equipment. Baggage can be inspected without notice or authorisation. Customs may seize documents, tapes, discs and books judged political, religious or pornographic, and importing any weapon, weapon part or ammunition is prohibited.

For taking a vehicle bought or rented in Vietnam into China, Laos or Cambodia, the ministry says to ask those countries' embassies in Italy and the Italian embassies there for the details before you go.

Decree 151/2024/ND-CP, published in Viet Nam's Official Gazette, covers foreign-registered vehicles that foreigners bring into Viet Nam for tourism: passenger cars of up to 8 seats (not counting the driver's), motorhomes and two-wheel motorcycles. A written approval to bring the vehicle in is required, and a Vietnamese international travel operator must apply for it. Customs and temporary import and re-export formalities must be completed at the border gate of entry and exit, and the time allowed to drive in Viet Nam may not exceed the entry visa period granted, or the visa-exemption period, of the foreigner. (Chính phủ (Government of Viet Nam), Công báo số 1379+1380 ngày 22-12-2024 — Nghị định 151/2024/NĐ-CP ngày 15/11/2024 (Decree 151/2024/ND-CP), Điều 32 và 34 (Articles 32 and 34); full text in the PDF attached to the Gazette page)

Decree 151/2024/ND-CP lists, among the documents a foreigner driving a foreign-registered vehicle in Viet Nam must carry and show when the competent authority requests them, the vehicle owner's civil liability insurance certificate valid in Viet Nam. (Chính phủ (Government of Viet Nam), Công báo số 1379+1380 ngày 22-12-2024 — Nghị định 151/2024/NĐ-CP ngày 15/11/2024 (Decree 151/2024/ND-CP), Điều 34 (Article 34); full text in the PDF attached to the Gazette page)

Decree 288/2025/ND-CP applies to Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals with activities involving unmanned aircraft and other flying devices in Viet Nam, and requires the device to have a valid registration certificate or temporary registration certificate. A pilot of a device with a maximum takeoff weight of 0.25 kg or more must hold a licence for flying within visual line of sight, and a foreigner directly piloting a flying device in Viet Nam must also have a Vietnamese agency, organization or individual as guarantor. (Chính phủ (Government of Viet Nam), Công báo số 1589+1590 ngày 18-11-2025 — Nghị định 288/2025/NĐ-CP ngày 05/11/2025, Điều 2 và Điều 19 (Decree 288/2025/ND-CP, Articles 2 and 19))

Vietnam's Radio Frequency Department states, in a FAQ answer dated 2019, that using a satellite phone in Vietnam requires a contract with a satellite service provider in Vietnam. Before use, the user must go through the licensing procedure under point 1 of Article 21 of Circular 05/2015/TT-BTTTT. (Cục Tần số vô tuyến điện (Radio Frequency Department, Vietnam) — Hỏi đáp, Câu 9: Muốn sử dụng máy điện thoại vệ tinh ở Việt Nam thì phải làm gì?)

According to the portal of Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology, on 13 February 2026 the Radio Frequency Department granted Starlink Services Vietnam Co., Ltd a licence to use radio frequencies and radio equipment. The announcement concerns the company's licence and does not set out rules for travellers bringing their own terminals. (Bộ Khoa học và Công nghệ (Ministry of Science and Technology, Vietnam) — Starlink được cấp phép triển khai dịch vụ Internet vệ tinh tại Việt Nam)