Best eSIM for Vietnam

Like many of you I’m sure, I heard many people rave about Vietnam, and spoiler, the hype is real. It’s a beautiful country, day to day life is very cheap, and the people are incredibly friendly. 

If you do go to Vietnam, then the chances are that you will need a Sim Card or eSIM. I’ve been on the eSIM train for the last 18 months or so, and no matter what type of traveller you are (digital nomad, just on a holiday, long-term traveller etc), I’d recommend eSIM as the way to go. 

Read on for my recommendation for the best eSIM for Vietnam, and a personalised discount for you to use on your eSIM purchase. 

What is an eSIM?

I won’t get too technical here. Basically, the majority of us have always used physical sim cards previously. You know the ones. You awkwardly have to push them out of a card, awkwardly have to find a pin to bring out the sim card dock, and then awkwardly place the new sim card in the holder. 

An eSIM is essentially a digital sim card, embedded into your phone, so you don’t have to bother with the steps I mentioned in the last paragraph. 

It functions exactly like a physical sim card, will connect to a local network, and can live in conjunction with your existing sim. 

This is why eSIM’s are perfect for travellers. You don’t have to go to a local shop, and run the risk of being ripped off. You can have internet connection as soon as you land, and compared to physical sim cards, or even pocket Wi-Fi, eSIM’s would absolutely be my recommendation.

Space is so important if you’re on the road, so even saving a little bit here via the eSIM method, feels like a win.

Which Vietnam eSIM should you choose? 

Being in Vietnam for so long, I had to make sure that I chose the right eSIM. Not all eSIM’s are the same, and different eSIM companies will use different local networks, so speeds can differ from provider to provider. 

With all this in mind, the eSIM I would recommend for Vietnam is Saily. One of the first things that appealed to me is that Saily is made by the same people behind NordVPN. There’s obviously a lot of experience behind them, and this was encouraging in choosing an eSIM for my journey. 

Saily has also been recommended by Lonely Planet in their ‘Best in Travel’ list. There are a lot of eSIM companies out there, so Saily having this background was a win during my research stage.

Here’s a few of their features that really stood out to me:

• You only need to install the Saily eSIM once. Other eSIM’s I have used, you have to install an eSIM for each place you visit. This is not the case with Saily. If the country is supported, you only have to install once. Big timesaver. 

• 24/7 customer/live chat support (very handy if you’re struggling with any installation steps)

• Added security features (that Saily X NordVPN link-up coming up trumps)

• Virtual locations. I haven’t seen this anywhere else with an eSIM company. Essentially, you can re-route your traffic through a remote server, increasing your levels of privacy. 

• Ad Blocker as standard (again, shout out that NordVPN connection). 

Here’s a closer look at why I’d recommend using Saily as your eSIM in Vietnam:

Installation is SUPER easy:

I know some people who have had issues with installing eSIM's on their phone. With some providers, you have to manually add a code into a particular part of the sim settings, it gets confusing, and your eSIM basically won't connect. Not ideal.

Saily's eSIM set-up literally took me two minutes when doing it through their app, and I have the screenshots to prove it! Here's what I did when setting up an eSIM in the UK, but the process is the same, and if you follow these steps, you should be connected in mere minutes (note the time in the top left corner).

Step 1:

Press OK when you see the prompt in the first image (told you it was easy). Press the 'Install eSIM' button.

Step 2:

You see the screen saying the eSIM is installing, and then you should get this delightful pop-up, saying that your eSIM has indeed installed!

Then go to your Sim Card settings, and select the right eSIM (if you're a frequent traveller like me, you might have a few. I'd recommend naming them after the country you're in to make things easier), and your phone should connect to the local network.

From start to finish, the process took me two minutes. Compare that to buying a sim card on the ground, and it becomes a no-brainer. Go eSIM.

Cost:

The table below shows the price of a Saily eSIM in Vietnam (prices correct at the time of writing).

Amount of Data	Duration	Cost (in USD)
1 GB	7 Days	$3.99
3 GB	30 Days	$8.99
5 GB	30 Days	$11.99
10 GB	30 Days	$18.99
20 GB	30 Days	$29.44

Travelling isn’t always cheap, and getting to Vietnam will probably cost a lot of money for the majority of readers of this post. So, if we can save money anywhere, we’ll do it. I found the cost of a Saily eSIM in Vietnam very reasonable. 

What I appreciated with Saily, is that pretty much all durations of journey are accounted for, up to 30 days (when you purchase your first eSIM, it’s also very easy to top up).

As you can see, the amount of data available ranges from 1GB to 20GB. 1GB is useful if you want data when you land in Vietnam, to be able to book a taxi, get to your accommodation etc, but I normally get more now, as I have stopped purchasing physical sim cards. 

What I did notice in a number of Asian countries, is that data seemed to go a lot further than it does in Western countries. I wouldn’t stream or anything using data, I’d use wifi for that, but day to day use seemed way down compared to other countries, even when using maps frequently, as I often would in Vietnam.

With that in mind, 10GB might be enough for most readers of this post, but I often like to play it safe, and go for the maximum amount. 

If you do find your data getting low, you’ll be notified, and as mentioned, it’s easy to top up or purchase a new pack of data. And when your 30 days are up, you can either let it run out if your stay is done, or easily top up via the app.  

Compared to other eSIM’s, including others I have reviewed on this site, Saily’s prices were the cheapest for Vietnam, and the service was also great, which seamlessly leads me onto the next section. 

Coverage:

Using the Saily eSIM in Vietnam was a drama-free experience. I was based in Hoi An the majority of my stay, and there were no problems here. One weekend, we even had a trip to Phong Nha caves, which is in a much more rural area, and there were no problems on the way there and back.

There was even signal deep in the cave at one point, which blew most of our minds! Side note, if you ever get the chance to visit the Phong Nha caves, add it to your itinerary. It’s worth it. 

Maps worked well, and using apps like Uber, Grab etc, there were also no issues. The only issue with the coverage was that Saily wouldn’t connect to Chat GPT. There are sometimes issues with using Chat GPT in Vietnam, so maybe it’s a wider thing, but it's something I wanted to share in the interest of transparency. 

Overall though, coverage was great. I’ve been to countries where it’s a lot harder using an eSIM (looking at you, India), but Saily was easy to use throughout the whole process.

Buying region eSIM’s with Saily:

I’ve seen more and more eSIM companies offering regional services now, and it’s a great addition. 

Saily offer a very competitive Asia and Oceania package, and if you’re travelling at a faster rate, I’d recommend looking at this option. The older I get, the more I want to slow down and spend a longer time in one country, but if I do get the energy to whizz around a number of countries at a faster pace, I’d look at this. 

Here is a look at the prices for Asia and Oceania, and again what I liked here is that Saily offers a wide range of dates, so you’ll be covered from 7 days, up to 180 days, depending on what you need. 19 countries are covered, including Vietnam, and other popular spots including Thailand, Indonesia and Australia.

Amount of Data	Duration	Cost (in USD)
1 GB	7 Days	$4.99
3 GB	30 Days	$12.49
5 GB	30 Days	$19.49
10 GB	30 Days	$34.19
50 GB	90 Days	$91.19
100 GB	180 Days	$170.99

Overall thoughts and discount code:

I’d have no qualms in recommending Saily as your go-to eSIM for Vietnam. It worked well wherever we went, including in caves, and I’d hope that unless you’re miles off the beaten track, you’ll find signal (obviously don’t want to guarantee it, but in my experience, we were covered). 

Apps ran well, maps were quick to load and responsive, and websites loaded quickly. Chat GPT was the only issue as mentioned, and I’d be curious to see if it worked via a VPN and Saily coverage, but I didn’t try that. 

With Saily’s NordVPN connection, there is also added security with their eSIM offerings, which is something else I appreciated. Their eSIM will block malicious URL’s, and as mentioned, also offers an ad blocker, which acts as a data saver, meaning your eSIM data will go further. 

So, there we have it, Saily is my eSIM of choice for Vietnam! And as promised, here is the discount which will give you 5% off your first eSIM purchase with Saily! You can also use the following code TRAVELGUY5 in the discount code section to get money off your Saily eSIM purchase. 

As always, any questions or comments, feel free to drop me a message, and I hope you enjoy Vietnam, and all of the mobile coverage Saily provides.