Details

• Viet Nam
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• SoSe 2026
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months
• Contact: Login to see contact information

1. Preparation

Preparing to travel to Vietnam -> First of all it is not necessary to pack a lot of clothing and every day items as you will be able to purchase everything there cheaply. Additionally you will get a lot of souveniers from a lot of different places. I booked with Chinese Airlines with a layover in Taipei one way due to me not wanting to have fixed return date. For my return flight I chose to fly with Emirates which offered great prices for flights from Hanoi to Vienna. I do not know how geopolitical tensions will evolve in the near future, so I would avoid routes going through the middle east as of now. As for Vaccinations, it is important to start as early as possible because for some vaccines you need to wait months in between shots.

2. Accommodation

Before renting stay at a hostel/hotel for a few nights before signing a contract! Easily the best way to search for accomodations is to join a facebook group in which they offer apartments. You will get generally good deals for a studio apartment starting form 6 million VND/month (about 200 euros). Otherwise you could also use Airbnb for long term rentals. As far as I know the student residence close to university is not recommendable.If you want to live close to the university look for apartments in the Hai Ba Trung district. I stayed in Hoan Kiem district and generally liked it there a lot because you are located centrally between university and the old town. Tay Ho is a bit further north but you will find newer built apartments and a more international scene. Ba Dinh and Dong Da district are also fine distance wise, you can't go wrong if you stay in the centrally located districts and you can always rely on ride hailing to take you to university even on rainy days. Safety was not really a concern as I felt generally safe walking around even at 2 in the morning. One important tip, if you intend to cook try to locate a Winmart, Fujimart or BRG Mart -> there you will be able to find groceries and utensils for cooking. 7/11, Circle K, GS25 might be open 24/7 but you will only find snacks and drinks, not actual food for cooking. If you dont feel like cooking you can easily eat outside daily because street food is cheap and you can get some great meals for about 1-3€. Also ordering food on Grab also isn't too expensive and I genuinely recommend buying the premium membership as it amounts to 1€ a month and you get reduced prices for fares and food delivery. If you get sick you can also order medicine over the Grab app.

3. Academic life at host university

I do enjoy classes more at WU and would say there is a lot of improvement possible in the teaching but in terms of life at uni it was fun. There are constantly events being held and if you ever get invited to them just say yes. If it is a billiards tournament or a cooking contest, it will definetly be worth your time. The facilities on campus could also be improved but I was fine with them.

5. Every day life in the host country

Traveling to the university in the city -> Travelling in the city is very cheap and easy. I tried to walk to university at first and it is a challenge to cross the roads in Hanoi at first but very manageable with time. As the weather gets hotter and the humidity rises it can be annoying to walk a lot. I reccommend using ride hailing apps like Grab, Xanh SM, Be. Calling a bike to take you to uni is very common and cheap. It cost me about 50cent to drive to uni daily. Ride hailing is the easiest way to get around the city. It can feel weird at first but they also offer car rides which won't break the bank either. It is also possible to rent a motorbike as well. Be sure to actually know how to drive and maybe have a license. Foreigners have a higher chance of getting pulled over for smaller mistakes. Also try to get a good price when renting -> I haggled down for a semi automatic to 1.5 million VND/month and for automatic to 2 million VND/month. Also if you try to rent a bike, please take videos and pictures before renting and test the breaks! Lastly it is also possible to take the bus to university but they only accept cash for bus fares. If you get on a bus you can sit down and there will be a worker who will walk over to you and hand you a ticket for about 10K VND. It will get you from A -> B but ride hailing is just a few cents more expensive and will get you to your destination faster. The roads are not to be underestimated. You have to jump over your shadow when crossing and even when your light is green, cars and motorbikes will cut you off. You need to show them that you want to cross and they need to go around you. If you give them way the other vehicles behind will take the opportunity and also cut you off. So signal with your hand that you are about to cross and even while crossing show them with a hand signal if they should drive past you in front off you or behind you. On most roads the bikes and cars drive slowly because the traffic doesn't allow going to fast so don't be too anxious. As for social and leisure activities there are more than enough to just write them all down. You can find some great workshops/activities on Agoda and Klook and getting coffee in the city is a staple. People will sit in cafè's until midnight and there is generally a lot going on deep into the night. Nomadtable is a great app to meet up with solo travelers and also get some ideas for what you can do in the city. In terms of events it is better to ask the coordinator at university because they will know the exact dates of when events will be happening in Hanoi. Gyms are also very cheap to visit, I generally preferred to go running and always went to Thong Nhat Park to run (1 lap is around 3km).

6. Testimonial

I would say that my highlight was definetly the city, its pople and culture. I loved to go around markets and haggle for the fun of it, drink coffee (the best is salted coffee), walk around and listen to the sound of the streets as I loved the constant noise around me. Using Hanoi to travel and see so many places was an unforgettable experience that was a 100 times better than I could have imagined. If you don't fear unplanned adventures, being crammed on a sleeper bus that wobbles around while driving, sleeping in various hostels, trying exotic foods, meeting kind and open people then Vietnam is undoubtedly the place you have to go to.