Independent travel during Tet (Lunar New Year): Things you need to know

Means of transportation

While organized tours provide transportation and pick-up services, independent travel requires you to be proactive in all aspects. During the Lunar New Year holiday, the demand for returning home or traveling is always high, which is why train and bus ticket prices are significantly higher than usual.

If you're traveling by bus, choose high-quality sleeper buses from reputable companies; this will be more comfortable and you'll avoid overcrowding.

If you choose to travel by plane during Tet (Lunar New Year), you should book your tickets several months in advance and ideally book a round-trip ticket, as this will save you a considerable amount of money.

Traveling by train during Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) is quite enjoyable and relatively inexpensive, but there are a few things to consider when choosing this mode of transportation. Trains travel quite slowly, so it will take a long time; it's only suitable for destinations that aren't too far away, and you should buy your tickets early to avoid them selling out.

Expense

When choosing to travel independently, you will have to budget for yourself (and your travel companions), from choosing destinations, transportation costs, and "everything" else.

Furthermore, independent travel will inevitably involve some unexpected expenses, so you should still budget extra and prepare for contingencies to avoid problems that are beyond your control and initial estimates.

Trip itinerary

The itinerary is also one of the important issues that those who choose to travel independently must research thoroughly.

After choosing a destination that suits your personal needs and preferences, the next step is to research online and carefully read reviews from previous visitors about attractions, hotels, guesthouses, and good restaurants. Of course, you need to be thoroughly familiar with prices to avoid falling victim to the rampant price gouging that is common at tourist destinations.

Food and beverage services

The advantage of independent travel is that you can completely choose the food and restaurants according to your preferences and budget. You have the freedom to eat all the local specialties of the places you visit. If you don't want to eat a particular dish, or the food at a certain restaurant doesn't suit your taste, you can freely decide where and what to eat for your next meal without any restrictions. Therefore, even though it requires racking your brains to think about and figure out what to eat tomorrow, this is probably one of the outstanding features that many people love.

However, this also means the following problems:

Firstly, you may face the problem of being overcharged because you don't have the same knowledge and experience as the tour guides.

Secondly, because you're not bound by any fixed cost for each meal, you're likely to incur additional expenses, even if you've carefully planned beforehand.

Travel experience

This is definitely one of the features you look forward to most in a trip, and independent travel fulfills this perfectly, as you have complete freedom to control your own itinerary, do whatever you like, stop wherever you want, and stay for as long as you want. No one is supervising or rushing you, even if you haven't finished experiencing everything, unlike when traveling on a tour.

Besides the characteristics mentioned above, this is what most people are hesitant and worried about when choosing independent travel. Because no one will guarantee your safety, nor will anyone guide you to dangerous places or what you need to protect yourself; you are the one who has to do that.

Furthermore, if you are stranded on the island due to unfavorable weather conditions, forcing you to cancel or postpone your flight, you will be the one responsible for planning, arranging, and carefully researching to make necessary adjustments. This could also lead to additional costs related to dealing with the airline ticket provider (if your trip requires this mode of transportation).

When traveling independently, if unexpected problems arise, you'll be the one to figure out how to overcome them on your own. Looking at it positively, this provides an opportunity to develop your problem-solving skills, survival abilities, and other soft skills. However, everything depends on many external factors and influences. Therefore, if you're not confident in your quick thinking and intelligent problem-solving skills, a guided tour is a much better option.

Furthermore, if an accident occurs that threatens your life, you will not have travel insurance like you would when traveling on a tour.

PV (compiled)