Best Gifts & Souvenirs to Buy in Vietnam |Ultimate Shopping Guide 2025

If you're traveling to Vietnam and looking for souvenir and gift ideas, I have some recommendations for you. Hi, thanks for tuning in. I'm Thuy and on my channel I share Vietnam travel tips and local insights. By popular demand, I'm going to share with you another video on shopping. Vietnam is full of unique finds from local specialties to beautifully handcrafted pieces. In this video, I'll share 10 top souvenir and gift ideas that are authentically Vietnamese and make unforgettable gifts for friends and family. Make sure you watch to the end while I share a few tips for a better shopping experience. Let's start with the first five. These are some of Vietnam's most popular treats, ideal for anyone who wants to bring home the taste of Vietnam or share it as a unique gift. Chocolate is a popular gift from anywhere in the world and from Vietnam it's extra special because of its artisanal quality. Brands like make award-winning single origin bars crafted from cacao grown in different regions of Vietnam, each with its own unique flavors. They're beautifully packaged, taste incredible and make the perfect gift for any occasion. If you love coffee, you're going to be in coffee heaven when you arrive in Vietnam. A fact you might not know, Vietnam is the second largest coffee producer in the world, known for its strong bold robusta beans. Think cafe sữa đá, the famous iced coffee with condensed milk. There's a wide variety of coffees to take home from specialty roast beans to instant coffee and even gift sets that include the traditional fin filter. So he's gonna let me try the fine robusta from Dak Lak. Vietnam also has a traditional tea culture with tea plantations in central and northern Vietnam. Tea flavors that are unique to Vietnam are lotus, jasmine and artichoke. They come in mousse leaf and tea bags and make great gifts for tea drinkers. Vietnam is a tropical fruit paradise. Countries like America and Australia don't allow your bringing in fresh fruits and vegetables. That's why these dry fruit packaging are perfect to take back. They're vacuum sealed which keeps them fresh and crispy and can keep for months. Perfect as a snack when you're traveling and also make great gifts. Sure you can get cashews anywhere in the world but what makes them special in Vietnam? Have you ever seen flavors like turmeric, coconut or pink pepper? These Vietnam inspired flavors and theme packaging leaves no doubt that this is made in Vietnam. If you love Vietnamese food or love to cook then you should take advantage of purchasing the ready-made spice mix and condiments. They're available in most markets but easiest to find in supermarkets. They're compact, inexpensive and a perfect way to bring Vietnam's flavors to your own kitchen. When visiting Vietnam one of the things you'll notice are the beautiful handicrafts made from natural materials like rattan, bamboo, palm leaves and seagrass. Some popular handmade items are the signature Vietnamese non-la or conical hat, woven rattan bags and bamboo trays with inlay mother of pearl. You'll find these in markets and souvenir shops throughout the country. Handmade items also extends to textiles. You'll find a wide range of textiles in Vietnam from delicate silk to naturally dyed hemp. Vietnam has a long tradition of silk weaving with villages across the country producing their own styles. The alzai tunic dress and scarves are examples of popular silk products. There's also colorful ethnic textiles hand woven from cotton and hemp. Handmade quilts with Vietnam themed stitching is another unique gift idea. These are from Mekong Quilts, a social enterprise that provides employment for underprivileged women in Vietnam and Cambodia. Besides sofa and bed covers they also make baby quilts with cute animal motifs, an ideal gift for families. For embroidered linens visit Nguyen Quang in Saigon. Their hand embroidered patterns are intricate and distinctly Vietnamese. They also have a good selection of children's clothing. Vietnamese ceramics make a beautiful and practical gift known for their timeless designs and everyday functionality. The most famous style comes from Bac Trang, a 700-year-old pottery village just outside Hanoi. Its signature look is a blue and white glaze often hand painted with plant and animal motifs. Today Bac Trang artisans create many new styles and colors while still keeping the traditional craftsmanship alive. Popular souvenirs include tea sets, coffee fin filters, vases and kitchenware. Alongside these traditional pieces you'll also find modern ceramic styles that are minimal and monochrome in design. They're a great option if you prefer something more contemporary. T-shirts are one of the most popular souvenirs, easy to pack, affordable and something that everyone can wear. You'll find them everywhere from playful prints to culture-inspired designs like the ones from Ginkgo known for their quality organic cotton shirts. You really can't go wrong with a t-shirt. Art prints and stationery make popular souvenirs and gifts. There's a wide selection from colorful sketches and woodblock prints to graphic art that captures daily life, culture and landscapes. Popular designs include street scenes, scooters and local food. Small details that bring back memories of your trip. There's also notebooks, postcards and magnets which are lightweight, easy to pack and make fun thoughtful gifts for friends and family. I want to share with you some shopping tips and some common questions about shopping in Vietnam. If you're shopping at markets, it's best to pay cash because not all vendors take credit cards and if they do, they'll most likely charge a three percent fee. So make sure you have Vietnamese Dong on you. As for bargaining, markets like Binh Thanh and some shops in Hoi An and Hanoi don't have fixed pricing. So even if they have a price tag on their product, you can still try to bargain for a lower price. They normally give you a good discount if you buy a lot. Since markets don't have fixed price, it's really hard to know whether you're getting a bargain or overpaying. Basically, my rule of thumb is pay what you feel is fair and if you're like me and don't like to bargain, then shopping at a fixed price store is a better option if you're looking for a stress-free shopping experience. Before you buy a bulky or fragile souvenir, think about the logistics of your trip. I want to tell you a little story about the days when I was backpacking. I did a trip in Mexico a long time ago and it was for a week traveling through different cities. So I bought this heavy chest set made of marble and I basically carried this thing through the whole trip. And of course, I saw it again in different cities. So the lesson being, if you're doing a long trip like north to south, don't buy anything heavy or fragile like a ceramic tea set. Save it for your last destination unless it's a one-of-a-kind piece that you won't find elsewhere. Most of the items featured in this video are available in popular tourist cities like Saigon, Da Nang, Hoi An, and Hanoi. Another thing to keep in mind is the baggage weight limit. If you're taking flights in Vietnam, one check-in bag is limited to 20 kilograms or 50 pounds. So if you exceed this, you'll have to buy another bag. So make sure you leave extra space in your luggage if you plan to do a lot of shopping. Make sure to check your country's customs regulations, especially if you're planning to bring back fresh fruit, vegetables, any types of meat, fish, including dried fish and squid, because some countries are very strict like the US, Australia, China, and Japan. Some countries like Australia are super strict. They don't even allow you to bring in incense. So whatever you're planning to buy, double check first. Thanks for watching. I hope this video is useful for your travel planning. If so, please drop me a like and make sure to comment and subscribe. See you in the next video!