209,358 places across Vietnam's three big cities, from District 1 cafés and Hoan Kiem street food to Da Nang's beach, in a country that runs on coffee and scooters.
Vietnam is almost as deep as Thailand in Num, and skewed hard towards cafés: Ho Chi Minh City has 100,338 places, 11,956 of them cafés, spread across District 1, District 3, Tân Bình, Bình Thạnh and District 7. Hanoi has 78,624, with Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh and Dong Da well covered and 7,818 cafés of its own. Da Nang (30,396) sits between them, with the beach on the Son Tra side.
Ask Num for a phở place open at six in the morning near your hotel, a café with egg coffee in the Old Quarter, a bánh mì stall that is serving now, a pharmacy on a Sunday, a bar in District 1 that is not a rooftop, or somewhere on Da Nang's My Khe beach for sunset. Ask in any language and it answers in yours, one real place, and how to cross the street to reach it.
Every destination Num covers here, with how many places it holds in each. Open one for the full picture.
| Currency | Vietnamese dong (VND) |
|---|---|
| Languages | Vietnamese; English common in tourist districts and among younger people |
| Plugs | Types A, C, F · 220 V |
| Emergency | 113 police · 114 fire · 115 ambulance |
| Tipping | not traditionally expected; a small tip for good service or a guide is welcome |
Prices are in dong, and the notes run to 500,000. A bowl of phở costs tens of thousands, so check you are handing over the 20,000 note rather than the 200,000; the colors are similar.
Small restaurants, street stalls and markets are cash; cards work in hotels, malls and bigger restaurants. Locals pay by bank-app QR everywhere, which visiting cards cannot use.
Traffic does not stop; walk at a steady pace without sudden moves and the scooters flow around you. Use Grab for cars and motorbike taxis rather than negotiating on the street.
Hanoi has a cool, gray winter from December to February and a hot, wet summer; Ho Chi Minh City is hot all year with rain from May to November; Da Nang's wet season peaks September to December. Pack for the city you are in, not the country.
Cafés open early and stay open late, and nobody minds you sitting for hours; a cà phê sữa đá is the default order and iced.
Message Num the way you would message a friend who lives here, in any language. It answers with one real place that fits, open now, and how to get there. It is free for travelers. Businesses list free and pay only when Num completes a booking for them, so nothing here is ranked by who paid.
Yes, with the usual city caution: bag snatching from motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh City is the most common crime against visitors, so keep phones and bags on the side away from the road. Road traffic is the larger daily risk.
Yes, in English or any language you write in. It answers the same way, with a place in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi or Da Nang that is open at that moment.
There is no single month that suits the whole country; February to April is the most comfortable overlap, with Hanoi warming up, Da Nang dry and the south not yet in its rainy season.