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The majority of today's travelers are looking for authenticity, enriching encounters, memorable moments and unique experiences. Sleeping with locals in Vietnam will be an ideal option if you are in this case. A way to combine conviviality and knowledge of the country and its inhabitants, while consuming locally.
What does sleeping at a local’s house involve?
Homestay in Vietnam is a type of accommodation that involves sharing the same roof and living simultaneously with the host family. This type of accommodation is particularly popular in the mountains of northern Vietnam, where various ethnic minorities reside. Staying with a local will allow you to get in touch with the locals and appreciate one of their most charming traits in Asia: hospitality.
When you reside among ethnic minorities, you will live in their way and consume locally. This is an excellent opportunity to discover their daily life, immerse yourself in the local culture of the country, share their rituals, their customs and traditions. You will also have the opportunity to taste typical dishes of the region you are visiting. These moments of exchange and conviviality will certainly leave you with memorable memories.
Why stay with locals in Vietnam?
Staying with a real homestay in an ethnic minority village is first and foremost a unique experience. Do you want to learn more about the daily life of the ethnic population? Don’t hesitate to taste the traditionally prepared food, engage in free conversation with your hosts and probably end by celebrating friendship with a glass of rice wine together. In splendid and often unique landscapes, you have to know how to take the plunge and give up some modern comforts to focus on the essentials.
Homestays give you a fascinating insight into the daily life of locals. There are over 50 minorities in Vietnam, each with their own languages, traditions and clothing. You will meet and interact with a real Vietnamese family. It is common in Vietnam for two or three generations to live in the same house, so you will meet grandparents, parents and grandchildren. They have often lived in their valley and village for generations and are very familiar with the area and their culture.
Homestays usually offer different types of activities, such as guided hikes, herbal baths, cooking classes, cultural performances, market visits, and other immersive activities. Hosts can also help you in practical ways, such as renting motorbikes and arranging transportation to your next destination.
In addition to the cultural experience, staying with a local in Vietnam makes it easy to trek from village to village. Many homestays are located right in some of Vietnam’s most beautiful landscapes, near breathtaking mountains, beautiful rice paddies or stunning waterfalls.
Living conditions and comfort in local homes in Vietnam
One of the most frequently asked questions about homestays is the level of comfort. It is certain that this type of accommodation is not suitable for people looking for great comfort. The homestay only offers basic comfort in order to guarantee you an authentic experience.
In general, you will spend the night in a typical ethnic minority house (on stilts, made of bamboo or wood). You will sleep with the members of the host family in a common room, on mattresses laid on the floor, with the necessary bedding. Curtains are often used to divide the space and offer you more privacy. The hosts can sometimes also offer you an independent room according to your wishes.
In order to optimize the level of comfort and better accommodate tourists, thick and comfortable mattresses, pillows, sheets, warm blankets (in winter), electric fans (in summer) and mosquito nets are made available to you.
The bathroom, with hot water and towels, as well as the toilets of Western standards, are often located outside the house. It should be noted that tourists sometimes have to share them with the host family.
As the guest houses are located in remote villages without pollution and far from the beaten track, you can relax, enjoy the fresh air and be in perfect communion with the lush nature.
In the mountains, traditional dishes are based on local crops and livestock. You can help family members cook and share the meal with your hosts. This is truly an ideal opportunity to not only experience the culture of the locals, but also learn more about their daily lives.
Although the level of comfort in a homestay is lower than that of a hotel, this type of accommodation allows you to be closer to the daily life of the locals, to share authentic and friendly moments with the host family. You will also have the opportunity to immerse yourself in an enchanting landscape. This is why many tourists have chosen to spend a few nights in a homestay during a trip to Vietnam.
How does staying with locals in Vietnam work?
The arrival
Upon arrival, you will be welcomed and taken care of by the members of the host family. The warm welcome, kindness and hospitality of your hosts will make you feel at home with them. After getting to know your hosts and enjoying a cup of tea or coffee as a welcome, you will be able to relax in your private space and set up your things.
Dinner
Usually, you will arrive at the homestay in the late afternoon. After a moment of rest, you can then participate in the preparation of dinner. This is undoubtedly a very interesting activity not to be missed.
Your guide and hosts will always be available to help you make typical dishes. This activity is a real cooking workshop that allows you to learn some secrets of Vietnamese gastronomy.
Dinner time is the most important moment of the day. Everyone gathers in a circle, around the table or on a traditional bamboo mat, and shares the dishes arranged in large bowls and plates. The atmosphere of the meal is always friendly, your hosts take great care of you, which shows their hospitality. Before starting the dinner, the locals invite you to drink a glass of rice or corn alcohol, a social and cultural act.
Dinner is a great opportunity to socialize and chat. You’ll want to ask your hosts questions to better understand their daily lives and traditions. Most locals don’t speak French fluently (only a few words learned here and there or at school sometimes), and it will often be your guide who acts as an interpreter to facilitate the exchanges.
Top 5 Activities to Try While Staying with a Local
During a homestay, you can immerse yourself in the authentic life of the locals through a series of daily activities:
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Participate in farm work or major local activities: fishing, tending animals, weeding, growing vegetables, transplanting rice, harvesting rice (depending on the season and where you are staying), etc.
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Go hiking or walking, cycling or taking a sampan ride around typical villages to admire superb panoramas (rice terraces, mountains, waterfalls, etc.) and have wonderful encounters with the locals.
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Visit weekly markets where the typical characteristics of minorities are hidden in the green valleys. Live to the rhythm of the colorful ethnic markets located in the mountainous regions, far from the tourist flow.
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Providing voluntary English or French lessons to children living in rural areas, especially those from ethnic minorities, to open up new horizons for them and experience the human experience of exchanging knowledge.
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Enjoy a show of traditional music, songs and dances from ethnic minorities such as the Thai ethnic group throughout the evening.
Where to stay with locals in Vietnam?
It is possible to stay in a homestay almost anywhere in Vietnam. However, we recommend that you spend the night in the north of the country, where the majority of Vietnam’s ethnic minorities are located. It is worth noting that each region has its own particularities. Thus, if you spend several nights in a homestay, you will have the opportunity to discover all the authentic facets of Vietnamese culture that exist between these different ethnic groups.
In the north of Vietnam
In Ha Giang, enjoy one or more nights in a local home to immerse yourself in a breathtaking panorama created by the magnificent cascading rice fields in the Northeast of the country, or set off for a few days of hiking and trekking “to the end of the world”.
In Bac Ha, homestays are an ideal opportunity to get in touch with these people with age-old traditions. You will have the chance to visit the famous weekly market and communicate with many ethnic minorities.
In Sapa, in the ethnic villages nestled in the heart of the green valleys of Upper Tonkin, your hosts will be delighted to introduce you to their traditions, customs and traditions. They will invite you to admire the superb rice terraces that make this region famous.
In Nghia Lo, Mu Cang Chai, you can stay with the Black Thai ethnic group in the northernmost region of Vietnam, surrounded by absolute calm, majestic mountains and superb rice fields that will delight photography enthusiasts.
In Mai Chau – Pu Luong, sleeping in a local home will allow you to enjoy the friendliness of the Thai Blanc and Muong ethnic groups. They will warmly welcome you into their large traditional house on stilts, prepare excellent meals and always make you feel at home.
In Ba Be and Cao Bang, spending a night in a local home will give you a great opportunity to immerse yourself in local life while enjoying the beautiful scenery. You will also appreciate the traditional culture of different ethnic minorities (Hmong, Dao, Nung and especially Tay). Various activities can be organized such as trekking, hiking, cycling or boat trips on the lake.
In central Vietnam
In Hue, your hosts will be happy to tell you the captivating history of the ancient imperial capital of Vietnam. The exchanges with them will also offer you the opportunity to discover its delicate gastronomy, its royal aspect, its cultural life and its poetic environment.
In the south of Vietnam
In the heart of the Mekong Delta, staying with locals, whether in Ben Tre, Cai Be, Vinh Long, Can Tho or Long Xuyen, allows you to immerse yourself in a green and lush setting, while observing river life and the bustle of its floating villages!
Our advice for staying with locals in Vietnam
Clothes
In winter, in northern Vietnam, the temperature can drop to 7°C in the plains and 0°C in the high mountains. Homestays do not have reversible air conditioning or radiators, as these facilities are too expensive for ethnic minorities. It is therefore important to bring warm clothes to avoid getting cold, especially during the months of December to March. Further south, in Hue or in the Mekong Delta, the climate allows you to dress more lightly.
Necessary equipment
In preparation for your stay with a local, it is important to bring flip-flops, a bath towel, a personal toiletry bag including a tube of toothpaste, a toothbrush, shampoo, etc. If you plan to go trekking or hiking, it is essential to bring good walking shoes.
Private room
If you prefer to stay with locals in Vietnam in a comfortable private room, it is best to choose the following regions: Tam Coc, Ba Be, Mai Chau, Mekong Delta and Sapa. Some homestays in these regions offer a private room with a built-in toilet, but without air conditioning. However, it should be noted that these types of rooms are sometimes a little less authentic, even if the hospitality and exchanges are still present!
Wooden stairs
In mountainous areas, most ethnic minorities live in houses on stilts with wooden stairs or ladders to go up and down. Be sure to ask beforehand, especially if you are traveling with people with reduced mobility, the elderly or very young children.
Morning noises
When staying with a local, you have to adapt to the daily life of the village. Villagers usually get up very early in the morning to go work in the rice fields. You may be woken up earlier than usual by morning noises such as roosters crowing, dogs barking and sometimes even the sound of the national radio broadcasting through loudspeakers in rural and mountainous areas.
Respect for culture
Culture, customs and traditions vary from country to country and region to region. Many things that seem “normal” to you may not be the case elsewhere. It is therefore essential to know what to do and what not to do to avoid awkwardness. To do this, inform yourself before the trip, or simply chat with your guide to learn about the customs and traditions of the regions visited.
Guide local francophone
Of course, there is a significant language barrier that needs to be overcome. Having a guide as an interpreter will facilitate communication between locals who do not speak foreign languages and tourists who do not understand Vietnamese. Your guide helps you share and exchange as much as possible with your hosts.
In addition, being accompanied by a tourist guide is a great way to get to know the region and its surroundings. He provides you with explanations about the famous stories of the region, anecdotes, tradition and culture of the place to visit. His explanations allow you to better understand what you are seeing and discover what you sometimes would not have been able to see on your own.
A little gift?
Sure! Here is a rewrite with synonyms:
To thank the host family for their hospitality, you can offer them a small gift typical of your country or something practical that they can use in their daily life. Regional products that actually come from your home are always very appreciated. You can offer your hosts chocolates, biscuits, toiletries and perfumes stamped France, or a bottle of wine to please them.
If there are children in your host family’s household, consider stuffed animals, small toys, books, notebooks, pencils or candy.
Writing by OCTourist, vietnamese travel agency
