Vietnam or Colombia, I'm toooo on the fence

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Buddyandyy@reddit

Started in the south and worked my way up to the north over the course of 6 weeks

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I loved both but I think Vietnam is the winner for me! I speak basic Spanish and adore Latin American cultures so would naturally be drawn to Colombia.. but damn I loved Vietnam. I’d say it’s cheaper too.

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redroom89@reddit

Where did you go ?

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FoxtrotKiloMikeEcho@reddit

Vietnam 10000000% for me. Better food, more variety when it comes to things to do and landscape. And definitely cheaper. I miss vietnam

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No_Ebb3669@reddit

If you have a chance got to Vietnam. I loved visiting Vietnam

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Milan730@reddit

Heading to Saigon next month. Flying out on Thanksgiving. So VN should be ur choice. Like some people said, heat and humidity will get to you. But it’s worth it, since cost of living is pretty low, and the exchange rate right now is good. 👍🏻

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MondayGrrrl369@reddit

Nam!🇻🇳

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Creative_Moose_625@reddit

Just got back from over 5 months through SEA. Vietnam is an absolute winner in every category.

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No_Shower_7464@reddit

Both are amazing but with a lot of time I’d do Vietnam - don’t skip SaPa!

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Unique_Material1399@reddit

Thailand

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rodgers16@reddit

Answer is always asia

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Adventurous-Angle658@reddit

Vietnam for sure

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Wawa-49@reddit

Colombia is so amazing!

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Projektdb@reddit

I liked Vietnam better.

I spent about 2 months in each of them.

People in Colombia are much more outgoing and the nightlife is better if that's your thing. The food is very mediocre (in my opinion) and there are valid safety concerns, although I only had one relatively minor issue.

Vietnam is cheaper, although coming from the US, the flights are significantly more expensive. The food is better and the beaches are better (in my experience). It is safer and feels safer.

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No-Exercise3813@reddit

I’d probably do Vietnam, only because of friends experiences there. For five months you can live like a queen for less than $5,000 and they said everyone is kind

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averagecounselor@reddit

Honestly Vietnam. Colombia was my least favorite country in the Americas.

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antsam9@reddit

I've never heard of anyone saying they love Colombian food. I go out and get pho with friends who aren't even aware what a Vietnamese is.

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SweatyAd9240@reddit

Siem Reap is the best. I preferred it yo Vietnam.

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seancho@reddit

They're both great. If you want to speak Spanish go to Colombia. Colombians are super-friendly. You'll definitely have more conversations in latin America. If you want to step outside the Abrahamic religion worshiping world, and get your buddhism on, go do SEA. Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia etc can all be combined. SEA is cool because it's so different from what you are used to. Flip the coin, you win either way.

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Top-Dragonfruit-251@reddit

No extradition from VietNam

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Psychological-Ice745@reddit

Love them both. Vietnam for the food; Medellin for the weather. I prefer Latinas to asian body types/faces. Plus, as an English speaker, improving my Spanish is a lot more probable than becoming fluent in Vietnamese. Finally, there is the flight. I like to come back when I feel like it and the ride to Vietnam is a killer (and costly). Whereas I can be in Colombia in 4 hours and <$500. I once thought I’d move to Vietnam, but now I know, 70 degees is where I belong.

BTW, MDE has 4-5 great pho, bahn mi shops and Hoi-an has lousy Mexican/Colombian food.

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breqfast25@reddit

I love Colombia, not so much Vietnam. I was in Ho Chi Minh 4 days. 2 weeks Colombia. I didn’t feel very welcome in Vietnam but their coffee incredible. Colombia was friendly, worse food. I’d vote bogata.

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Many-Cheetah-129@reddit

Vietnam - amazing culture and history.

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AccidentalExpert179@reddit

Vietnam is top of my list but I’ve never been. I have, however, been to Colombia ~7x, even stayed for 6 weeks once, and I love it. I highly recommend it. Medellin is much better than Bogota in my opinion, and the Caribbean coast is nice but I’m not into that heat. It’s insanely humid while Medellin is in the 70’s, every day of the year

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ConsciousDirector291@reddit

Viet Nam hands down!!

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whiskeypete15@reddit

They’re both amazing places. Very hard to choose but Vietnam has the edge for me

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lalalibraaa@reddit

Ive been to both, and honestly both are in my top 3 favorite countries. I dream about going back to both one day. Sorry I am not helping 🫠

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trabulium@reddit

I also speak Spanish, LOVE Salsa and lived in Colombia for 1.5 years and Thailand for 3 years. I've only been in Vietnam for a couple of days but:

Security and Safety - I'll take Thailand / Vietnam any day
Food - Colombian food is boring as hell - sorry, your Bandeja Paisa is shit, Colombia
Outside of Salsa Clubs, in Cali there actually wasn't all that much to do - Thailand has 1000 things to do and everything is SO much more accessible to tourists - renting a car or motorbike was HARD in Colombia - but it's a breeze in Thailand - again, I can't speak exactly for vietnam but I imagine it's somewhat similar.

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toymaker5368@reddit

Vietnam, Thailand, very nice to visit. The people are wonderful, food is very good and living is very reasonable. Enjoy!!!

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mickymangos@reddit

Colombia 100%

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throughherlens@reddit

Vietnam

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SubstantialEffect929@reddit

I’ve been to both. Vietnam is a lot cheaper but both are cheap enough unless you’re on a tight budget.

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Kind_Beginning_9864@reddit

I've gone to Colombia twice in the past year and Vietnam a few months ago. I'm from the US, so I found both pretty affordable.

Colombian food is more bland compared to Vietnamese food. Sorry, y'all know it's true. So just know, Vietnamese food is good AF. If you have any dietary restrictions, learn the words to share. I learned the words for vegetarian, chicken, beef, etc. Food is good AF in Vietnam.

People are very kind in both countries.

I've stayed in the mountains and on the coast in Colombia.

Vietnam, I was only there for a couple weeks but managed to go from South to Central to North to the coast, to Dalat. Absolutely stunning but don't be surprised when you see people burning trash in the street or roaches running across the street at night.

There are dog restaurants in Vietnam (more common the north) so be prepared.

Be ready to haggle in both countries. Lol.

You can't go wrong with either. Colombia has such an awesome night life.

I hope you enjoy your travels and be sure to exchange majority of your money outside of the airports. Lol.

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Wizybang@reddit

I have been to both. Spent three weeks in Vietnam. I think I spent two weeks in Colombia.

Colombia is definitely more expensive and possibly more fun.

Vietnamese food is my favorite food so that’s a clear winner. It’s so affordable in Vietnam and there a lot of cool French architecture.

Go to whichever one you’re drawn to more they’re both awesome, but the fact that you speak Spanish I would say Colombia.

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Routine_Chapter_9099@reddit

Well I will give my 2 cents. I just did 3 months in Vietnam. It is amazingly budget friendly. Food is fantastic. I eat in local markets and local places. NOT trendy expat type of places. The people are so wonderful. Children love coming up to you to practice their English. The heat and humidity started to wear me out so instead of doing a "border run" and staying for another 3 months I went to the country of Georgia(also highly recommend)

I have also been to Colombia 3 times for 2 months each time and I am really considering going back in January and doing more of South America. I love Colombia. It is also very affordable. Accommodations may be a bit higher depending on what you are looking for and the food might not be as "interesting". I am not a foodie so I don't really care. Yes it can be hot in places of course but you can find higher elevation places where it will cool down at night.

I would also go back to Vietnam in a flash if it was not so damn far away. Colombia is "close" for me and flights are very affordable

Vietnam is also incredibly safe. In Colombia you should be prepared to just be a little more aware.

You cannot go wrong with either place.

I am a semi retired male from Canada so my experiences and thoughts on things may not completely apply.

Good luck and HAVE FUN!!

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Useful-Stay4512@reddit

For 5 months it will be long enough to forget that crazy flight (assuming coming from North America)

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Routine_Chapter_9099@reddit

Absolutely! It's worth it.

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Geo85@reddit

Objectively; safety & food will be better in Vietnam. Colombia is more scenic - bigger/more impressive mountains, both isolated & developed beaches, more varied climates &

Vietnam is probably cheaper - depends what you want to do though.

Both have decent cities but I give the edge to Vietnam's cities because of safety; but Colombia has better nightlife for sure.

A lot of this will be dependent on what you plan on doing; natural wonders? Are you a city person? Mountains? Do you have a specific activity in mind(language learning/surfing/etc...)?

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First-County-4667@reddit

Colombia is beautiful, with friendly people and a wide variety of terrains, from mountains to beaches. Te va a gustar!

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ResearcherStandard80@reddit

I loved both, but going back to Vietnam soon is at the top of my list.

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InstructionRich2224@reddit

I'm from Colombia and lived 21 years there! :) I don't have experience from Vietnam so it will be a biased comment. My Colombia is hermosa, Cali and Bogota are where I lived all my life before moving abroad. One is hot, the other one is cold. Both have amazing things to offer. People are very warm and friendly, the food is amazing, I miss it every day, and have cried just thinking about it! The weather is nice mostly, there are tons of activities to do, we are second in the world after Brazil with the most biodiversity, so the amount of beautiful sceneries and things you can do in nature, being respectful, is endless! I want to go to Vietnam one day too, but as for now, I don't know much :(

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