The network question, answered from the operators’ own pages

Viettel eSIM for tourists

Viettel sells a tourist eSIM of its own, and one travel eSIM we link lists Viettel on its Vietnam page. Here is what each costs, what you hand over, and when the north makes it worth it.

Traveler holding up a phone with signal bars on a mountain pass above terraced rice fields — Ma Pi Leng pass · the road where the network question stops being academic

Quick answerViettel sells its own Tourist eSIM: 5GB a day for 7 days at 60,000 VND (≈$2.30), 15 days at 80,000 VND or 30 days at 150,000 VND, plus a SIM price Viettel does not state. Each comes with a new +84 number. You buy it at an airport kiosk or Viettel store with your passport. Prefer to set up before you fly? Yesim's Vietnam page lists Viettel among its networks. Checked 2026.

Which travel eSIMs use Viettel?

what each brand’s own page says

One brand we link lists Viettel. Yesim's Vietnam page names Vinaphone, Vietnamobile and Viettel for every plan it sells there. It switches between them on its own, so it does not promise Viettel on a given pass.

Airalo names VNPT. Holafly names GPC Vinaphone, the same operator. Ubigi names VNPT and Nomad lists Vietnamobile, MobiFone and Vinaphone. GigSky names no network. Saily named none when we last could open its page.

If you want a line that is Viettel and nothing else, the clean answer is Viettel's own Tourist eSIM. We earn nothing from it.

Provider	Network on its own Vietnam page	Viettel?
Yesim	Vinaphone, Vietnamobile, Viettel	Listed
Airalo	VNPT	No
Holafly	GPC Vinaphone (VNPT)	No
Ubigi (not linked)	VNPT	No
Nomad (not linked)	Vietnamobile, MobiFone, Vinaphone	No
GigSky	not published	Not stated
Saily	not disclosed (local partner networks)	Not stated
Viettel Tourist eSIM	Viettel	Yes, it is Viettel

Checked 2026 on each brand's own Vietnam page. A listed network is what the brand says it can use, not a promise of which one your phone attaches to.

A warning about what you will read elsewhere. Travel blogs and chatbots often say Airalo runs on Viettel or MobiFone. Airalo's own product page says VNPT. Network claims get copied between blogs until they read as fact. Ours trace back to the brand's own page, and where a brand publishes nothing we write "not published".

Where does Viettel matter?

route by route, from traveler reports

Route	On a VNPT travel eSIM	On Viettel
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang	Excellent, 5G in the central districts	Excellent, no practical difference
Coast road: Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Mui Ne	Strong the whole way	Strong the whole way
Ha Long, Cat Ba, Ninh Binh	Good on land, patchy among the karsts	Good on land, patchy among the karsts
Sapa town	Works	Works
Lao Chai, Ta Van, the trekking valleys	Reported weak	Reported better
Ha Giang loop, Ma Pi Leng, Dong Van	Reported weak	Reported better, still intermittent
Cao Bang and Ban Gioc	Reported thin	Reported better
Mekong side channels	Drops for stretches	Drops for stretches

This is what travelers report, not an operator coverage map, and we have not ridden the Ha Giang loop with five handsets. How we test.

How do you buy a Viettel eSIM as a foreigner?

Viettel’s own five steps

Viettel's tourist guide describes an in-person purchase. Bring your original passport (copies and photos are not accepted), an unlocked eSIM phone and wifi to scan the QR code.

Find a kiosk or store. Viettel lists kiosks in the international arrivals halls at Noi Bai (Hanoi), Tan Son Nhat (Ho Chi Minh City), Da Nang and Cam Ranh (Nha Trang), plus any Viettel store or authorised point of sale in town.
Pick a package and pay. Cash in VND or an international Visa or Mastercard. The package price does not include the SIM price.
Register yourself. Scan the QR code on the SIM pack, take a live photo of your passport and a selfie, add your email for eSIM delivery, accept the data protection terms and sign the digital contract.
Install. The eSIM QR code arrives by email or on paper. On iPhone: Settings, Cellular, Add eSIM. Your new Viettel number is on the line once it installs.

The registration rule is real. Decree 163/2024/ND-CP requires every Vietnamese mobile line to be registered to the subscriber's identity before service starts, a passport number for a foreigner. It replaced Decree 49/2017/ND-CP in December 2024. A travel eSIM avoids the question, because you are roaming on a foreign agreement rather than holding a Vietnamese line.

We could not find a Viettel page that sells this tourist eSIM online before arrival.

Local Viettel eSIM or travel eSIM?

side by side

	Viettel Tourist eSIM (local)	Yesim (lists Viettel)	Airalo (our top pick)
Price	60,000 VND (≈$2.30) / 7 days 80,000 VND (≈$3.10) / 15 days 150,000 VND (≈$5.80) / 30 days plus the SIM	$19.20 for 10GB / 30 days	$18.00 for 10GB / 30 days
Data	5GB a day	10GB total	10GB total
Network	Viettel only	Vinaphone, Vietnamobile, Viettel	VNPT
Phone number	Yes, a new +84 number	No, data only	No, data only
Set up before you fly	No, kiosk or store	Yes	Yes
Passport	Original passport, photo and selfie	No	No
We earn	Nothing	Commission	12% commission

Viettel packages 5G60T, 5G80T and 5G150T from Viettel's tourist eSIM guide. Viettel also lists 5G60H (15GB for 7 days, 60,000 VND), 5G120H and 5G180H with call minutes. USD at the Vietcombank sell rate of 26,020 VND. Checked 2026.

The price row is not the argument. Two dollars against eighteen is a rounding error on a trip to Vietnam. The argument is the network row, and whether you want to queue at a kiosk on arrival.

Can you run Viettel and a travel eSIM together?

two profiles, one phone

Yes. Any eSIM-capable phone holds several profiles and lets you switch which one carries data with two taps.

What we would do for a trip that includes the north: install a travel eSIM at home so you land connected, add Viettel's Tourist eSIM at the arrivals kiosk, and switch data to Viettel the morning you leave for the mountains. Extra cost, a few dollars plus the SIM. Extra effort, one toggle.

For a trip that is Hanoi, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City and a beach, skip Viettel. A VNPT travel eSIM covers all of it.

The half of that plan we can help with. Yesim lists Viettel on its Vietnam page, 10GB for $19.20. Airalo names VNPT, 10GB for $18.00. Both 30 days, checked 2026.

See Yesim Vietnam plans See Airalo Vietnam plans Compare all six providers

Do you need a Viettel eSIM?

the honest split

Add Viettel if

Your route includes the Ha Giang loop, Dong Van, Meo Vac or the Ma Pi Leng pass.

You are trekking below Sapa, staying in a homestay in Lao Chai or Ta Van, or riding to Bac Ha.

You are going to Cao Bang, Ban Gioc or the far northeast.

You want a +84 number anyway. The tourist eSIM includes one.

Skip Viettel if

Your trip is cities and the coast: Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City.

You would rather not hand your passport over at a kiosk after a long flight.

Your phone takes only one eSIM profile.

You are heading south and to the islands, where VNPT is fine.

Questions

about Viettel for tourists

Can a tourist buy a Viettel eSIM?

Yes. Viettel sells a Tourist eSIM at international arrivals kiosks in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Cam Ranh, and in Viettel stores. Bring your original passport; you register yourself with a passport photo and a selfie. Checked 2026.

How much is a Viettel tourist eSIM?

60,000 VND (≈$2.30) for 7 days, 80,000 VND (≈$3.10) for 15 days or 150,000 VND (≈$5.80) for 30 days, each with 5GB a day. The SIM price is extra and Viettel does not state it. Checked 2026.

Which eSIM uses the Viettel network?

Viettel's own Tourist eSIM. Among travel eSIMs, Yesim's Vietnam page lists Viettel next to Vinaphone and Vietnamobile. Airalo, Holafly and Ubigi name VNPT; GigSky names none. Checked 2026.

Can I buy a Viettel eSIM online before arriving in Vietnam?

Viettel's own tourist guide only describes buying at an airport kiosk or a store, with your passport. If you want to set up at home, Yesim is the travel eSIM whose page lists Viettel.

Does a Viettel eSIM come with a phone number?

Yes. Viettel says every Tourist eSIM package comes with a new phone number for calls and texts alongside data. The phone number page compares the routes.

Is Viettel better than Vinaphone?

In cities they are close. Travelers report Viettel holds up better in the northern mountains. We have not tested it ourselves and no operator map we could open confirms it route by route, so treat that as traveler consensus, not measurement.

Can I run a Viettel eSIM and a travel eSIM at the same time?

Yes, on any phone that supports more than one eSIM profile. Keep both installed and switch which one carries data in settings.

Land connected, then decide

Airalo publishes VNPT as its Vietnamese network and sells 10GB for $18.00 over 30 days, installed before you fly. Add Viettel's Tourist eSIM at the kiosk if the road turns uphill.

See Airalo Vietnam plans

Sources & freshness: Viettel Tourist eSIM plans, purchase steps and kiosk locations from Viettel's own guide, checked 2026. Network names from each travel brand's own Vietnam page, checked 2026. SIM registration: Decree 163/2024/ND-CP, Articles 19 to 21; Article 84 repeals Decree 49/2017/ND-CP. USD at the Vietcombank sell rate of 26,020 VND. Compare the travel eSIMs: best eSIM for Vietnam.