Plan your trip
SIM cards, eSIM and internet in Cam Ranh
Short answer
In the arrivals hall at Cam Ranh airport, where the networks keep counters, or at any phone shop in town. Bring your passport, which is required to register a SIM.
Coverage on the strip is good and coverage on the islands is not. Buying a local SIM takes five minutes in the arrivals hall and costs less than a coffee at the resort.
Operators
Viettel
| Market Position | About 54% market share, 98.6% national 4G coverage, best rural and remote coverage |
|---|---|
| SIM Card Fee (VND) | 10,000-20,000 per one source, 50,000 per another (conflict) |
Tourist Packages
| Code | Price (VND) | Price (USD) | Data | Validity Days | Calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5G60T / 5G60H | 60,000 | 2.40-2.50 | 5 GB/day (or 15 GB total on 5G60H) | 7 | n/a |
| 5G80T | 80,000 | 3.20 | 5 GB/day | 15 | n/a |
| 5G150T | 150,000 | 6.00 | 5 GB/day | 30 | n/a |
| 5G180H | 180,000 | 7.20 | 5 GB/day | 30 | 30 min on-net plus 15 min off-net |
| 5G120H | 120,000 | about 4.80 | varies daily | 30 | included |
Vinaphone
| Market Position | Strong urban coverage and Mekong Delta; VNPT-owned |
|---|---|
| Regular Prepaid Alternative | Better value for stays over 15 days - roughly 60-70% less per GB. 7-day packages about 70,000 VND; 30-day plans 125,000-150,000 VND |
| SIM Card Fee (VND) | 10,000-20,000 |
Official Tourist SIM
| Price (VND) | 199,000 |
|---|---|
| Price (USD) | 8 |
| Data | 1 GB/day |
| Validity Days | 15 |
| Calls | 50 min local plus 50 min international |
| Sms | 50 |
| Note | Auto-deactivates after 15 days and is non-renewable |
Price By Channel
| City Stores (VND) | 199,000-219,000 |
|---|---|
| Airport Kiosks (VND) | 220,000-250,000 (20-30% markup) |
Mobifone
| Market Position | Adequate urban coverage, patchy rural service |
|---|
Hi Vietnam App
| Free Trial | First 24 hours free - 8 GB data plus 10 min calls |
|---|---|
| Paid Plans (VND) | 80,000-240,000 |
| Paid Plans (USD) | 3.20-9.60 |
| Validity Days | 3-30 |
| Verification | eKYC passport verification via video call |
Airport Vs City Pricing
| Airport (VND) | 250,000-300,000 (USD 10-12) for 30-60 GB |
|---|---|
| City Stores (VND) | 150,000-200,000 (USD 6-8) for comparable plans |
| Markup | Airport purchases run 15-30% higher than city stores |
Buying At Cam Ranh Airport
| Location | SIM card points of sale are in the arrivals hall on the ground floor of Terminal 2 (international arrivals), close to the exit. Some sources also report SIM desks in T1 arrivals. |
|---|---|
| Operators Present | Viettel lists Cam Ranh among its official airport counters. Which other operators staff CXR arrivals is not confirmed - the airport's own facilities page lists SIM cards generically without naming providers. |
| Prebooked Pickup | |
| Bring | Your original physical passport, not a photocopy or scan |
eSIM
| Advantage | Buying an eSIM online bypasses the local passport-registration step entirely and avoids the airport queue |
|---|---|
| Drawback | Most tourist eSIMs are data-only with no Vietnamese phone number, which breaks SMS verification for apps such as Grab |
| Generic Range | Roughly USD 6 for 5 GB / 15 days to USD 20 for 20 GB / 30 days |
| Caveat | Airalo, Holafly, Saily, AeroSims and Travelsim figures came from search snippets rather than direct page fetches. Treat as approximate. |
Providers
| Provider | Prices (USD) | Network | Fair Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airalo | 5 GB / 30 days about 11.00; 3-day unlimited about 11.50; entry plans from 4.00 | Runs on Vinaphone (VNPT) only as of mid-2026 | Unlimited plans capped at 3 GB/day before throttling to 1 Mbps |
| Holafly | 11.90 (3 days) to 73.90 (30 days) unlimited, throttled after 2 GB/day | n/a | n/a |
| Saily | from 3.99 | n/a | n/a |
| Travelsim Asia | 9.50 for 5 GB / 30 days | n/a | n/a |
| AeroSims | 4.90 (3 GB) to 25.90 (20 GB), 30 days validity | n/a | n/a |
| Gigago | 5.90-19.90 | n/a | n/a |
| vietnamesim.com | 7.90-10.90 | n/a | n/a |
Coverage
| Nha Trang | City centre and the Tran Phu beach strip are 5G-ready. Nha Trang is one of Vietnam's active 5G cities alongside Hanoi, HCMC, Da Nang, Hai Phong and Can Tho. |
|---|---|
| Cam Ranh Airport | Viettel 5G in the terminals |
| Hon Tre Vinpearl | Signal holds but falls back to 4G, not 5G |
Typical Speeds
| Urban 5 g | 100-500 Mbps per one source; 300-600 Mbps, average about 595 Mbps per another |
|---|---|
| Urban 4 g Viettel | 20-50 Mbps per one source; 50-150 Mbps per another |
| Rural | 10-30 Mbps |
Five GRollout 2026
| Base Stations | Over 40,000 5G base stations nationwide across Viettel, Vinaphone and MobiFone as of early 2026 |
|---|---|
| Population Coverage | About 90-92% (91.9% as of end March 2026) |
| Subscribers | 22.4 million 5G subscribers at end March 2026 |
| Viettel | 30,000 5G base stations at December 2025, 90% outdoor / 70% indoor coverage; about 20,000 more planned in 2026 targeting 98% population coverage. Completed Vietnam's first 5G-Advanced trial in January 2026. |
| Vnpt Vinaphone | About 16,000 stations, 50-60% population coverage, expanding on C-band plus newly licensed 700 MHz by mid-2026, focused on city centres, highways, industrial zones, seaports and airports |
| Mobifone | Prioritising industrial parks, urban areas and major cities in 2026 |
| Caveat | Base-station and subscriber counts came from search snippets, not direct page fetches. |
SIM Registration
| Mandatory | Yes |
|---|---|
| Rule | Vietnamese telecommunications law requires passport registration for every SIM and locally bought eSIM; the policy dates from 2016. |
| Process | Present your original physical passport. Staff photograph the passport and the traveller and register the SIM on the national database. Airport kiosks handle it in under five minutes. |
| Warning | If a vendor sells you a SIM without asking for a passport it is a pre-activated 'ghost' SIM registered under a fake name and is at high risk of being blocked without warning, often within days. |
| eSIM Exception | eSIMs bought online from international providers bypass local registration entirely |
Electrical
| Voltage | 220V |
|---|---|
| Frequency Hz | 50 |
| Plug Types |
|
| Regional Pattern | Southern Vietnam more commonly Type A; northern Vietnam more commonly Type C/F. Many sockets are hybrid A/C. |
| Converter Needed | Not needed for modern 100-240V devices such as phone and laptop chargers. Needed only for 110V-rated appliances such as some US hairdryers. |
| Recommendation | Bring a universal travel adapter, or at minimum a Type C adapter |
| Khanh Hoa Note | Khanh Hoa is south-central - expect a mix of Type A and Type C. |
| Source Caveat | Plug and voltage facts come from search snippets of wise.com, power-plugs-sockets.com and vinwonders.com rather than a full page fetch. |
Wi-Fi
| Availability | Free Wi-Fi is near-universal in cafes, restaurants, hotels, malls and airports. Coverage deteriorates outside urban centres; rural homestays often share a DSL line that slows badly in the evening. |
|---|---|
| Hotel Caveat | Hotel Wi-Fi is better than in many neighbouring countries but still fails at peak hours - a 20-room hotel on one 50 Mbps line cannot support 40 guests streaming at night |
| Airport Wi-Fi | Cam Ranh airport provides free Wi-Fi throughout the terminals, 24/7 (per the airport's own facilities page). At Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat, SMS verification is required and Noi Bai caps sessions at 30 minutes. |
| Security | Public networks are unencrypted - a VPN is recommended for sensitive activity |
Typical Speeds
| Independent Cafe | 10-30 Mbps |
|---|---|
| Chain Cafe | 20-50 Mbps (Highlands Coffee, The Coffee House, Phuc Long most reliable) |
| Hotel 4 to 5 Star | 30-100 Mbps |
| Hotel 2 to 3 Star | 10-30 Mbps |
| Rural | 10-30 Mbps |
National Speeds
| Median Mobile | 210.85 Mbps, 9th of 101 countries (Ookla Speedtest Global Index, July 2026). CONFLICTS with another source citing about 90 Mbps average mobile from Ookla January 2026. |
|---|---|
| Median Fixed Broadband | 281.72 Mbps, 12th globally (Ookla, March 2026) |
SIM and internet
Airalo Vietnam eSIM
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Frequently asked questions
Where do I buy a SIM card in Cam Ranh?
In the arrivals hall at Cam Ranh airport, where the networks keep counters, or at any phone shop in town. Bring your passport, which is required to register a SIM.
Which network has the best coverage in Cam Ranh?
Viettel has the widest coverage on this coast and is the safer choice if you plan to visit the islands or the national park south of the bay.
Can I use an eSIM in Vietnam?
Yes. Vietnamese networks support eSIM, and several international providers sell Vietnam data plans you can install before you fly, usually dearer than a local SIM.
Sources
10Every figure on this page was checked against these pages.