How to Call Vietnam from the United States

• Input your country's exit code (011 for United States) followed by Vietnam's country code (84).
• Enter the call recipient's area code followed by the rest of the phone number.
• You may be charged extra fees by your carrier for international calls.

Gathering the Necessary Numbers

Find the United States’ international exit code. Every country has an exit code that needs to be dialed when trying to make a call to a different country. The exit code for the United States is 011.

Find the calling code for Vietnam. In order to be connected to the country you are trying to call, you will need to find its country code. The country code for Vietnam is 84.

Find the area code for the region you are calling in Vietnam. Area codes in Vietnam can be one to three digits long. For example, Ho Chi Minh City's area code is 8, while Hung Yen is 321.

Know the local phone number you are trying to reach. This is the number of the business, person, or cell phone you are trying to contact. The land lines in Vietnam are generally 7 digits long. Thus, you would dial, 011-84-(area code)-XXX-XXXX. If you are trying to reach a mobile phone number, you will have to dial a special cell phone number after you dial the country code, followed by the 7 digit cell phone number. These special numbers are based on the cell phone carrier the person is using. The numbers can be: 91(Vinaphone,) 90 (MobiFone,) 98 (Viettel,) 95 (S-phone,) or 96 (EVN-Telecom.)

Making the Call

Know what time is it in Vietnam. Vietnam is 15 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time (the west coast of the United States.) Vietnam is in the Indochina time zone. It is important to keep in mind the difference in time zones because it would be rude to call someone at 3 AM. It will also cost you money, as you may be charged for placing an international call even if the person you are trying to reach doesn’t pick up.

Place your call by dialing the full international number. To demonstrate, let us say that you are trying to place a call from San Francisco, CA to Ho Chi Minh City. You would dial: 011 (the US exit code.) 84 (Vietnam’s country code.) 8 (Ho Chi Minh City's area code.) XXX-XXXX (the local number.)

Consider buying an international calling card. Prepaid phone cards are available online or at many local stores, and make calling Vietnam much easier. A phone card can help you keep track of exactly how much your phone call is costing, without the nasty shock of a huge phone bill later. Services like Yahoo Messenger (popular in VN) or Gmail will allow you to talk for free but the other person in VN must be online and using that service at the same time for it to work. Both parties need a headset/mic or something built-in the computer to listen/talk. When choosing a phone card to call Vietnam, check to see how increments are billed. Some phone cards round up to the next minute, while others can round up to every 3 minutes, making the cost of a 4 minute call and a 6 minute call the same.