Ship souvenirs home from Vietnam
The complete 2026 tourist guide — hotel pickup, real costs, customs by country, and exactly how it works
Get a free quoteTL;DR
Yes, you can easily ship souvenirs home from Vietnam. Hotel pickup is free in Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, and Da Nang. Packages reach most countries in 2–5 business days via DHL, FedEx, or UPS. Costs typically range from USD 80 to USD 300 depending on weight and destination — usually cheaper and safer than airline excess baggage. Here is exactly how it works.
Vietnam welcomed more than 21 million international visitors in 2025, and almost every one of them flew home with more than they planned. Whole-bean coffee from the Central Highlands. Hand-painted ceramics from Bat Trang. A tailored suit from Hoi An that needed three more days at the tailor. A marble Buddha from Non Nuoc that there is absolutely no way is fitting in your suitcase.
We have been helping tourists in this exact situation since 2016. The math almost always works the same way: airline excess baggage fees are brutal, your bag is one drop away from a cracked vase, and dragging an extra suitcase through Bangkok or Doha transit is genuinely miserable. Professional door-to-door shipping is faster, cheaper, and safer — and it is much simpler than most travellers expect.
This guide covers everything we have learned over thousands of tourist shipments: what you can and cannot ship, what it actually costs, how customs works in your home country, and exactly what happens from the moment you message us to the moment your package lands on your doorstep.
Why ship instead of paying excess baggage?
The honest answer is: sometimes airline excess baggage is the right call, and sometimes it is the worst decision of your trip. Here is the breakdown.
Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways, and Vietjet all charge per kilogram once you are over the included allowance, and the rates climb steeply on long-haul routes. Five kilograms over the limit on a Vietnam Airlines flight to the US runs around USD 120–150. Same five kilos on a Vietjet ticket to Australia can hit USD 90–120. And that is before you add a second checked bag or oversized fees for that ceramic vase.
| Weight to USA | Airline excess fee | Gateway shipping | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 kg | USD 120–150 | USD 175–200 | Shipping wins on safety + tracking |
| 10 kg | USD 240–300 | USD 280–340 | Roughly equal — shipping wins on convenience |
| 20 kg | USD 480–600 | USD 420–520 | Shipping clearly cheaper |
| 5 kg fragile | USD 120–150 + breakage risk | USD 175–200, professionally packed | Shipping wins decisively |
* Gateway Express prices include professional packing, customs paperwork, hotel pickup, insurance, and door-to-door delivery. Airline fees do not.
When shipping always wins
- • Fragile items — ceramics, marble, lacquer, glass
- • Multiple bags (cumulative excess fees stack fast)
- • Mid-trip lightening (don't drag bags through Vietnam)
- • Items finishing after you fly out (custom tailoring, framed art)
- • Anyone connecting through 3+ airports
When excess baggage might be fine
- • Under 3 kg of unbreakable items
- • Direct flights only, no transit
- • You don't mind the airport-day stress
- • You need it the day you land
Read more in our deep-dive on excess baggage explained.
What can you ship from Vietnam?
Most of what tourists actually buy in Vietnam is shippable. Here are the eight categories we handle every week, with deep-dive guides where available.
Coffee, tea, dried foods
Vacuum-sealed coffee, cocoa nibs, dried fruit, packaged tea — all welcome. Fresh fruit and meat are not.
Shipping Vietnamese coffee guide →Ceramics & pottery
Bat Trang, Thanh Ha, and Hoi An ceramics ship safely with our packing — even oversized urns.
Shipping ceramics and pottery →Tailored clothing & silk
Hoi An suits, ao dai, silk scarves, custom shoes. Lightweight and easy to ship.
Tailored clothing and ao dai shipping →Lacquerware & sơn mài
Fragile but shippable with the right packing. Modern post-1945 pieces only.
Lacquerware shipping →Art, paintings & furniture
Oil paintings, watercolours, oversized canvas, marble statues — custom crating available.
Art and furniture shipping →Bamboo, rattan, conical hats
Light, low-value, and almost always cleared at customs without question.
Cosmetics & beauty
Vietnamese skincare and herbal balms generally ship fine. Some countries (US FDA) regulate certain ingredients.
Handicrafts & souvenirs
Embroidery, lanterns, brocade, leather goods, jewellery, woodcarving — staples for any tourist shipment.
What you cannot ship from Vietnam
We would rather tell you no upfront than have something seized at customs. These are the items we will refuse, regardless of how much you paid for them.
🚫 Hard prohibitions
- Antiques older than 1945 — Vietnamese cultural heritage law bans export without a Ministry of Culture licence
- Ivory, rhino horn, tiger products, coral, sea turtle shell — banned globally under CITES
- Fresh fruit, fresh meat, live plants, seeds — biosecurity bans in nearly every destination country
- Counterfeit branded goods — seized at destination, you risk a fine
- Vietnamese currency above the export limit (VND 15 million)
- Weapons, ammunition, fireworks, lithium batteries shipped loose
⚠️ Conditionally restricted
- Ancient coins, military memorabilia (case-by-case review)
- Large quantities of pearls or precious stones (proof of purchase required)
- Coffee to Australia (must declare for biosecurity, almost always cleared)
- Bird's nest, dried seafood to Singapore and Hong Kong (specific permits)
- CBD/hemp products to most countries (highly variable rules)
Not sure if your item can be shipped? Send us a photo on WhatsApp and we will check for free, usually within an hour during business hours. Better to ask than to find out at the airport.
Check on WhatsApp →See the full list of allowed and restricted items for the complete reference.
How much does it cost?
Cost depends on four things: weight, destination zone, carrier, and dimensional weight (volume divided by 5,000 — light but bulky packages are charged on volume rather than actual weight). For most tourist shipments, here is what real customers actually pay.
USA
5 kg coffee + ceramics
~USD 175–200
3–5 days, FedEx Priority
Australia
10 kg silk + lacquerware
~USD 245–290
3–4 days, DHL Express
Germany
3 kg art prints & tea
~USD 110–140
4–6 days, DHL Express
United Kingdom
20 kg multi-item haul
~USD 420–520
4–5 days, DHL Express
What is included vs separate
✅ Included in our quote
- Hotel pickup (HCMC, Hoi An, Da Nang)
- Professional packing materials
- Commercial invoice and customs paperwork
- Carrier express service
- Real-time tracking
- Base insurance
➕ Sometimes separate
- Import duty in your country (paid by recipient unless DDP)
- Declared-value insurance for items over USD 500
- Custom wooden crating (for fragile / oversized)
- Long-distance courier collection (outside our pickup zones)
DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) is a service where we collect estimated import duty upfront so the recipient pays nothing on delivery. Useful when you are shipping to family who you don't want bothered with paperwork. Ask us for a DDP quote.
For a full per-country breakdown, see our shipping rates by country.
How it works — step by step
From the moment you message us to the moment your package arrives. Most shipments complete in 4–6 days end to end.
Get a quote in about 30 minutes
Message us on WhatsApp with your items, estimated weight, destination country, and any deadline. During business hours (8 AM – 8 PM Vietnam time, Monday to Saturday) we respond within 30 minutes with an all-in USD quote — no hidden surprises.
We pick up from your hotel — free in HCMC, Hoi An, Da Nang
Tell us your hotel, room number, and preferred time. Our uniformed team arrives discreetly with ID, assesses the items on-site, and confirms the packing approach. You don't need to leave your room — or even be there if the front desk can hand off.
Professional packing — you don't lift a finger
Bubble wrap for ceramics and lacquer, foam corners for sharp angles, custom-cut boxes for awkward shapes, double walls for anything fragile. Before the package leaves our office, we send you photos showing exactly how each item is protected.
Customs paperwork prepared on your behalf
Commercial invoice, export declaration, certificates of origin where needed. You sign electronically — no government office visits, no Vietnamese forms to translate. We have done this thousands of times and we know which destinations care about which details.
Dispatch via DHL, FedEx, or UPS
We compare the three carriers for your specific destination and pick the best speed-to-price option. Tracking number is sent via WhatsApp and email. Most packages depart same-day if booked before noon, otherwise next business day.
Real-time tracking, all the way
WhatsApp updates at every major checkpoint — Vietnam departure, transit hub (usually Hong Kong, Singapore, or Dubai), destination customs, out for delivery. If anything stalls, we are already on it before you notice.
Door-to-door delivery — usually 2–5 business days
The recipient signs (or, for some carriers, doesn't need to) and we send a delivery confirmation. If you flew home before the package, it is waiting at your door when you walk in. That is the entire process.
Before pickup — a quick checklist
We handle the packing and paperwork, but five minutes of prep on your end keeps customs clearance smooth. Run through this before we arrive.
Keep your receipts. Customs needs a declared value — receipts back it up, speed up clearance, and stop your items being over-valued for duty.
Set fragile pieces aside. Ceramics, glass, lacquer, and framed art pack best individually — grouping them lets our team protect each one properly.
Check food is factory-sealed. Coffee, tea, and spices clear customs only in sealed commercial packaging — loose or repacked goods can be rejected at the border.
Know your country's limits. Australia and New Zealand are strict on biosecurity; the US regulates food imports. We brief you either way, but it helps to know before you shop. See what you can ship from Vietnam.
Customs at your home country — what to expect
Most tourist shipments arrive with no duty owed because the value falls under your country's de minimis threshold — the value below which customs waives duty for personal imports. Once you go above that threshold, the importing country charges duty and (usually) VAT or GST.
Here are the current 2026 thresholds for the destinations we ship to most often.
| Destination | De minimis (no duty below) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| United States | USD 800 | Generous; most tourist shipments arrive duty-free |
| Canada | CAD 20 (CAD 60 for gifts) | Strict — almost everything is assessed |
| Australia | AUD 1,000 | Generous, but biosecurity is the bigger risk than duty |
| United Kingdom | GBP 135 | 20% VAT applies above threshold for commercial value |
| Germany / EU | EUR 150 | Plus 19–21% VAT depending on member state |
| Japan | JPY 10,000 (~USD 70) | Strict — expect a small duty on most shipments |
| South Korea | KRW 150,000 (~USD 110) | Strict customs; declare accurately |
| Singapore | SGD 400 | 9% GST applies above threshold |
From the field: after thousands of tourist shipments, we have seen what trips up customs at each destination. Coffee usually waltzes through US Customs but always gets flagged for biosecurity declaration in Australia. Lacquerware is fine almost everywhere. Antique-looking ceramics raise red flags in the EU even when they are clearly modern reproductions. We brief every customer on what to expect for their specific destination — that is part of the service.
Declare value correctly
Use the actual market price you paid, supported by receipts. Under-declaring to dodge duty is the fastest way to get your package held, opened, and delayed.
DDP for zero recipient hassle
Choose Delivered Duty Paid and we collect estimated duty upfront. The recipient signs and walks away — no surprise invoice, no extra payments.
Country-specific deep-dives: shipping to the USA · shipping to Australia · shipping to Japan. For US tourists especially, see our US customs deep-dive.
Authoritative external references: US Customs and Border Protection · Australian Border Force · Japan Customs · UK gov customs guide.
Comparing your options
You have five real choices for getting souvenirs home from Vietnam. Here is the honest comparison for a 5 kg package to the United States.
| Option | Price (5 kg to USA) | Time | Hotel pickup | English support | Packing | Tracking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gateway ExpressBest for tourists | USD 175–200 | 3–5 days | Free hotel pickup | Yes | Included | Real-time |
| Vietnam Post (EMS) | USD 80–120 | 7–14 days | Drop-off only | Limited | DIY | Basic |
| DHL direct office | USD 200–250 | 2–4 days | Drop-off only | Yes | DIY | Real-time |
| Airline excess baggage | USD 120–150 | Same flight | N/A | At airport only | DIY | None |
| UK / EU forwarders | USD 250–350 | 5–10 days | Limited zones | Yes | DIY mostly | Real-time |
Vietnam Post (EMS) is genuinely cheaper if you can get to a post office, speak some Vietnamese, pack the items yourself, and don't mind a 7–14 day wait. DHL's direct office is fast and reliable but you still have to drop off and pack yourself. UK and EU forwarders charge extra for the international leg between their UK warehouse and your home.
We win when you value time, want fragile items handled properly, and would rather not deal with customs paperwork in a language that is not yours. For most tourists with under a week left in Vietnam, that is the trade-off that matters.
Real tourist scenarios
Names changed, details real. These are the situations we handle every week.
Scenario 1 — Last-minute panic
"I'm flying out tomorrow from HCMC"
Sarah from California spent day 9 of her trip at Ben Thanh Market and walked out with 8 kg of ceramics and coffee. Back at her hotel that evening she realised her checked bag was 6 kg over Vietnam Airlines' allowance. She messaged us at 7 PM, we picked up at 9 AM the next morning, packed everything in two hours, and shipped same day. Items arrived in San Diego four business days later. Total cost: USD 185. She walked through the airport with a bag that closed.
Scenario 2 — The Hoi An tailor
"My suits won't be ready before I fly"
Marcus from Sydney ordered four custom suits for himself and two dresses for his wife. The tailor needed five extra days. Marcus flew home, the tailor finished, and our Hoi An team coordinated directly with the tailor — Marcus did nothing except give us his Sydney address. The package landed seven days after Marcus did. USD 245. He has been recommending this exact route to every Hoi An tailor customer he meets ever since.
Scenario 3 — The Buddha
"I bought a 12 kg marble Buddha in Da Nang"
Jean-Pierre fell for a hand-carved Buddha at the Non Nuoc stone village outside Da Nang. There was no realistic way it was making it onto a plane. We built a custom timber crate, padded it with foam, declared full insurance, and shipped via FedEx Priority. Five days later it was in Paris, intact. USD 480 all-in including the crate. Worth every euro, he tells us.
Scenario 4 — Mid-trip lightening
"I'm a backpacker drowning in souvenirs"
Lisa from Manchester was three months into a Southeast Asia trip and her backpack physically would not close anymore. She wasn't even halfway through. We picked up 7 kg of accumulated stuff — silk scarves, a small ceramic teapot set, two hill-tribe textiles, a leather notebook — and shipped them back to her parents in the UK. She continued backpacking for two more months at half the weight. USD 145. The package was waiting for her when she got home.
Scenario 5 — Multi-address gifts
"Coffee for six different colleagues"
David from Tokyo was bringing back coffee and tea as gifts for six colleagues plus his family. Instead of one big package that would have triggered Japan's JPY 10,000 duty threshold, we split it into six smaller packages — each under the threshold, each shipped to a different address. All six recipients received their gifts duty-free. Total USD 260 for six addresses, which was less than the duty would have been on a consolidated shipment.
Frequently asked questions
How fast can you pick up my souvenirs from my hotel?
Same-day pickup is available in Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi An if you contact us before 11 AM. Otherwise, we schedule next-business-day pickup. For Da Nang, we typically pick up the next day, sometimes same day for urgent shipments.
What if I am not in Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, or Da Nang?
We can arrange a courier collection from your location to our nearest office. Domestic forwarding fees apply based on distance, but it is usually cheaper than dragging extra bags to a major city yourself.
Can I ship to a hotel or Airbnb in my home country?
Yes. Any address works as long as someone can sign for the package. Many travellers ship to a friend or family member who is at home during the day, then collect when they return.
Do I need to be at the hotel during pickup?
No. You can leave your items with the concierge or front desk and we will coordinate with the hotel directly. Just send us a photo of the items and let the hotel know we are coming.
Are my souvenirs insured during shipping?
Yes, all shipments include base carrier insurance covering loss and damage. For items over USD 500 in value, we recommend declared-value insurance which costs roughly 1–2% of the declared amount.
What happens if my items get damaged in transit?
We document every shipment with photos before it leaves our office. If damage occurs, we file the claim with the carrier on your behalf and keep you updated. Most claims are resolved within 2–4 weeks.
Can I pay with a foreign credit card or PayPal?
Yes. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal, international bank transfer, and cash in either USD or VND. You receive an itemised invoice for your records.
Do you ship oversized items like furniture, statues, or large art?
Yes. We provide custom wooden crating for fragile or oversized items — marble Buddhas from Da Nang, large lacquer panels, antique-style cabinets, oil paintings on stretched canvas. Send us photos and dimensions for a tailored quote.
What if one of my items cannot be shipped?
We check every item during pickup or via WhatsApp photos before you commit. If something is restricted (antiques, certain plants, ivory items), we tell you immediately and explain why. You can decide to leave it behind or, in some cases, we help arrange the proper export licence.
How long does delivery actually take to my country?
Express shipping via DHL, FedEx, or UPS is 2–5 business days to most destinations: 2–3 days for Asia, 3–5 days for the US, Australia, and Europe. Standard service takes 7–14 days at a lower price.
Ready to ship souvenirs home from Vietnam?
Free hotel pickup. Professional packing. Full tracking. English support. Tell us what you bought and where it's going — we'll send a free quote, usually within 30 minutes.
English speakers available 8 AM – 8 PM Vietnam time, Monday to Saturday. Learn more about Gateway Express or browse all tourist shipping services.
Ship via the DHL, FedEx & UPS network