How to find a specific medication or its equivalent in pharmacies in Nha Trang, Vietnam

If you need a medicine rather than a supplement, a commonly suggested place in Nha Trang is the “Central Pharmacy,” which is a specific pharmacy worth checking for harder-to-find medications.

If a medication is not registered in Vietnam or is a strictly controlled prescription psychotropic drug, it is unlikely to be available in regular pharmacies. In that case, people recommend trying VK Hospital: explain the situation at reception, see the duty doctor, and ask them to check the hospital’s internal pharmacy for an equivalent. It helps to bring an old prescription, discharge note, or at least a photo of the package.

For common medicines, larger pharmacy chains such as Pharmacity and Long Châu are worth checking. In the discussion, salbutamol inhalers (for example Ventolin) were specifically mentioned as usually available, and the Long Châu app can be used to arrange delivery to a hotel or home.

To find a medication in Nha Trang pharmacies, identify its active ingredient and search by that international name. For example, Serrapeptase is listed in Vietnam as Serratiopeptidase. Searching Google Maps by the international name can help locate specific pharmacies that stock it.

Vietnam does not have a single unified pharmacy search system like in Europe or Russia. There are several pharmacy chains, each with their own search, and these are in Vietnamese only. The most practical approach for foreigners is to use Google Maps with the international active ingredient name.