Asia - What to do in Ho Chi Minh Airport (SGN) - Arrive at 23:00 and Leave at 6:05

I have booked an award ticket to HKG and because I wanted to use SWUs to upgrade between the US and NRT, I will have to stop over in SGN for 7 hours over night. What should I do there? Any suggestions?

I'm going to move this to the Asia (Travel) Forum, so the non-UA travellers can assist you as well.

Safe Travels!

FlyinHawaiian, Co-Moderator
United Mileage Plus Forum

While I've arrived at and departed from SGN, I've never connected, not sure what the transit options are let alone for an overnight. This is NOT a great airport for a layover.

Here's what KVS tells me about transit:
[KVS Availability Tool 5.0.2/Diamond - TIMATIC: Visa/Entry Requirements] (http://www.KVSTool.com/?R)
05SEP09 / 1555 UTC
National U.S.A. (US) /Embarkation U.S.A. (US)
Transit Vietnam (VN)

[Visa Information - Transit] Vietnam (VN)

[Information For Normal Passports]
TWOV (Transit Without Visa):
Visa required, except for Those continuing their journey on
the same day and provided holding confirmed return or onward
tickets. Leaving the airport transit area is not allowed(SEE
NOTE 26798).
NOTE 26798: Certain international flights operated by
Vietnam Airlines [[TIDFT/VN/VI/NO/ID26798]]
Visa Issuance:
- On arrival: if required, a transit visa when arriving by
Vietnam Airlines only, provided holding a letter from
Vietnamese Immigration confirming that a visa will be issued
on arrival. Fee: USD 25.-.
Additional Information:
- All visitors must hold:
a. documents required for next destination; and
b. sufficient funds for the duration of their stay; and
c. return/onward ticket, when not requiring a visa to enter
Vietnam.



Yellow Fever vacination required, if arriving within 6 days
after leaving or transiting infected areas.

Exempt from Yellow Fever vaccination:
- Children under 1 year.
- Transit passengers not leaving the airport.
- Those not leaving the airport in the areas concerned.

I got a hotel not too far from the airport and rested.

I have arrived late evening in Saigon, there is not much to do at the airport even during the day. Know there is a Star Alliance lounge, very nice, and think it opens at 5:00 a.m. A taxi from the airport to a nearby hotel, even to District 1 is quite reasonable $6-12.
The area around the airport is not really good for sightseeing, the markets are closed, but restauraunts are open in most areas. Hope this helps.

If you want to leave the airport, you'll need a Visa. And I'm not sure if you can stay overnight in the airport, but you probably can.

The lounge is no longer a Star Alliance lounge. It's now run by a local company (Sasco I believe) and many of the food/drink options aren't there any more. Still better than hanging out in the main terminal though.

There is not much to do at the airport. You probably can't go into the city unless you have a visa. So you would have to stay at the airport. All the shops there are overpriced. Everything is in US dollars. Also, there doesn't seem to be any water fountains (maybe you shouldn't drink the water anyway). I would suggest bringing an ipod or laptop for entertainment while you wait.

Hmmm ... unrelated to the topic at hand, but I see that KVS says visa on arrival only valid for Vietnam airlines?

I will be flying SIN-HAN on SQ and had almost decided to go the visa on arrival note, when I saw this ... :confused:

While I've arrived at and departed from SGN, I've never connected, not sure what the transit options are let alone for an overnight. This is NOT a great airport for a layover.

Here's what KVS tells me about transit:
[KVS Availability Tool 5.0.2/Diamond - TIMATIC: Visa/Entry Requirements] (http://www.KVSTool.com/?R)
05SEP09 / 1555 UTC
National U.S.A. (US) /Embarkation U.S.A. (US)
Transit Vietnam (VN)

[Visa Information - Transit] Vietnam (VN)

[Information For Normal Passports]
TWOV (Transit Without Visa):
Visa required, except for Those continuing their journey on
the same day and provided holding confirmed return or onward
tickets. Leaving the airport transit area is not allowed(SEE
NOTE 26798).
NOTE 26798: Certain international flights operated by
Vietnam Airlines [[TIDFT/VN/VI/NO/ID26798]]
Visa Issuance:
- On arrival: if required, a transit visa when arriving by
Vietnam Airlines only, provided holding a letter from
Vietnamese Immigration confirming that a visa will be issued
on arrival. Fee: USD 25.-.
Additional Information:
- All visitors must hold:
a. documents required for next destination; and
b. sufficient funds for the duration of their stay; and
c. return/onward ticket, when not requiring a visa to enter
Vietnam.



Yellow Fever vacination required, if arriving within 6 days
after leaving or transiting infected areas.

Exempt from Yellow Fever vaccination:
- Children under 1 year.
- Transit passengers not leaving the airport.
- Those not leaving the airport in the areas concerned.

Hmmm ... unrelated to the topic at hand, but I see that KVS says visa on arrival only valid for Vietnam airlines?

I will be flying SIN-HAN on SQ and had almost decided to go the visa on arrival note, when I saw this ... :confused:


That information is not correct. I've done it on United and Thai. Others I know have done it flying EVA. Pre-arranged Visa is available for many, if not all airlines, not just Vietnam Airlines. I suppose there might an instance where an airline might not allow a passenger on board due to only having the paperwork for the Visa and not the actual Visa in their passport. However, I've never heard of this happening.

as of Sept 27th, I was in the lounge flying on United,

as of Sept 27th, I was in the lounge flying on United,

Right, I've been in that same lounge flying Thai and Singapore. I believe it's called the Rose Lounge now. It's the lounge that they still put the Star Alliance passengers in, but it's no longer run by Star Alliance.

as of last month, we were told we had to have a visa before travelling and that VOA was available for those in a hurry BUT we still had to initiate visa in MEL. It was a pick up your visa as against a VOA. Hey every country is different, even so, I would check on that if you were thinking about going into town, regards bkkrop

as of last month, we were told we had to have a visa before travelling and that VOA was available for those in a hurry BUT we still had to initiate visa in MEL. It was a pick up your visa as against a VOA. Hey every country is different, even so, I would check on that if you were thinking about going into town, regards bkkrop
That is my understanding. It's not a Visa On Arrival - it's a Pre-Arranged Visa and you apply on line from home through an agency in Vietnam. You cannot just pitch up at the airport with nothing already arranged.

Right, I've been in that same lounge flying Thai and Singapore. I believe it's called the Rose Lounge now. It's the lounge that they still put the Star Alliance passengers in, but it's no longer run by Star Alliance.

Correct.

It was a *A lounge when the new terminal first opened and it had decent food and drink. Then SASCO demanded a large increase from *A for lounge use, *A refused so SASCO cut back on the facilities available and changed it's name to the Rose Lounge.

It's now used by most airlines ex-SGN. As well as SQ, TG and LH I've used it prior to flying MH and was in there last week before flying KE to ICN.

Is the Rose Lounge 24/7? I also have a 6:00 am departure to HKG in March. I figure I need to be at the airport at 4-4:30 and not sure if it's worth taking a room or trying to catch a few zzzs and a shower at the lounge.

Are airport services open that early?

Also, re: VOA, has anyone done it? If so, how long does it take assuming you have the required pre-arranged letter. I'm trying to decide if I should go that route or mail passports to the embassy.

There are not any showers in the lounge, there are services available as they have departing flights at 6:00 a.m. I am not a fan at all about visas on arrival. At best it is very hit or miss.