Vietnam/Ho Chi Minh City question
Sep 17, 2005, 9:17 am
#1
formerly known as Tad's Broiled Steaks
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,412
Vietnam/Ho Chi Minh City question
hello,
I am considering going to Ho Chi Minh City in a few weeks, and I would like to know if is easy to get to Hue or Da Nang from there. which are the most historical cities/attractions in the country/would they be day trips from HCMC or do they require more planning and a hotel night.
also, is it true that to get a Vietnamese visa, one must know the specific dates of travel?
Please advise and thank you.
I am considering going to Ho Chi Minh City in a few weeks, and I would like to know if is easy to get to Hue or Da Nang from there. which are the most historical cities/attractions in the country/would they be day trips from HCMC or do they require more planning and a hotel night.
also, is it true that to get a Vietnamese visa, one must know the specific dates of travel?
Please advise and thank you.
Sep 17, 2005, 12:09 pm
#2
Join Date: Aug 2001
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Hue and Danang really require an overnight, although one could do Danang with a flight from SGN in the morning and a return in the evening. Although I do not believe that Danang has much to see but industrialization. You may actually be thinking Dalat. Hue and Hoi An (a good alternative) are reached by flying SGN-DAD. Edit: Flight time is 1 hour from either SGN or HAN. International flights also arrive DAD from SIN & BKK. VN is a first world airline, with the exception of ground services and ticket booking. Transportation is available from DAD to both. Taxi to Hoi An (south) can be negotiated for around $12 with the taxi horde at the airport. Hue will cost more since it is further away and in the opposite direction. Of course one can get downtown and take buses. Edit: Return from Hoi An is $8 from "Banana Split Cafe" in AC taxi or $10 for hotel pickup. Banana Split is near the Market and also has cheap internet access and not bad food. They also sell airline tickets for less than TNK ($5 or so less).
Visas require a start date and are valid for 30 days. Edit: One cannot enter the country prior to the visa start date. Warning: single entry means single entry. Do not use Vietnam as a destination for a RT entry to S.E. Asia without a multiple entry visa. Vietnam, like the U.S. requires one to enter the country to change planes internationally. No secure transit and visa seems to only be available outside the country. One must specifiy the start date and then has a thirty day window to enter the country, of course, the thirty days shorten depending on the visa start date and the arrival date. Visas in U.S. are $65 plus Fedex type shipping which adds approximately $30 RT. Processing occurs within 5 business days with expediting. Visas are also available from the Embassies in Bangkok, Vientiene, and Phenom Penh if one is spending some time in those cities.
Airline tickets are cheaper if bought within Vietnam for domestic travel dierectly from the airlines. I paid $260 for travel that cost less than $200 if bought directly from Vietnam Airlines. So the agent made about $65 or 40%. I used www.tnkvietnamtravel.com for the tickets which were delivered to the hotel. TNK is a backpacker agency with inexpensive day and longer tours around Saigon. [email protected] Pacific Airlines is somewhat cheaper but has less frequent service than VN. TNK has the airline schedules on their web-site. Warning: they are reputable, but disorganized in a recoverable way, especially if you have a cell phone with a Vietnamese SIM. If you are in the U.S. and plan to go soon, I have a SIM that has about 100k dong left on it. PM.
Visas require a start date and are valid for 30 days. Edit: One cannot enter the country prior to the visa start date. Warning: single entry means single entry. Do not use Vietnam as a destination for a RT entry to S.E. Asia without a multiple entry visa. Vietnam, like the U.S. requires one to enter the country to change planes internationally. No secure transit and visa seems to only be available outside the country. One must specifiy the start date and then has a thirty day window to enter the country, of course, the thirty days shorten depending on the visa start date and the arrival date. Visas in U.S. are $65 plus Fedex type shipping which adds approximately $30 RT. Processing occurs within 5 business days with expediting. Visas are also available from the Embassies in Bangkok, Vientiene, and Phenom Penh if one is spending some time in those cities.
Airline tickets are cheaper if bought within Vietnam for domestic travel dierectly from the airlines. I paid $260 for travel that cost less than $200 if bought directly from Vietnam Airlines. So the agent made about $65 or 40%. I used www.tnkvietnamtravel.com for the tickets which were delivered to the hotel. TNK is a backpacker agency with inexpensive day and longer tours around Saigon. [email protected] Pacific Airlines is somewhat cheaper but has less frequent service than VN. TNK has the airline schedules on their web-site. Warning: they are reputable, but disorganized in a recoverable way, especially if you have a cell phone with a Vietnamese SIM. If you are in the U.S. and plan to go soon, I have a SIM that has about 100k dong left on it. PM.
Last edited by opushomes; Sep 17, 2005 at 12:18 pm
Oct 30, 2005, 7:19 pm
#3
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: KY, USA
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Originally Posted by opushomes
Hue and Danang really require an overnight, although one could do Danang with a flight from SGN in the morning and a return in the evening. Although I do not believe that Danang has much to see but industrialization. You may actually be thinking Dalat. Hue and Hoi An (a good alternative) are reached by flying SGN-DAD. Edit: Flight time is 1 hour from either SGN or HAN. International flights also arrive DAD from SIN & BKK. VN is a first world airline, with the exception of ground services and ticket booking. Transportation is available from DAD to both. Taxi to Hoi An (south) can be negotiated for around $12 with the taxi horde at the airport. Hue will cost more since it is further away and in the opposite direction. Of course one can get downtown and take buses. Edit: Return from Hoi An is $8 from "Banana Split Cafe" in AC taxi or $10 for hotel pickup. Banana Split is near the Market and also has cheap internet access and not bad food. They also sell airline tickets for less than TNK ($5 or so less).
Visas require a start date and are valid for 30 days. Edit: One cannot enter the country prior to the visa start date. Warning: single entry means single entry. Do not use Vietnam as a destination for a RT entry to S.E. Asia without a multiple entry visa. Vietnam, like the U.S. requires one to enter the country to change planes internationally. No secure transit and visa seems to only be available outside the country. One must specifiy the start date and then has a thirty day window to enter the country, of course, the thirty days shorten depending on the visa start date and the arrival date. Visas in U.S. are $65 plus Fedex type shipping which adds approximately $30 RT. Processing occurs within 5 business days with expediting. Visas are also available from the Embassies in Bangkok, Vientiene, and Phenom Penh if one is spending some time in those cities.
Airline tickets are cheaper if bought within Vietnam for domestic travel dierectly from the airlines. I paid $260 for travel that cost less than $200 if bought directly from Vietnam Airlines. So the agent made about $65 or 40%. I used www.tnkvietnamtravel.com for the tickets which were delivered to the hotel. TNK is a backpacker agency with inexpensive day and longer tours around Saigon. [email protected] Pacific Airlines is somewhat cheaper but has less frequent service than VN. TNK has the airline schedules on their web-site. Warning: they are reputable, but disorganized in a recoverable way, especially if you have a cell phone with a Vietnamese SIM. If you are in the U.S. and plan to go soon, I have a SIM that has about 100k dong left on it. PM.
Visas require a start date and are valid for 30 days. Edit: One cannot enter the country prior to the visa start date. Warning: single entry means single entry. Do not use Vietnam as a destination for a RT entry to S.E. Asia without a multiple entry visa. Vietnam, like the U.S. requires one to enter the country to change planes internationally. No secure transit and visa seems to only be available outside the country. One must specifiy the start date and then has a thirty day window to enter the country, of course, the thirty days shorten depending on the visa start date and the arrival date. Visas in U.S. are $65 plus Fedex type shipping which adds approximately $30 RT. Processing occurs within 5 business days with expediting. Visas are also available from the Embassies in Bangkok, Vientiene, and Phenom Penh if one is spending some time in those cities.
Airline tickets are cheaper if bought within Vietnam for domestic travel dierectly from the airlines. I paid $260 for travel that cost less than $200 if bought directly from Vietnam Airlines. So the agent made about $65 or 40%. I used www.tnkvietnamtravel.com for the tickets which were delivered to the hotel. TNK is a backpacker agency with inexpensive day and longer tours around Saigon. [email protected] Pacific Airlines is somewhat cheaper but has less frequent service than VN. TNK has the airline schedules on their web-site. Warning: they are reputable, but disorganized in a recoverable way, especially if you have a cell phone with a Vietnamese SIM. If you are in the U.S. and plan to go soon, I have a SIM that has about 100k dong left on it. PM.
Feb 3, 2006, 9:52 am
#4
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Jersey City, NJ USA
Posts: 975
Originally Posted by awtravel
I agree. Tickets bought in Vietnam is much cheaper and less restriction than buying them in advance with higher cost and a lot of restrictions.
Feb 3, 2006, 9:41 pm
#5
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Washington, DC, USA
Posts: 1,884
there are some other posts on this. danang has a champa museum and nearby hoi an is very nice and also a great place to get clothes made. It's about 4 hours by bus or train from danang or hoi an to hue.
I can't remember the airfare but I believe it was less than $100 to fly there one way, may have been more like$50. twas 2 years ago.
I can't remember the airfare but I believe it was less than $100 to fly there one way, may have been more like$50. twas 2 years ago.
Feb 4, 2006, 3:38 am
#6
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Terra Australis Cognita
Posts: 5,350
Originally Posted by MrAOK
there are some other posts on this. danang has a champa museum and nearby hoi an is very nice and also a great place to get clothes made. It's about 4 hours by bus or train from danang or hoi an to hue.
Feb 4, 2006, 2:22 pm
#8
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Jersey City, NJ USA
Posts: 975
Originally Posted by chefdg1
I travelled a month ago, SGN-DAD-SGN in C. It was approximately $140 US.
Feb 5, 2006, 11:52 am
#9
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Italy
Posts: 218
Originally Posted by Tod E Tosser
Thanks. I assume you bought the tix internally. Can one get a good fare like this purchasing a day or two before the trip, or is it best to arrange in advance?
Jan 24, 2007, 11:29 pm
#11
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Hsinchu (Taiwan), Saigon, London
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Its priced in VND but works out at about GBP150 (USD300). If buying in VN, travel agents usually work out a little cheaper as they refund some commission back to you - but if you intend to pay by credit card, VN Airlines offices can work out cheaper because they don't charge a surcharge. Anyway I prefer going to VN Airlines Office - they can issue the ticket on the spot whereas some agents cannot (hence the "free" delivery services). At Nguyen Hue there is a queuing system, but you get a priority for C.
If you go for C, try and get a 777.... much more comfortable than the airbuses. Its only a 2 hour flight, but might as well get the nicer seat. Actually VN Airlines used to have some 767s where C is configured 1-2-2 with massive leg room (81" I think). These are the absolute best in my opinion, but its hard to be sure you'll get this one rather than the "other" 767. Actually whatever you book, VN Airlines can swap the planes.
Think you may know this already... but if you are in the UK don't bother to try and change GBP to USD. Just bring GBP directly and change to VND. Where stuff is priced in USD you can always pay in VND. If you absolutely must have some USD (the only time this has happened to me was when paying a visa fee at the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office), you can change dong into USD. It will still work out cheaper than changing GBP to USD in the UK.
If you go for C, try and get a 777.... much more comfortable than the airbuses. Its only a 2 hour flight, but might as well get the nicer seat. Actually VN Airlines used to have some 767s where C is configured 1-2-2 with massive leg room (81" I think). These are the absolute best in my opinion, but its hard to be sure you'll get this one rather than the "other" 767. Actually whatever you book, VN Airlines can swap the planes.
Think you may know this already... but if you are in the UK don't bother to try and change GBP to USD. Just bring GBP directly and change to VND. Where stuff is priced in USD you can always pay in VND. If you absolutely must have some USD (the only time this has happened to me was when paying a visa fee at the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office), you can change dong into USD. It will still work out cheaper than changing GBP to USD in the UK.
Mar 1, 2007, 8:05 pm
#13
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I've purchased this rt ticket many times - usually at the airport ticket offices in both DAD and SGN. Same day purchase has never been a problem and the flights (in C) are usually empty. Go for the biz class ticket. It's cheap and you get access to the lounge in SGN where you can have a freshly opened coconut with a splash of local rhum.
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Mar 3, 2007, 1:37 pm
#15
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It actually not that bad. It has its rough edges in terms of seats and the restroom but pretty decent for food not to mention the free internet. In terms of developing world lounge, it's slightly above average.