jackmiles

Hi all. I'm flying out of HAN T2 fairly soon and will have access to both Song Hong Business lounge and the NIA Business Lounge, but not much time, so will probably just pick one. Can anyone give a view on how they compare / whether one is clearly better overall or in any particular respect? I won't need quiet areas or a 'business centre', so decision is probably based on overall comfort, which is less crowded on an early evening departure and perhaps which has better drinks. Food not really a concern. I might want a shower. Many thanks for any opinions.

Strawb

Can't help with HAN unfortunately but I was in SGN last week, arrived on SQ and immigration was a nightmare. I was in Economy, as soon as I disembarked I legged it as fast as I could to the immigration hall where I was greeted with at least an hour's queue. Doesn't matter if you are in business, you queue up all the same. Leaving SGN was the same, could not see any priority line for Elite members or Premium class. A good 40 min queue for immigration then security. Expect the same in HAN if I were you. They process each passenger very SLOWLY...
​​​

jackmiles

Okay, thanks for the data points, Strawb. I've also read reports of people getting through immigration etc super quickly so maybe it depends somewhat on time of arrival/departure.

Strawb

Of course. Getting through immigration in Vietnam is very dependant on several factors; your time of arrival as you say. You could be unfortunate that your flight might be running slightly late and has landed after a bank of international arrivals, it could also be that you are fortunate enough to land ahead of those arrivals. HAN is the less busy of the two main international airports, with fewer international flights than SGN, but that's not to say you should expect arrival formalities to be smooth when you are flying in Business.

jackmiles

Thanks again Strawb. Understood. Expectations suitably moderated. Perhaps I'll have an extra glass of something or other on the flight to ease any immigration queue pain

Strawb

Do come back and share your experience Jackmiles, I personally would like to know what the immigration situation is like at HAN. Cheers

jackmiles

For sure, will try to remember to make note of how long it all takes.

italdesign

Have 3 days around Saigon. Want to check out some floating markets and/or farms. Any suggestions for a more authentic one?

Would you recommend Saigon or Can Tho (or elsewhere) as a base for floating market / delta exploration? Thinking 1 night for Saigon city, 2 nights for delta.

dinhoecotour

If the floating market appeals to you, head to Can Tho for 2 nights (Can Tho is one of the provinces in Mekong Delta).

ryder1650

Does anyone have experience getting an E-Visa for a business trip? Do I still need an invitation letter or anything else?

jackmiles

Well, Strawb, I flew into HAN this morning and let me tell you, it was a breeeeeze. I did remember to note down timings. Now, no doubt it helped that I was lucky enough to be up the front of the plane in J, and towards the front of J cabin itself but here goes:
Landed 11:31am
Disembarked 11:43
Arrived immigration 11:44 (yes, ONE minute later, our gate was like right there)
Arrived baggage claim 11:46 (yes, TWO minutes later, the arrival hall was empty)
Got bag 12:02 (so much for my priority tag, many a bag out before mine - still, not bad)
Exited terminal 12:03
I'm serious, these are actual no BS times. So if I had gone HLO, I would have been out of the terminal about five minutes after walking off the plane. And even if one had been stuck down the back of Y, it could not have been much worse, certainly nothing like the hour or so you mentioned for SGN. So yeah, obviously also lucky with arriving to HAN when no other flights were arriving either.

Strawb

Thanks for sharing your recent experience of HAN formalities Jackmiles. Half an hour to go through all arrival formalities is very impressive. I hope you had an enjoyable visit to Hanoi.

jackmiles

Hi again Strawb - in case you wanted to hear about my departure....kerbside at airport at 4:28pm today (Saturday 25th), in lounge at 4:50pm, and that was with a 5 min delay at check-in while they gave me a lounge pass, then took it back, then gave it out again - double-checking I was eligible and not on a 'lite' biz fare or whathaveyou sans lounge access. So could have been as fast as 17 minutes from stepping out of the car to walking into the lounge. Pretty good! Biz class certainly helped. Although no official biz line for immigration, there's a couple other choke points / documents checks were there are special jump-the-queue entrances for biz class and similar.

lamphs

I concur with both.

Arrived on SQ, mid evening, J, six days ago. Off the plane and met the driver within 30 minutes (baggage was slightly delayed and priority baggage did not come out first).

Departed on 5J flight to MNL, early morning, two days ago. 5J is a LCC, so I actually had to wait in a line to check bags - I am such a spoiled traveler. But even with that, I was curbside to the lounge in 40 minutes. (And it would have been faster if I had figured out sooner that the 'nice' gentleman in a suit who was randomly asking passengers in line if one or two could go ahead 'to keep the family together', was actually a tour guide trying to keep his group together. I put a stop to that rather firmly.)

The Priority Pass Song Hong Business Lounge was quite OK.

Arrival at MNL - that is a different story.

lamphs

I stayed in the Old Quarter. Wash/dry/fold 3 spots from my hotel. Less than 24 hour turn. A week's worth of laundry (3 KG) for less than $3. And I noticed plenty of other places.

FYI...