You can consider staying on Cat Ba island.

We will arrive on Monday 25th November at 4pm at HAN from Singapore. We are a family with a 4 year old daughter, all with evisas. How is immigration going to be at that time of the day/week? How much time could we save if we buy fast track immigration, considering that we have checked luggage?

I can't comment on the immigration queues but unless something has changed the drill is

• Disembark from aircraft
• Immigration
• Baggage reclaim
• Customs
• Arrivals hall

Therefore you wouldn't usually have your check in luggage at immigration, only your hand/cabin luggage.

Last time I picked people up from HAN (international arrivals with fast track, landing around 11am), the guys breezed through immigration and then waited almost an hour before their bags came out. Maybe it's a little more relaxing because you can sit down, but I tend to think of it as a wash.

Judging by the arrivals schedule for this Monday (which should be a pretty reliable indicator for a month from now) I think you should get through immigration farily quickly. There's three other international flights scheduled to land around the same time as you but they are not big aircraft (regional, single aisle). The consensus, as mentioned above, is that fast track might sometimes be useful if going HLO but in your case will only buy you more time at the baggage carousel.

HAN transit - INTNL-DOM questions
 

Update international to domestic transfer HAN (January 2025):
Arrived on time 05:20 (VN56 from LHR) and there was hardly any queue at immigration.
Just before you exit customs there is a transfer stand. The agent gave us a transfer sticker and told us where to leave our checked luggage after we exited customs - just to the left with a pile of other luggage.
Shuttle bus to domestic terminal close to the exit. About every 15 minutes.
Straight through security to the gate at the domestic terminal. Total time arrival gate - departure gate approx. 1 hour.
-------------------------------------
Sorry if this has been asked and answered - I found up-to-date info for SGN but not for HAN:

Transit HAN, INTNL-DOM
1 PNR bought on VN.com, VN from LHR (arr T2) and VN (operated by Pacific Air) to HUI (dep T1)
2 h 40 m transit

Questions:
- will our luggage be checked through or do we need to collect our bags and re-check?
- we assume we will have our BPs for HAN-HUI beforehand. If the baggage is checked through can we proceed straight to security and the gate?
- we understand we will have to take a bus between the terminals - VN website says every 10-15 minutes. Is this service reliable?
- if we should be delayed and miss our HAN-HUI flight we are assuming VN will re-book us on to the next available flight and provide a hotel if necessary. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks all.

Yes, you have to claim and clear you checked bags. Not sure if recheck is at the domestic terminal or drop off at the int'l terminal.

2:40 should be adequate even if it takes you an hour to get through immigration.

Thank you for the quick reply. We'll cross our fingers for an on-time arrival.

Thank you very much!

....a bit of an odd one
 

Nothing to do with flying or talking, but can a Vietnam expert suggest why the standard low dose aspirin is fixed at 81mg rather tha the more common international dose of 75mg.

And it's also bright yellow, rather than boring white: but I'll let that pass😊

FWIW it's 81 mg in the US.

Cleariy my blinkered pharmaceutical awareness!

I'm guessing the FDA and other authorities hit on 81mg as the optimal effective dose.

I understand it's hard to drive in Vietnam as a foreigner and it's nearly impossible to rent a car without a driver. Does that really also apply to Phu Quoc? Is the island also too chaotic for somebody who has plenty of international driving experience? Is it possible to actually rent a car without a driver? Why would I want somebody in the car with me the whole time? It also feels kind of stupid to have somebody waiting a couple of hours for me and my family while we enjoy a beach or an evening in town. Grab would be a good alternative, but I prefer to have a proper child seat for my daughter and the ability to leave some stuff in the trunk.

Phu Quoc island belongs to the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, Vietnam so it is the same (You should not self drive).

I’m confused—could you explain this to me? Watching YouTube videos of driving around Phu Quoc, it looks extremely easy, and tourists seem to have no problem renting much more dangerous motorbikes there. This doesn’t make sense to me! I understand that cities like Saigon or Hanoi are entirely different beasts, but Phu Quoc?