Originally Posted by dgoedken (Post 37370365)

I asked this very question to the tour operator when in VN 2 years back and said the bus/boat has X spaces, they give Y spaces to each of A, B and C "reseller sites", and a day or 2 before the tour begins, they may/may not grab back the "seats" if they need them for the operator to sell. So it was kind of "first come first served" in regards to the actual operator perhaps selling the seat that the re-seller may "have", but forced to give up, if space runs out. So, unless you're on some tour where there is some up & extra you have to pay for, everyone gets the same. The only hiccup could be is if you have a last minute change, it may be more convoluted to get it handled/whatever.

All that said, I've liked viator, and they handled things very smoothly and even communications within a couple hours of the tour start time were answered super quickly. For the smaller re-sellers, you may very well have to pay up front via some shady looking means, whereas viator is via CC most times (sometimes it's paid when picked-up) and you can cancel very easily too.

Lastly, w/ Viator, if you have some credit cards, you can get portal credits when you book thru them, thus making making it "cheaper" whereas those resellers aren't covered by say Capital One Shopping, et al. Also, I received incentives to book more trips thru Viator after booking the first a day or so later....making it even cheaper.

Originally Posted by dgoedken (Post 37370006)

Multi question here..as this prompted a second.

1. Flying into SGN on my JAL flight, I intend to fly on later that morning to PNH/KTI on Vietnam Airlines. Will I be able to stay in Int'l terminal w/o going thru security (no checked bags planned)...meaning can I get a single entry visa for Vietnam as after my trip to PNH to see killing fields, et al and heading back to Vietnam (probably Da Nang as entry point)....or will I need to get a multi-entry visa? I ask b/c I can't recall the country but the flight was forced to go thru customs before heading on and going back thru security

2. (Note: have a positioning flight from HAN to SGN the day prior) w/ 3 hrs prior, and I have a 7.50AM flight from SGN to NRT. Is/Are there good hotels around SGN airport. I'm primarily a "Marriott guy" and stayed at the Sheraton(downtown) but didn't always have the best of luck getting a Grab early in the morning (granted it was 5am, not 3am) so not sure about getting up at 2am and hoping for a Grab on a Sunday night/Monday morning and getting to the airport in time. So, if my thesis is correct, what's a good place around SGN airport to stay? (Yes, I could fly home from HAN, however, scored an amazing Biz ticket from SGN, and haven't yet been able to replicate from HAN unfortunately)

Originally Posted by Firemansam (Post 37371181)

On point 2 if you're struggling to get a grab the hotel can always call you a vinasum taxi, they are reliable to use a meter and tend not to ripoff the customer.
Also when you are very close to the airport it can be more difficult getting a taxi or grab as they don't want such a small fare so sometimes pays to offer them a little more if they hesitate.
As for hotels close to the airport I wouldn't hesitate to stay closer to district 1
Better options for out and about the evening before and still only 20-30 mins at that hour of morning to airport.

Originally Posted by Firemansam (Post 37371181)

On point 2 if you're struggling to get a grab the hotel can always call you a vinasum taxi, they are reliable to use a meter and tend not to ripoff the customer.
Also when you are very close to the airport it can be more difficult getting a taxi or grab as they don't want such a small fare so sometimes pays to offer them a little more if they hesitate.
As for hotels close to the airport I wouldn't hesitate to stay closer to district 1
Better options for out and about the evening before and still only 20-30 mins at that hour of morning to airport.

Originally Posted by enelym1978 (Post 37373723)

So which are the most useful and reliable apps for cars? Grab? Uber? for HCMC that is.

Originally Posted by enelym1978 (Post 37373723)

So which are the most useful and reliable apps for cars? Grab? Uber? for HCMC that is.

Originally Posted by enelym1978 (Post 37373723)

So which are the most useful and reliable apps for cars? Grab? Uber? for HCMC that is.

Originally Posted by dgoedken (Post 37373755)

FYI: not sure if you meant to say "Vinasun" as, per reddit, there are 2 scam taxi services trying to act like Vinasun, but tend to scam passengers/tourists with fares 10x what you should pay and are named: Vimasun or Vinasum taxi (very small difference, but crucial apparently)

Originally Posted by stan1162 (Post 37383752)

We are heading to Vietnam in February 26. We are looking for a super quiet beach location. NO craziness. Just for relaxation. We don't go out at night, and early to bed. It's fine if it's "remote", but close-ish to a town we can get to.

Originally Posted by stan1162 (Post 37383752)

We are heading to Vietnam in February 26. We are looking for a super quiet beach location. NO craziness. Just for relaxation. We don't go out at night, and early to bed. It's fine if it's "remote", but close-ish to a town we can get to.

No karaoke nearby, just pure quiet. Any such location or suggestions?

Originally Posted by SanDiego1K (Post 37383760)

Zannier Bai San Ho is a lovely hotel on a pristine quiet beach.

Originally Posted by stan1162 (Post 37385799)

Now that's what I'm thinking!

J.