FlyerTalk Forums - Ask us about Vietnam

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Quote:

Originally Posted by uastarflyer (Post 30507980)

Any suggestions for day tour from HCMC to/from Mekong Delta? Any way to avoid 3-4 hours each way by car? Willing to spend a little more.

any other excursions suggestion from HCMC? Have 3.5 days/4 nights family of 4 end of this year ( btw Xmas and NYE). Temple Leaf Spa and leisurely brekkie probably takes up the half day. TIA.

For a family of 4, it's probably better to hire a car for a day (~$50 USD) and do a private tour at your leisure to the Mekong delta. Saigon is a large city, you can easily fill 2.5 days in town. Do the typical tourist stuff such as....river cruise, night time drinks & live music at the Majestic hotel rooftop bar, "OMG" rooftop bar near Ben Thanh market after dinner. Ben Thanh Night Market, Cho Lon district and Thu Thiem (district 2) for lunch at a riverside restaurant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KRS (Post 30490330)

Looking for some advice/suggestions on our trip to Vietnam for the upcoming Christmas/New Year.

We are arriving in SGN late on 22 DEC, and will be staying 1 day/2 nights before flying to Phu Quoc where we have 3 nights. On 27 DEC will fly to Da Nang. Then our flight home is from Hanoi on 2 JAN. We are looking to have at least 2 nights in Hanoi (including New Years Eve).

Question is how to split our time between Hoi An, Hue and Hanoi and whether to visit Halong Bay?

Is it feasible to have 2 nights in Hoi An, transfer by car or motorcycle to Hue for 1 night, fly to Haiphong (from DAD) in the morning for a Halong overnight cruise and transfer to Hanoi the next day? In the case of an overnight cruise, how early can we expect to arrive in Hanoi? Sea plane seems to be out of our budget, but we will opt for private transfer, especially if it can save us some time.

Alternatively if we skip Halong Bay (this is difficult to decide based on feedback/reviews - but we are not really flexible on dates so need to commit before we know the weather forecast) should we extend Hanoi to 3 nights and still stay 3 nights in Hoi An/Hue or add another day there?
If we decide to do both Hue and Hoi An is there one we should do before the other ( considering Hanoi or Halong Bay is the next stop ) ?
I see there are flights from both HUI and DAD to HAN, both only from DAD to HPH.

All and any comments and suggestions are welcome! :)

The answer to this depends on variables not mentioned: is this a family trip? Couple? Are you looking for beaches or city? Both? I just did a family of 4 over 12 days in September Hanoi-Halong Bay Cruise-Hoi An-Mekong Delta-Saigon and felt like it was a real barnstorming tour rather than a relaxing holiday. Kids really liked the Halong Bay cruise and my wife liked the charm of Hoi-An. Overall opinion was we could have skipped Saigon altogether as it is just a bustling city lacking charm and that the Mekong was interesting but not a huge highlight. If you're looking for beach, then Phu Quoc is probably nice (haven't been there). I found the Hoi An beach to be just so-so but the town to be charming. The Halong cruise depends on which cruse line you do of course.

Quote:

Originally Posted by imm2b (Post 30514826)

Thanks - these have provided a good starter list to organize our time there. A friend passed on a private tour guide+car as you suggest as well.

Flying BKK-SGN in Thai Business in Feb. is there customs fast track?

Quote:

Originally Posted by siw (Post 30320185)

I assume picking up a metered Mai Linh or Vinasun taxi from Hanoi airport to the Old Quarter is straight forward. I've used both companies in HCMC but my previous short trip to Hanoi included a pre-booked airport to hotel pick up. This time I'll use a taxi to save a few pennies. Any ball-park estimate on what that would cost?

Thanks

Mai Linh and Vinasun don't operate in Hanoi.

I would suggest an airport car service, it should be around 300K VND. PM me if you need recommendation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alwin (Post 30562865)

Flying BKK-SGN in Thai Business in Feb. is there customs fast track?

No fast track. unless it's provided by a concierge service. But SGN is not crowded most of the time, so you'll be out quickly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by imm2b (Post 30597427)

Mai Linh and Vinasun don't operate in Hanoi.

I would suggest an airport car service, it should be around 300K VND. PM me if you need recommendation.

Returned from Hanoi about a week ago. Used ABC taxis outside the airport and cost about 320,000 - 330,000 VND to the Old Quarter hotel. Good taxi I thought and suprised how light the traffic was in the afternoon (flew in on VN610).

Hi, I just bought one of the silly-airfares from Hanoi to JFK.
I have not yet landed my entry / positioning flight to HAN, but thinking of arriving on QR-Qatar at 07:00 with direct transfer to CX flight to HKG.
Do I need to pass customs // immigrations ?

Regards
Fox

GF and I are looking to visit mid August 2019 for a 5-6N then head to BKK. I was initially thinking of flying into HAN since it's close to Halong but she wants to visit family l in Hue. I didn't realize how far Hue was from Hanoi or Halong lol. Is it possible/worth it to visit Hue and Halong in one trip? We are outdoorsy-walk-around-nature type, so halong cruises would be low interest compared to local hikes in the area. Thanks!

Hello guys, I am holding a Filipino passport and an American Passport, I recently purchased a cathay pacific first class error fare ticket HAN-SFO-HAN.
I am not planning to stay in Vietnam, I just want to have a connecting flight MNL- HAN then proceed with my ticket HAN-SFO-HAN then HAN - MNL
My question is, since I have a dual passport, Do I need to have a visa since I will be only staying inside the airport? and since I am not planning to go out of the airport I could have just show my US passport since i am connecting hanoi to sfo, am i right? just need some clarification. Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishfly (Post 30605046)

New (Ha Long) Quang Ninh's Van Don airport just opened a few days ago. I haven't looked at prices to/from Van Don.

Near Ha Long, Yen Tu mountain is a great for hiking.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JNLentertainment (Post 30607708)

For those who got in on the CX fare and you haven't been to VN, I'd highly recommend staying at least a couple nights. It's well worth your while to check out the place, at least eat a bowl of authentic Pho :)

I don't think Hanoi has transit without Visa. You'll have to enter VN, then re-check in for your CX flight. I could be wrong.

Quote:

Originally Posted by imm2b (Post 30608122)

New (Ha Long) Quang Ninh's Van Don airport just opened a few days ago. I haven't looked at prices to/from Van Don.

100% agreed. Look into Van Don airport. Hopefully it will also offer flights to BKK.

Quote:

Originally Posted by imm2b (Post 30608122)

New (Ha Long) Quang Ninh's Van Don airport just opened a few days ago. I haven't looked at prices to/from Van Don.

Near Ha Long, Yen Tu mountain is a great for hiking.

Just did a quick check on Google Flights... going to pass on flying to/from Van Don lol. Looks like the best/cheapest would be to back track to HAN, fly to HUI, train to DAD, then to BKK.

Thanks for the info.