FAQ Thread for Vietnam

The purpose of this thread is to provide answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about traveling in Vietnam I hope that this FAQ helps newcomers and others plan their trips to Vietnam. I would like to thank all the posters who have contributed information to this thread. To make searching easier for you, please find my index of some major topics as follows:

1. Visa for Vietnam => find posts #115, 117, 111
2. Ha Long bay tours/Cat Ba => #83, 84
3. Vietnam - China border crossings => #7
4. Vietnam - Laos border crossings => #8, 50, 58
5. Vietnam - Cambodia border crossings => #96, 107
6. What to see in Vietnam? => #12
7. Taxi/bus from airport to cities => #3
8. Train in Vietnam => #76
9. The lunar new year (Tet) => #23, 80, 114
10. Bus from Hanoi to Vientiane => #79
11. Bus/train from Hanoi to Kunming => #105, 106
12. Bus/train from Hanoi to Nanning => #95, 99, 100
... more »

Tubing in Vang Vieng area - a warning

Lonely Planet continues to receive disturbing reports of fatal accidents involving travellers tubing in and around Vang Vieng. There are several threads discussing this on Thorn Tree:

LAOS - VANG VIENG TUBING SCENE

Australian man died while tubing

as well as some newspaper coverage on the subject.

Lonely Planet advises extra care and wearing a life jacket when performing this activity, especially during the wet season when waters flow up to four times faster than normal. Travel insurance does not always cover more dangerous activities, and you won’t be covered if something happens to you while you’re under t... more »

1 MONTH IN SOUTH THAILAND, CAMBODIA, VIETNAM AND LAOS ON A STRICT BUDGET

Hi guys please can I have some thoughts of this trip plan : we are going to leave the UK on Dec 21st and return Jan 18th (1 month) with a budget of £5000 max.

Fly to Bangkok - 2 nights here
Fly to the South and do Phuket, Krabi and Phi Phi (we've already done Chaing mai, Koh Samui and Full Moon Party)
Fly to Cambodia (we dont know where to go here so thoughts would be helpful, any travel now will be on bus/train)
Make our way up to Vietnam (again thoughts and info on this would be helpful)
Maybe do Laos then fly back to Bangkok and fly home

Please, please, please send us some more info.

Thanks xx

feedback on 2 wk itinerary and some specific questions

Hi,

We travel as a family of 4 (2 kids: 11 / 14 y.o.). I did a lot of research on the forum and like your feed back on my itinerary. I'd also have some more questions.
Budget for 2 weeks about USD 1.500.

28/6 arriving Yangon in the afternoon

Considering OCEAN PEARL or Motherland 2. Any feedback on these or other options

29/6 Yangon
30/6 Yangon

Planning to leave by bus to BAGAN in the begining of the night

1/7 Bagan

What would be the most convenient place to stay for sight seeing and onward travel: old bagan, new bagan or Nyaung-U? Where do the busses from Yangon arrive?

2/7 Bagan

Suggestions for Hotel?

3/7 Thazi

Suggetions for Hotel?

Bus Bagan-Meiktila and continue by pick up to Thazi.

I read on the forum there is some tension between etnic groups in Mektilia, what could have bad infuence on travelling there. Any feedback on that?

In the... more »

Cambodia- Phnom penh to Laos- vientiane overland

Cambodia- Phnom penh to Laos- Vientiane overland
On this overland route
1. where should i stop?, I have 2 weeks to do it
2. What type of bus and how much should I pay?
3. Should i get visa before cross border, if at border will they take photo or do I have to have before?
4. Change money at border or just after?
5. After Vientiane have another 2 weeks where should i go?
Thanks for your help in advance.

Koh Rong Island Day Trip

My day trip to Koh Rong Island near Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Pictures and report here:

http://paul-d-holmes.blogspot.com/2013/06/koh-rong-island-1-cambodia-may-27th-2013.html

http://paul-d-holmes.blogspot.com/2013/06/koh-rong-island-2-cambodia-may-27th-2013.html

http://paul-d-holmes.blogspot.com/2013/06/koh-rong-island-3-cambodia-may-27th-2013.html

http://paul-d-holmes.blogspot.com/2013/06/koh-rong-island-4-cambodia-may-27th-2013.html

http://paul-d-holmes.blogspot.com/2013/06/back-towards-village-its-corrugated-tin.html

http://paul-d-holmes.blogspot.com/2013/06/koh-rong-island-6-cambodia-may-27th-2013.html

Regards,

PH more »

Myanmar-India Border Opening

Does anyone know if the Myanmar-India border is open to visitors to cross from Myanmar to India? If so, as much info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

South - North travel Vietnam

Hey Everyone,

I'm heading to Europe over Xmas and New Years and will be flying from Frankfurt to Ho Chi Minh for 5 weeks in Vietnam over January-February.
I wanted to fly in to Hanoi and travel north to south but no flights from Frankfurt, so it looks like I'll be traveling South to North.

My rough itinerary is as follows:

14/1/14 - Arrive in HCMC
1 day in HCMC
Few days Nha Trang
Few days Hoi An
Few days Hue
Few days Halong Bay
Few days Hanoi
Few days Vientiane, Laos
1-2 days Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Few days Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Back to HCMC for a few days
20/2/14 - Depart HCMC for Sydney

I know that's a lot of places to be seeing in 5 weeks, thinking to do the whole Vietnam coast line (HCMC - Hanoi) by train and then do Hanoi - Vientiane - Phnom Penh flying and Phnom Penh - Sihanoukville - HCMC by bus.

My questions are:

1. How is traveling south to north... more »

Traveling from the airport in Hanoi to the old quarter

Hi there,

I was wondering how to get to the Old Quarter from the Hanoi airport without being hassled too much by touts. Any budget ideas? I am traveling with my wife and we didn't book a transfer. We are penny pinching at the moment.

Edited by: Ferret_108