Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WHEN TO GO
Vietnam has a tropical monsoon climate , dominated by the south or southwesterly
monsoon from May to September and the northeast monsoon from October to April. Overall,
late September to December and March and April are the best times if you're covering the
whole country, but there are distinct regional variations. In southern Vietnam and the
Central Highlands the dry season lasts from December to April, and daytime temperatures
rarely drop below 20°C in the lowlands, averaging 30°C during March, April and May. Along the
Central Coast the wet season runs from September to February, though even the dry season
brings a fair quantity of rain; temperatures average 30°C from June to August. Typhoons can
hit the coast around Hue in April and May and the northern coast from July to November,
when flooding is a regular occurrence. Hanoi and northern Vietnam are generally hot
(30°C) and very wet during the summer, warm and sunny from October to December, then
cool and misty until March.
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Current routes within Asia include
Hanoi to Kunming, Beijing, Hong Kong,
Tokyo, Luang Prabang, Vientiane and
Bangkok; and HCMC to Phnom Penh,
Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.
Low-cost airfares are offered by Tiger Air,
AirAsia, Jetstar and VietJet Air.
A large number of travellers, especially
backpackers, arrive overland through one
of Vietnam's borders with Cambodia,
Laos and China. Visas for Vietnam must
be arranged in advance (see below).
here are also border crossings open at
Bo Y-Pho Keau near Kon Tum in the
Central Highlands (see box, p.403) and
Tay Trang-Sop Hun near Dien Bien Phu
in the far northwest (see box, p.382),
which offer two interesting but
challenging routes. here are additional
crossings close to the Vietnamese city of
Vinh at Cau Treo-Nam Phao (see box,
p.388) and Nong Het-Nam Can , east of
Phonsavan in Laos (see box, p.377).
OVERLAND FROM CHINA
At the time of writing, the Chinese border
was open to foreigners at three points: Lao
Cai-Hekou from Kunming (see box,
p.857), the little-used Mong Cai - Dongxing
from Guangzhou (see box, p.853) and,
busiest of all, at Youyl Guan-Huu Nghi
Quan from Pingxiang or Nanning (see box,
p.849). here is one direct train service
between China and Vietnam from Beijing
to Hanoi (see box, p.849). he Kunming-
Hanoi service was suspended in 2004; you
can take the bus to Lao Cai, and then take
the train from there to Hanoi.
OVERLAND FROM CAMBODIA
Tourist buses ply the route between
Phnom Penh and HCMC , via the Moc
Bai-Bavet border crossing (see box, p.85).
Foreigners can also cross at a popular
border crossing at Vinh Xuong-Kaam
Samnor , near Chau Doc in the Mekong
Delta; some tour operators run boats from
Phnom Penh down the Mekong River
through to Chau Doc in Vietnam (see box,
p.85). here is another border checkpoint
near Chau Doc at Tinh Bien-Phnom Den
(see box, p.910), or at Xa Xia-Prek Chang
(see box, p.111) near Kep and Kampot on
the Cambodian side and just 10km from
Ha Tien in Vietnam.
VISAS
All foreign nationals need a visa to enter
Vietnam. Tourist visas are generally valid
for thirty days from your specified arrival
date and cost $40-80, depending on
where you apply. Three-month visas are
also available for $100 to $145; both
types take three to ten days to process,
though some agencies and consulates (see
p.49) offer an express one-day service. In
Southeast Asia, Bangkok and Phnom
OVERLAND FROM LAOS
here are seven border points between
Laos and Vietnam where tourists can
cross overland. Lao Bao-Dansavanh
(see box, p.392), roughly 240km from
Savannakhet, is the most popular, though
the international bus link between
Savannakhet and Da Nang can take up
to 24 hours (see p.389).
 
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