Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Penh are the cheapest, quickest and most
popular places to apply for a Vietnamese
visa (1-5 working days).
here are a growing number of
authorized agents in Vietnam -
including Ann Tours and STA in HCMC
and Hanoi - who can issue visas on
arrival (contact the agent five days before
to secure paperwork; costs start at $15
plus $20 “stamp fee”); this is especially
helpful for people with no Vietnamese
consulate in their home country, or those
strapped for time. he agent will email
you a special clearance fax to show upon
arrival in Vietnam which you'll need to
print out in order to hand it in upon
arrival at one of Vietnam's international
airports, along with a passport-sized
photo and a completed application form
(available at the airport) in order to be
granted a visa. A number of online
agencies offer visa on arrival; some are
scams while others are reliable; the latter
include Vietnam Evisa ( W vietnam-evisa
.org). Visas on arrival may only be picked
up at designated international airports
not land border crossings.
At the time of writing, thirty-day visa
extensions were being issued through
tour agents and travellers' cafés in
HCMC, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Hoi An,
Hue, Da Nang and Hanoi (from $25;
1-5 working days, depending on where
you apply), but the situation changes
frequently, so check with the embassy
before you leave. he fine for overstaying
your visa can also vary; fines cannot be
paid at the airport, so if you do overstay
make sure to visit an immigration o ce
before trying to board your plane.
country. In the Mekong Delta, passenger
boats ply the rivers between towns and
fast passenger ferries connect the
mainland to outlying islands such as Phu
Quoc in the south and Cat Ba in the
north. here's still room for improvement,
however: local bus timetables are often
unreliable and all buses are at the mercy
of slow tra c that clogs up Vietnam's
main roads. Trains get booked up weeks
in advance before Tet New Year
celebrations in January/February. Many
tourists opt for internal flights in order to
avoid these hassles, but nothing beats
terrestrial transport as a way to see the
country and interact with locals.
11
PLANES
here are five airlines offering domestic
flights ; Vietnam Airlines ( W vietnam
airlines.com.vn) has the most
comprehensive network. Jetstar ( W jetstar
.com), the budget branch of Qantas,
offers flights to Vietnam's major cities, as
well as destinations in Australia, New
Zealand, China, hailand, Cambodia,
Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia,
Myanmar and the Philippines; budget
airline VietJet Air ( W vietjetair.com) has
flights to all major cities in Vietnam, as
well as Bangkok, while Air Mekong
( W airmekong.com.vn) serves Hanoi and
destinations in southern Vietnam and
Vasco ( W vasco.com.vn) links Ho Chi
Minh City with the Mekong Delta. A
flight between Hanoi and HCMC, for
instance, can cost as little as $50. Book as
far ahead as you can.
BUSES, MINIBUSES AND OPEN TOUR BUSES
Vietnam's national bus network offers daily
services between all major towns, served
by a mixture of ancient, jam-packed local
buses and minibuses that leave when full,
deluxe air-conditioned buses and
“open-tour” buses that originally catered
to foreign budget travellers but are now
used also by savvy locals.
Most towns and cities have at least two
bus stations, the location dependent on
the destination (north or south of the
city) and type of service (local, long-
distance, express, etc). Local buses tend
to depart early, from 5am through
GETTING AROUND
Vietnam's main thoroughfare is Highway
1, which runs from Hanoi to HCMC and
is shadowed by the country's main rail
line. Public transport is comprehensive
and inexpensive, with many upgraded
trains and state-run buses, fleets of
“open-tour” buses run by travellers' cafés,
an increasing number of high-quality,
privately owned sleeping buses and
minibuses plying popular routes, and
cheap domestic flights crisscrossing the
 
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