Travel to Vietnam part 4

Travel Vietnam has never been as easy as today, as the country opened it's border to the world in early 1990 there are millions of international visitors travelling Vietnam each year.


Bordering China in the north and Laos and Cambodia in the west, travellers can enter Vietnam by air or overland, as there are few choices for direct flights from big cities in the world to Hanoi or Sai Gon, visitors doing Vietnam tours usually fly to Thailand or Singapore, 2 big stops in the region before continuing to Vietnam, as Air Asia offers low airfares to and from Vietnam and Singapore and Thailand, budget travellers prefer to use this carrier for their trip to Vietnam.

Most visitors start their tours from Sai Gon and finish in Hanoi or vise versa. A trip to Vietnam can be combined with an extension to Laos or Cambodia with favourite destinations of Luang Prabang town in Laos and Siem Riep city with the temples of Angkor Wat.

Travellers can also access Vietnam via borders from neighboring countries, from Laos one can cross Tay Trang border in Dien Bien Phu, 500 km from Hanoi or Cau Treo border gate in Ha Tinh, 300 km from Hanoi capital. As Dien Bien Phu and Ha Tinh are not among the most worth visiting sites in Vietnam the number of tourists through these border gates are quite limited. Some gates which are business and not for tourism such as Mong Cai, Lang Son or Lao Cai, mostly for business people from Vietnam and China.

Travellers from Cambodia may get into Vietnam via Moc Bai border gate in Tay Ninh province, just 60 km from Ho Chi Minh city or via Chau Doc town in the Mekong Delta. As there are more and more travellers go on both Cambodia and Vietnam there is a big demand to enter Vietnam by boat from Phnom Penh, crossing to Chau Doc and then travel to Sai Gon by boat or road.

Travellers to Vietnam need to arrange visas at border gates, many a tour company offers Visas on arrival service, this service can save foreign travellers a lot of time and money. Arranging visas to Vietnam though local agents have become popular for travellers, especially those who live in the cities that are far from Vietnam embassy or consulates, it takes about 5-7 working days except Saturday and Sunday, depending on travellers' nationalities, singly or multiple entry...

There are a few airlines in Vietnam for domestic flights, biggest one is state owned Vietnam Airlines, other choices are Mekong Airlines or Jet Star, which operates only between big cities Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh city or Da Nang, visitors doing Vietnam tour on tight budget tend to use Jet Star as this airline offers cheap air fares, the only problem with Jet Star is their schedules sometime change and may affect visitors plan.