trip2014

We are a couple planning on traveling to Vietnam in October. We have several questions and would greatly appreciate any information. I will list several questions in no particular order, however they are all equally important thank you in advance! We are definitely on a tight budget so please keep that in mind!

1. What is the best airline to fly from Los Angeles to Vietnam?

2. What does the visa process entail? we are planning on being in Vietnam for about two weeks.

3. We would like to see as much of Vietnam as possible without spreading ourselves too thin, thinking about a few days in the south, a few days in the central region, and a few days in the north. Perhaps flying into Ho Chi Min and departing from Hanoi back to Los Angeles. Does this make sense? perhaps going north to south would be better?

4. We don't want to spend much time in the cities, a good balance of countryside and costal is ideal. what is the best way to make this happen?

We will have more questions, but I'll leave it at four for now... thank you!

foggybridges

Easiest way to get a visa: Use Travisa, they do everything for you.

I'm going to Vietnam in Oct as well and am on Korean Air. They fly out of Hanoi and HCMC.

crellston

Hi trip2014

To answer some of your questions as best I can:
1. No idea as I generally fly from London but I am sure others will jump in with suggestions.
2. You can either apply for a visa from a Vietnamese Embassy in the US or get a pre- approval letter which will enable you to pick up a Visa on arrival at HCMC, Hanoi or Danang airports. Many commercial organisations will do this for you online for a fee. This one was recommended to me http://www.myvietnamvisa.com ( I would stress that I haven't tried them yet). The visa itself costs $45 payable in cash.
3. flying in to the north and out of the South will make a lot of sense if you are intent on covering the whole country. On issue you do need to think about is the weather. Vietnam has complex weather patterns and October will be good for some places but not others. In particular, the central coastal region can experience a lot of typhoon activity at that time of year. Here is a link which explains the weather system in some detail

http://www.roughguides.com/destinati...am/when-to-go/
I don't really think it make much difference whether you go from north to South or vice versa.

4. If you don't want to spend too much time in ten cities then I would avoid HCMC. Although it is worth a days sightseeing if you are flying in or out of there.
Hanoi is definitely worth a few days as there is a lot to see and it is a great starting point for the more rural parts of Vietnam. I like the Mai Chau valley, only a few hours from Hanoi but a totally dirrent experience - misty valleys, mountains and tiny villages. Further north, Sapa can be reached by overnight train. Spectacular scenery, some great trekking and lots of local colour at the markets and minority peoples villages. Ba Be lakes is much further north. beautiful, but probably takes too long to get there in the time you have.

Not a great beach fan except for diving but I would avoid Nha Trang as it is way too busy these days. Phu Quoc in the South is supposed to be very nice. Haven't been yet but are planning on going on our next trip early next year.

Best way to make this happen? Star off by looking at a few pre packaged tours such as those offered by Audlley travel And Intrepid Travel and adapting those. It is easy and cheaper to build your own tour by booking hotels and travel online.

sartoric

Good advice above.

We visited the northern parts in October a few years ago. Sapa and surrounds were well worth the effort to get to, a little chilly early morning, but spectacular scenery and interesting tribal culture.

Your hotel in Hanoi will likely have a tour desk that can make arrangements for day or overnight trips. If you wait until you are there to organise same, you will have a better idea of the weather and can adjust accordingly.

Happy planning.

Kathie

Note that if you get the pre-arranged visa, which crellston describes, you will also be charges a "stamping fee." The stamping fee is about US$30-45.

rhkkmk

apply for your visa thru their consulate in LA... google it for instructions and forms.. do it now.

I found the VOA a pain and very disorganized..

Korean air is fab.. I think united may be the only us carrier to Vietnam..

look at cathy pacific, Singapore, thai, ANA, japan too

rhkkmk

many of us have used Tonkin travel for assistance. you might contact them for help