travellingmd

Hi- anyone have any advice on who I should book thru to travel between Thailand and Vietnam>

Thanks!

SaraJane

Hi I have used both Thai Airlines and Air Asia. I prefer Thai Airlines, Air Asia has no food, unless you want to buy it and is is not cheap, and you get to sit where you can.They do not give you a specific seat, not great if there are a few of you and you want to sit together.

travellingmd

Thanks-I'll check it out. Since I'm a doctor I don't have much time to research so here is my general plan (kind of spontaneous) but I basically land in Bangkok Monday June 11 and depart from Bangkok Sat June 23 11PM I want to see all the best things in Vietnam. I was planning to fly into Hanoi and go south from Hanoi to HCMC and depart back to Bankgok.
So, I was thinking a couple of days in hanoi, then take a flight out to Hue, and keep moving south. I want to stay several days On Mui He beach, which i think is north of HCMC (correct?). Is there any other place I should see around Hanoi? Please suggest locations and number of suggested days.
I will love you 4ever.

thanks

JamesA

Thai go to both Hanoi and HCMC , Air Asia ( budget airline ) goes to Hanoi, those are all daily and in the case of Thai 'might be' tiwce daily.
Depending on time of year Air France also do both and again, I think depending on season Lufthansa 'may' do HCMC from Bangkok.
Bangkok Air are doing HCMC but I think it's only 3 times a week at the moment.

Paulchili

travelingmd - while in Hanoi you should not miss Halong Bay ( with a cruise on the bay). Can be done as a very long day trip or more leisurely overnight. Halong Bay is deservedly a UNESCO site. I truly enjoyed the water puppet show in Hanoi - a very unique experience ( especially the music & singing) It is best to see it in Hanoi.
Also, in addition to Hue I would suggset seeing Hoian.

20schwarz

I flew BKK-HAN last week on Air Asia for about $90 USD, but I understand the fare can be even cheaper when there is a sale (I bought my non-sale tix a few days in advance). As mentioned above, Air Asia flights are "open seating" and they don't serve food or beverage (not even water). BKK-HAN is a short 2-hour flight, so the lack of food didn't bother me. Also, my travel companion and I had no trouble sitting together even though we were towards the end of the line to board -- however, note that our flight was not full.

The fares on Thai and Air France seemed to be at least twice as expensive, so I was happy to "put up" with the no frills experience.

20schwarz

Sorry, a clarification. Air Asia doesn't serve "free" food/beverage, but you can purchase it on the plane. To give you an idea of price, I believe the "instant noodles in a cup" was 50 baht or so.

MPT

The air carrier you use may also depend on the day of week you wish to fly. We used Air France in March for BKK to HCMC and I think they only fly twice a week. I think its the same for Vietnam Airways.

Bisbee

The cheapest carrier between HCMC and BKK is Bangkok Airways. They fly 3 times/week and their low fare is $105 o/w (code share with Pacific Airlines).

Scotters

Unfortunately that is a special for the month of june only. The regular fare is around $258. Air Asia is the cheapest you will get to Hanoi at between $70-85 depending when you book and day of flight.

Bisbee

That fare is also for the month of May.

travellingmd

Hi, thxs everyone! AFter much researching, it was cheapest to take air asia into HAN (however, the taxes do double the nice pre-tax charge of 38 dollars! OUCH). I'm so excited...here's my itinerary for those who are interested!

Day1: depart USA
Day2: Extended layover in Paris. See paris!
Day3: Arrive Bangkok > Fly to HAN. ARrive 11pm
Day4: Full day Hanoi
Day5: Halong Bay. Possible o/n. Is the O/N Worth it??
Day6: Full day Hanoi, inc. Perfume Pagoda. Fly to Hue at 7:30PM VNAirlines
Day7: Full Day Hue (is one full day enough for Hue?)
Day8: Take a private tour coach for the scenic drive to Hanoi. or is the open bus ticket option better and cheaper?
Day9: Full day Hoian
Day10: Morning in Hoian-drive to danang to catch 1pm flight to HCMC
Day11: Full day HCMC
Day12: Mui Ne bEach
Day13: Mui Ne Beach (sand dunes). Retun to HCMC in evening
Day14: Full day in HCMC. Depart to Bangkok 6:30pm
Day15: Full day in BAngkok. Depart back to US at 11pm.

How does this look! Are the beaches in Hoian better than Mui Ne. I was really debating whether it would save time to just stay in HoiAN longer for the beaches but MUi Ne sounds beautiful and I love beaches as well. THey also have those sand dunes.

Paulchili

travellingmd - only 2 comments.
o/n in Halong Bay is well worth it; Hoian is also well worth visiting IMO( unless you plan to return anytime soon)

smartcookie

Sounds like a good itinerary. How much did it cost you to get from Hanoi to HoAn and that area on Vietnam Airlines? I've been looking and flights from Hanoi to Da Nang seem expensive...

lorikeet

I flew air asia from Bangkok to Hanoi and it was on time and reall OK for the price. A word of warning-

smartcookie

what's the warning?? I'm looking to get BKK-Hanoi flight on Air Asia.

Does anyone know of cheaper one-way flights Hanoi-Siem Reap than $228 on Vietnam Airlines that Expedia shows?

nuttakornr

It depends on the budget that you set for this trip, if you would adventure like backpacker, you might consider to book Air Asia. It is okay, just short haul.

Scotters

Backpackers would not fly they would take the land route. For the average folk Air Asia is fine unless you have money to burn. I rather spend the savings on a good hotel or eats.

Kathie

The cautions people give about Air Asia are:

it's a budget airline, so no assigned seats, no food, and limited baggage allowance (and many people have been charged for overage)

if for any reason you miss your flight or need to change your flight there is no refund of your tickets and no rebooking

there have been a number of complaints on the board about very delayed flights, but others have found them to be reasonably on time

Scotters

Air Asia now has Xpress Boarding that for a fee allows you to board the aircraft before the others. Cost vary by country but for Thailand flights it is 200 baht.