advice on travel from Bangkok to Vietnam.

[4sure]

Hi all
flying into bangkok 7th april return 3 weeks later want to travel internally to vietnam and maybe hire a car after flying to nam,any thoughts or sugestions,we are 2 couples and looking for something memorable.Heard that many people fly to Ho Chi Min and travel up to Hanoi or vice versa.
thanks

[mickythepipe]

whatch out 4 the lady boys,or get your missus to check them first.-----like you usually do!

[v15ben]

You could fly with Air Asia to Saigon then travel up country to Hanoi - a nice combination of buses, trains and hired mopeds did the trick for me! The alternative is to travel overland by bus Bangkok to Siem Reap to enjoy the Angkor Wat temples then another overland journey to Phnom Penh from there. There are plenty of operators who do very interesting overnight trips by boat/bus from Cambodia over to Saigon and you definitely get a different experience doing it that way.

Basically it depends on how much time you've got! Out of the two options probably the flight to Saigon and travelling overland through Vietnam just pips it for me, but both would be great fun trips

[tstain]

i was there last year. if you intend on travelling overland from thailand to vietnam you will need to organise your entry visa in advance(takes a couple of days) not sure if visa on entry is available for air travel...

[R6dug]

tstain said:

i was there last year. if you intend on travelling overland from thailand to vietnam you will need to organise your entry visa in advance(takes a couple of days) not sure if visa on entry is available for air travel...

Visa on entry for air travel is avalible but the queue was huge (Jan 2010). Worth applying before you go.

Air asia or Thai airways from bangkok to HMC.

[4sure]

thanks for the replies ..so far

[SimonV8ster]

You can get the visa on-line for Cambodia - its a piece of piss. Bloody quick too.

[Herman Toothrot]

Just fly direct to where ever you want to go, short hops are about £30. I went Hanoi -> Da Nang -> Saigon in November, quick taxi to airport, no waiting about you'd be hotel door to door in 3 hrs between cities. We saw people on the same route as us and they'd been killing themselves getting buses and trains between places, whereas all our travel was quick and easy.

Why not go Bangkok -> Siem reap -> Saigon -> Hanoi -> HK home, easy would be seeing all the best bits

Edited by Herman Toothrot on Monday 15th February 13:49

[Holst]

SimonV8ster said:

You can get the visa on-line for Cambodia - its a piece of piss. Bloody quick too.

I think I got my cambodian visa at the border, its only Vietnam where you need to get it in advance.

I had plenty of time so I took buses for some sections and hired bikes for others.
If you are going to do lots of stops then the Bus is ok, just dont go on too long a journey as you may end up sitting next to 6 cans of petrol and get a headache. Sit behind the driver as in a crash he will try and save himself first
You could hire a taxi but its going to be expensive, hiring a bike and riding it yourself is good fun (if a little frightening) I did get lost quite a few times but I found somewhere to stay easily enough.

[havoc]

Holst said:

SimonV8ster said:

You can get the visa on-line for Cambodia - its a piece of piss. Bloody quick too.

I think I got my cambodian visa at the border, its only Vietnam where you need to get it in advance.

Agreed to both.

Siem Reap is worthwhile - the temples are truly awesome, and the people are great too (albeit it was getting touristy 5 years ago). My one big gripe with Cambodia is how corrupt the ruling elite are...but if tourism stops it's the ordinary folk who earn a living from it who'll suffer the most.

'nam - enjoyed the south more than the north (certainly as far as the people go), but Halong Bay was another great experience...even if it was wet or foggy for most of our overnighter!!!


Travel type depends on your time/money balance...personally I'd fly everywhere (Bangkok - Siem Reap - Saigon - Da Nang (for Hoi An...beautiful place) - Hanoi - Bangkok - UK), as they're big countries with slow land-transport links.

[Bing o]

4sure said:

Hi all
hire a car after flying to nam,any thoughts or sugestions,
thanks

I assume you mean hire a driver, as you need a Vietnamese driving license to drive a car over there. As others have said, flying is a better option.

[4sure]

Bing o said:

4sure said:

Hi all
hire a car after flying to nam,any thoughts or sugestions,
thanks

I assume you mean hire a driver, as you need a Vietnamese driving license to drive a car over there. As others have said, flying is a better option.

Do You ?

[TEKNOPUG]

4sure said:

Bing o said:

4sure said:

Hi all
hire a car after flying to nam,any thoughts or sugestions,
thanks

I assume you mean hire a driver, as you need a Vietnamese driving license to drive a car over there. As others have said, flying is a better option.

Do You ?

Yes, non-Vietnamese aren't allowed to drive. Get a motorbike perhaps.....

[4sure]

ok thanks for that.....is the airport link open yet (skytrain bangkok)?

[phumy]

4sure said:

ok thanks for that.....is the airport link open yet (skytrain bangkok)?

No still not finished, if you want a taxi don't get one from arrivals as they will rip you off. Go up one level to departures and get one there, insist that they use the meter, they normally do, it'll cost around 300bhat to get to Sukhumvit road in the centre of Bangkok. If you get on from arrivals they will charge you min 800 bhat.

[phumy]

4sure said:

ok thanks for that.....is the airport link open yet (skytrain bangkok)?

No still not finished, if you want a taxi don't get one from arrivals as they will rip you off. Go up one level to departures and get one there, insist that they use the meter, they normally do, it'll cost around 300bhat to get to Sukhumvit road in the centre of Bangkok. If you get on from arrivals they will charge you min 800 bhat.

[4sure]

ok.....we have booked 2 nights in Bangkok,then thinking of flying to Saigon using travel agent in Bangkok and taking it from there we all want to relax a bit , but see some sights......any body got contact details or suggested routes that have done similar.

Thanks for the input thus far and we have taken all comments onboard.

Edited by 4sure on Tuesday 23 February 16:18

[phumy]

Saigon
Mekong Delta day trip
Cu Chi Tunnels
War Museum
Shopping in Binh Thanh Market
General sight seeing
Drink the coffee and try the Pho (beef Noodles) its a must

Then on to Phanh Thiet (Mui Ne beach) about 4 hours from Saigon on an AC coach, stay over for a couple of days.

Then on to Nha Trang about 4 hours on an AC coach, beaches, night life, fishing, snorkeling, diving, stay over for a couple of days

Then Hoi An (antiquated city) or further up to Hue, lots to see and do.

Or further still up to Ha Noi and onto Ha Long Bay.....

I suggest you google the places mentioned as you will find loads of info and tour operators to help you, however once you get to Saigon you can book just about everything from thousands of tour operators. One springs to mind in Saigon and that is an operator called "Sinh Cafe" theyre very efficient and not rip offski, in an area of town called Pham Ngo Lau, basically its where all the back-packers hang out so you wont get much cheaper than there, its not far from district one. If you need a good, clean, cheap hotel in Siagon i can point you in the right direction, if you need one in Mui Ne and/or Nha Trang i can do the same there too..happy holidays

[XJSJohn]

When you opening "Phumy's Asian Tours" for business then?

[phumy]

XJSJohn said:

When you opening "Phumy's Asian Tours" for business then?

Nah, i couldnt put up with all the smelly, dirty back-packers, wanting something for nothing