Vietnam Travel Blog

Getting to and from Vietnam

Vietnam’s days as a pariah state, cut off from the rest of the world are long gone. Today the country boasts numerous land crossings with all of it’s neighbours and international flight connections to Australia, Cambodia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Laos, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the USA (among others). You can also enter by boat from Cambodia and by train from China.

Requirements

Passport
You’ll need a passport with at least six months validity to enter Vietnam.

Visas
The vast majority of foregn tourists enter Vietnam on a tourist visa. This visa must be issued before arrival and the typical visa is valid for 30 days. Depending on the consulate that issues the visa it begins to expire from the day it is issued, so it is a good idea to get your visa as close as possible to your intended arrival date. Extension of Vietnamese visas is possible once you are in Vietnam.

Nationals of Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand do not require a visa if they plan to stay no longer than 30 days in Vietnam.

Nationals of Denmark, Finland, Japan, Norway, South Korea and Sweden do not require a visa if they plan to stay no longer than 15 days in Vietnam.

Airports

Vietnam has two hub international airports, Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. A third airport, Da Nang Airport, in Da Nang, accepts a far smaller number of international flights. Over a dozen other domestic airports are scattered across Vietnam.

Airlines

Vietnam Airlines (www.vietnamairlines.com.vn) is Vietnam’s national carrier. It has a comprehensive domestic network and a growing international one. Pacific Airlines (www.pacificairlines.com.vn) is the second domestic carrier with a far more limited network. Originally a full-service airline, Pacific is now reinventing itself as a Low Cost Carrier (LCC). Forty percent of Pacific was purchased by Australian airline Qantas in mid-2007. It is thought that this investment by Qantas will see an expansion of both Pacific’s domestic and international networks in the future.

A growing number of international carriers (both full service and LCCs) are now flying to Vietnam, including the following:

Aeroflot (Hanoi)

Air Asia (Hanoi)

Air China (Ho Chi Minh City)

Air France (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)

ANA (Ho Chi Minh City)

Asiana (Ho Chi Minh City)

Bangkok Airways (Ho Chi Minh City)

Cathay Pacific (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)

China Airlines (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)

China Eastern (Ho Chi Minh City)

China Southern (Hanoi)

Delta Airlines from late 2007 (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)

EVA Air (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)

Hong Kong Airlines (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)

JAL (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)

Jetstar (Ho Chi Minh City)

Korean Air (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)

Lao Airlines (Hanoi)

Lufthansa (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)

Malaysia Airlines (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)

PB Air (Da Nang)

Philippine Airlines (Ho Chi Minh City)

Qantas (Ho Chi Minh City)

Qatar Airlines (Ho Chi Minh City)

Royal Brunei Airlines (Ho Chi Minh City)

Silk Air (Da Nang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)

Singapore Airlines (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)

THAI (Da Nang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)

Tiger Airways (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)

Transaero (Ho Chi Minh City)

United (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)

Vladivostok Air (Hanoi)

Ticketing

You’ll almost invariably get a better rate for a long haul fare shopping around online, but traditional agents are still worth a try — if you haven’t already, give our story on getting a cheap airfare to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam a read.

While a lot of international airlines fly into Vietnam, Bangkok and Singapore remain the main gateways. If you’re coming from further afield, for example Europe or North America, it often works out more cost effective to purchase a long-haul ticket into one of Southeast Asia’s hubs and then continue on to Vietnam with a budget carrier.

Overland crossings

Train
There are two crossings in Vietnam which involve trains, both with China, but only one of them has a train on each side of the border. The Dong Dang crossing, just over 160km from Hanoi can be reached by train from Hanoi, with the trainline continuing on into China, running north eventually to Beijing. There is a thrice weekly train between Hanoi and Beijing. The Chinese side of the border is the town of Pingxiang. While you can buy a through ticket to Beijing in Hanoi, it is cheaper just to buy the ticket to Dong Dang, take a xe om over the border and buy a new ticket in China (at a reduced rates).

The second train crossing is at Lao Cai (near Sapa) in northwest Vietnam, the Chinese town of Hekou is on the other side of the border. There is no train on the Chinese side though, so you need to arrange alternative transport onwards into China.

General overland travel

Please refer to the Visa and border crossings FAQ for detailed crossing information, including trip reports from other travellers.