Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [8]
Note that some routings require an overnight stay in another city such as Bangkok, Taipei, Hong Kong or Seoul, and often a hotel room will be included in your fare – ask the airline and shop around since travel agents’ policies on this vary. Even when an overnight stay is not required, going to Vietnam can be a great excuse for a stopover: Most airlines will allow you one free stopover in either direction.
Getting there |
From Australia and New Zealand
A reasonable range of flights connects Australia and New Zealand with Vietnam, with Qantas, Vietnam Airlines and Jetstar offering direct services from Australia. The alternative is to fly to another Asian gateway, such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Hong Kong, and then either get connecting flights or travel overland to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.
By far the cheapest flight from Australia is the daily Jetstar service to Ho Chi Minh City from Sydney (AUS$390 one-way) via Darwin (AUS$240 one-way). Both Vietnam Airlines and Qantas operate direct flights to Ho Chi Minh City from Melbourne and Sydney; low-season scheduled fares start at around AUS$1300 with Vietnam Airlines, and slightly more with Qantas at AUS$1400. If you want to stop off on the way, there are good deals to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with Malaysia Airlines via Kuala Lumpur, Singapore Airlines via Singapore, and Thai Airways via Bangkok, all costing around AUS$1100 to AUS$1500. Cheaper still are the fares offered by Tiger Airways, a discount airline operating daily flights between Perth and Singapore: one-way fares start as low as AUS$200. From Singapore you can get an onward flight to Hanoi (from around AUS$100 one-way) or Ho Chi Minh City (from around AUS$55 one-way).
From New Zealand, low-season fares with Malaysia Airlines, Thai, Qantas and Singapore Airlines are all around NZ$1500 to NZ$2200, with a change of plane in the carrier’s home airport.
Getting there |
From neighbouring countries
It’s increasingly popular to enter Vietnam overland from China, Laos or Cambodia, an option that means you can see more of the region than you would if you simply jetted in.
From China there are three possibilities. The Beijing–Hanoi train enters Vietnam at Dong Dang, north of Lang Son, where there’s also a road crossing known as Huu Nghi Quan (see "Across the border to China"). The border is also open to foot traffic at Lao Cai (see "Onward travel to China") in the northwest and Mong Cai in the far northeast (see "Mong Cai and around").
From Laos, six border crossings are currently open to foreigners: Lao Bao (see "Lao Bao border crossing into Laos"), the easiest and most popular, some 80km west of Dong Ha; Cau Treo and Nam Can, to the north and northwest of Vinh (see "Cau Treo and Nam Can border crossings into Laos"); Na Meo, northwest of Thanh Hoa (see "The central provinces"); Bo Y, northwest of Kon Tum (see "Moving on to Laos"); and Tay Trang, just west of Dien Bien Phu (see "Eating and drinking"). While it’s perfectly possible – and cheaper – to use local buses to and from the borders, international bus services also run from Savannakhet and Vientiane to Hanoi, Dong Ha, Vinh, Da Nang and other destinations in Vietnam: these direct services are recommended, as regular reports of extortion continue to come in from those crossing independently.
From Cambodia you can travel by bus from Phnom Penh straight through to Ho Chi Minh City via Moc Bai (about 60km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City), or take a local bus to the border and continue by share taxi. The other option is to cross at Vinh Xuong or Tinh Bien (30km north and 25km west of Chau Doc in the Mekong Delta respectively). Vinh Xuong is the most popular crossing, as it entails a cheap boat ride (around $8) from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh, organized through Ho Chi Minh City’s budget tour operators or through hotels in Chau Doc. There are also relatively new border crossings at Xa Xia near Ha Tien in the