Vietnam - All of September

agrinnall

Why do you need a visa letter? The Vietnamese embassy site doesn't mention one for tourist entry, and I just applied for mine and was issued it by post (this was in 2008 so I appreciate things may have changed).

http://vietnamembassy.org.uk/index.php?action=p&ct=Consular%20Services%20for%20UK%20residents#VISA

phatbear

agrinnall wrote: »

Why do you need a visa letter? The Vietnamese embassy site doesn't mention one for tourist entry, and I just applied for mine and was issued it by post (this was in 2008 so I appreciate things may have changed).

http://vietnamembassy.org.uk/index.php?action=p&ct=Consular%20Services%20for%20UK%20residents#VISA

pompeypete will, it appears, be using the visa on arrival.

its a cheaper way of getting your visa and it means you dont have to send you passport to the vietnam consulate.

basically you get a letter of invitation from a vietnamese organisation and then when you arrive, only in certain airports, you get your visa at the immigration office there.

Doshwaster

PompeyPete wrote: »

Thanks for the comments so far.

The more I read about Hoi An, the more it comes across as marmite. Some people love it and say stay longer, and others suggest keeping it short as it's too touristy and not the real Vietnam.

Hoi An may not be the "real" Vietnam but it is lovely. I did 4 nights there last year and could have easily done more. Yes, it is small and there's not much to do but that's the whole point of it. Compared to the chaos of somewhere like Hanoi it just just somewhere to go to relax - and enjoy the 15 pence beers and endless varieties of spring rolls.

Hanoi is overwhelming when you first arrive. The traffic is the worst I have seen in SE Asia and the Old Town is a maze of streets, but once you get your bearings you start to discover its charms. It's not a city to hang around in for too long so I would certainly recommend an overnight trip to Halong Bay.

Prices for Halong trips vary from the very cheap to the very expensive and there are dozens of tor companies to choose from but if you go somewhere mid-market then you should have a great time. I will try to dig out who I went with. Do an overnight trip as it is a long bus ride each way and sleeping on the boat is part of the experience.

For the visa I used http://www.myvietnamvisa.com/ and they were very efficient. I entered Vietnam at Da Nang (don't stop there - there's nothing in the city apart from Chinese casinos and dodgy looking "hotels") on a flight from Hong Kong and had my visa issued within minutes. I hear that Hanoi and HCMC are much busier.

PompeyPete

phatbear wrote: »

pompeypete will, it appears, be using the visa on arrival.

its a cheaper way of getting your visa and it means you dont have to send you passport to the vietnam consulate.

basically you get a letter of invitation from a vietnamese organisation and then when you arrive, only in certain airports, you get your visa at the immigration office there.

Yep. Cheaper, straightforward, and I won't lose sight of our passports.

Doshwaster

Update: I've had a dig through some emails and found that the Halong Bay cruise was the 2 day 1 night package from V'Spirit:

http://www.vspiritcruises.com/
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g293923-d3651752-Reviews-V_Spirit_Cruises_Day_Tours-Halong_Bay_Quang_Ninh_Province.html

It was decently mid-market. Wasn't full of pensioners but wasn't a backpacker booze cruise either.

In Hanoi I would recommend the Elegance group of mid-market hotels (http://www.hanoielegancehotel.com/group/our-hotels.htm) which are around £30-40 a night. I stopped in the Ruby but other people I met who were in their other hotels were equally impressed.

PompeyPete

Doshwaster wrote: »

Hoi An may not be the "real" Vietnam but it is lovely. I did 4 nights there last year and could have easily done more. Yes, it is small and there's not much to do but that's the whole point of it. Compared to the chaos of somewhere like Hanoi it just just somewhere to go to relax - and enjoy the 15 pence beers and endless varieties of spring rolls.

I need to find a bit more time for HCMC at the end of the trip, so at the moment it'll just be 6 nights in Hoi An, 3 in Hue, and I'll drop Danang (unless I need an overnight in order to catch the train to Hue).

The price of the beer does worry me a bit! We went to Siem Reap intending to do the full recommended 3 days at Angkor. First day, found Pub Street and the everlasting Happy Hour @ 35 cents a glass, and only managed a half day at Angkor!

Doshwaster wrote: »

Prices for Halong trips vary from the very cheap to the very expensive and there are dozens of tor companies to choose from but if you go somewhere mid-market then you should have a great time. I will try to dig out who I went with. Do an overnight trip as it is a long bus ride each way and sleeping on the boat is part of the experience.

Thanks for the Halong Bay, and hotel info. More for me to think about. I owe you a pint!

Doshwaster wrote: »

For the visa I used http://www.myvietnamvisa.com/ and they were very efficient. I entered Vietnam at Da Nang (don't stop there - there's nothing in the city apart from Chinese casinos and dodgy looking "hotels") on a flight from Hong Kong and had my visa issued within minutes. I hear that Hanoi and HCMC are much busier.

Dropped Danang. I think like a lot of Airports that you get the VOA, it all depends on time of year, time of day, number of flights hitting the tarmac at the same time, number of staff issuing visas. Same warnings for Kathmandu, Bali and Phnom Penh, but we sailed through each time.

Doshwaster

PompeyPete wrote: »

I need to find a bit more time for HCMC at the end of the trip, so at the moment it'll just be 6 nights in Hoi An, 3 in Hue, and I'll drop Danang (unless I need an overnight in order to catch the train to Hue).

The price of the beer does worry me a bit! We went to Siem Reap intending to do the full recommended 3 days at Angkor. First day, found Pub Street and the everlasting Happy Hour @ 35 cents a glass, and only managed a half day at Angkor!

The beer in Hoi An is the cheapest I have seen anywhere in the world. You'll pay $1 for a bottle of anything decent but there's is always a glass of "Bia Hoi" ("fresh beer" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bia_h%C6%A1i) available for a few pence. Every time you think you have found the cheapest place there will be somewhere around the corner which is even cheaper.

Hanoi is a little more expensive but still good value. Head towards "Beer Corner" which is a crossroads at the centre of bar and restaurant area. Grab a tiny stool and just sit on the pavement watching the world pass by.

agrinnall

Doshwaster wrote: »

Hanoi is a little more expensive but still good value. Head towards "Beer Corner" which is a crossroads at the centre of bar and restaurant area. Grab a tiny stool and just sit on the pavement watching the world pass by.

You do have to drink quite a lot of it to have much effect though :beer:.

Rice wine works more quickly, I had two evenings on it, one on a trek from Sapa and one in HCMC, funnily enough both evenings were spent playing pool, but after the second one I was never able to stand the taste again .

phatbear

Doshwaster wrote: »

I hear that Hanoi and HCMC are much busier.

i had heard rumors about long delays getting a VOA at HCMC.

when we arrived in HCMC it took us no more than 30mins to get our visas, i did note that if you grease the palms of the young immigration official who is there to "help" arriving passengers that you get your VOA a lot quicker. I didn't do this as i wasn't in a tearing hurry.

Doshwaster

agrinnall wrote: »

You do have to drink quite a lot of it to have much effect though :beer:.

Given the heat and humidity the fact it's weak stuff is a good thing. It's ideal for supping through the day before the proper drinking starts in the evening.