frequently asked questions

As Hoi An is about 40km from Da Nang, it’s relatively fast and easy to travel between these two places.

1. By taxi: it would be best to negotiate the fare before going, which ranges from VND 300,000 to VND 400,000 ($15-20)

2. By bus: Many hotels in Hoi An provides bus transfer from Da Nang International Airport to Hoi An, for about $2-3/each. These minivans are often comfortable enough and carry 6-10 people. Another choice is taking the Sinh Café, the popular bus pass service which makes a stop in Hoi An. 

The cheapest bus, though, is the city bus which can be found at 33 Dien Bien Phu, Thanh Khe District, Danang. This bus runs every hour and costs about $1 for one-way ticket. With that low price, you have to accept the fact that the buses are quite old and don’t run fast. 

3. By motorbike taxi: Also known as xe-om, this is the most common method to get around in Vietnam. A trip from Da Nang to Hoi An by motorbike usually costs VND 150,000 to VND 250,000/each, depending on your negotiation. Or if you wish to travel to Hoi An within a day, you can rent a motorbike and ride it yourself.

More:

> Hoi An travel guide
> Danang travel guide

Previously, Vietnamese people did not have the habit of tipping; however, a boom in tourism allows this western life style to be adapted by the local. The most common situations to give tips are eating at restaurants, taking a taxi or hiring a tour guide. It all depends on the quality of services they provide you as well as yours’ satisfaction. To a taxi driver, 50 cents to $1is greatly appreciated, but not common. In a luxury restaurant, you can leave the change or a VND 50,000 note (about $2.5) which is really generous. In some upscale spa or hotels, a service fee of 10% is often added, so tipping is not necessary.

For those with a tight budget, the ideal season to fly to Vietnam should be March and April, or September and October. That is to say, the beginning and the end of tourism reason offer you the best deals. In these months, the flight fare could decrease by 5-10%, or even a drop of 30% compared to the price in the tourism season.

In other months, you could grasp reasonable ticket fares for the flights to Vietnam, but the price in the summer or on Tet Holiday is significantly more expensive.

Summer in Vietnam lasts from late May to late August, with various tourism activities in many places and attracts a considerable number of travellers . Tourists are certain to face more challenges to reserve and purchase desired flights ticket while the ticket fare, in general, is considerably higher than the normal season.

The same situation occurs during Christmas and Tet Holiday, but to more extreme degree because not only the tourists use airplane to travel, but also the overseas Vietnamese who come back to Vietnam to have get-togethers with their family, leading to over-booking on most international flights to Vietnam.

Conversely, travelling in between September - November, February - April is advantageous thanks to the seasonal deals and discounts from the airlines to encourage people to travel.

Related Readings:
Other tips to save your buck while you are in Vietnam
International Flights to Vietnam
 

Depending upon your service provider, there are different ways to adjust the Network Settings to use 3G on smart phones in Vietnam.

VinaPhone:

APN: m3-world
User name for ANP: mms
Password for ANP: mms

Mobifone:

APN: m-wap
User name for ANP: mms
Password for ANP: mms

Viettel:

APN: v-internet
User name for ANP: (blank)
Password for ANP : (blank)

Beeline & Vietnammobile :

APN: internet
User name for ANP: (blank)
Password for ANP: (blank)

Airport departure tax for domestic flight is $2 and for international departure tax is $14. The taxes are included in the air tickets, even low cost carriers like Air Asia often include the airport tax so you do not have to worry about paying extra. 

Sapa is a popular destination in the Northwest territory of Vietnam, with beautiful scenery, fresh air and wild green hills. There are plenty of methods to go to Sapa and vice versa: by train, by car, by motorbike and by bus.

Train is the most popular way but the drawback is the long time and many people might not be into the idea of taking a night train. With car and motorbike, go with the highly experienced drivers since the road to Sapa is quite a challenge. If you are keen on taking the bus, here is some essential information.

From Hanoi: You can get on a Hanoi - Lao Cai Bus, and after that take a minu bus to Sapa from Lao Cai. There are also 2 bus companies running direct route to Sapa with a quick stop-over in Lao Cai: Vietbus (284 Giai Phong Street) and Hung Thanh (575 Nguyen Trai Street). Their offers are quite fair with a big bus (35 seats) with beds, TV, air conditioner and a free water bottle. These buses both depart from My Dinh bus station.

Schedule: Depart Hanoi at 7:30 P.M, arrive in Sapa at 5:30 A.M.
Cost: $10

From Sapa: Vietbus and Hung Thanh also operate buses from Sapa to Hanoi daily. The buses depart from the Sapa Bus Station, just 1km Southeast of the main square, near the central lake.

Schedule: Depart Sapa at 7:30 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. daily, arrive in Hanoi at 5:30 P.M. and 4:00 A.M. respectively
Cost: $10

How to get your Bus ticket:

Contact the Bus Company to reserve your ticket:
Vietbus
Address: 284 Giai Phong Street, Hanoi
Tel: +84-(43)-627-27-27

Hung Thanh
Address: 57 Xuan Vien, Sapa
Tel: +84-(203)-887-688

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. Our advertising plan is posted on the About Us section of the website. You can also visit the section by clicking on this link: http://www.vietnamonline.com/page/advertise-with-us.html

Any specific question can be directed to our sale department: sales@vietnamonline.com

If you are a citizen of a Southeast Asian or Nordic countries, Japan, South Korea, you do not need a visa to enter Vietnam for tourism purpose. If your nationality is different from what was mentioned above, you can obtain your visa from the embassy or opt for visa on arrival.

The second option takes only a maximum of 2 days but it applies to air travel only.  

For the former option, the Vietnam embassy address in Singapore is:  

10 Leedon Park St., SINGAPORE 267887
Tel: (65) 6462 5936/ 6462 5938
Fax: (65) 6468 9863
Email: vnemb@singnet.com.sg

Vietnam Airlines has several offices in North America, including San Francisco. The address for Vietnam Airlines San Francisco office is:

You can also contact the office by emailing: info.us@vietnamairlines.com

The opening hours of San Francisco office is Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM  - 5:30 PM. Note that the office is closed on Saturday and Sunday and major holidays.

Other useful information about Vietnam Airlines:

Vietnam AIrlines baggage allowance
Vietnam Airlines meals

Taking place every Sunday’s morning, Bac Ha is the local market where ethnic communities living in Lao Cai Province gather to exchange and trade goods. Bac Ha Market attracts tourists from all over Vietnam as well as foreigners for the original and diverse features of culture. People can visit Bac Ha Market by catching buses from Lao Cai Terminal or Sapa Terminal, as it is located 70km far from Lao Cai City and 80km from Sapa Town.

Every day, there are three buses departing from Lao Cai Terminal at 6 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m., with the fare around VND 70,000. In addition, passengers who travel by train can get off at Pho Lu station, which is only 50km far from the market; and then use local buses or motorbike service.

From Sapa, tourists have several alternatives to go to Bac Ha Market: buses or motorbike. There are direct buses from Sapa Terminal with the ticket price of VND 80,000; and it will take up to three hours to reach Bac Ha Market.

Tourists can also hire motorbike (Minsk is the most popular) for VND 100,000/day and enjoy the wildly picturesque sceneries on the way to Bac Ha. The route passes through Ban Phiet; then following Highway 70 for about 40-50km, turning left at the three-way crossroad leading to Bac Ha.

From China to Hanoi, you have some routes. Each of them has their own advantages:

1. Kunming - Hekou - Lao Cai - Hanoi:

Chinese side has no train in this route. From Kunming to Hekou border gate, if you travel by bus, it will take almost 10 hours, including lunch time. From Hekou to Lao Cai town, it lasts 10 minutes by motorbike/taxi. The next step is to go to Lao Cai railway station and find a train ticket to Hanoi (overnight train). So, it is about 790 km (490km by bus and 300km by train) from Kunming to Hanoi.

2. Nanning - PingXiang - Lang Son - Hanoi:

By bus: Huu Nghi Quan (Friendship Pass) is about 17km from Lang Son town. It is wise to arrive at Friendship Pass (customs and immigration) before 4:30 PM, because they do not stamp foreign passports after that time. After that you can take a minibus tour to Hanoi. It costs VND 60,000 ($3) for this trip and it takes 3,5-4 hours.

By train: Beijing - Nanning – Hanoi trip takes you about 40 hours. You will need to change the train at Dong Dang border town, since the rail width in China is 1,4m, while in Vietnam it is only 1m.

3. Nanning - DongXing - MongCai - Ha Long - Hanoi:

There are direct buses from Nanning to Halong Bay, which start 8:00 am in the morning, from River South Bus Centre (Jiang Nan Ke Yun Zhong Xing). The bus passes the border at DongXing border town instead of Gate of Friendship. Total bus travel time from Nanning to Halong bay is 9 hours and it costs VND 3,000,000 ($150). You can also go by express boat from MongCai to Halong Bay then by bus to Hanoi, but it takes longer.

Related Readings:

Crossing the border between China and Vietnam
Vietnam Railway System
Tips for taking night train in Vietnam