Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn fare to vietnam. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn fare to vietnam. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Travel tip : Price guide in Vietnam
You decided to buy a fare to Vietnam that discovering the beauty of Vietnam, a small country locating on the eastern seaboard of Indochina peninsula, to sailing along the Red River delta or set your foot on white sand and feel by your own way? But have you ever hesitated about bargain in Vietnam? Carefully prepare yourself with basic knowledge and you will never have to worry about anything.Vietnam airlines suggest you several useful prices as following:
Travel tip : Price guide in Vietnam
You decided to buy a fare to Vietnam that discovering the beauty of Vietnam, a small country locating on the eastern seaboard of Indochina peninsula, to sailing along the Red River delta or set your foot on white sand and feel by your own way? But have you ever hesitated about bargain in Vietnam? Carefully prepare yourself with basic knowledge and you will never have to worry about anything.Vietnam airlines suggest you several useful prices as following:
Booking fare to Vietnam in the best time!
Weather and Climat
When is the best time to visit?
Before you buy a fare to Vietnam , you have to research the weather and climate in your visit time. Because of its diverse geography, the climate in Vietnam varies greatly from north to south with three distinct climatic zones. Tropical monsoons occur from October to April in the Center, and from May to September, in the North and South. It is almost totally dry throughout the rest of the year. It can get particularly hot, though, all year round, but the north has a cool period between October and April. Temperatures across the country can reach up to 40C in the height of the hot and rainy season (May to September), but the northern highlands and Hanoi can often seem cold and wet in the winter.
Booking fare to Vietnam in the best time!
Weather and Climat
When is the best time to visit?
Before you buy a fare to Vietnam , you have to research the weather and climate in your visit time. Because of its diverse geography, the climate in Vietnam varies greatly from north to south with three distinct climatic zones. Tropical monsoons occur from October to April in the Center, and from May to September, in the North and South. It is almost totally dry throughout the rest of the year. It can get particularly hot, though, all year round, but the north has a cool period between October and April. Temperatures across the country can reach up to 40C in the height of the hot and rainy season (May to September), but the northern highlands and Hanoi can often seem cold and wet in the winter.
How to Find Cheap Flights To Vietnam, Fare to Vietnam from Australia, USA & Europe
The Charm of Vietnam. Tempting you to Visit This beautiful land? Many tourist included Vietnam to their itinerary list every year to visit the exciting charm of the land of the lotus flower, Vietnam, enjoying all the natural beauties of Vietnam. Whether you live in the United States, Australia, Canada, or Europe you may be thinking about how to find a Cheap Flights to Vietnam, booking cheap fare to vietnam so you can enjoy the Halong Bay, the new wonder of the nature, Discover Mekong Delta, or indulge in the unique Vietnamese culture this country has to offer.
Getting started to planning your tour to Vietnam, you’ll need to start booking flights to Vietnam, Tours, and any special adventures you want to embark while you visit Vietnam. Taking a vacation halfway across the world can get expensive, but if you find cheap flights to Vietnam, you can save a bit of money. To make your Vietnam Tour as cheap as possible, here is information on airports, airlines, and some tips to help you how to find a Cheap fare to Vietnam.
Airports you may land in: As you’re planning your flights to Vietnam, you’ll find there are several airports that you can land in. Many of the most popular flights fly into Hanoi (Noi Bai Airport) or HCMC (Tan Son Nhat Airport) (recommended by Vietnamese Private Tours). However, you can find flights that will land in Danang Airport as well. In most cases, you’ll want to choose the airport that is closest to your destination. Just keep in mind that you may be able to get a cheaper deal by choosing a different airport to arrive at.
Airlines that fly to Vietnam: Various airlines fly into Vietnam and you may want to consider your options as you’re trying to book cheap flights to Vietnam. If you want to fly with a national carrier, Vietnam Airline is the most popular option. However, many other Airlines fly into airports of Vietnam, Check with the airport you plan to fly out of to see what Airlines fly from your home airport to Vietnam.
Visit at the right time: If you want to get a cheap deal on flights to Vietnam, one of the best tips to follow is to visit Vietnam at the right time. The peak season is usually considered to be between the late January or early February, that’s the time when the `Tet’ New Year is celebrated all over the Vietnam, This offers you a fairly broad timeline for travel to Vietnam if you want to travel during the peak season, which makes it easier to find a flight that is reasonably priced. Well, flights to Vietnam may be cheaper during the wet season as well. Many tourists choose not to visit Vietnam during the wet season.
Book your flights to Vietnam well in advance: Another important tip to remember as you’re looking for cheap flights to Vietnam is to book far in advance. If you wait too long to book your flight to Vietnam, you’ll end up paying premium prices. It’s recommended that you book flights at least a month in advance to save money. However, if you book even sooner than that, you may be able to save even more money.
Try to fly on weekdays: You may be surprised to find that flying on weekdays can help you save money when booking your flights to Vietnam. Flights going out or arriving on the weekend are always going to be more expensive. Try booking during the week if you can work it out. Being flexible can also help. When checking flight prices, you should check a few days either way of your departure date. Simply departing a day or two later or a couple of days in advance may help you to save a substantial amount of money. Just a little flexibility can lead to some great savings.
Using online price comparison sites: One of the greatest tips on how to book a cheap fare to Vietnam is to use online price comparison sites. Today it’s easy to find travel comparison sites on the web. Sites like Momondo.com, CheapTickets.com, and others allow you to compare prices among different airlines. You can enter your travel information and then within minutes you’ll find out who will give you the best deal on the flights you need to book. Companies are competing for your business and comparison sites allow you to find out who offers the most competitive price. Within minutes, you can have the cheap flights to Vietnam.
Visiting Vietnam can be affordable to you. With the right information on your side, you can find flights to Vietnam that will easily fit into your budget. In fact, if you combine these tips together when booking a flight to Vietnam, you’ll be able to save a large amount of money. Enjoy spending that saved money on your tour to Vietnam or save it for the next trip you decide to take.
Cheap fare to Vietnam - Discover charming destination
Vietnam is one of Asia’s most charming destinations, boasting soft beaches, emerald rice paddies, lush river deltas and exotic, bustling cities. To experience it for yourself, find top-notch travel deals and cheap fare to vietnam using our search engine.
Getting there
There are currently no direct flights from the UK, and travellers looking for cheap fare to vietnam will probably need to go via Bangkok, Singapore, Tokyo or Taipei. Airlines operating a service from the UK include British Airways, Air France, Qantas, Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific, KLM and China Airlines.Airports
All cheap fare to vietnam from the Australia fly into one of three international airports: Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) in the south; Da Nang (DAD) in the central region; and Hanoi Noi Bai (HAN) in the north.When to go
The peak holiday season for local tourists is July and August, plus there’s another peak from November to April. You may find it’s easier getting cheap fare to vietnam in the “shoulder seasons” from April to June and September to November, although to some extend this depends on which part you’re going to. Climate conditions vary considerably between the north, south, central and Highlands regions – and this includes when the rainy season sweeps in – so do your research before booking your fare to vietnam.Explore your pick of 3,000 islands in Halong Bay in the Gulf of Tonkin. Stroll along the 30km-long palm-lined Cua Dai beach all the way to Da Nang. Or hang out in Hanoi, soaking up fantastic food and chaotic nightlife.
Find & Enjoy Great Fare to Vietnam
Looking for a once in a lifetime exotic vacation? Then look no further than a trip to Vietnam. Finding cheap flights to Vietnam is easy on Expedia. We offer a wide range of discount airfare, specials, and deals. Traveling can be expensive, and it is our goal to help you find the best prices on fare to Vietnam. We created our innovative reservation system with you in mind. Finding the flights to Vietnam you want at the price you want is why we are here. In just a few simple clicks, we can show you a variety of options - not only price options but also airlines and departure times. We want to help you find the airplane tickets that best fit your needs and budget.
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| find cheap fare to vietnam and enjoy |
Once you are done booking your tickets, the most important decision you make should be what to do once you get off the plane in Vietnam. Vietnam is so much more than its colonial past. Ho Chi Minh City offers a unique blend of old and new with towering office buildings and breathtaking temples. A trip to Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City shows the influence of the French on their former colonial conquest. Nha Trang has a pristine beach where you can spend a day lolling in the sand or enjoying a day at the local spa. There is a wide range of unique experiences awaiting you in Vietnam from the shopping to the food.
Now that you have some ideas of what to do once you get off the plane, let's go ahead and pick out your tickets to Vietnam. Enter the dates you would like to travel and our top of the line reservation system will search for the Vietnam flights to meet your needs. We will provide you with all the information you need to buy low cost fare to vietnam. We will help you book the flight at the price you choose. If you want to save even more money on your trip, then check out our cheap rooms, car rentals, and vacation packages. We can even help you save money by buying fare to vietnam to the sites you want to visit in before you leave home
Getting a Cheap Fare to Vietnam
You're heading to Vietnam and you need a cheap fare to Vietnam. To get a good, cheap fare to Vietnam, you'll need to spend time researching cheap air ticket websites like Adioso.com or telephoning travel agents. The best time and place for this research is during office hours at a desktop where nobody can see the screen.
Searching the internet for cheap fare to Vietnam deals can be tedious and boring, but persist and you could easily save yourself $100 and, in doing so, score yourself the cash to pay for another week in a beachside chalet on a tropical Vietnam island. However don't ignore the human travel agent -- one who can work the system and deliver the goods.
As with any "deal" if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is, but there are great cheap fare to Vietnam out there. Regardless of which route you choose, put the time in and you will be rewarded.
Here are some common points to consider:
1) Airport taxes
Does the quoted price include these charges? Many airports now charge you for the privilege of arriving and/or departing, but agents and websites may forget to tell you these "minor details".
For example, Ponchentong International Airport in Phnom Penh charges (on an international flight) $25. When a Cambodian beach hut goes for $6, the $25 is worth a lot!
2) Is the flight direct?
I once met a French guy in Agra who had flown from Paris to Delhi - via Moscow and Kabul - the flight took over 30 hours -- sure his airfare was less than mine (I flew direct from London to Delhi) -- about thirty pounds less. What you may save financially in taking an indirect cheap flight, you will lose in lack of sleep, comfort and convenience. A lot of flights to Vietnam from Europe come via the Middle East -- particularly Dubai, but in most cases the layover is just an hour or so -- there's nothing wrong with that -- but if you're routing yourself from Australia to Vietnam via Bangkok in order to save fifty bucks, spend the extra money & fly directly with Vietnam Airline http://www.vietnamairlines.com/wps/portal/en/site/promotions/local_fares
3) Airmiles
If you will be taking frequent domestic flights and plan to return to Vietnam again, don't dismiss miles out of hand.
4) Restrictions
What happens if you miss your flight? Be sure to check carefully what the restrictions are on any cheap fare to Vietnam - especially on refunds and particularly regarding changing the ticket? There's no point saving yourself $50 by buying a cheap ticket if it will cost you $100 to change it when you decide to spend an extra week on the beach.
5) Human or machine?
The only time I buy online is when I know I can't get a cheaper price with an agent or if I'm using a discount carrier where I have to book online. I do this for the following reasons:
a) When I beg in front of my laptop it doesn't respond
b) Cheap flight sites are not aware of upcoming deals that are starting tomorrow and so won't tell you to come back tomorrow to save yourself $50.
c) Cheap flight sites tend not to cover all airlines, rather they will work with the bigger players - it's often the little players that offer the best deals.
d) Cheap flight sites will not wait-list you on 25 different flights to Vietnam (and eventually get you on) when everything appears to be full -- a website will just tell you all the flights are full.
e) Humans are still (mostly) more intelligent than machines and will be able to show you unique ways to plan out a flights itinerary.
f) A cheap flights site doesn't remember (nor appreciate) the gift you gave it last time it helped you out at the last minute to get you squeezed onto a full flight.
6) Low-cost carriers
There are now a throng of low-cost-carriers serving Vietnam, led by KL-based AirAsia. Fare to Vietnam can be ridiculously low --AirAsia was recently flying Bangkok to Hanoi for US$25 one way -- now that is simply unbeatable! The main low-cost players in the region are AirAsia, Tiger Airways, Jetstar Asia (which also owns Valuair) and Nok Air. Check their individual websites for fare to Vietnam information.
With deals like these, it can be more cost effective to fly from your home country to Bangkok, Singapore or KL with a traditional carrier, then pick up a LCC flight to your final destination in Vietnam. Don't expect your ticketing agent to suggest doing that -- they'll probably try to suggest you fly with the international carrier's partner -- at a considerably higher cost.
Unless you're travelling overland, everyone needs to fly to reach Vietnam, spend a little bit of time researching online ticketing sites and talk to a few travel agents - it's not difficult, is bound to be more interesting than what you should be doing at work, and, at the end of the day will probably save you some of that money you're working so hard to earn.
Tips: How to find cheap fare to Vietnam
Think you need a vacation now? Just wait until you’re scouring dozens of booking sites, aggregators and airline Web sites to find cheap fare to Vietnam for your next trip — then you’ll really be ready for a week off!
Unfortunately for weary travelers, there’s no real shortcut to finding cheap fare to Vietnam. As with any purchase, you need to shop around to get the best deal — by trying different booking sites, altering your dates and waiting until just the right time to purchase. But if you’re willing to put in a little time and effort, you could save big on your next flight.
1. Buy Early
Especially during peak travel periods, making reservations late in the game can cost you a lot of money. Airline ticket prices typically go up 21 days, 14 days, 7 days and 3 days before flying, so if you’re planning ahead, try to make the call before these deadlines. Especially, you’ll want to book even earlier for your trip to Vietnam — from three to six months in advance — for the best deals. However, sometimes you can get lucky if you wait, which brings us to:
2. Buy Late
Often you can buy tickets at the very last minute for a great price, if the airlines have failed to fill their planes. Many airlines offer weekly newsletters that feature their best last-minute deals. You can also find many of them at specialized sites like LastMinuteTravel.com. If you can stand the suspense, and if you are flexible with your itinerary, you can find fantastic money-savers to Vietnam.
3. Shop Around
No matter how good it sounds, you should never book the first fare to Vietnam you see. Start your search by checking a few of the major online travel providers, like Travelocity.com, aggregator sites like TripAdvisor Flights or consolidators like CheapTickets.com. Airfarewatchdog is another good source of low fares to Vietnam. Checking these sites will give you a preliminary idea of which airlines fly your particular itinerary, what the going rate is and what restrictions might apply. Armed with this information, you can head directly to the appropriate airline Web site to see if the same flights are any cheaper (some airlines guarantee to offer the lowest possible fares on their own Web sites). While you’re there, check to see if the airline is running any sales or promotions to Vietnam.
If you don’t see anything in your preferred price range, don’t be afraid to bide your time and watch fare to Vietnam for a bit. Most major booking sites have alert features that will e-mail you when your fare to Vietnam drops to a price you’re willing to pay.
4. Know When to Buy
The hardest part of booking a flight is knowing when to stop tracking fares and make that final purchase. Bing Travel can help you reach that decision, offering fare predictions for most major cities. Just plug in your itinerary and the site will advise you either to book now or to wait, depending on whether the fare is expected to rise or drop. Another useful site is the aforementioned Kayak.com, which offers fare history graphs for domestic and international flights, allowing you to see whether your fare is headed in an upward or downward direction.
Finally, keep in mind that most airlines launch fare sales on Tuesdays and Wednesdays — so if you decide to buy on a Monday, you may be gnashing your teeth on Tuesday when fare to Vietnam goes on sale.
5. Be Flexible
If you live close to more than one airport, check out the fares from all of the airports near you. Many online fare searching engines will ask you if you are willing to depart from or arrive in more than one city. Yes! Also, experiment with different travel dates; shifting your itinerary by a week or even a few days can make a significant difference in fares. You’ll usually find the best deals on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
6. Don’t Forget the Discounters
As their nickname suggests, discount airlines can save you a bundle, but they’re not always easy to find. Luckily for consumers, discounters are cropping up more frequently on aggregators and booking sites (Kayak now offers fares for JetBlue, Spirit and AirTran, for example) — but there are still a few holdouts, such as Southwest and Allegiant Air, whose fares can’t be found anywhere but their own Web sites.
7. Use Your Frequent Flier Miles
Why pay a fare at all when you can use your frequent flier miles? Although redeeming miles has gotten more difficult in recent years, it’s still a good option to consider, particularly if you’re booking early; airlines designate a very limited number of seats on each flight as eligible for award travel, and these seats go quickly. For more on redeeming your miles, check out our frequent flier Q&A with mileage guru Tim Winship.
8. Get a Refund When Fares Go Down
If fares go down after you’ve purchased your ticket, ask for a refund! You may not always get one, but policies vary by airline — and many do not publicize the fact that they will refund you the difference if prices go down. It can’t hurt to ask.
Yapta.com is a site that will track flights for you after you purchase and notify you if the fares go down.
9. Consider an Air Pass
In order to promote tourism in their countries, many national airlines offer air passes at reduced rates for tourists. If you’re planning to do extensive travel in one country or region, an air pass might be your most cost-effective option. For example, Qantas offers an Aussie AirPass for travel throughout Australia. For more information, see our guide to air passes.
10. Check for Deals and Discounts
Don’t forget to check our comprehensive Travel Deals for the latest fare sales — we post new ones every weekday. If you or your traveling companions are senior citizens or children, you’ll want to take a peek at our senior and family areas as well.
Best Time to Book Flights Hanoi
Hanoi,
the capital of Vietnam, is preferred over the more crowded locations
such as Ho Chi Minh City in the south, because of its charm and original
culture and historical influence. Travelers are advised to book flights Hanoi
when the climate is best: in early spring or throughout autumn &
stay away from the hot and humid weather and summer rainy periods. As
the year ends, the city becomes most crowded and hotel prices soar.
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| flights Hanoi |
I booked flights Hanoi
to visit Hanoi during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year celebration; the
biggest holiday of the entire year. Tradition states that the days prior
to the holiday, people are to bring special gifts to the individuals
they wish to impress. Since there is a high demand for specialties,
shops pop up all over town. City streets are filled with vendors selling
hoa doa; peach trees that equal the sentiment of an American Christmas
tree. It is a truly exciting time and one I’ll not forget in a long
time!
Flights Hanoi: 48 hours in Hanoi
Direct flights Hanoi
mean you can now visit Hanoi for a long weekend (just about). Our
writer takes a jet-lagged, surreal tour of Vietnam's colourful capital
Hanoi's fish market. Photograph: Alamy
The
waiter was missing two fingers. The other two and his thumb were
squeezed tightly around the throat of a bamboo snake, writhing and
snapping and trying to relieve the waiter of one of his remaining
digits.
With
his other hand, he pulled a knife from his back pocket and made a
delicate incision in the soft flesh of the snake's underbelly, into
which he stuck his finger and ripped out its heart, plonking it into a
small glass of rice wine in front of me. The wine blushed crimson.
He held the glass in front of my face. The heart was still pumping, sending little ripples through the liquid.
"Drink. Quickly," he said. "As guest, unlucky if you don't…"
I had arrived in Hanoi just a few hours earlier, having been invited on the inaugural direct flights Hanoi from the UK, which cuts many hours off the travelling time.
It
had seemed the perfect opportunity to see if Hanoi could work as a
long-weekend destination. After a sleepless 11-hour overnight flight,
with a seven-hour time difference and feeling utterly bewildered in the
fog of jet lag, it was already looking like one of my stupider ideas.
"You
here just for three days," Thone, my guide, had said at the airport.
"Crazy. What do you want to see?" "Everything," I'd said, which was my
second mistake.
And
so there I was, surrounded by Hanoi families enjoying their reptilian
repasts, swallowing the still-beating heart of a snake, followed by
snake intestine and kidney stir-fry, sticky rice in snake bile, and
snake-head crème caramel. As I washed it all down with a bottle of rice
wine containing a cobra's penis, I had a vision of animal-rights
activists and environmentalists in the UK slugging it out for the right
to rip my heart out.
We
walked back towards downtown Hanoi on the narrow walkway across the
mile-long Long Bien iron-truss bridge, high above the Song Hong, or Red
River – from which the city gets its name. Hanoi means "the city in the
bend of the river".
It
has six million people and 6m mopeds, and it seemed like they were all
out riding across the bridge, carrying just about every load imaginable,
forcing us to fling ourselves against the railings to avoid
decapitation by a bed frame or getting knocked over the side by a
wardrobe. The never-ending tide, combined with the trains that trundled
across, made the whole structure bounce and pulse as if it was alive.
Huc Bridge, which spans Hoan Kiem lake. Photograph: Hemis/Alamy
Just
off the bridge, we entered the labyrinthine streets and alleyways of
the Old Quarter, Hanoi's beating heart of commerce, as old as the city
itself. Beneath a canopy of banyan trees dripping with Spanish moss, the
pavements were full of people washing clothes, men welding metal, and
makeshift barber shops. This made it necessary to walk in the road, amid
the moped madness. Thone had perfected the art of negotiating the
mopeds, communicating where the tide should part by wafting his hand in
some divine way, like Moses.
Women
in coolie hats weaved past bearing vast loads of cassavas and dried
fish in baskets at either end of a flexing bamboo yoke, tiptoeing under
the strain as if wearing shoes two sizes too small. If there was ever a
place to feed western fantasies of the Orient, here it was.
Every
street has a designated purpose, the legacy of the 13th-century
guildsmen who divided up the Old Quarter into 36 areas, so the prefix
"Hang" on street signs means "merchandise". We turned into Hang Ma,
where the Hanoians go for their paper votive offerings to be burned on
the anniversary of the death of a loved one. The votives are a
reflection of their interests, so there were paper cars, stereos and
life-sized bicycles.
Most
shops had altars with burning incense and flowers – bought on the 1st
and 15th of the Chinese lunar month for luck – at their entrance,
Casablanca lilies and orchids: Vietnam is blessed with more than 1,000
varieties.
On
to Hang Dong (copper bells and gongs), Hang Cot (bamboo) and Hang Non
(hats). It was like the ultimate department store. On Thouc Bac (herbal
medicine), the shops were crammed with lotus seeds, huge cinnamon sticks
and jars of rice wine full of snakes and scorpions. The sweet smell was
quite overpowering.
I
was flagging now, seeing all of this as if through frosted glass. Thone
took me to my hotel. I'd just dozed off when the speakers that line
every Hanoi street started up, like the call of mosques, but instead of
muezzin inviting the faithful to prayer, it was the government reminding
citizens to pay their taxes. That stopped after an hour, after which
the couple next door started having very noisy sex. At 5am the street
speakers kicked off again. Then my phone rang.
"Time to go, Mike," said Thone, "no time to waste."
Weavers with conical fish baskets. Photograph: Alamy
In
the grey dawn light we arrived at the Brobdingnagian vastness of Ba
Dinh Square, where elderly figures exercised, flapping like butterflies
in time to staccato instructions from a woman at the front. A shrill
flurry of whistles, then authoritarian martial music boomed out from
unseen speakers and a column of soldiers appeared, marching with furious
intent in uniforms as white as virgin snow. They raised Vietnam's flag
in silent reverence.
"Now
you go and see Uncle Ho," said Thone, pointing to a huge colonnaded
building. "He's just back from Moscow for his annual touch-up, so should
be looking good."
As
I shuffled in, joining a snaking queue of Vietnamese, an angry-looking
soldier told me to take my hands out of my pockets, and the one 10 yards
along not to hold my hands behind my back. I felt like I was going to
see the headmaster, which in a way I was, because suddenly I was staring
at the yellow, goateed corpse of Ho Chi Minh – Marxist-Leninist
revolutionary, revered father of modern Vietnam, liberator from French
colonialism, who died in 1969 – lying in his glass sarcophagus. I looked
around at the Vietnamese, some wiping away tears, some staring in awe,
and felt like an interloper at a moment of private grief.
In
front of Ho Chi Minh's house, we walked around a carp lake shaded by
mango trees, which the Vietnamese seemed to appreciate, seeing as they
were all applauding it. Thone explained that Uncle Ho is said to have
called the fish to be fed by clapping his hands and thus visitors now do
the same. I clapped. No fish came, but a boy next to me smiled.
We
stopped at a backstreet restaurant for pho bo, Hanoi's delicious staple
– a salty soup of rice noodles and beef, garnished with ginger and lime
and fiery chillies. We ate it with our knees up around our shoulders,
sitting on the Wendy House plastic stools that every Hanoi café seems to
favour, and which Thone couldn't explain.
After
lunch we walked through the five courtyards of the Temple of
Literature, Vietnam's first university, founded in 1076, a maze of
beautiful formal gardens framed by fig trees, with low-slung pagodas
with sinuous roofs. Young women in dazzling white and yellow silk ao dai
dresses, embroidered with delicate silk roses and gerberas, prayed to a
statue of Confucius for good exam marks.
In
the middle of the city we walked around the most famous of Hanoi's many
lakes, Hoan Kiem, which glittered like mercury under the sun. We weaved
through games of badminton being played on makeshift courts on the
pavements, the nets strung between flame trees festooned with red paper
lanterns that hang like pendulous fruit.
If
the morning had been full of light, the afternoon was darker. We
visited the Hoa Lo prison, nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton" by US air crew
downed during their ferocious bombing of the city. One room was full of
dummies of emaciated Vietnamese prisoners shackled by the French
colonial authorities to their beds, the next contained the prison's
grisly original iron guillotine. Then there were photographs of smiling
GIs playing table tennis, which illustrated either a more benign
captivity or the fact that it's the victors who write the history books.
Close
by, at Dii Vet, an Aladdin's cave of a shop selling exquisite
lacquerware and hand-embroidered silk tapestries, a smiling boy held up a
beautiful scene of Halong Bay for me to inspect. He had seven fingers
on each hand and smooth skin on the side of his face where an ear should
have been. Other young people sat at looms, their fingers weaving, but
staring ahead with lifeless eyes.
"Deaf
and dumb," said Thone. These were some of the five million people still
hereditarily affected by the Agent Orange dropped by the US. "They make
these things here and send the money back to their villages."
After
another sleepless night for me, Thone turned up on his moped and patted
the back seat. "Now you get to see Hanoi properly!"
We
flew down a street lined with coffins and a street packed with shoes,
along wide boulevards flanked by giant rosewood trees, around lakes and
past temples, around us continued the intricate ballet of mopeds,
carrying caged parrots, or hidden under mountains of flowers so they
looked like carnival floats. We passed mustard-coloured French
belle-epoque mansions, the magnificent French colonial opera house, and a
huge statue of Lenin, and rode along a street of restaurants where
glazed dogs lay on their backs in display cases as if waiting for a
tummy tickle. I felt like I had never been to such a beautiful, strange,
crazy place.
On
the way to the airport, Thone dropped me off at the Thang Long, a water
puppet show that has its 11th-century origins in the paddy fields of
the countryside and which can be best described as Punch and Judy in a
pool. I watched a succession of surreal giant fish, fire-breathing
dragons and mutant mushrooms do battle with villagers, accompanied by a
man playing the single-string dan bau, or zither, and a woman with the
most haunting voice I've ever heard.
Fourteen
sleepless hours later, I would be back in my flat in London, looking at
two giant water puppets and a snake's penis in a bottle of rice wine,
the only proof that this was no half-remembered dream.
Flights Vietnam: Tours
Package
tours to Vietnam are offered by travel agencies worldwide. Nearly all
these tours follow one of a dozen or so set itineraries. Tours come in
every shape and size from budget trips to ultimate indulgences. Tours
booked outside Vietnam are not bad value when you tally everything up (flights Vietnam, hotels, transport), but then again it’s a cheap country for travelling.
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| Fights Vietnam |
It’s easy enough to book flights Vietnam
and make the travel arrangements after arrival. The main saving through
booking before arrival is time, and if time is more precious than
money, a pre-booked package tour is probably right for you.
Almost
any good travel agency can book you on a standard mad-dash minibus tour
around Vietnam. More noteworthy are the adventure tours arranged for
people with a particular passion. These include speciality tours for
cyclists, trekkers, bird-watchers, war veterans, culture vultures and
gourmet travellers.
Contact flights Vietnam in Australia
Adventure World (02-8913 0755; www.adventureworld.com.au) Adventure tours to Vietnam, as well as Cambodia and Laos.
Griswalds Vietnamese Vacations (02-9564 5040; www.vietnamvacations.com.au) Popular Australian company offering affordable adventures.
Intrepid Travel (1300 360 667; www.intrepidtravel.com.au) Small group tours for all budgets with an environmental, social and cultural edge.
Peregrine (02-9290 2770; www.peregrine.net.au) Small-group and tailor-made tours supporting responsible tourism.
Wide Eyed Tours
(02-9290 2770; www.wideeyedtours.com) Set up by former Intrepid tour
leaders, this company offers tours all over Vietnam and has an office in
the Old Quarter of Hanoi.
Contact flights Vietnam in France
Compagnie des Indes & Orients (01 53 63 33 40; www.compagniesdumonde.com)
Intermedes (01 45 61 90 90; www.intermedes.com)
La Route des Indes (01 42 60 60 90; www.laroutedesindes.com)
Contact flights Vietnam in New Zealand
Adventure World (09-524 5118; www.adventureworld.co.nz) A wide range of adventure tours covering the country.
Pacific Cycle Tours (03-972 9913; www.bike-nz.com) Mountain bike tours through Vietnam, plus hiking trips to off-the-beaten-path destinations.
Contact flights Vietnam in UK
Audley Travel (01604-234855; www.audleytravel.com) Popular tailor-made specialist covering all of Vietnam
Cox & Kings (020-7873 5000; www.coxandkings.co.uk) Well-established high-end company, strong on cultural tours.
Exodus (020-8675 5550; www.exodus.co.uk) Popular adventure company with affordable overland trips.
Hands Up Holidays (0776-501
3631; www.handsupholidays.com) A new company bringing guests close to
the people of Vietnam through its responsible holidays with a spot of
volunteering.
Mekong Travel (01494-674456; www.mekong-travel.com) Mekong region specialist with in-depth knowledge of Vietnam.
Selective Asia (0845-370 3344; www.selectiveasia.com) New company that cherry-picks the best trips from leading local agents.
Symbiosis (020-7924 5906; www.symbiosis-travel.com) Small bespoke travel company with an emphasis on cycling and diving.
Wild Frontiers (020-7376 3968; www.wildfrontiers.co.uk) Adventure specialist with themed tours like Apocalypse Now.
Contact flights Vietnam in USA
Asia Transpacific Journeys (800-642 2742; www.asiatranspacific.com) Group tours and tailor-made across the Asia-Pacific region.
Distant Horizons (800-333 1240; www.distant-horizons.com) Educational tours for discerning travellers.
Geographic Expeditions (800-777 8183; www.geoex.com) Well-established high-end adventure travel company.
Global Adrenaline (800-825 1680; www.globaladrenaline.com) Luxury adventures for the experienced traveller.
How to Enter Vietnam: Fare to Vietnam
To
enter Vietnam, foreigners should obtain Visa beforehand. There are no
‘suspect’ stamps that will prevent foreigners from visiting Vietnam, but
some Vietnamese who live overseas may be given a harder time by
immigration and customs than non-Vietnamese visitors. Arranging a visa
remains essential before arrival in Vietnam, but these are easy to
obtain from embassies worldwide or through Vietnamese travel agents in
advance.
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| Fare to vietnam |
It is possible to enter Vietnam by train, plane, automobile and other forms of transport.
Air is popular for those holidaying because of its reasonable fare to Vietnam while bus is the most common route for those travelling extensively in the region.
Anyone
planning on arriving from China should consider the spectacular train
ride from Kunming in China’s Yunnan province to Hanoi (although there
are currently no trains on the Chinese side: check for updates).
Entering from Cambodia, the boat ride down the Mekong River from Phnom Penh to Chau Doc is memorable.
Formalities
at Vietnam’s international airports are generally smoother than at land
borders, as the volume of traffic is greater. That said, crossing
overland from Cambodia and China is now relatively stress-free. Crossing
the border between Vietnam and Laos remains somewhat stressful.
To save money, shop around for the best ticket fare to Vietnam and enjoy your holidays here!
Ticket Fare to Vietnam & from Vietnam
Vietnam
shares land borders with Cambodia, China and Laos and there are several
border crossings open to foreigners with each neighbour, a big
improvement on a decade ago.
 |
| Fare to Vietnam |
There
are no ‘suspect’ stamps that will prevent foreigners from visiting
Vietnam, but some Vietnamese who live overseas may be given a harder
time by immigration and customs than non-Vietnamese visitors. Arranging a
visa remains essential before arrival in Vietnam, but these are easy to
obtain from embassies worldwide or through Vietnamese travel agents in
advance.
Shop around and it is possible to find a cheap ticket fare to Vietnam.
If there are no obvious bargains to Hanoi or HCMC, then consider buying
a discounted ticket to Bangkok or Hong Kong and picking up a flight or
travelling overland from Thailand on to Vietnam.
Discounted
flights with reasonable rate are available into Vietnam, but Vietnam
Airlines will not allow foreign carriers to sell cheap rate outbound
tickets from Vietnam. A ticket from Bangkok to Hanoi or HCMC costs
almost half the price of a Vietnam Airlines’ flight, if it’s purchased
in Bangkok. This also means that for anyone planning to purchase a
long-haul flight in the region, Vietnam is not the place to do it with
Bangkok just a short hop away.
It’s hard to get cheap ticket fare to Vietnam
or from Vietnam during holidays, especially Tet, which falls between
late January and mid-February. If you will be in Vietnam during Tet,
make reservations well in advance or you may find yourself marooned in a
regional airport along the way. The chaos begins a week before Tet and
can last for about two weeks after it.
Be
aware that Vietnam is not the only country to celebrate the Lunar New
Year, as it falls at the same time as Chinese New Year. Many people hit
the road at this time, resulting in overbooked airlines, trains and
hotels all over Asia.
Informations about Cheap Vietnam Airlines
In the last couple of years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of no-frills cheap Vietnam airlines,
offering travellers an alternative to the heavily potholed roads of
Cambodia and Laos on the way in and out of Vietnam. While they can be
handy for those short on time, we really would advocate travelling
overland where possible - both from an environmental perspective and
because when you travel over land you get to meet more people and learn
more about the countries you are passing through.
Informations about prominent cheap Vietnam airlines:
Air Asia
- Based in Malaysia, Air Asia provide flights connecting Kuala Lumpur
(KL) and Bangkok to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), with fares
starting as low as $16 one way before taxes. Most of their connecting
flights depart from KL, where it is possible to fly on to Australia,
China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, the Phillipines, Singapore and
Thailand, as well as many destinations within Malaysia
Cheap Vietnam Airlines: Don't Be Fooled by Booking Sites
You want to find domestic tickets of cheap Vietnam airlines through booking sites? This article will change your minds.
People
always assume that booking sites offer the best deal. However, it can
be totally different. In reality, it is often more easy to buy domestic
tickets of cheap Vietnam airlines in Vietnam rather than buying them from online brokers like Kayak.com.
Sometimes
the large flight consolidators and booking sites do not have access to
small budget airlines' databases; you may or may not be finding the
lowest fares available, despite whatever promises are made.
Insider
Tip: Sometimes booking sites use nefarious means to make you want to
book a flight faster. They may show flights for days around the day you
picked as more expensive, so that you assume prices are going up. Some
sites will even save your previous flight searches -- because they know
you want a particular flight -- then add an additional amount to that
flight price when you return to the site. Try clearing the cookies on
your browser each time to avoid these scams.
Good luck finding best deals for your journey towards Vietnam!
Cheap Vietnam Airlines: Getting around in Vietnam
In
the early 1990's, when Vietnam first reopened its doors to foreign
visitors, the transportation infrastructure was creaking at best and
totally dysfunctional at worst. A product of a few generations of war
followed by a punitive and punishing economic embargo, the nation's
transport was unreliable, expensive and uncomfortable. The
grandiose-sounding Highway One was dotted with rusted-out ferry
crossings in place of bombed out bridges; the rail system was
glacially-paced and expensive. Cheap Vietnam airlines were unheard of.
 |
| Cheap Vietnam airlines |
How
things change. Today's traveller has a far better range of options than
in the early 90's - read on to find out all about them.
Plane
Vietnam Airlines and Jetstar are the two main cheap Vietnam airlines.
Fares are very reasonable and the frequency of flights to main hubs are
good. Flights can be a handy way to lop off a day of travel for not as
many dong as you may expect -- Hanoi to Dien Bien Phu and Saigon to Phu
Quoc Island are both popular time-savers. Note it is often cheaper to
buy domestic tickets once in Vietnam rather than buying them from online
brokers like Kayak.com.
Train
Vietnam's
train system is a lot better than is used to be, and while it's not all
that cheap, it's comfortable, exceedingly scenic in places, and an
overall very interesting and fun way to travel.
If
you're travelling in high season or especially over Tet, book as far in
advance as possible. On the downside it serves only the Vietnamese
coastline along with a couple of spurs out af Hanoi (most notably
northwest to Sapa). The coastal line serves many of the key destinations
in Vietnam, notable exceptions are Hoi An (alight at Da Nang), Qui Nhon
(alight at Dieu Tri) and Mui Ne (alight at Muong Man).
The
Railways Vietnam website has comprehensive and accurate timetable and
price information. Travelfish members can also avail themselves of the
PDF timetable and pricelist we put together after fighting our way
through the Vietnam Railways website. You can download it from the
resources section of the Member Centre.
You can read a very detailed story on Vietnam's rail network here.
Automobile
Rental
cars for long distance travel are yet to be much popularised in
Vietnam, and seeing the state of the traffic it's easy to see why. Most
who opt for self-drive transport do it via motorcycle rather than car.
Open Tours
The
Open Tour runs through the length of Vietnam (and the reverse),
commencing at Hanoi, the service stops at Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Da Lat
or Mui Ne and terminates Saigon (obviously it runs in the reverse as
well). There's spurs off into the Mekong Delta and Tay Ninh in the south
(ex Saigon) and Ha Long Bay and Sapa in the north (ex Hanoi).
The
ticket price is dependent on where you choose to stop, and once you buy
the ticket, you're locked into that route -- unless you buy a new
ticket. The cost is low, very low -- as little as US$24 for a non-stop
epic from Hanoi to Saigon. The Open Tour system works for thousands of
visitors to Vietnam -- particularly first time visitors who may be
intimidated by the local bus system or who are looking for more creature
comforts.
Local buses and minibuses
These
take about as long as Open Tours but can be overloaded to outrageous
degrees. On the upside -- you'll be the only foreigner on board -- on
the downside, it won't take too long to figure out why. Local buses and
minibuses are fine for trips under three to four hours, but longer than
that can be a bit gruelling.
One
disadvantage of the local bus system is that the bus stations they
operate from are often on the outskirts of town and the transport to and
from the bus station (mainly xe oms) will gouge you heartlessly given
the opportunity, thus reducing your saving in travelling this way.
Motobike
Grab
a minsk and hit the road. These bikes can be purchased for as little as
a few hundred US dollars and you'll often not have too many troubles
selling the bike off to another traveller when the time comes to leave
Vietnam. The bikes are only semi-reliable, but just about any local with
a screwdriver should be able to fix it up should you have minor
ailments. If you don't want to listen to us, listen to your Mum --
invest in a helmet -- easily purchased in both Hanoi and Saigon. For
more information, read our feature story on exploring Vietnam by
motorcycle.
Bicycle
Long,
with a scenic flat coastline, Vietnam can be a great destination for
cyclists. The only really gruelling part is the northern mountains --
even the Central Highlands are not really all that hilly. Most nearly
every town in Vietnam will have some lodgings, so you shouldn't struggle
for a room. Things to pack -- a good supply of inner tubes and patch
kits -- and of course, your bike -- but you probably knew that already.
Vietnamese bikes are not of a very high standard, so BYO bike is a very
good idea. The country has a pretty good network of secondary roads
which are far preferable to cycling on the main road, where cyclists
rank just above chickens in the pecking order ... get it ;-) -- you will
be expected to yield to all larger vehicles.
Boat
This
is only really an option in the Mekong Delta, where you can travel in
both tourist boats for short haul trips and take freighters for longer
trips. The former are comfortable, the latter can sometimes be
comfortable, other times less so. Boat transport is slow -- figure on
two days for a trip from My Tho to Chau Doc on the Cambodian border. The
most popular tourist service are the ferries from Saigon to Vung Tao,
and the boats from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh. Boat travel generally works
out as being more expensive than bus travel over a similar route.
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