Getting a tourist visa for VietNam in Bangkok (for a Canadian)

[AlphaCanadian]

Is it fairly easy?

 

Should I go to the embassy directly or through an agency? Which agency?

 

I wonder how many days I get in VietNam with the tourist visa.

 

Thanks in advance.

[AlexRich]

Visa Vietnam Online offer to do it for one, three, six and twelve month visas ... I used an online agency (can’t remember whom) but it all worked out fairly good.

 

Do your homework on taxis from the airport, they’ll be queuing up to rip you off. And count the money into the guy’s hand like he’s a baby ... the notes are a similar colour, so if you just give him by hand he’ll pretend that you short changed him. Do not trust them. Otherwise a great place.

[Bredbury Blue]

8 minutes ago, AlexRich said:

Visa Vietnam Online offer to do it for one, three, six and twelve month visas ... I used an online agency (can’t remember whom) but it all worked out fairly good.

 

Do your homework on taxis from the airport, they’ll be queuing up to rip you off. And count the money into the guy’s hand like he’s a baby ... the notes are a similar colour, so if you just give him by hand he’ll pretend that you short changed him. Do not trust them. Otherwise a great place.

I was working there for a while recently.

From memory a taxi between  airport and Thanh market (central district 1) was on average 120,000 dong.

Guy from my office here had to a visa trip  recently  (just a leave and back trip) so on my recommendation  went to HCMC for the weekend. He enjoyed it very much except for one thing: taxi from airport, driver pulled over and said taxi engine problem, can't  go any further, get another taxi and proceeded to show my colleague 1000000 dong not 100000 dong on his phone calculator. My friend paid and later realised he'd been tricked.

All taxis have the meter clearly dispaying the cost but they will show 100 for 100000. They also have taxi drivers name in English  so take a snap.

In say 40 to 50 taxi rides ive been slightly  duped once.

I'd recommend vietnam to the OP, nice place, not that dissimilar to here.

[AlexRich]

53 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

I was working there for a while recently.

From memory a taxi between  airport and Thanh market (central district 1) was on average 120,000 dong.

Guy from my office here had to a visa trip  recently  (just a leave and back trip) so on my recommendation  went to HCMC for the weekend. He enjoyed it very much except for one thing: taxi from airport, driver pulled over and said taxi engine problem, can't  go any further, get another taxi and proceeded to show my colleague 1000000 dong not 100000 dong on his phone calculator. My friend paid and later realised he'd been tricked.

All taxis have the meter clearly dispaying the cost but they will show 100 for 100000. They also have taxi drivers name in English  so take a snap.

In say 40 to 50 taxi rides ive been slightly  duped once.

I'd recommend vietnam to the OP, nice place, not that dissimilar to here.

I really like Vietnam, both Saigon and Hanoi, but you really have to be careful with taxis ... I had two bad experiences, one driving in the wrong direction to pad the bill and the other pretending that I’d given him the small denomination note ... both of whom were given short shrift. But you really want to avoid these things if possible. In Hanoi the motorbike guys agree a price beforehand, so if I couldn’t walk I used them. 

 

I think its its pretty much impossible to avoid being duped if you travel abroad, the key is to do your homework and avoid the places where you’re a target ... taxis, markets, clip joints, etc.

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

Don't bother with the embassy. Order a 30-day tourist visa from an online service. Google it and you will find a dozen or more. I never took the cheapest.  

 

They will send you a letter via email. Print it out and put it with your passport. There's also a two-page government info form to fill out. The visa service should send it to you or provide a link to download it and print it out. Fill it out and put it with your visa letter. 

 

Since someone brought up airport taxis: Step out to the taxi area after you leave the SGN Customs area. Take only Vinasun or Mai Linh taxis. Ignore the touts and walk straight to an arriving Vinasun (white with red trim but be careful of copies, like Vina Taxi) or Mai Linh (green). Don't worry about getting in line, just walk past anyone and grab the taxi. Viets don't pay attention to queues.

 

As noted above, airport to District One is about 120,000 VND, depending on traffic and time of day. The airport area flyover has cut time and fares now. One time I got a Grab taxi from D1 to airport for 96,000. I also have been duped a couple of times. But my passable taxi Vietnamese tends to discourage that now. 

 

[tutsiwarrior]

the advantage of going to the VN embassy is that they give you a visa with which you can proceed directly to immigration on arrival in VN...the online agents will give you a letter that you have to present at the visa counter on arrival with some money in USD and they issue the visa there and if there's a big queue there can be delay...with the visa you then proceed to the immigration counter...I was lucky the last time in Hanoi and got my visa at the airport in about 15mins...no queue around 7pm on a weeknight...

 

the scam with the money is a popular one and you havta be careful as many of the banknotes look the same...as someone suggested carefully count out the money into the driver's hand so that you both know the amount being paid...I even had a supermarket checkout girl try it on once some years ago...best to only use the reputable taxi companies at airports; Nobai in Hanoi and Vinasun and Mai Linh in HCMC as was mentioned before...

 

 

[lamyai3]

Queues aren't usually too big using the online method. Done it a few times, usually around 20 minutes in HCMC. Taxis make me nervous there with their runaway meters, I usually walk outside the airport and get a motorbike for about four USD, much faster through the traffic too.