I screwed up my planned trip to Vietnam

[Furioso]

I decided to join my neighbor on his trip to Vietnam. He's German I'm American. I scheduled my flight and hotel online but deep down I knew I was forgetting something lol. Well, we get to Don Mueng and asked for my Visa, which I didn't have. My German friend did not need a Visa so off he went. I tried to get one online but both my U.S. and Thai cards got rejected. I could pay a higher fee to an agent but I think $105(instead of the normal $25) is too much. I guess I could go to the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok but it's a 3 hour drive and they'd probably want me to come back a day or two later I'd also have to pay more $$$ to change my flight and hotel and no I don't get any refunds.

 

My American friend said he went with his Thai gf in Dec and he didn't need a visa but I should have known better in my case.

 

Anyone else have a similar experience? 

[Pib]

Appears a visa for entry is pretty hardcore for Americans barring certain circumstances.  Maybe your American friend left out some details on his visit.

 

https://cibtvisas.com/blog/vietnam-entry-requirements#:~:text=What travel documents do American,be obtained through various methods.

[NoDisplayName]

57 minutes ago, Furioso said:

I could pay a higher fee to an agent but I think $105(instead of the normal $25) is too much. I guess I could go to the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok but it's a 3 hour drive and they'd probably want me to come back a day or two later I'd also have to pay more $$$ to change my flight and hotel and no I don't get any refunds.

 

Yes, you screwed up.

Simple solution.

Just pay the extra $80 to the agent.

[Ganoga]

US citizens have needed a visa to go to Vietnam.  8 years ago it was on arrival, expensive and (for US citizens) good for a year of multiple entry. Now it's 30 days, obtainable online before you travel. Just did an evisa for vietnam this month.  Last year they took 3 days, this one took 7 days for approval. 

Your cards might have been rejected as they weren't enabled to be used in Vietnam? Did you use the official website? http://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/

Mike

[GypsyT]

You went to wrong part of Vietnam....

 

Go to Phu Quoc Island - no visa.

 

PS. Sorry your trip went south... Make an other one.

 

[scorecard]

30 minutes ago, Ganoga said:

US citizens have needed a visa to go to Vietnam.  8 years ago it was on arrival, expensive and (for US citizens) good for a year of multiple entry. Now it's 30 days, obtainable online before you travel. Just did an evisa for vietnam this month.  Last year they took 3 days, this one took 7 days for approval. 

Your cards might have been rejected as they weren't enabled to be used in Vietnam? Did you use the official website? http://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/

Mike

 

 I've successfully used that portal to get visas to enter Vietnam several times. From memory 1 to 2 days all done. I've used a credit card issued in Thailand and a debit card issued for global use by an Australian bank.

 

On arrival in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi just join any passport line. All handled in a couple of minutes. Just enough time for my suitcase to be on the carousel, change money in the same area, always seems to be an OK  ex. rate.

 

Then taxi to hotel or where possible I always arrange for the hotel to pick me up, slightly more expensive than standard taxis. 

 

[pomchop]

Live and learn...u are not the first and sure won't be the last to screw up some type of travel requirement 

 

More frequent i suspect is people who show up at airport to fly to thailand or many other countries while their passport has less than six months left before expiring...generally u will not be allowed to board the plane and if you do somehow get aboard you will be refused entry upon arrival....saw it happen to a fellow american recently and whine and bitch all he wanted the agent said no way as airline would be required to fly him back at their expense if he did not have correct documents...not sure but also doubt the airline gave him any refund on his unused ticket...

 

check the expiration date on your passport and be aware of the six month rule 

[Furioso]

1 hour ago, Ganoga said:

US citizens have needed a visa to go to Vietnam.  8 years ago it was on arrival, expensive and (for US citizens) good for a year of multiple entry. Now it's 30 days, obtainable online before you travel. Just did an evisa for vietnam this month.  Last year they took 3 days, this one took 7 days for approval. 

Your cards might have been rejected as they weren't enabled to be used in Vietnam? Did you use the official website? http://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/

Mike

Yes, that's the website I used. Each time my card was rejected I had to completely start over..which was very frustrating. 

[ignore it]

A lot of Americans went to Vietnam visa free before 1975.

Didn't even need a passport.

Direct travel to Hanoi was not allowed.

Edited April 10 by ignore it

[ChaiyaTH]

Going to an embassy helps zero, you need to apply online and if that is last minute, it is gonna cost you 100-200 dollars. If you fly in during the weekend, the emergency visa would only be available for Ho Chi Minh City as well.

[ChaiyaTH]

1 hour ago, GypsyT said:

You went to wrong part of Vietnam....

 

Go to Phu Quoc Island - no visa.

 

PS. Sorry your trip went south... Make an other one.

 

That's like the worst place to go in Vietnam, hence they offer up to 30 days visa free, if you can fly there direct. Super boring and expensive.

Edited April 10 by ChaiyaTH

[Sydebolle]

Pay up and get on with life - it is not the end of humanity and might indoctrinate the old saying that homework is essentially important, specially in this part of the world. And, given the fact, that Americans are not the most popular folks in Indochina, you can assume, that apart from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore you might need a visa in each and every case. 

Does it make sense, does it promote tourism? No, it does not but that is not up to us to evaluate. 

[Kerryd]

A Swedish friend of mine wanted to go to Vietnam (on motorcycles) a couple months ago.

I checked online and there wasn't a lot of information. We'd gone to Cambodia in November and that was a learning experience.

Found out he could get a "45 day" stamp at the border - but I (Canadian) needed a visa. Very little information about taking motorcycles in/out of Vietnam though.

And the only thing I could get online (even in dedicated Motorcycle forums) was "you need to hire a guide" and "you need to pay an agent".

Buddy decided to try it anyways by himself. After spending 4 hours at the Vietnam border and getting no where, he said to hell with it and came back to Thailand.

You always need to check requirements before you travel to any foreign country. ALWAYS.

Too many people "assume" that everything should be "just like back home" or that they have some kind of special privilege because of their nationality.

And then get a rude awakening when they find out different.

[Caldera]

No surprises there. Vietnam's list of visa exempt nationalities is pretty short, and Americans aren't on that list.

 

Applying for an eVisa usually takes 3-4 working days, so applying for one once you realize you need it at the airport won't cut it. Fail to plan, plan to fail.

[thecyclist]

7 hours ago, Ganoga said:

US citizens have needed a visa to go to Vietnam.  8 years ago it was on arrival, expensive and (for US citizens) good for a year of multiple entry. Now it's 30 days, obtainable online before you travel. Just did an evisa for vietnam this month.  Last year they took 3 days, this one took 7 days for approval. 

Your cards might have been rejected as they weren't enabled to be used in Vietnam? Did you use the official website? http://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/

Mike

It's 90 days now. No more TV on arrival. Its all e-visas .

[thecyclist]

The Vietnamese e-visa website can be tricky .You have to keep trying. The first time I  applied for an e-visa it took me 9 hours and over ten attempts. They have since simplified the system ,and it's a lot faster now. I always pay with my Thai debit card .Never had a problem with payment. While there  are some reports of it taking over a week, I have always received mine on the 3rd or 4 th working day after application. 

[geisha]

7 hours ago, GypsyT said:

You went to wrong part of Vietnam....

 

Go to Phu Quoc Island - no visa.

 

PS. Sorry your trip went south... Make an other one.

 

And how is he going to get  there  from Bangkok ?

[Furioso]

I used vietnamvisacenter.com and applied for 2 day urgent approval letter to get visa upon arrival. 75 USD. 

[GypsyT]

5 hours ago, geisha said:

And how is he going to get  there  from Bangkok ?

By flying BKK-PQC direct on VietJetAir. Check out SkyScanner.