Vietnam has every reason to distrust Americans, but creating a visa on arrival would be more beneficial. The length of visa is not so much the issue, as having to deal with the corrupt Vietnamese visa system.

Absolutely 100% agree. This is one of the reasons I have not gone to Vietnam and first started going to Thailand. Visa on arrival when my job makes planning difficult is the bee's knees.

As you will see from my previous post, a friend had visited as part of a trip of SE Asia and hadn't had any visa difficulties. I'm not saying people haven't experienced any, but I'm certain he and his friend didn't or I wouldn't have heard the end of it

http://www.thanhniennews.com/travel/the-tourism-crisis-no-relief-for-vietnam-as-visitor-drop-continues-47295.html

One of the reasons was the lack of diverse products and high prices, according to the office, which also blamed the situation on management failings.

............

The euro's depreciation against the US dollar has made Vietnamese tours' prices increase by 15-20 percent for European travelers, she said.

Indochina Services saw a decrease of 20 percent in the number of European customers last year, Dung said, adding her company is now promoting tours among visitors from the visa-waiver countries.

Hope they do it for UK passport holders as we spend more than the yanks !

According to who?

Vietnam has every reason to distrust Americans, but creating a visa on arrival would be more beneficial. The length of visa is not so much the issue, as having to deal with the corrupt Vietnamese visa system.

During my two trips to Vietnam I experienced that the Vietnamese were very receptive to me when they learned I was an American.

I have been coming to Vietnam since 2000 and am heavily invested in the Mekong Delta, Land, rice paddies, fruit farm, fish farm etc etc - but I can't get a work Visa, and am not married, so have to leave country periodically.........I live in a region that was heavy Viet Cong during the War, (I had two combat tours 1969 & 1971) I have been welcomed here since my first visit, and the more I come back, the more I am welcomed - Like Thais, they never fiorget you - not once have I been hassled, rocks thrown at me, Never. The Visa's are expensive, damn expensive compared to other countries - I am very interested in this one year Visa, I only can get 90 days at a time.

I recently spent three weeks in vietnam and every single person I dealt with even to include taxi drivers was either nice or very nice to me and i did not feel any animosity directed at me as an American. Of course a huge percentage of Vietnamese now weren't even born when the USA was busy bombing the hell out of everything.

The vietnamese school kids seemed particulary excited to actually get to see and practice their english on an old american guy.

Agree the current system of standing in a very unorganized line for an hour or so to pay and pick up a visa that you perhaps thought had been all arranged online is a bit of a pain in the butt upon arrival...but once done with that it's a great country to travel around.

I especially enjoyed Nah Trang as a pleasant beach resort at rock bottom prices for hotels/beers/etc. It was once packed with Russians but their numbers there seemed to have gone way way down.

Thailand should have one year visa on arrival. How many farangs commit crimes in this country? All we do is contribute hugely to their GDP.

Off topic post removed, this thread is about visas not a war that ended forty years ago.

where do you get the Visa letter if you are in BKK with a USA passport ?

Do you have to leave your passport ?

might be time to go there are uncle Sam did not send me in the early 70s.......

You email them a picture of your passport, submit payment and they email you the approval letter for visa on arrival which you then print out and bring with you (plus extra passport sized photo [don't really need two, just one], plus passport stamping fee in USD).

The only thing you really gotta worry about is getting scammed online by fake visa agents/websites so get a recommendation or two. I can recommend based on personal experience Johnny Le Manh Hung of Sunviet travel (he accepts Paypal, prices a little higher than some but fast and very reliable) or Chi of Chi's Cafe but there are plenty of worthwhile agents.