vietnam to thailand

akavana3

hi iam in vietnam at the moment and am hoping to leave for thailand from ho chi min city on the 7th of sept.we are having a little trouble finding a cheap and easy route back to thailand though.we would like to fly but it costs over a 100 and thats out of teh question.has anyone any ideas?we were thinking of getting a bus from ho chi min to phenom pehn in cambodia and flying from there to bangkok,would anyone know if this requires a visa?thanks!

breadmonkey

I hate to break it to you but unless you fly, you're in for a nightmarise trek through Cambodia. Two of my mates were planning on doing this but they eventually opted for the flight. €150 each.

You will need a Visa and I think it's posible to do it in 3 days.
Hey, while trying to find you a link, I came across, "Wikitravel". Rockin! You can use the info here in reverse:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Bangkok_to_Ho_Chi_Minh_City_overland

There is also some excellent info to be found on this site but I couldn't rememeber where exactly. Search around, it's definitely there.:
www.talesofasia.com

Good luck

killbillvol2

The whole trip overland would be a nightmare but overland to Phnom Penh and a flight would make sense. Any good travel agent in Saigon will sort out transport and visa for Cambodia. Air Asia flights are about 20 USD from Phnom Penh to Bangkok. You can get your visa on arrival in Thailand.

breadmonkey

killbillvol2 wrote:

The whole trip overland would be a nightmare but overland to Phnom Penh and a flight would make sense. Any good travel agent in Saigon will sort out transport and visa for Cambodia. Air Asia flights are about 20 USD from Phnom Penh to Bangkok. You can get your visa on arrival in Thailand.

$20?!!!!! Are you sure about this? I would nearly bet my life that's not the case. And OP, get your visa from the embassy, not some travel agent.

Cheiftan

Dude , take it from one who knows , fly . Unless bad buses, worse roads and sitting for 28 hours at a time floats your boat.
I'm not sure that you need a visa to enter Cambodia , when i went i got one on arrival, sure enough there was a lot of dicking around but you need 4 passport photos and $5us and they issue the visa( nice looking one it is too)
Seriously spend the 100 and enjoy the flight.

breadmonkey

When were you in Cambodai last? Travel agencies in HCMC were hawking Cambodia visas for about $20-$25. I doubt they're going to be $5 at the border.

Darren

Is that $100 to fly from Saigon to Bangkok?? If so, thats not a bad price at all. A flight from Phnom Penh to Bangkok is about $45 including taxes and a Cambodian visa if $20. Say if the bus is all in about $10 then that's a total of $75 saving you a grand total of $25 - Trust me, It's not worth it.

I was in Hong Kong - Vietnam - Cambodia and Thailand in Jan/Feb. I flew BA to Hong Kong and took a Cathay flight down to Saigon. I met my cousin and his girlfriend there, we had a ball in Saigon. We took a bus from Saigon to Phnom Penh, we booked it at the guest house. We crossed the border at Bavet - I have never seen pandemonium like it at the border, there were passports flying around everywhere - lots of them with dollars in them to try and get to the front of the queue. I got my visa on the Cambodian side, It cost $20. We stayed in Phnom Penh for a few days, went to the killing fields, shot AKs etc The food was cracking, I like that gear when you get the clay pot and a gas burner and cook your own stuff.

From Phnom Penh we went to Sihnoukville, another long bus journey. Sihnoukville was brilliant. We stayed in these little wooden cabins called Queens hill resort. From Sihnoukville we did a marathon from Sihnoukville to Phnom Penh and then straight on a bus to Srim Reap (Is that how you spell it??). We did the Angkor Wat thing for a couple of days. I was fed up of buses by then so I took a flight with Bangkok airways from Srim Reap to BKK and then home from BKK with BA. Bangkok airways are excellent.

PunyHuman

breadmonkey wrote:

When were you in Cambodai last? Travel agencies in HCMC were hawking Cambodia visas for about $20-$25. I doubt they're going to be $5 at the border.

Cambodian tourist visas are all supposed to be $20 at the border (a figure which should actually be stamped on the visas in red ink) but people often end up paying $25 - $30 for the border guards' personal enrichment plus, potentially, one or two other small sums for such vital procedures as 'Health Checks' or 'Baggage Inspections.'

Travel from HCMC to BKK through Cambodia doesn't have to be a drag, though. It depends on how long you have to do it.

cork-langer

Just a quick word of advice if your travelling to Thailand.
Although i have not yet been there I have just finished a book called 'The damage done' by Warren Fellows and i'm now almost finished 'Welcome to Hell' by Colin Martin.
Basically there about life in Thailand Prisons and belive me, they are one place on this Earth you do not wanna end up in.

Do not break Thai law unless you are minted to pay your way out of the situation.

killbillvol2

breadmonkey wrote:

$20?!!!!! Are you sure about this? I would nearly bet my life that's not the case. And OP, get your visa from the embassy, not some travel agent.

Checked back on that fare. I paid about €20, not USD, but I booked well in advance. Currently it's about $40. And then there's the departure tax. I think it was as high as $25 from Cambodia.

And what's wrong with getting a visa through a travel agent? You pay a little extra but it leaves you free to actually enjoy your holiday rather than sitting in an embassy.

gary the great

Im going to SE asia for 6 weeks. was planning on going to either cambodia or vietnam after spending the 30 days in thailnd on a holiday visa. But it seems like a lot hassle to do this, i just want to enjoy my time over there and wouldnt want all that hassle.

Cheiftan

Just checked me passport entered Cambodia from HCMC last March 19 , paid $5 to the guy , filled a few forms , stood in various lines for about 1 1/2 hrs , got passport back , left the building. Simple.
Gary, when you go the only country you need a visa before you arrive is Vietnam. Cambodia and Laos will issue you one on arrival, unless your an isreali, they seem to get a bit if sh*t at both borders. 90% of them i met deserved it.
Don't listen to anyone that tells you to get travel agents to organise visas for you , total rip off. Get on to the Vietnamese embassy in London, 7 working days and your passport is back to you , the down side to this is your tied to a date.
Burma/Myanmar was a wee bit different, i bribed the border guard early one morning but found it , well , just like any military dictatorship , real Mcdowell country:rolleyes: but worth it to say i've been on the road to Mandalay:D

gary the great

Dam i dint know i had to organise a visa before i went to vietnam. im goin in 9 working days so i wouldnt take that risk of sending off my passport.

Can i get a visa in thailand for vietnam or is this to much hassle?
Would i be better just going to cambodia or Loas?
Which is easier to travel to?


PS i think this should be merged into the SE Asia mega thread?

Darren

cork-langer wrote:

Just a quick word of advice if your travelling to Thailand.
Although i have not yet been there I have just finished a book called 'The damage done' by Warren Fellows and i'm now almost finished 'Welcome to Hell' by Colin Martin.
Basically there about life in Thailand Prisons and belive me, they are one place on this Earth you do not wanna end up in.

Do not break Thai law unless you are minted to pay your way out of the situation.

I've read the damage done too. In fact I've bought 4 copes of it because it keeps getiing lost, dropped in pools etc. I wouldn't worry about SE Asia at all, it's a great place , just don't go drug smuggling.

ps. cork-langer, Cats are going to kick your arse on Sunday.

breadmonkey

gary the great wrote:

Dam i dint know i had to organise a visa before i went to vietnam. im goin in 9 working days so i wouldnt take that risk of sending off my passport.

Can i get a visa in thailand for vietnam or is this to much hassle?
Would i be better just going to cambodia or Loas?
Which is easier to travel to?


PS i think this should be merged into the SE Asia mega thread?

You can get a Vietnam Visa from the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok no bother. Just make sure you do it as soon as you get there so you don't get trapped in Bangkok waiting on your visa.

IMO, out of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, I would not go back to Vietnam; I found the people to be real gougers and it's very difficult to get off the tourist trail. i.e. it;'s difficult, if not impossible, to travel on local buses etc. Maybe I just got a bit lazy towards the end in that regard, so maybe someone will correct me if that's the case. If I were you, I would go to Cambodia and Thailand (even though I didn;t make it to Cambodia). Laos is great but you've probably seen one or two of my rants about how difficult it is to get around and you'll want to maximise your holiday.

I wouldn't worry about SE Asia at all, it's a great place , just don't go drug smuggling.

Unless you're smuggling them through Malaysia, then it's no biggy.*

*not

esskay

akavana3 wrote:

hi iam in vietnam at the moment and am hoping to leave for thailand from ho chi min city on the 7th of sept.we are having a little trouble finding a cheap and easy route back to thailand though.we would like to fly but it costs over a 100 and thats out of teh question.has anyone any ideas?we were thinking of getting a bus from ho chi min to phenom pehn in cambodia and flying from there to bangkok,would anyone know if this requires a visa?thanks!

I made the trip from Ho Chi Mihn->Phnom Phen->Siem Reap->Bangkok a few months ago. It was grand up until Siem Reap. After Siem Reap the road turns in to a dusty rut carved out by Toyota Camrys and is not a very nice experience, BUT, the visit to the Angkor Temples makes it worth the pain. Simply put, Angkor is stunning. Also lots of airlines fly from Siem Reap (not sure of price). The Sihnoukville route might be better, can't say as I've not been that way

gary the great wrote:

Can i get a visa in thailand for vietnam or is this to much hassle?
Would i be better just going to cambodia or Loas?
Which is easier to travel to?

I would far prefer to go back to Laos than Cambodia. I found Laos pretty easy to travel around with far less hassle than Cambodia. Don't get me wrong, Cambodia is a cool place too but Laos is far more relaxed and the people are really chilled.

We arranged Visa's for Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia from Bangkok through a travel agent (about 3 working days for them all). Can't remember the prices off hand, but if you opt for getting visas on the border the are generally half the duration of the pre-arranged visas and a bit cheaper.

Have to agree with breadman about Vietnam, I found the only people who talk to you will inevitably want to sell you something. If you do go Mui Ne is a nice palce to relax, huge beach and plenty of activities (lots of tourists too)

breadmonkey

If you do go Mui Ne is a nice palce to relax, huge beach and plenty of activities (lots of tourists too)

Probably my favourite place in Vietnam.

Another thing. Was it just me, or do you need more money to really enjoy Vietnam?

Examples:
1)I didn't go to Dalat but those easy rider guys are supposed to be excellent. $30 a day was more than my whole budget.

2)Kite surfing at Mui Ne was like $85 for a lesson (or something to that extent, it was definitely waaaay out of my price range.)

3)Places like Whale Island are supposed to be incredible but it was something like $100 a night to stay there.

4)Pretty much the entire "around HCMC" in the Lonely Planet was so inaccessible that no budget traveller could afford it. eg. Con Dao islands.

From my experiences, I think I could sum up and "intrepid traveller" with the following:

intrepid traveller = time + money + motorcycle riding ability(seriously)

Fair enough?

esskay

Would have to agree with you there breadmonkey. We didn't go kite surfing for that same reason. We rented a moped and had a look at other beaches and stuff. Didn't go to dalat or whale island either, same reason as you. It was definately more expensive than the rest of SE Asia but possibly because we can bee seen coming a mile away, prices for locals would probably be a LOT less for everything from food to accommodation. If give a choice of places I could go back to in SE Asia again, Vietnam would be last on the list, but if I could do them all again I wouldn't leave it out either.

Cheiftan

Breadmonkey , you da man(or woman:) ) , you've hit the nail on the head about Vietnam.
I'm glad i've been but on the whole i'd go back to Laos and Cambodia any day.
They're all scam artists in Vietnam, tuk tuks and taxis are a nightmare to try and organise a reasonable fare , compare to Phenom pehn " how much to xy z location mr taxi man" ans = "how much you wanna pay?"
Cambodia i found the easier of the two to get around , Laos was tricky traveling.
Gary you'll pick up a Vietnam visa in Bkk no probs , go to the embassy, its in the lonley liar, get there early in the morning, you should get it back in 3 - 4 working days.

breadmonkey

Cheiftan wrote:

its in the lonley liar

Lol. That's another thing. Makes sure you have the latest Lonely Planet or you will end up tracking down places that no longer exist! Very annoying!

Cheiftan

Yeah don't try moving without the latest copy of the lonley liar, but try to avoid the places reccommended to stay in it , crazy sounding i know but i've found when a gaff gets into the liar prices go up, also don't trust the liars maps for small towns , practically everywhere i've been and used it the local maps have had some glaring mistakes , pick up one of the local touristy maps instead

breadmonkey

I foud the maps to be OK in general. The map of Cat Ba town on Cat Ba island (Vietnam) is hilarious. It makes it look like a tiny outpost but when you get there is pretty damn big!

Cheiftan

Did'nt go near Cat Ba, but on the maps thing the maps for Hanoi were brutal , even the map for Angkor Wat is wwwwwaayyyyy of mark , ditto for North Thailand , golden triangle.
Same for Nicuragua and Honduras , off thread sorry

akavana3

we really dont have the money for a flight and not even one from phenom pehn to bkk,is tere really a departure tax of $25 plus a visa?we have no choice but the bus!so when we get to phenom pehn how long does it take to get to the nearest boarder?we cant stay in cambodia as we have to be back in bkk by the 9th and are currently only in hue,so we need the quickest route!as for vietnam,we love it and much prefer it to thailand!anyone considering a trip to SEA should definitly include vietnam!thanks to everyone for helping us!

breadmonkey

akavana3 wrote:

we really dont have the money for a flight and not even one from phenom pehn to bkk,is tere really a departure tax of $25 plus a visa?we have no choice but the bus!so when we get to phenom pehn how long does it take to get to the nearest boarder?we cant stay in cambodia as we have to be back in bkk by the 9th and are currently only in hue,so we need the quickest route!as for vietnam,we love it and much prefer it to thailand!anyone considering a trip to SEA should definitly include vietnam!thanks to everyone for helping us!

Yowza! If you're only in Hue now I'd advise to to move your ass and get to HCMC. I think this is one way to do it:

HCMC - Phnom Penh - Siem Reap - Poipet (read about this place for a laugh) - Thailand border.

It's probably going to take a few days so get moving!

PunyHuman

It might be quicker to bus it from Hue to Vientiane and then head down to BKK skipping out Cambodia completely.

It would be a sin to pass by Siem Reap and not go to Angkor anyway.

breadmonkey

PunyHuman wrote:

It might be quicker to bus it from Hue to Vientiane and then head down to BKK skipping out Cambodia completely.

It would be a sin to pass by Siem Reap and not go to Angkor anyway.

I hadn't hought of that. That's gotta be the best way to go but you'll have to end the Vietnam leg of your trip fairly soon.

akavana3

looks like we are gonna have to fly from phomnh pehn as we think the journey through cambodia sounds like too much hassle!thanks to everyone who replied!i have a strange feeling tho that we are gonna miss our flight from bkk!!