Flights to Vietnam

chases0102

Hi all,

Just wondering does anyone know of roughly the most affordable time to search for flights to Vietnam, and maybe what websites to use?

Thanks

Gatica

Dunno if there's something better to try for Vietnam, but usually use skyscanner.ie for best flight deals.

jt_dublin

Hi,
We are just back from Vietnam. We flew with Etihad (booked directly on their site) from Dublin to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) via Abu Dhabi. Paid €670 return, although did see if afterwards for €640 thru an agent on Skyscanner. I preferred this route as it was 2 medium length flights, (7 to 8 hours), instead of one short one & then one very long one from Uk / Paris / Amsterdam. Also, the stopovers were short enough, roughly 1.5 hours, so no long wait around the airports!
If I can offer any other help, just shout.
Thanks,
JT.

chases0102

Cheers for the info above. We have nothing sorted yet, but would love to go alright...flights at the moment in the middle of July are about 730, so will wait a while...thanks again...how was Vietnam?

jt_dublin

I'm not sure that you will get them any cheaper... Maybe you will but usually they go up in price. To me €730 that is still a good price, even if it is more than we paid. I expect you are being quoted more because it is during the summer period.

Vietnam is a big country, so we only did southern Vietnam. We spent a week there and a week in Cambodia. Both were great. We did a boat cruise along the Mekong Delta for a few days and then a few days on the beach on Phu Quoc island.

Best area to stay in Ho Chi Minh is district 1. We stayed in the Alagon hotel which was a very good standard for not a lot of money. The buffet breakfast is a feast! It is located close to all the main sights & nightlife. Most are walking distance. It's worth taking a walk down Bui Vien at night... Everyone is sitting out on the street having a beer. It's crazy. Take a look on youtube!

If you get a taxi from the airport to the centre, this is worth reading. Use one of these recommended taxi companies and insist on the meter. It usually starts automatically when the car moves. The money is a bit confusing. About 29,000 Dong to the Euro, about 21,000 to the US Dollar. A normal taxi far to district 1 is about 200,000 (10 USD).

http://xotours.vn/blog/2013/01/23/saigon-taxi-and-cyclo-scams-a-comprehensive-guide-to-avoiding-taxi-and-cyclo-scams-in-saigon/

Haggle a lot in the markets. Some stuff like souvenirs you will get down to about a third of their original asking price. There are some stalls called Fixed Price and the price is set. They have good quality t-shirts for 2 or 3 euro.

One other thing is that you are going in the rainy season. Humidity is high there, so I would recommend that you have air-con wherever you stay.

JT

Tipperary animal lover

Were heading to vietnam in three weeks going with Malaysian airlines cork-heathrow-kl-hcmc for €635 22hrs upper deck on A380, have been to vietnam four times before and have found Malaysian the best with short stop overs, flew with Emirates last year for €640 very good from dublin but had a 9hr layover in Dubai with hotel included, booked through trailfinders as they could book the seats we wanted at no extra cost.

usersame

I flew with ethiad, very good airline. But the chance to fly on the A380 would be a memorable part of any trip! Vietnam is really cool.

chases0102

Thanks for the info here folks, very helpful!