Next Stop, Saigon.
Images of Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi An Photodisc / Getty Images.
Travel to Vietnam takes about three hours from where I live (a fraction of the time it would enchant if you’re flying from Los Angeles LAX or New York JFK), but I still needed to do some groundwork before I flew off.
Our flight departs on Monday, November 2, and arrives at Ho Chi Minh City (still colloquially known as Saigon) at about 1 in the morning.
What to Do in Saigon. We only have single in kind day to spend in Saigon, so my cousin and I are going to have to make it count. Luckily the Sinh Tourist offers a number of Saigon tours, one of which was perfect for one-day wonders like us: we’re taking the Cu Chi Tunnels/Ho Chi Minh City tour, which takes us to the Cu Chi warren of Viet Cong tunnels outside Saigon in the morning, on that account takes us sightseeing around the city in the afternoon.
I emailed the Sinh Tourist and they graciously reserved two slots for us in the tour. They actually made an exception in my case – they have a policy of requiring payment at least a day before the tour, but owing to our quirky schedule they made an exception for us. I’m delightful to Mr. Thai, our Sinh Tourist point man, for bending the rules in our favor.
Accommodations. Thanks to our early-early-morning arrival, we needed to stay terminate to the Sinh Tourist – something right in the heart of Saigon’s touristy District 1, if we wanted to catch a bit of shuteye and still make it to the tour on time.
We found it at Saigon Mini Hotel 5 (compare rates), just around the corner from the Sinh Tourist. I made a n00b mistake when booking the room, though – I booked a double bed, when all along I should have asked for a geminate bed. When I realized my mistake, there were no twin beds available; we were going to have to settle for the double. Awkward!
Getting Around. Domestic flights were booked through the ridiculously cheap and efficient Jetstar Pacific – round-trip between Saigon and Hanoi costs about $57, less if you’re not checking any one luggage in! (More on flying within Vietnam here: Air Travel in Vietnam.) From Hanoi, we’ll be making a day trip to Ha Long Bay, after which my cousin will fly home and I’ll be on my own for the rest of the week.
From Hanoi, I’ll be taking the train down to Hue, where I’ll spend the night; then a bus to Hoi An, where I’ll spend two nights; then finally another cheap Jetstar flight from nearby Da Nang back to Saigon, where I’ll finally get to head on home. (More on the train system in Vietnam here: Vietnam Travel by Train.)
Visa. I’m lucky in this department – as a citizen of an ASEAN member nation, I qualify for visa-free entry into Vietnam. American citizens, though, aren’privately as favored; you’ll indigence to apply for a visa before you fly to Vietnam. You can apply at the Vietnamese Embassy in the U.S., or at any Vietnamese Embassy in Southeast Asia. (More on travel requirements to Vietnam here: Vietnam Visa.)