01 - Air access

This is the most convenient way to enter Vietnam. Formalities at Vietnam’s international airports are generally smoother than at land borders, as volume of traffic is greater.

Network of Airports in Vietnam

- For both International and Domestic flights: Noi Bai (35km northwest of Hanoi), Tan Son Nhat (in Ho Chi Minh City), Danang (in Danang city).

- For Domestic flights only (North to South): Muong Thanh (in Dien Bien), Son La (in Son La), Cat Bi (in Hai Phong), Vinh (in Nghe An), Phu Bai (in Hue), Pleiku (in Pleiku), Buon Ma Thuot (in Buon Ma Thuot), Cam Ranh (in Nha Trang), Dalat (in Dalat), Can Tho (in Can Tho) and Phu Quoc (in Phu Quoc island).

For international flights

Cities having direct flights to Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airport includes: Bangkok, Beijing, Franfurt, Fukuoka, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Kuala Lumpur, Kunming, Manila, Melbourne, Moscow, Osaka, Paris, Phnom Penh, Pusan, Seoul, Siem Reap, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo, Vientiane.

If entering through Danang airport, you can only fly from Bangkok.

If there’s no direct flight to Vietnam, the best way is taking a flight to Bangkok or Hong Kong and gets a connecting flight on arrival. You can either stay there several days for leisure (recommended for shopping) before flight to Vietnam. As they are two greatest hubs of Southeast Asia (many flights daily), you can depart at flexible time and have significant savings on ticket prices.

Applied for both domestic and international departures.

With international flights

Passengers have to pay US$14 per person for leaving Vietnam at Noi Bai airport (Hanoi) or Danang airport (Danang), US$12 per person for leaving Vietnam at Tan Son Nhat airport (Ho Chi Minh City).

With domestic flights

From Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or Danang, the tax of VND25,000 per person (around US$1.7) is always added in your ticket fare. Tax for departing from Hue and Hai Phong is VND20,000 per person (US$1.3) and from other airports is VND15,000 per person (US$1).

The climate of Vietnam varies considerably from region to region. Although the entire country lies in the tropics and subtropics, local condition varies from frosty winters in the far northern hill to year-round, subequatorial warmth in the Mekong Delta.

• For the best balance, try the months of April, May or October;
• For those sticking to the south, November to February is dry and a touch cooler;
• From July to November, violent and unpredictable typhoons hit central and northern Vietnam.

It gets pretty crowded from November to March and in June and August. Prices tend to peak over the Christmas and New Year period, but if you don’t fancy sharing the sites with the masses, try to avoid these busy times.

Some travellers like to time a visit with  Tet (Vietnamese New Year), which is the biggest festival in the calendar in late January or early February. A nice idea but not ideal, as the whole country is on the move.