A.S.A.P. TRIP TO NHA TRANG

Wrong time of year, Anne-Marie, it is the ANNUAL TET VACATION when a lot of people travel from the south to the north, and from the north to the south.

If you want beaches/sand think of Con Dao Island or Phu Quoc Island. Both have numerous flights by different airlines daily.

Let's see...  Anatta fled to Norway, Budman will be busy, Saigonmonkey and I will be too, with our bikes...  Jaitch will be too far, and the Vietnamese will have their version of Christmas to contend with...

Annemarie, I would say it will be really tough to pull this off, especially when you are not even in Vietnam yet.

You will probably be better off flying directly into Cam Ranh.

take the overnight train and get there in the morning 5am. Also you can try vietjetair.com they may have seats but unlikely.

If you are really desperate another option is go to this site and buy a scooter / motorbike and ride up along the coast...

http://vietnam.craigslist.org/mcy/

your best option is to ring a hotel or person in HCMC and ask them to buy you an overnight train ticket for you from the train station for the Friday night $25 and then pick up the ticket when you get to HCMC and you are good to go arriving in Nha Trang on the Sat morning. The train leaves HCMC around 8.30pm on the Friday night I think. Make sure you book a soft sleeper.

panda7 wrote:

your best option is to ring a hotel or person in HCMC and ask them to buy you an overnight train ticket for you from the train station for the Friday night $25 and then pick up the ticket when you get to HCMC and you are good to go arriving in Nha Trang on the Sat morning. The train leaves HCMC around 8.30pm on the Friday night I think. Make sure you book a soft sleeper.

I don't think you have ever tried travelling on transit at Tet! All forms of transport, many illegal, are booked solid.

And which 'overnight' train were you thinking about? Given the length of the journey the OP would be dumped off in NT very early in the morning - and then likely couldn't find a hotel with space.

Better to put forward a suggestion she can easily try out than to shut her down with negativity. The Tet holiday is a Vietnamese holiday, there are your standard amount of foreigners here in Nha Trang and there are a LOT of hotels here, I'm sure she could find something above the average Vietnamese budget if necessary.

Panda7,

The suggestion that I put forward was as realistic as it comes.  Getting around Vietnam this time of year is not a joking matter, especially in the direction that Annemarie is heading.  The bulk of the migrant workers in and around Saigon come from areas around there; and they will be heading home for Tet.  That is not to mention the millions of south Vietnamese who will be taking their families there for relaxation.

I suggested that Annemarie stay put in Saigon and enjoy the Tet festivities there.  Then, head to Nha Trang in about 4 days to a week, when the crowd will be heading in the opposite direction.

Hotels?  A Vietnamese buddy of mine had just called Phu Quoc; and the earliest day that he could find a room there was the 6th of the Lunar calendar, at 1.2 million VNDs/night. 

Nha Trang is a much more desirable destination.

Agree Howie. Shame you lost the ball game! I am going to vun thao. Not too far and the MGM cant be too bad. When you back ?

Ashard,

Vung Tau, you mean?  Life must be good, hey?  Saigonmonkey is taking his bicycle down to Can Tho and we will ride for a couple of days.  After that, I am not too sure yet, depending on how bad traffic gets, heading back to Saigon.  Looking at the shape of the bridges, I think it will be quite bad.  But, with the bicycle and a new iphone, I might be able to find ways around it.

I will keep you posted.  You should be off for at least a week, right?

So you're back from SFO? Yes thats what i meant! Haha stupid spell check. That sounds like fun dude. Don't you worry we have a fly over in DB Phu now to alleviate some of the traffic. Not sure bud. At least a few days for sure. Holler of you get here and happy Tet!

Thank you for all the advice that all of you provide me. It was very useful.
First of all i would like to thanks especially  Wild_1 and to Jaitch too, who offer me a lot of advice and help.

Finally, i was more than lucky and i find a air ticket with Vietnam airlines
Ho Chi Minh City - Nha Trang City - Saturday, 9 February 2013
    Depart: 20:40 - Arrival: 21:35
    Class: Economy


Right now my problem is to resolve my flight to HCMC.

I never thought that using forums you can find some useful advice and people which really wants to help u without knowing u.

So, i hope u all the best and thanks a lot.

P.S. In case i will not make it to use my ticket to NA TRANG from HCMC on Saturday, if you know somebody who can be interested to use this ticket and the name change is possible i would donate this ticket free of charge.

Cheers,
Anne

Anne,

Oh, you must come.  Just in getting that ticket, from Greece, you deserve all that Nha Trang has to offer.

You might even have a future in tourism here, if you so inclined.

Best,
Howie

Thai (used) to fly ATHens >> BangKoK where you can catch a flight BangKoK >> SaiGoN.

One IMPORTANT QUESTION. DO YOU ALREADY POSSESS A VN VISA. There are NO VISAS ON ARRIVAL and most of the embassies and consulates are closed on weekends and even longer for Tet!

panda7 wrote:

Better to put forward a suggestion she can easily try out than to shut her down with negativity. The Tet holiday is a Vietnamese holiday, there are your standard amount of foreigners here in Nha Trang and there are a LOT of hotels here, I'm sure she could find something above the average Vietnamese budget if necessary.

Your profile says: "I am Australian, and I would like to live in Vietnam. I am currently in Perth."

Unless you have experienced either Tet in VN or Chinese New Years in China, you will have a lot to learn.

I have always found to have the REAL goods rather than airy-fairy opinions. People use information in these fora for planning and painting optimistic pictures does no one a service.

VNse travelling back to their home towns frequently put up at hotels rather than sleep on the floors of their familial homes.

And why would you 'ring' a hotel to get tickets?

Suggesting she: "If you are really desperate another option is go to this site and buy a scooter / motorbike and ride up along the coast..." is nuts.

The last road you want to be on is Highway 1A, Tet is road kill season.

I have driven from one end of VN to the other on a motorscooter and it is no joke. A completely unrealistic idea - even for someone who likes driving.

Jaitch wrote:

The last road you want to be on is Highway 1A, Tet is road kill season.

I can't agree more.

you can catch an overnight train back to HCMC from Nha Trang, it is $50 cheaper than the plane and will save you a nights accommodation. You can book your ticket in advance at the train station in HCMC if you want and probably a good idea at this time of year (soft sleeper, bottom bunk).

Also I think Vietnam airlines will refund a good % of your ticket back to your credit card if you cancel your ticket. If you decide not to go to Nha Trang you can walk to the domestic terminal at HCMC airport and sort this out as they have an office there.

There is also bus number 152 at hcmc airport which will take you into HCM for 10,000vnd. It takes longer but will save you a $10+ taxi fare and you get to see more along the way. A lot of foreigners take this option.


Good luck...

Hi there,

U know soon comes the TET, d Vietnamese New Year, so u hardly can find flight here. U may try to get a bus tkt from the Sinh Tour, Q1 SG, De Tham Street, or any others around it. Be warned that the price can be double or triple of the normal one, and also pay attention how u get back to SG.
gluck

panda7 wrote:

...You can book your ticket in advance at the train station in HCMC if you want and probably a good idea at this time of year (soft sleeper, bottom bunk).

Always book a female only carriage - for safety.

panda7 wrote:

Also I think Vietnam airlines will refund a good % of your ticket back to your credit card if you cancel your ticket.

TICKETS HAVE TO BE CANCELLED before departure time.