Halong Bay "Must do" - What can I do when I travel to Halong Bay Vietnam?

It's worth to take a trip to Ha Long Bay for several days, it  will be a great experience for every one first time in Vietnam. It not just about the nature beauty of the Bay - the destination which accredited as 7 wonders of the world, It's about the incredible intinerary that you never had before.There are some activities that you should not missed when visit Ha Long Bay:

* Kayak: Have you ever been taken a small Kayak junk, and drive it’s all by your self? Imagine that you can discover all the corners, go to anywhere you want, touch the blue water, seeing plenty of limestone, take a nice shot…Your friend will be really genius  of what you have experiences.

* Discovering fishing Village: Go to the fishing village to witness the daily life of the fishermen. You – your self can fishing and make the seafood by your own. You will really feel relax, escape from normal day. Just like you are live in a total different world.

* Its worth when spend a night on a Cruise:  Like a mini hotel, the cruise offers a separate, with clean bedding, air conditioning, a private bathroom. Interestingly, you can just relax right in your own room, pull off the curtains, open the window you will see the limestone, the blue water. You can see the fish; the jellyfish are swimming right under the window.  When night comes, you can see the stars, the sea-sight from the deck. Almost cruise have some entertainment activities in the evening including dancing, karaoke, gaming… so you will totally enjoy it without the feeling of boring evening. One thing you should not miss in the cruise is the “Tai chi” exercise in early morning.

It is so exciting to spend another night at a private beach bungalow: You can book a package tour with one more night to come to sleep in a priavate beach bungalows like Monkey Island Resort, Sandy Beach resort, Vietbungalow... This must be a very interesting time with kayaking, swimming, playing football or volleyball on a priave beach.

* Caves discover: Out of dozen caves in Ha Long Bay, The highlight caves that you must to visit are: the Grotto of the Wooden Stakes (Hang Dau Go), Grotto of the Heavenly palace (Dong Thien Cung) , starling cave (Hang Sung Sot).

Beside the above activities, If you a well traveler, you could also consider Van Don as your destination. From Van Don you can go to Quan Lan or Coto Island. These two islands are in the progress of developing as potential best destination in the north of Vietnam. It’s truly wild and nature, good for the travelers who like challenges as well as loves everything in nature.

See more Halong Bay Travel Questions here: http://www.mixaz.net/p648-halong-bay-travel-faqs.html

Who are not eligible to obtain a VOA to Vietnam?

The various agents advertising on-line applications for VOA cannot process visa applications from citizens of the countries listed below. These citizens must obtain a visa prior to travel either from a Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate located in their country or via the Vietnam Immigration Department direct. Any approval letters issued will be declined on arrival.

NB: The list is not exhaustive. 

List of Countries:
Afghanistan	Algeria	Bangladesh
Cameroon	Ghana	Guinea - Bissau
Haiti		Iran
Iraq	Jamaica	Jordan
Kenya	Malawi	Namibia
Nepal	Nigeria	Oman
Pakistan	Palestine	Qatar
Rwanda	Saudi Arabia	Somalia
Sri Lanka	Sudan	Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia	Turkey	Yemen
Zimbabwe

Airport Visa Procedure and Payment Process

VOA is handled by the immigration service at the airports and as such, if the airport is operating so is the VOA department. It is absolutely vital that you have your visa processing fee(s) on you, in cash. There are no money machines (ATMs), money changers or any other way of withdrawing money in the immigration hall and the authorities do not take plastic. Until you can pay in cash you won't get into the country and you could end up having a wonderful holiday camped on the wrong side of the barrier until your return flight leaves. If you have a bank card, an immigration officer might offer to escort you to an ATM to withdraw some money. Meanwhile you might starve to death (slight exaggeration, but you get the point) as it might be many hours before that happens. They have been known to accept payment in currencies other than US Dollars but are not obligated to do so. If they choose not to, you will have a problem if you haven't brought US Dollars with you. The latest news is that an ATM has appeared at Tan Son Nhat Airport (HCMC) - adjacent to the landing visa counter. While this might be of help to those arriving without cash, it is still advisable to bring the correct money to pay for the visa. ATM's do breakdown / run out of cash and the inevitable lack of clarity regarding the Dong / USD exchange rate conversion (it would be issuing Dongs), plus additional card charges, means it should be thought of as the option of last resort.     

At   Ho Chi Minh City (Tan Son Nhat International Airport) the VOA window is situated over to the left as you enter the immigration hall, at the far end. Do not join any queues for Immigration Control. The counter itself is sign-posted -   LANDING VISA.  When you get to the Landing Visa (VOA) window, be prepared to hand over your   passport, one completed copy of the Entry and Exit form, the entire letter of approval and one passport size photo (the officer will staple your photo to the form if not already attached). You should then go and sit down. Even with few people being processed do not expect passports (with the visa attached) to be returned in the order that they were presented at the window. 

When your visa is ready, your name will be called and at the same time your passport held up to the window with the photo page showing. You then pay the processing visa fee  - U.S.$45 for single entry, 1 or 3 month. up to U.S.$95 (**see above) for a One Month Multiple Entry. Vietnamese Dong or U.S. Dollars are the preferred currencies. The notes should be in good condition (no marks, nicks or tears) but it is not necessary for them to be brand new. At HCMC, people have also had Australian Dollars, GB Pounds and Euros accepted as payment instead of U.S. Dollars but no change is given for currencies other than U.S. dollars or Dong. However, to avoid payment problems, U.S. Dollars are preferable as there have been occasional reports of other currencies not being accepted. Once you have paid, your passport will be returned to you, along with a receipt for your payment. Be sure to check the newly issued visa for any errors while still at the window. You then go to the immigration control posts to be processed in the normal way. Baggage reclaim and Customs are downstairs.

At Hanoi (Noi Bai International Airport) the procedure differs slightly.  The VOA office is situated to the left of the escalator that takes you down to the immigration hall.  Hand in your passport and VOA approval letter at the counter, and pick up an Application for Entry and Exit Form if you haven't downloaded and completed one beforehand. If necessary there are desks where you can fill in the form. Then walk along the right-hand side of the office to the counter at the opposite end and wait for your name to be called. Because foreign names can be difficult for the immigration officers to pronounce they usually also hold up the passport with the bearer's photo facing outwards.

When you have handed your payment (see above for the required condition of the dollar notes), the completed Application for Entry and Exit form and passport photo to the immigration officer he or she will give you a receipt and return your passport to you, complete with the visa stamp. Check that the the exit date on the visa is correct (that is, in one month's or three months' time), then retrace your steps along the side of the office and proceed to Immigration Control, and then to baggage reclaim and Customs, which are situated on the same floor.

At Da Nang follow the exit signs. As soon as you enter the huge hall it is very easy to find the VOA window - it is on the left hand side and is clearly visible. The process is reasonably quick (approximately 15 minutes with all necessary paperwork completed before landing) but do bear in mind there is no guarantee it will be always be the same. After receiving visas / passports back, progress onwards to immigration control. Immigration Control can be slow, sometimes 3 or 4 long lines. Everyone queues up together going through the same check-points and there are no separate checkpoints for Vietnamese passengers and other nationalities.

Tip. If there are two or more of you obtaining VOA it would be prudent that once you've handed in your paperwork, that one of you stands in line for immigration control. That way you won't be at the back of a long queue.

Who do not need a visa to Vietnam?

Citizens of some countries do not need a visa for short visits but do please check that the following information is still valid:

1. Stays of not more than 30 days: citizens of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos.
2. Stays of not more than 21 days: citizens of Phillippines.
3. Stays of not more than 15 days: citizens of Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Russian Federation.
4. Stays of not more than 14 days: citizens of Brunei.

While there are various Visa Exemptions i.e. for travel to   Phu Quoc Island (subject to the 15 day rule), such travel invariably has to be booked through authorised Vietnamese travel agents.  

How can I get a taxi from Noi Bai Airport to Hanoi Centre?

Because of many kind of airport fees so the cost of taxi from Noi Bai -> Hanoi alway more than Hanoi-> Noibai. It cost about 400.000 VND ($19). You can call a taxi by yourself or ask for a taxi from you hotel...

How can I get a Taxi from Hanoi centre to the Airport?

From Hanoi, you can easy get a Taxi to the Noi Bai Airport.

You can book a taxi from Mai Linh Taxi (043 8222666 – 0438222555), Noi Bai Taxi ( 043 8868888), Viet Thanh Taxi ( 043 5636666)...... It cost about 250.000 VND ($12). You can also ask your hotel or your travel agency book a repaid taxi for you.

Which taxi is best in Hanoi?

In Hanoi, there are many taxi branch. Here I have the name with the phone number but I recomment you should call Mai Linh, CP, ABC taxi, Taxi Group or Airport Taxi.

Name	Tel
Hanoi Taxi	04.38.53.53.53
HaNoi Tourist Taxi	04.38.56.56.56
Viet Thanh Taxi	043.563.6666
Taxi CP	04.38.26.26.26
Thang Long Taxi	04.39 71 71 71
Airport	04. 38 733 333
Taxi 12	04.38 212 212
V Taxi	04.38 58 58 58
Mai linh (M Taxi / S Taxi)	04.38.222.666 – 04.38.222.555
Capital Taxi	04.38.333333
Thanh Hung Taxi	04.38.733.733 – 04.38.73.13.13
Saigon Taxi	04.38 21 21 21
Hoan Kiem Taxi	04.37.16.16.16
Tay Ho Taxi	04.38 45 45 45
Huong Nam Taxi	04.38 54 54 54
Minh Duc Taxi	04.38 162 162
Hong Phuong Taxi	04.39 711 711
Hoang Hop Taxi	04.37.18.18.18
V20 Taxi	04.38.20.20.20
Ba Sao Taxi	04.32.20.20.20 - 04.38.574.574
ABC Taxi	04.37.19.19.19
Van Xuan Taxi	04.38.222.888
Sao VietTaxi	04.32.62.62.62
Thu Huong Taxi	04. 38 36 36 36
Huong Lua Taxi	04.38.25.25.25 – 04.38.35.35.35
The Ky Moi Taxi	04.38.734.734
Taxi 52	04.38.52.52.52
54 Taxi	04.38.54.54.54
37 Taxi	04.38.37.37.37
12 Taxi	04.38.212.212
83 Taxi	04.38.838.383
The Ky Moi	04.38 734 734
City	04.38 222 222
Sao Saigon Taxi	04.38.31.31.31 – 04.38.21.21.21
Taxi Havina	04.35 62 62 62
Taxi Van Xuan	04.38 22 28 88
Taxi Dai Phuc	04.38 83 83 83
Taxi Dong Do	04.38 57 45 74
Ect....