Thread: Tourist Visa for Vietnam - use Ksr agent or Embassy?

greetings all,

I'm planning a 1 weeek trip to Vietnam in Jan/Feb and plan to fly there and back from Bangkok.

I prefer going to the Embassies themselves to get the visa rather than using agents - I did this when I went to Cambodia on my last Thailand trip and it couldn't have been easier.

so is this the case with Vietnam - could I just turn up at the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok and sort it out easily or would it be simpler and quicker to use a KSR agent?

cheers

It would be quiker and easier to use the Embassy in London. They have my passport as we speak, I hope I get it back soon or my return to Thailand could be delayed .

^the thing is , I live in Bristol which is about 100 miles from London.

I plan to get the visa when in Bangkok as I'll be there for a couple of weeks anyway.

Well I am between Liverpool and Manchester at the moment, you can send it by post, with the application form from the web and one photo. You send it special delivery with a special delivery envelope enclosed for the return.

Oh! and your fee as well.

Hopefully my passport is winging it's way back to me as we speak.

Personally I found it to be quite simple at the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok.
go there on day 1 hand over form payment and passport
Go back on day 2 pick up passport with visa.
about 10 people in line
Embassy is on Wireless Road on same side and close to Plaza Athene hotel

I'm not up to date with visa regulations, but the visa used to be for a specific entry point only for travel over-land. If that's still so, better go to the embassy yourself to get it right.

The visa i obtianed was for a bangkok airways flight into HCM city.
didn't see any different regs for flight/overland bt was not really looking

cheers Troubled , guess I'll just head on to the embassy when I'm there - fucked if I'm traveling overland - that would mean a visa for Cambodia plus hours on a rickety old bus

are there still cheap AirAsia deals to Saigon?

i hate the vietnamese embassy in bkk - it involves waiting and queing for hours before they feel like handing the passports over - I nearly always use an agent to do that....

airasia do some cheap deals to Danang - and then overland or domestic to Siagon....

^ I have only had one experience of the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok and my wait time was minimal both on handing over the passport/for,s and upon collection.
Much better than most embasy visits i have made around the worlsd perhaps i was lucky


^^ I flew to HCM with Bangkok Airways and they offered packages with hotel included at reasonable rates

Hotels booked through the airlines have always been the larger establishments that won't allow a 'visitor' in the rooms. I haven't need to rent for about 7 years now so things may have changed, yeah right!!!. Better to go to one of the small family run hotels for a lot less money if you intend to enjoy the local delicacies.

Originally Posted by Whimsical

. Better to go to one of the small family run hotels for a lot less money if you intend to enjoy the local delicacies.

I was thinking of hitting the local Mcdonalds for that

do they exist in Vietnam - I mean I could hardly go without my cheeseburger meal deal now could I

if I have enough money to partake in such activity by the time I get there anyway - just been stiffed £100 today ....fuck

Passport received back from the Vietnam Embassy today, visa received, what could be easier than that.

glad you got it back safely -


you could do withouth the nightmare 'lost in the post' scenario !


I had a job about 10 yrs ago at the Passport enquiries helpline - too many hard luck stories per day working there - like ,' hey I'm off tomorrow for a 3 wk trip around the Seychelles tomorrow with the family - just spent £5000 on the flights and hotels but my passport hasn't turned up - how do I sort it out?


- you just had to 'politely' tell them they were fucked and wouldn't be going


anyway - I'll just get the visa in Bangkok because I don't really have a fixed plan yet

I don't blame you, it is just one less job out of the way for me. Just means i can do more work on the house in Bangsaen. Well as much work as i can with a dislocated bone in my shoulder.

Regarding those "nightmare" senarios, would trip insurance cover that ?

I just used the travel agent who I booked the flights with. Fuck pissing around at an embassy.

each to their own I guess - I quite like going to embassies - they often give you an insight into the country in advance