Vietnam

[low_key_goer]

so far this year maybe 2x public sales so far ...
apart from the jetstar club sales which happened 3x from nov till last week .

I see. Thanks for sharing.

 

[dede1217]

I see. Thanks for sharing.

Now both budget airline also have 79 and 86sgd two way nett tax in
some airline need pay 5sgd axs fees ...

 

[suangern]

is there something wrong with the timing?
7.30am - 12am?

they typed wrong lah....

 

[dede1217]

I see. Thanks for sharing.

you r welcome, enjoy ur trip

 

[juxtaposition]

Veittel Sim Card with Unlimited Data

Hi

I bought a viettel sim card with 8 mins worth of international call, 40 mins worth of local call and unlimited data.

I bought it on 17 July and it is valid for 1 month, means last day is on 16 Aug.

If you are keen to have it, please pm me.

IT IS FOR FREE because since I have no use for it.

Thanks.

 

[meowcmeowc]

Budget for a 8 day Trip

can anyone shed me some light how much i need to spend on a 8 day trip to Vietnam including all the hidden cost?

Day 1 - Arrival @ Hanoi
Day 2 - Ninh Binh Day Trip approx USD 58USD
Day 3 - Hanoi + overnight train to Sapa
Day4/5/6 - Sapa (3D2N) approx 75-130USD
Day 7 - Arrive @ Hanoi(approx 4.20am)
Day 8 - Return to SG

Do you guys think 8 days trip is more than enough or just nice?

 

[butterbarter]

Looks OK. Not too rushed. If you add a couple of days, you could do Halung Bay as well, but that can be for another trip.

You should travel to Sapa with as little luggage as possible, preferably backpacks which makes you more mobile. You can arrange to leave the bulk of your luggage at your Hanoi hotel until you return from Sapa.


Money wise, I'm assuming you already booked and prepay for your hotels, so what's left is just food, taxis and shopping. How much these are depends on your habits. Do you eat in small roadside stalls, eateries or nice restaurants? Do you plan how shopping heavily? Do you go for massages? A meal by the roadside is $3-4, a beer is $1-2, posh restaurants are $20-40 per person, depending on the type and food ordered, taxis around town are $2-5 if you don't get ripped off. Many attractions are free or just a dollar or 2. For bare essentials, you can probably get by on $15-30 per day per person, excluding hotel.

Instead of figuring out how much you need and bringing cash, just bring your ATM card with GEM or Cirrus logo behind, and you can withdraw cash from ATMs in Hanoi as needed. You are withdrawing from your bank account, not a credit advance.

Call your bank first to activate your ATM card for overseas use.

can anyone shed me some light how much i need to spend on a 8 day trip to Vietnam including all the hidden cost?

Day 1 - Arrival @ Hanoi
Day 2 - Ninh Binh Day Trip approx USD 58USD
Day 3 - Hanoi + overnight train to Sapa
Day4/5/6 - Sapa (3D2N) approx 75-130USD
Day 7 - Arrive @ Hanoi(approx 4.20am)
Day 8 - Return to SG

Do you guys think 8 days trip is more than enough or just nice?

 

[meowcmeowc]

can anyone shed me some light how much i need to spend on a 8 day trip to Vietnam including all the hidden cost?

Day 1 - Arrival @ Hanoi
Day 2 - Ninh Binh Day Trip approx USD 58USD
Day 3 - Hanoi + overnight train to Sapa
Day4/5/6 - Sapa (3D2N) approx 75-130USD
Day 7 - Arrive @ Hanoi(approx 4.20am)
Day 8 - Return to SG

Do you guys think 8 days trip is more than enough or just nice?

Looks OK. Not too rushed. If you add a couple of days, you could do Halung Bay as well, but that can be for another trip.

You should travel to Sapa with as little luggage as possible, preferably backpacks which makes you more mobile. You can arrange to leave the bulk of your luggage at your Hanoi hotel until you return from Sapa.


Money wise, I'm assuming you already booked and prepay for your hotels, so what's left is just food, taxis and shopping. How much these are depends on your habits. Do you eat in small roadside stalls, eateries or nice restaurants? Do you plan how shopping heavily? Do you go for massages? A meal by the roadside is $3-4, a beer is $1-2, posh restaurants are $20-40 per person, depending on the type and food ordered, taxis around town are $2-5 if you don't get ripped off. Many attractions are free or just a dollar or 2. For bare essentials, you can probably get by on $15-30 per day per person, excluding hotel.

Instead of figuring out how much you need and bringing cash, just bring your ATM card with GEM or Cirrus logo behind, and you can withdraw cash from ATMs in Hanoi as needed. You are withdrawing from your bank account, not a credit advance.

Call your bank first to activate your ATM card for overseas use.

1. Other than that, what are the other options i can book the day tour to Ninh Binh?
2. if I'm getting Viettel Sim card, where can i get it and how much i should pay?

 

[invisible999]

Instead of figuring out how much you need and bringing cash, just bring your ATM card with GEM or Cirrus logo behind, and you can withdraw cash from ATMs in Hanoi as needed. You are withdrawing from your bank account, not a credit advance.

I would add couple of points. Overseas cash withdrawal for most banks in Singapore is subject to

- Own bank's ATM fee (DBS charges $5 for example)
- 2% of fee from the withdrawn amount on top of the Interbank exchange rate
- If foreign ATM charges a fee, add on that.

So if for example foreign ATM charges $3 fee you will end up paying 10% of charges if you take $100 from foreign ATM. I would say, it is quite high amount.

CIMB for example does not charge withdrawal fee if you take money from an ATM with PLUS/VISA logo. However 2% add on is still there and you can't get away with foreign ATM's charging fee if there is one.

 

[Villas-Boas]

Hi

I bought a viettel sim card with 8 mins worth of international call, 40 mins worth of local call and unlimited data.

I bought it on 17 July and it is valid for 1 month, means last day is on 16 Aug.

If you are keen to have it, please pm me.

IT IS FOR FREE because since I have no use for it.

Thanks.

Can I check how much and where did you buy it? I need it too. Hahaha. I am going In Sept.

Sent from LGE NEXUS 5 using GAGT

 

[butterbarter]

If you want safety and convenience, there's no free option. You have to pay a small price. A few things to follow are :

1. Choose a bank that has a wide worldwide network and does not charge for overseas withdrawals. For example, I usually use Citibank, which has branches all over the world. Withdrawal from overseas Citibank ATMs carry no charge. I believe UOB also does not charge fees for overseas withdrawals.

2. Don't withdraw tiny amounts. I usually withdraw around S$300-400 worth of cash each time. So the fees are small in comparison, and it's still far safer to carry a few hundred dollars than a few thousand for your whole trip.

3. In the event that I cannot find a Citibank ATM, I just use the first ATM I come across that's in a bright, safe place. The few dollars service fee is a small price to pay for convenience and safety. Carrying thousands of dollars of cash just to save a few bucks is penny-wise-pound-foolish.

I would add couple of points. Overseas cash withdrawal for most banks in Singapore is subject to

- Own bank's ATM fee (DBS charges $5 for example)
- 2% of fee from the withdrawn amount on top of the Interbank exchange rate
- If foreign ATM charges a fee, add on that.

So if for example foreign ATM charges $3 fee you will end up paying 10% of charges if you take $100 from foreign ATM. I would say, it is quite high amount.

CIMB for example does not charge withdrawal fee if you take money from an ATM with PLUS/VISA logo. However 2% add on is still there and you can't get away with foreign ATM's charging fee if there is one.

 

[nanite]

If you want safety and convenience, there's no free option. You have to pay a small price. A few things to follow are :

1. Choose a bank that has a wide worldwide network and does not charge for overseas withdrawals. For example, I usually use Citibank, which has branches all over the world. Withdrawal from overseas Citibank ATMs carry no charge. I believe UOB also does not charge fees for overseas withdrawals.

2. Don't withdraw tiny amounts. I usually withdraw around S$300-400 worth of cash each time. So the fees are small in comparison, and it's still far safer to carry a few hundred dollars than a few thousand for your whole trip.

3. In the event that I cannot find a Citibank ATM, I just use the first ATM I come across that's in a bright, safe place. The few dollars service fee is a small price to pay for convenience and safety. Carrying thousands of dollars of cash just to save a few bucks is penny-wise-pound-foolish.

Great advice

 

[idrinkecoke]

Are vietnamese friendly?

 

[dede1217]

Are vietnamese friendly?

think they r ok ... at least they cab go by meter ...
go 30min trip max oni abt 3 to 5 sgd ...
somemore is big cab, toyota pinic type if i rmb correctly ...
bkk seems more friendly ba ... vietnam language barrier

 

[juxtaposition]

Can I check how much and where did you buy it? I need it too. Hahaha. I am going In Sept.

Sent from LGE NEXUS 5 using GAGT

The same configuration for my SIM card cost 190dong and can be bought over the counter at HCMC airport.

 

[butterbarter]

I would caution against trusting all cabs. Many Viet cabs look "official" with company logos and names, but are in fact driven by crooks. Best to stick with trusted names like Mai Linh and Vinasun.

Many crook taxis are painted to look like these, and may have similar names, so be careful.

If you do take a suspicious taxi, keep an eye on the meter. I've encountered a scam whereby the meter runs normally, and just before arrival at the destination, the fare jumped miraculously to 500,000 VND. Of course, I refused to pay that amount. I made my unhappiness clear to the driver by raising my voice in disgust, handed him what I felt was a fair amount (50,000 VND), and got out. The driver didn't pursue me.

think they r ok ... at least they cab go by meter ...
go 30min trip max oni abt 3 to 5 sgd ...
somemore is big cab, toyota pinic type if i rmb correctly ...
bkk seems more friendly ba ... vietnam language barrier

 

[meowcmeowc]

Anyone here find that it is rather expensive to spend approx $850-$900 for a 8D7N trip in Hanoi (including airfare, hotels, transportation, Hoa Lu - Tam Coc Day trip, Sapa 3D2N and daily expenses of 30$)?

 

[BlackCube]

Nope. Not expensive LA.

Sent from Underwater using GAGT

 

[butterbarter]

That's just $100+ per day, all included. Not expensive at all. It wasn't too long ago that just the plane tickets would already cost that much. We are lucky travelers to live in a air-transport hub and to have a very strong S$.

Anyone here find that it is rather expensive to spend approx $850-$900 for a 8D7N trip in Hanoi (including airfare, hotels, transportation, Hoa Lu - Tam Coc Day trip, Sapa 3D2N and daily expenses of 30$)?

 

[invisible999]

Anyone here find that it is rather expensive to spend approx $850-$900 for a 8D7N trip in Hanoi (including airfare, hotels, transportation, Hoa Lu - Tam Coc Day trip, Sapa 3D2N and daily expenses of 30$)?

Per person?