Getting There

By Plane

The number of international connections to Vietnam is ever-increasing, and United just opened up the first direct service from the U.S. West Coast directly to Ho Chi Minh City. The three international airports in Vietnam are Tan Son Nhat International in Ho Chi Minh City, Noi Bai International in Hanoi, and Danang International in Danang (central Vietnam). Most carriers connect to Vietnam's three international hubs via Singapore, Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Taipei (Taiwan), or Seoul (South Korea). Connecting airlines include Malaysian Airlines, Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways, Silk Air/Singapore Airlines, Lao Aviation, Garuda Indonesia, Philippine Airlines, United, and Cathay Pacific (from Hong Kong), as well as the national carrier, Vietnam Airlines. Major airports are accessible from urban centers by affordable prepaid taxis (usually no more than $10). See individual destination chapters for more information on flights and getting to and from airports.

By Road

From Cambodia--The overland route from Phnom Penh to Vietnam is safe and quite accessible. You can arrange transfers with any of the Phnom Penh Travel agencies, the best of which is budget Capitol Tour, #14 Road 182, Phnom Penh (tel. 023/217-627), which cooperates with the Vietnamese budget-cafe tour operator Sinh Café to make for a relatively fluid connection between the Cambodian capital and Ho Chi Minh City. Note: You must have a prearranged Vietnamese visa when entering Vietnam (visa on arrival is available in the other direction, from Vietnam to Cambodia). Buses leave from the Capitol Tour office in the early morning, arriving in Ho Chi Minh in the midafternoon depending on the efficiency of the connection. (Note that you'll have to lug your own bags through the long border checkpoint here).

You can do this same trip by rented car with driver, but you'll have to make separate arrangements on either side of the border since vehicles cannot cross.

From Laos--I wouldn't really recommend this long overnight road trip from Vientiane or Savannakhet. You're dropped off smack in the center of Vietnam, at Dong Ha Province just north of Hue (makes for a more limited itinerary or backtracking). It's better to fly from Vientiane to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City on Vietnam Airlines or Laos Aviation. Note that any connections with the city of Luang Prabang must go through the Lao capital, Vientiane.

You can cross to Vietnam by boat from a port near the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh to Chau Doc, a small Vietnamese border town in the Mekong Delta. Contact budget Capitol Tour in Cambodia for connections.

A unique new option is the weeklong cruise from Angkor Wat all the way to Can Tho or My Tho on one of the luxury, shallow draft Pandaw Cruise Boats (www.pandaw.com). Shared rooms on the vessel start at $780 for the 1-week duration.

By Train

There are regular connections between Vietnam and China at the border areas of Lang Son and Lao Cai, both in the far north. Note that you need prearranged visas for entrance into China and Vietnam, so be sure to plan ahead if traveling in either direction. Trains do not make direct connections to both border points (Lao Cai is far more efficient), but you must take short taxi/motorbike taxi rides on either side of the border to get to public transport.