Getting There

By Plane

The number of international connections to Vietnam is ever-increasing. United opened the first direct service from the U.S. West Coast to Ho Chi Minh City and the country's national carrier, Vietnam Airlines, will offer direct flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco in mid-2007. 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 Vietnam Airlines. Major airports are accessible from urban centers by affordable prepaid taxis (usually no more than $10/£5.55).

Arriving at the Airport -- Security is good on all international flights to Vietnam. Tourists face no special problems getting cleared through airport security in Vietnam as long as you have a prearranged visa. You won't be checked at the border, but there are obscure laws about bringing certain printed material into Vietnam -- whether pornography or religious materials -- and you will be suspect should your camera or video equipment look too professional (journalists need special permission).

By Car

From Cambodia -- The overland route from Phnom Penh to Vietnam is reportedly 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.

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 $1,168 (£649) for the 1-week duration.

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 Laos capital, Vientiane.

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); you must take short taxi/motorbike taxi rides on either side of the border to get to public transport.