Helpful links for Visitng Vietnam

Google Maps Vietnam

Floating Market / Vietnam, Mekong River
Originally uploaded by flydime

Google Maps is now available for Vietnam! Google has free maps of Asia inside Google Maps. These now include road and street maps of major cities. Check out Vietnam Google maps here:



Link to Google Maps

Traffic in Saigon Ho Chi Minh City

Traffic in Ho Chi Minh is crazy! There are motorcycles everywhere, as seen in this video:

Getting a visa for travel to Vietnam, Saigon, Hanoi

Title: Colorful Family

Planning a trip to Vietnam? You will NOT be admitted without getting a visa in advance! Every foreign visitor to Vietnam needs to get a visa and they generally do NOT do visa-on-arrival (VOA) like other countries do. This means you have to plan in advance and get a visa at a Vietnamese consulate somewhere.

First, if you're a US citizen, it's super easy to get a Vietnam visa in their DC embassy or, preferably, their San Francisco consulate. This is also available in New York too. It's possible to get a visa at the consulate in Siem Reap, Cambodia or Bangkok, Thailand but there can be delays of a couple days, which sucks if you have a tight itinerary. The forms and directions are here.

The consulate in San Francisco is generally known as being the best for a quick turnaround. Typically they can turn around a visa within 24 hours and for $65 (money order). If you get another visa in the future the cost goes down to $45.

If you're doing it by mail, they usually have a really quick turnaround as well and if you use priority mail or FedEx, you'll have it back in about a week.

Also, if you're backpacking or going in and out be SURE to get a multiple entry visa! It can be a pain to get another fresh visa if you're in Cambodia visiting Siem Reap for just a few days.

Recent articles:

Google Maps Vietnam
Traffic in Saigon Ho Chi Minh City
Getting a visa for travel to Vietnam, Saigon, Hanoi
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