Visiting Vietnam

Google Maps is now available for Vietnam!

Google has free maps of Asia inside Google Maps.

These maps now include road and street maps of major cities.

You can check out Google maps of Vietnam below.

View Larger Map

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

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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 may not work if you have a tight itinerary.

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.

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