http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/26680 Canadian citizens will need a valid visa to visit, do business or work in Vietnam. There are two ways which you can obtain a Vietnam Entry Visa.

- Get Vietnam Visa on Arrival (collecting at Vietnam International Airport on arrival)

- Issuing unit: Vietnam Immigration Department
- Processing time: 1 working day for urgent request and 2-3 days for normal request.
- Processing service fee: 19– 34 USD/person (stamping fee NOT included)
- Without Passport requirement
- How to get it? You go online at www.vietnamvisa24h.com, fill in the secure form, and just wait 1-2 days until you receive your Visa Approval Letter, and take this + your passport + 2 photos to Vietnam to get your visa at airport. This seems to be the cheapest and easiest way to get a visa to Vietnam from Canada.

- Get normal Vietnam Entry Visa (before traveling) – a traditional way.

You apply for Visa approval code by email. After receiving the code, you will come directly to the Vietnam Embassy and Consulate in Ottawa to ask for a visa stamp. The embassy will base on our approval code to stamp on your passport. You will need to bring with you a passport, 2 passport-sized photos and some dollars as stamping fee.

The Vietnam Embassy in Ottawa, Canada:

Address: 470 Wilbrod Street,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6M8 Canada
Office hours:
Monday to Friday
9.30 a.m - 12.00 p.m
13.30 p.m - 16.00 p.m
]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/26680 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/26366 There is an extensive network. But they are slow, stowed with people and luggage, so not comfortable at all. In fact, the government discourages travellers taking the public buses.

"Open tour"
Most low budget tourists prefer the so-called "open tourist" bus ticket to travel through the country. The prices of these tickets are extremely low and even seem to get lower every year.

However, it is good to remember that this ticket has advantages as well as disadvantages:

ADVANTAGES

- It's convenient as these buses follow the usual tourist trail: Saigon-Dalat-Nha Trang-Hoi An-Hue-Hanoi
- During the trip, they also stop at the usual tourist spots
- It's extremely cheap
- Night buses save time and money on accommodation

DISADVANTAGES

- This buses tend to be uncomfortable. Sinh Cafe does have new Daewoo buses with AC, but believe me leg room is not made for my 186 cm (although my girlfriend had no problems with her 165 cm).
- Seats are not reclining
- These buses stop at restaurants for lunch, but these restaurants can be very bad and dirty (though this is not always the case).
- Some roads in Vietnam are awful, so on some trips it is simply impossible to sleep. The trip from Hanoi to Hue is notorious for this, but also Dalat-Nha Trang and Nha Trang-Hoi An. Saigon-Nha Trang on the contrary is quite good.

CONCLUSION

If you care for your comfort and are prepared to spend a bit more, it's best to avoid some trips, especially the Hue-Hanoi trip, and probably also Nha Trang-Hoi An (take a plane or night train from Nha Trang to Danang instead.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/26366