How to Get from Thailand to Vietnam

A country of outstanding natural beauty, bustling metropolises, and traditional hill-tribe villages, Vietnam is one of the most popular new locations in Southeast Asia tour for tourists from around the world. Lying on the western edge of the South China Sea, this long, narrow country was once a part of the ancient Khmer Empire, and more recently, made up one of the three countries of French Indochina, a colony of the French government in Asia.

Once a war-torn and devastated country, Vietnam has fast become one of the top destinations for tourists in Southeast Asia, with its stunning white sand beaches, amazing coastlines with the limestone karst formations of Halong Bay, and its ancient and modern history, which has become one of the most interesting aspects of the former city of Saigon, now called Ho Chi Minh City. Getting to Vietnam from Thailand can be done in one of two ways, by flight between the many airports in the country or by traveling overland, through Cambodia or Laos.

Get from Thailand to Vietnam by air

One of the most popular methods of traveling from Thailand to Vietnam is by air, and with several international airports in the different parts of the country, you are really spoilt for choice. Flights run from Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Chiang Mai International Airport, or Phuket International Airport to five different airports in Vietnam daily. And booking tickets for the flights is simple. If you are not into booking your own flights, there are travel agents all over Thailand that can book the flights for you, for a small fee. Or you can book them yourself, either online through the airline’s own website or on one of the popular comparison websites, which often provide you with better deals.

Get Vietnam by air

Flights run to Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport from Bangkok and Chiang Mai daily. From Bangkok, the flight takes around 90-105 minutes, and costs from around US$ 84 per person. From Chiang Mai, however, the flights to Hanoi only take around 90 minutes, and can cost from as little as just US$ 58 per person.

Flights to Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport run from Bangkok and Phuket. The flights from Bangkok take around 90 minutes and can cost from around US$ 97 per person, while the flights from Phuket take almost two hours, but cost from as little as US$ 66 per person.

Flights from Bangkok also run to Da Nang International Airport, Phu Quoc International Airport, and Lien Khuong International Airport in Da Lat. Flights to Da Nang tae around 1 hour 40 minutes and cost from around US$ 96 per person, while the flights to Da Lat take 1 hour 45 minutes and are more expensive at US$ 156 per person. The flights to Phu Quoc are the most expensive, but this is not a surprise as the island is a high-end tourist destination. Flights take around 1 hour 50 minutes, and can cost from as much as US$ 300 per person.

Get from Thailand to Vietnam by bus

Thailand does not share a border with Vietnam, so getting a bus from Thailand to Vietnam means crossing the entire country of Cambodia, north to south, and will require you to get a visa on your arrival at the Cambodian border, even if you have no intention of staying anywhere in Cambodia on your way to Saigon. The same can be said of the route that takes you to Vietnam through Laos, which can cross the small narrow country of Laos at several points, which are good for getting to Hue, Hai Phong, and Da Nang.

Get Vietnam by bus

To use the borders with Cambodia to get to Saigon, you can get a bus that takes you from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City that takes around 29 to 34 hours. Only one bus company runs this direct route from Bangkok to Saigon, Mekong Express, and their coaches are all VIP class buses. Prices, however, are not too expensive, costing around 35 to 50 US dollars for the entire trip, stopping for breaks in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh along the way, and providing their own conductor to handle the paperwork at the Cambodian and Vietnamese borders.

If you want to take the cheaper option, you can get a bus to the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh for around 32 dollars and then cross the border on a local bus or boat for as little as a few dollars. Buses take around four hours to get to Saigon, while the boat takes around six hours.

If you are thinking of traveling through Cambodia or Laos, then you will need to have your visa for Vietnam before you leave Thailand. There are two main routes to Vietnam from Thailand, via the border crossing into Laos at the Thanaleng Border Crossing in Udon Thani, which takes you into northern Laos, and then across the country to the Nam Can Border Station, from where you can get the local bus to Hanoi. Bangkok to Udon Thani is a long nine hours bus ride, and once across the border into Laos, it takes around six hours to get from Vientiane to the border crossing near Phonsavan at Nam Can. From the border into Vietnam it is then around eight hours to get to Hanoi by bus, or just four hours to the large town of Vinh.

If you are planning to head for central Vietnam the best route is from Bangkok to the town of Sakon Nakhon, in northeast Thailand, which takes around ten hours by bus. From there, you can get a local bus to the border, which takes around two hours, and crosses the border at the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge No. 2, at Savannakhet. From there, a bus to Dansavanh on the Lao Bao border takes around five hours, with the bus from Lao Bao to Hue taking around six hours.

Get from Thailand to Vietnam by train

Taking the train from Bangkok to Vietnam cannot be done in one journey, and means taking a train as far as the border town of Aranyaprathet on the Cambodian border. From there, you need to take the bus the rest of the way. Cambodia has almost no train tracks, and while there are trains in Vietnam, none of them run into or across Cambodia, making it impossible to ride a train all the way from Thailand to Vietnam. You can travel from Bangkok to Siem Reap using the train to Aranyaprathet, and then using road transport to get to Siem Reap. However, you will need to get the bus to Phnom Penh, as there is no train. You will also have to take a bus from Phnom Penh to Saigon. The train to Aranyaprathet costs around two dollars per person, and takes around five and a half hours.

Get Vietnam by train

It is no easier to get the train from Bangkok to Vientiane in Laos, and then cross Laos to Vietnam. Trains run day and night along this route, running from Bangkok to Nong Khai, and then taking an international train to the new rail terminal at Thanaleng in Laos. From there, you can take the transfer to Vientiane, though you will have to get the bus to cross Laos, as there are no train routes at all. The bus takes you across the border direct to Hanoi. The train from Bangkok to Nong Khai costs around 4-5 dollars per person, and takes around eight and a half hours. Tickets can be booked easily by just turning up at the station and purchasing the tickets.

Best time to travel from Thailand to Vietnam

The weather in Thailand is made up of three major seasons, the hot season from April to June, the rainy season from July to October, and the dry season from November to March. And while there is a big difference in the wet seasons between the east and west of the peninsula, the dry period from November to March is the best time to visit the country, overall.

Spring and autumn, from February to April and August to October, are the best times to visit Vietnam, with its varying climates from north to south. However, across the country, the winter months from November to January are the coolest months of the year, and coincide well with a trip to Thailand during the dry season. And while it can be quite cold, for a sub-tropical country, it is pleasant enough to make your trip comfortable and enjoyable.

Check for more about the best time traveling to Vietnam from Thailand.

Tips for tourists

Vietnam has an unusual Visa on Arrival system, and while it may be complicated, it is still the best way to obtain your visa. Known as a Pre-arranged Visa, this system allows you to make the applications online, and then receive the visa once you arrive. Unfortunately, there is no way to make the application on your arrival at the airports of border crossings, and you will be turned back if you do not have a visa approval or visa already. The visa can be applied for at the official website for pre-approved visas at: https://vietnamvisa.govt.vn/apply-online/. Payment can be made only through their official banks.

Vietnam visa

Vietnam also has a new E-visa policy, which covers applications from 46 countries around the world, including the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and several European countries. The visa can be applied for at either of two official websites, which can be found at: https://www.immigration.gov.vn/and https://www.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn. Payment for the E-visa, however, can be made only through their official banks, as there is no online payment system available as yet.

For a visa application through the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, applications can be submitted in person or by post, and the visa is normally available after around 3-5 working days. Payment for the visa from the embassy varies in cost from country to country, and must be paid by money order, cashier’s check, certified check, or company check, made payable to the Embassy of Vietnam.

For all visas, the standard requirements are:

• Valid passport with at least six month’s validity at the time of travel

• Two passport-sized photos (although some embassies only require one)

• Completed application form (which can be downloaded from http://vietnamembassy-usa.org/sites/default/files/visaform.pdf and filled out manually for personal or postal applications to the Embassy)

• Visa application fee in the form required by the specified application process