How to travel from Thailand to Vietnam

Hanh Pham
December 26, 2018
Travel News

Vietnam is increasingly becoming an ideal destination in Southeast Asia for tourists all over the world. Every year, the number of tourists from Thailand to Vietnam is quite large, so how to travel from Thailand to Vietnam is often in concern of so many travelers. To know the answer, read the following article.

There are two ways to move from Thailand to Vietnam. Those are by air and road.

Travel from Thailand to Vietnam by road

From Thailand to Vietnam, you have to go through the third country. There are two routes for you.

Thailand – Laos – Vietnam
Thailand – Cambodia – Vietnam

You will move through Moc Bai border gate in Tay Ninh or Cau Treo border gate in Ha Tinh. These two border gates are developed in terms of tourism with the wide and quite safe asphalt roads. You can go by bike, motorbike or bus.

If you go by bike, like walking, do not need to get any papers, drive to the gate, stamp on the passport and then continue the journey.
If you ride a motorcycle, you need to register your vehicle. The documents to be prepared include:
- The original vehicle registration certificate (available in English, no translation required)
- Driving license: If your driving license is available in English, it is so good. Otherwise, you can bring a certified translation in English.
- Vehicle Insurance or International Circulation Permit (ICP)

If you go by bus:

From Thailand from Hanoi

The straight bus tickets of Thailand – Vietnam: The fare is very expensive and changed constantly depending on the bus and the number of passengers.
The transit bus ticket of Thailand – Laos and Laos – Vietnam: The fare is 24$ to 26$. The tickets from Laos to Thailand (Bangkok) range from $ 18 to $ 20 depending on the bus company.

From Thailand to Saigon:

The straight bus tickets of Thailand – Vietnam: The price ranges over 50$. There are trips every day.
The transit bus ticket of Thailand – Cambodia and Cambodia – Vietnam: The tickets from Cambodia to Vietnam is 10$, from Thailand to Cambodia is 20$ to 22$.

Travel from Thailand to Vietnam by air

In Vietnam, there are two international airports: Noi Bai Airport (Hanoi) and Tan Son Nhat Airport (Ho Chi Minh City), operating flights between Thailand and Vietnam including Vietnam Airlines, Thai Airways, Vietjet Air, Air Asia, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Jetstar Pacific.

How long will it take from Thailand to Vietnam by air?

With the departure from the destination of Bangkok – Thailand, each airline will have the specific flying time:

Vietnam Airlines has the shortest flying time (1h20’).
VIetjet Air, Jetstar Pacific or some other airline has the similar flying time from Bangkok to Hanoi (or Ho Chi Minh).
Singapore Airlines has a relatively long flying time due to the transit in Singapore. It takes about 7 hours from Bangkok to Hanoi and 6.5 hours from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City.

How to obtain Vietnam visa corresponding to the above ways

Vietnam visa exemption

At the moment, Vietnamese government has eased its Vietnam visa policy to welcome more and more travelers to the country. As such, citizens of up to 24 countries may visit Vietnam without a visa. See the list of Vietnam visa exemption and conditions here.

Vietnam visa on arrival

Vietnam visa on arrival has become a trend for travelers to get a Vietnam visa thanks for its convenience and simplicity.

This method is applied for the tourists traveling to Vietnam by air. First of all, the tourist has to fill out the online Vietnam visa form. After that, the supplier will send the approval letter (often in 2 working days), after receiving the service fee. The tourist takes this letter when making entry procedures at Vietnam airport. After paying the stamping fee, the visa will be stamped on the passport. It is done!

The full process of Vietnam visa on arrival can be found here: How Vietnam visa on arrival works

Vietnam visa at Vietnam embassy in Thailand

If Thailand people do not want to enter Vietnam for visa exemption with no more than 30 days but want to apply for a longer-term visa in Vietnam, they can apply for a visa at Vietnam diplomatic mission in Thailand.

In order to carry out the procedures for applying for a visa, the tourist has to visit Vietnam embassy in Thailand to submit the application documents and then picked up the passport with visa stamp.

Consulate General of Vietnam in Khon Kaen, Thailand