Travel Length of Vietnam
 

A couple years ago, we hired a driver and van to tour the Mekong delta
region and southwest coast of Vietnam. There were several of us and I never
did learn what the cost per day for car, fuel, and driver worked out to be.
I want to think it was probably around $40/day, since native relatives did
the negotiating for the car and driver. Does this sound right? Last year,
we paid nearly $60 a day for a driver and car in Yunnan, China.

My wife and I are contemplating a trip from Ha Noi to Ho Chi Minh of three
weeks and would like to do this by hired car and driver. We are open to
starting our journey from either city if there is a significant difference
in cost.

rg

Travel Length of Vietnam
 

In article KV7qh.1971$q32.1730@trndny01, Sharkbait says...
A couple years ago, we hired a driver and van to tour the Mekong delta
region and southwest coast of Vietnam. There were several of us and I never
did learn what the cost per day for car, fuel, and driver worked out to be.
I want to think it was probably around $40/day, since native relatives did
the negotiating for the car and driver. Does this sound right? Last year,
we paid nearly $60 a day for a driver and car in Yunnan, China.

My wife and I are contemplating a trip from Ha Noi to Ho Chi Minh of three
weeks and would like to do this by hired car and driver. We are open to
starting our journey from either city if there is a significant difference
in cost.

$40-$50 per day is ok. In Yunnan I paid 400 RMB per day for a car with
driver in 2004, in Vietnam (Saigon) I paid $50 for a daytrip to Tay Ninh
(the Caodai temple) and the Cuchi tunnels in December 2006. It was a
bigger, SUV type car. I had read in the Internet that you could find a
car+driver for $25 a few years ago, but that seems no longer the case
now.
In Myanmar we paid $50 per day for a car+driver in 2002. Have a look at
the travelogues at http://www.molon.de/travelogues/
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

Travel Length of Vietnam
 

On 2007-01-13 08:38:02 -0800, "Sharkbait" said:

A couple years ago, we hired a driver and van to tour the Mekong delta
region and southwest coast of Vietnam. There were several of us and I
never did learn what the cost per day for car, fuel, and driver worked
out to be. I want to think it was probably around $40/day, since native
relatives did the negotiating for the car and driver. Does this sound
right? Last year, we paid nearly $60 a day for a driver and car in
Yunnan, China.

My wife and I are contemplating a trip from Ha Noi to Ho Chi Minh of
three weeks and would like to do this by hired car and driver. We are
open to starting our journey from either city if there is a significant
difference in cost.

No answers, but many questions: Do you speak any Vietnamese. Would
that be necessary. I've acquired a fondness for many things Vietnamese
living near "Little Saigon" in Orange County, California. I wonder how
difficult it would be to navigate the home country...
--
Thank you and have a nice day.

Travel Length of Vietnam
 

Gtr wrote:

No answers, but many questions: Do you speak any Vietnamese.

Yes, my wife is Chinese/Vietnamese and reads, writes and speaks Vietnamese,
Mandarin, and Cantonese. Vietnamese is her native tongue but she was taught
Mandarin as a second language in grade school.

Would that be necessary.

On our last trip to Vietnam in December, we found many people in the service
field do not speak English, including taxi drivers, hotel staff,
shopkeepers, and government. My wife's native speaking background was
invaluable as we traveled independently around Ha Noi and Ha Long Bay.
Having said that, it would not prevent me from visiting this fantastic
country. I highly recommend a stay in the Ha Noi Old Quarter followed by a
two or three day junk cruise around Ha Long Bay

rg

Travel Length of Vietnam
 

On 2007-01-13 14:35:59 -0800, "Sharkbait" said:

Gtr wrote:

No answers, but many questions: Do you speak any Vietnamese.

Yes, my wife is Chinese/Vietnamese and reads, writes and speaks
Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Cantonese. Vietnamese is her native tongue
but she was taught Mandarin as a second language in grade school.

Would that be necessary.

On our last trip to Vietnam in December, we found many people in the
service field do not speak English, including taxi drivers, hotel
staff, shopkeepers, and government. My wife's native speaking
background was invaluable as we traveled independently around Ha Noi
and Ha Long Bay. Having said that, it would not prevent me from
visiting this fantastic country. I highly recommend a stay in the Ha
Noi Old Quarter followed by a two or three day junk cruise around Ha
Long Bay

Duly noted. We too prefer the independent route, if at all possible. I
think I would take some lessons (easy enough locally) to get at least a
few critical dialogues down.
--
Thank you and have a nice day.

Travel Length of Vietnam
 

One thing you should be aware of is that the roads in Vietnam (including the
main north south highway) are pretty grim with lots of potholes,
construction and congestion. Internal flights are plentiful, inexpensive and
on modern equipment. That way you could spend more of your time seing what
you want to see rather than bouncing around being uncomfortable and carsick
for 50 bucks a day. Check out my Vietnam pix at
http://www.msphoto.ca/Vietnam.htm


"Sharkbait" wrote in message
news:KV7qh.1971$q32.1730@trndny01...
A couple years ago, we hired a driver and van to tour the Mekong delta
region and southwest coast of Vietnam. There were several of us and I
never did learn what the cost per day for car, fuel, and driver worked out
to be. I want to think it was probably around $40/day, since native
relatives did the negotiating for the car and driver. Does this sound
right? Last year, we paid nearly $60 a day for a driver and car in Yunnan,
China.

My wife and I are contemplating a trip from Ha Noi to Ho Chi Minh of three
weeks and would like to do this by hired car and driver. We are open to
starting our journey from either city if there is a significant difference
in cost.

rg

Travel Length of Vietnam
 

In article I%vqh.667899$R63.347440@pd7urf1no, Michael Sherman/msphoto
says...
One thing you should be aware of is that the roads in Vietnam (including the
main north south highway) are pretty grim with lots of potholes,
construction and congestion. Internal flights are plentiful, inexpensive and
on modern equipment. That way you could spend more of your time seing what
you want to see rather than bouncing around being uncomfortable and carsick
for 50 bucks a day. Check out my Vietnam pix at
http://www.msphoto.ca/Vietnam.htm

Yes, flights are cheap and are the best option to cover large distances.
But the roads are not too bad. While I was there in December there was a
lot of construction going on around Saigon - I would expect the road to
be pretty good in a year or so.
The road from Hoi An to My Son and to Hue is good (I did the trip by car
in December).
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

Travel Length of Vietnam
 

Michael Sherman/msphoto wrote:

One thing you should be aware of is that the roads in Vietnam (including
the main north south highway) are pretty grim with lots of potholes,
construction and congestion.

True, I allow for an average of 30 mph when traveling in Vietnam. A couple
years back when driving from My Tho to Ha Tien, I think we averaged around
25 mph; It was a long day's drive to Ha Tien. In the north, I found the
roads between Ha Noi and Ha Long Bay a bit better.

For a trip of 3-4 weeks, traveling the length of Vietnam, and breaking the
1,000 mile drive into 8-10 segments, should allow for sufficient 3 day stops
and visiting the surrounding area of several important cities. While
potholes and bad roads can be kidney busters, I have enjoyed impulse stops
and side trips that I would have never seen or known about from the air.

rg

Travel Length of Vietnam
 

Having just returned from 2 months there, I'd have to agree enthusistically.
Flights within the country are ridiculously cheap by Western standards, and
can save a whole heap of time. One example is Hanoi to Hue. There's not too
much between the 2 cities of interest to most visitors, so the 40-odd
dollar, 1 hour flight, is a bargain compared to the long overnight train or
bus ride. More time to spend actually doing things.


--


Bob

Travel and Astronomy Photos
http://www3.sympatico.ca/bomo



"Michael Sherman/msphoto" wrote in message
news:I%vqh.667899$R63.347440@pd7urf1no...
One thing you should be aware of is that the roads in Vietnam (including
the main north south highway) are pretty grim with lots of potholes,
construction and congestion. Internal flights are plentiful, inexpensive
and on modern equipment. That way you could spend more of your time seing
what you want to see rather than bouncing around being uncomfortable and
carsick for 50 bucks a day. Check out my Vietnam pix at
http://www.msphoto.ca/Vietnam.htm


"Sharkbait" wrote in message
news:KV7qh.1971$q32.1730@trndny01...
A couple years ago, we hired a driver and van to tour the Mekong delta
region and southwest coast of Vietnam. There were several of us and I
never did learn what the cost per day for car, fuel, and driver worked out
to be. I want to think it was probably around $40/day, since native
relatives did the negotiating for the car and driver. Does this sound
right? Last year, we paid nearly $60 a day for a driver and car in
Yunnan, China.

My wife and I are contemplating a trip from Ha Noi to Ho Chi Minh of
three weeks and would like to do this by hired car and driver. We are
open to starting our journey from either city if there is a significant
difference in cost.

rg