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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 $60 a day for a driver and car in Yunnan, China. My wife and I are contemplating a trip from Ha Noi to Ho Chi Minh of three weeks and would like to do this by hired car and driver. We are open to starting our journey from either city if there is a significant difference in cost. rg |
#2
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Travel Length of Vietnam
In article KV7qh.1971$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 |
#3
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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. |
#4
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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 |
#5
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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. |
#6
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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 $60 a day for a driver and car in Yunnan, China. My wife and I are contemplating a trip from Ha Noi to Ho Chi Minh of three weeks and would like to do this by hired car and driver. We are open to starting our journey from either city if there is a significant difference in cost. rg |
#7
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Travel Length of Vietnam
In article I%vqh.667899$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 |
#8
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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 |
#9
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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 |
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