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Cheapest cities in the world: Summer 2013

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Based on hotel accommodation, taxi trip, cocktails and dinner for two, the cheapest cities in the world have just been revealed by the third annual TripIndex survey from travel giant TripAdvisor. And the cheapest destinations for summer 2013 in order are;

1. Sofia in Bulgaria

Sofia in Bulgaria

Sofia in Bulgaria

The cosmopolitan city of Sofia is capital of this Eastern European gem, which has attracted budget-conscious travellers for years.  Bulgaria is better known for its beautiful beaches and superb skiing facilities, but following the revelation that it’s the cheapest city in the world right now, I predict Sofia city breaks to really take off! The compact city is home to the UNESCO listed Boyana Church which dates back to the 10th century. Then there’s the nature and adventure capital of Bulgaria; Mount Vitosha where keen hikers, climbers and skiiers will be in their element. And then there’s the superb Sofia Art Gallery which showcases unique Bulgarian art. Continue reading →

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Is 650EAD for 3 months tourist visa quoted by Vietnam Embassy expensive?

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Hi,

We are UK citizens having a plan to travel Vietnam for 3 months and we were quoted by the Vietnam embassy in Abu Dhabi (UAE) the cost for 3 months single entry visa of 650EAD (177USD or 113 pounds in conversion).

We were planning to travel to Vietnam overland but it might be cheaper if we fly into Vietnam using visa on arrival.

We would be interesting to hear the price from your agency www.e-vietnamvisa.com.

Best regards,

Chris

 

Answer

Dear Mr Chris,

Recently, there are some changes in the Vietnam visa fee regulated by the government. The stamping fee for 3 months single entry visa is 45USD now, instead of 25USD as before.

However, even to subject to nearly doubled processing fee, the visa fee that offered by the Vietnam Embassy in Abu Dhabi (UAE) is too expensive. If you apply for a Vietnam visa on arrival through www.e-vietnamvisa.com, it would be from 70USD – 77USD total. 117USD is far outweighs the price you pay for visa on arrival.

Looking forwards to hearing from you soon.

Best regards,

Alexandra

 

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Vietnam travel firm wants visa waiver for Russians extended

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A local beside three Russian tourists at the 2-4 Square in Nha Trang Town, the central province of Khanh Hoa

 

Vietnam’s tourism authorities should extend the visa waiver program for Russian tourists from 15 days to one month, a travel company’s representative told a conference on Sunday.

Longer free stays will attract more tourists, especially the elderly who want to avoid the winter in Russia for long periods and people who want to spend summer vacations with their children, said Mikhail Simonov, director general of Anh Duong Travel Company.

Simonov made the statement at a meeting on Vietnamese central coastal provinces’ tourism organized in Khanh Hoa Province, the Thoi bao kinh te Sai Gon (Saigon Times) reported.

According to Simonov, Russians consider Vietnam’s beautiful coastline an ideal destination for long vacations, as their home country is situated in the temperate zone.

In fact, more and more Russians have been extending their stays in Vietnam, he was quoted as saying.

One of the major tour operators focused on the Russian market, Anh Duong now operates 10-15-day tours for Russians to coastal destinations like Nha Trang, Da Nang and Hoi An year around.

The company operates two flights from Russia to Cam Ranh International Airport in Khanh Hoa province every day during the low season. The number of flights doubles during the peak season, which starts in October.

Official figures showed that last year over 174,000 Russian tourists visited Vietnam, up more than 71 percent compared to 2011.

Despite an overall decrease in international tourists to Vietnam over the first five months of this year, Russian tourism increased 57.8 percent over the same period last year, to nearly 137,000 tourists, the Saigon Times reported.

Focus on sea tourism

At the conference, Nguyen Van Tuan, general director of the Vietnam Administration of Tourism, urged central coastal provinces to focus on their beaches that have possibilities to develop high quality resorts and services,Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported.

He also advised them to develop island tours in combination with cruises.

According to Tuan, the provinces have become destinations among foreign tourists, but failed to offer unique experiences or apply effective marketing and management methods and thus, have not seen many tourists return for second visits.

Tran Du Lich, head of a consultancy group for the central coast area’s development and cooperation, agreed.

He said the area hosts beautiful and unique beaches, but considering their potential, the ways they are being used for tourism are not “remarkable.”

Most of the provinces offer a similar experience, so they failed to attract tourists, according to Lich.

Central coastal provinces need to invest and develop sea and island tourism to compete with other countries, said Tran Dinh Thien, director of the Vietnam Institute for Economics.

It was reported at the conference that the central coast tourism grew over 13 percent per year between 2008 and 2012.

Last year, the area attracted nearly 17 million tourists, including over four million foreigners, and earned over VND18 trillion (US$855 million) from tourism. 

Source: Tuoitre

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Hanoi named the cheapest destination in Asia

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The capital city of Vietnam, Hanoi has just been named the cheapest city in Asia and the second cheapest city in the world!

The respected TripAdvisor TripIndex for Summer 2013 compares costs across 49 cities in Europe, Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia. In the comparison are a 4 star hotel, taxi trip, cocktails and dinner, all based on two travellers.

In summer 2012 Hanoi was in number one spot with a total cost for the four items at 141.22 USD. This summer, the total cost is 176.14 USD, which is 35 USD more. Sofia in Bulgaria has overtaken Hanoi this year as the cheapest destination in the world overall with a total cost of 158.42 USD (just 18 USD less than Hanoi).

Overall Hanoi has the cheapest dinner for two people out of all 49 cities at 36.71 USD, thanks to a fantastic array of local restaurants in the city. There are a few international restaurants but the majority of the dining in Hanoi is focused around authentic Vietnamese cuisine, with street food remaining a popular option for food on the go.

Daily life in Hanoi proceeds at a frenetic pace and there’s always something going on. The Old Quarter district provides a fascinating insight into the former French colonial rule, with rich period architecture, narrow streets ad traditional shopfronts. The museums are a great way to while away a few hours, with the  Museum of Ethnology, Vietnam Women’s Museum and the Fine Arts Museum my particular favourites. At the center of Hanoi is the serene Hoan Kiem Lake where you can (almost) forget the constant buzz of mopeds. And you can’t leave Hanoi without visiting the two key sites of the former leader Ho Chi Minh himself. His official residence is fascinating: with his books, furniture and cars on display. In fact he chose to live his last years in the modest wooden house on site rather than in the Presidential Palace. And the soviet-style Hi Chi Minh Mausoleum is a must-see where Uncle Ho lays embalmed whilst travellers and locals shuffle by.

If we’ve inspired you to explore Vietnam, check out our exciting tours, from day trips to 17 day experiences, from just £38/59 USD. All tours are run by local operators who know Hanoi and Vietnam like the back of their hand: giving you an authentic Vietnamese adventure!

After Hanoi, the next 3 cheapest cities in Asia are: Bangkok in Thailand (6th place), Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia (7th place) and Mumbai in India (16th).

And with more direct flights than ever to Vietnam, it seems that summer 2013 is the perfect time to visit Hanoi.

Source: Puretravel

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Is transit passenger allowed to leave the airport?

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I am travelling from Singapore to Korea and vice versa. My transit will be at Ho Chi Minh City Airport (SGN) and at Hanoi Airport(HAN). So is transit passenger being allow to travel to the city at Ho Chi Minh City Airport and also at Hanoi Airport?

Answer

Vietnam is one of these countries, and does not require any transit visa, as long as you plan to stay inside the airport. However, if you expect to travel Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi during your flight transit awaiting, you need to make sure:

– You are Vietnam visa exempted citizens or not.

Some countries have visa exemption scheme with Vietnam including: Brunei (14 days); Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos (30 days); Philippines (21 days); Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia and Finland (15 days).  Learn more about Vietnam visa exemption.

– If you are not in the list, please apply for Vietnam tourist visa on arrival which allow you to stay up to 30 days, at the cost of 10 – 17 USD per visa for processing fee and 45 USD per visa for stamping fee.

 

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Vietnam reviews visa exemption for seven countries

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The Danish, Finnish, Japanese, Norwegian, Russian, South Korean, and Swedish visitors are being considered to have 30 days Vietnam visa exemption…

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has instructed relevant agencies to report about the impact of the free visas visitors from seven countries have been enjoying before the government decides whether it will continue with the policy.

He instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to review the policy’s political, economic and security impacts and submit its findings to the government, VnExpress reported.

Between 2004 and 2009 Vietnam unilaterally waived visas for single-entry visits of up to 15 days for Danish, Finnish, Japanese, Norwegian, Russian, South Korean, and Swedish visitors.

At a recent meeting of the State Steering Committee on Tourism, many officials urged Vietnam to not only continue the exemption, but extend the length of stay to 30 days.

Earlier in April, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) for failing to take advantage of the policy to promote tourism, saying the underused policy had forced it to accept losses of US$50 million annually.

After that, VNAT proposed that the government continue the visa exemption because otherwise, Vietnam would become less competitive, as several other countries in the region waive visa fees to promote tourism.

Vu The Binh, VNAT deputy chairman, said nothing should be done to dissuade tourists from South Korea, Russia and Japan from coming to Vietnam. Last year, revenue from those tourists was $2 billion, of which the government collected $200 million in VAT.

Vietnam is not a very attractive tourism destination in the region and a visa requirement would worsen the situation, he said.

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e-Vietnamvisa.com provides express visa services this Summer 2013

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Being one of the most active and reliable visa agency in Vietnam, e-Vietnamvisa.com has just come up with a very effective express visa service which guaranteed to handle a visa approval letter within 1 – 2 hours in this Summer 2013, for both leisure and business travelers.

Normally, a visa applied at the Vietnam Embassy in abroad will take 3 – 5 days to complete. The applicants have to not only spend much time on queuing in front of the Vietnam Embassy which is tiring and boring but also spend more money on moving toward the embassy or sending off the documents by post. For those who is living far from the Vietnam Embassy, visa application becomes more complicated.

With the express visa services, you just stay comfort at home accessing in the visa agency’s website www.e-vietnamvisa.com to submit your visa application online, you will be likely to get an instant confirmation from the most dedicated, reliable and professional visa agency to arrange your Vietnam visa approval letter within 36 hours. These online procedures will take a couple of minutes and you can stay in Vietnam up to 3 months, for single or multiple entry, for both leisure or business purposes. If it’s not an emergency situation, you should make a choice to apply for normal processing visa to save your money. Otherwise, you can give a request for rush visa  to have an approval letter authorized by the Vietnam Immigration Department within 1 – 2 hours guaranteed.

What document do the applicants need to prepare for online visa application?

Just a valid passport which is 6 months validity at least and 2 passport-sized photos, that all. The specialty of Vietnam visa online is that the applicants don’t have to send off the passport to anywhere or anyone, you will keep it by yourself and just present it at the departure airport with the approval letter to board your flight. At arrival airport, it will be submitted to the Immigration Officers to have a visa stamped on the passport.

So how can travelers apply for a Vietnam visa online?

You are pleased to follow these simple steps below:

Firstly, go online our website www.e-vietnamvisa.com and find out an online application form. To save the service fee, you had better select an appropriate processing time for your visa.

Secondly, you are redirected to an online payment gateways to pay for service fee. It will give you the specific guidance for each payment method.

Thirdly, relax and do other things to prepare for your trip while we are expediting your visa in our side. Upon completion, a visa approval letter will be delivered to you via email

Fourthly, you print out the letter, bring with your passport and photos and some USD for stamping fee to board the flight. At arrival airport, you will find an Immigration Counter to submit all these documents, pay the stamping fee and have visa stamped on your passport. All has been done now and welcome to Vietnam!

 

 

 

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