How to Plan a Trip to Vietnam - Travel guide

In the decades since the war, Vietnam has blossomed into a tourist's paradise, with lovely beaches, extraordinary shopping opportunities, and friendly and welcoming people. In fact, more and more Westerners plan trips to Vietnam every year.

Step 1: Obtain a passport before you plan a trip to Vietnam. Bring your original birth certificate (not a copy), one other valid form of identification and two small passport-sized pictures of yourself to your post office. Note that it can take 4 to 6 weeks to get your passport in the mail unless you pay a significant fee to rush the process.

Step 2: Develop a travel itinerary for your trip to Vietnam. Many tourists center their activities around the two main cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), and arrange for travel between the cities in advance. You may be able to fly into one city and fly back home from the other, or even include Thailand, Hong Kong or China in your flight plans.

Step 3: Schedule a visit with your doctor at least a month before you leave in order to get proper vaccinations, since you will need shots for yellow fever, hepatitis A and B and typhoid. While the risk for malaria is relatively low in the major cities, you may want to bring along malaria tablets if you're going to be visiting rural areas. Check with the TDS website for latest vaccination requirements (see Resources below).

Step 4: Contact an experienced and knowledgeable travel agent to help you plan a trip to Vietnam. Your agent should be able to help you find the best travel and accommodation packages, and to help make travel arrangements between destinations within Vietnam. You can also use online resources, such as Travelocity, to find the best deals on airfare and hotel rooms (see Resources below).

Step 5: Visit the website for the Vietnamese Embassy and arrange for an application for a travel visa (see Resources below). You will need a valid passport and either a money order or traveler's check made out to the Embassy of Vietnam. The cost of the visa will depend upon the length of your stay and the number of times that you will be entering and leaving the country.


Tips & Warnings
Since there are no direct flights from the United States to Vietnam, you will probably have to route your flight through other countries, such as Singapore, China, Hong Kong or Thailand.

Source: Ehow

Related to Vietnam travel
- Vietnam travel guide
- Vietnam travel tips
- Vietnam tours

Article Tags: (see Resources

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA (ATA) offers a wide selection of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar adventure tours, including hiking and trekking, biking, motorcycling, overland touring and family travel packages.

Four Tips For Booking Inexpensive Flights

Discount airfare

are not difficult to find but you may have to be willing to put in the time and effort to uncover the sweetest deals. Flying during these tough economic times can seem wrong. Getting cheap trips can make the travel seem more practical whether it is for personal vacations or business trips.

Discount airfare are not difficult to find but you may have to be willing to put in the time and effort to uncover the sweetest deals. Flying during these tough economic times can seem wrong. Getting cheap trips can make the travel seem more practical whether it is for personal vacations or business trips.

Top Tips for Getting Cheap Flights

1. The best tip that everyone gives out is to start early. The longer out you purchase your tickets then the greater deal you can usually get. Low-Priced tickets can usually be found 3 to 6 months out from the flight date.

2. The second top tip for getting cheap airfare is to purchase your tickets at the last minute possible. Sometimes last second travelers will get lucky and find sweet reduced airfare for their vacation.

3. The third most important tip is to put the work into research. There are so many different sites that can help you find great discount airline tickets. Search the internet, including the airline businesses’ web pages, and be sure that you make a list of all the different amenities so that you are contrasting apples to apples.
4. The 4th tip that you need to know to find the greatest prices on airfare tickets is to understand the market. Knowing when the best times to travel are means that you can choose the right time of the day, the right day of the week and the right destination for that time of the year to find discount airfare for your trip.
Finding low-priced flights are just a small number steps away. Understanding the different tricks of the airfare industry will help you discover the sweetest deals for discount flights. Discount airfare can be easily uncovered with the investment of just a little time and work.

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

cheap flights, discount airfare, travel

Conquering Lang Bian mountain, Dalat city, Vietnam

Standing in downtown Da Lat on clear days visitors can see the Lang Bian mountain range with its highest peak being at a latitude of 2,169m above sea level. Situated about 12km north of Da Lat City, Lang Bian is one of the three highest mountains on Lam Vien plateau, Da Lat.

With its miraculous beauty and wild features, every year Lang Bian mountain, which was named after Lang and his lover Bian in the past, attracts a large numbers of visitors, especially photographers who come to capture the second-to-non fairyland scenery.

It is interesting to conquer the two peaks of Lang Bian. For the 1,950m peak, visitors can follow a trek in the forests or take a tour organised by Dalattourist Company which uses a specialised vehicle to transport them to the peak where they can contemplate Dian Kia Lake with its clear water lying amidst the vast pine forests below. To reach the 2,169m peak visitors follow the same route as to the 1,950m peak, but when they are near the top, they veer to the right and walk through a primeval forest for two hours to reach the second peak. This is really a challenge to the visitor’s health and bravery.

Leading our team were a group of professional climbers from Dalattourist Company, some of whom are K’ho ethnic people who live in the hamlets at the foot of Lang Bian Mountain. They carried our belongings and photographic equipment while we trekked with a stick, carrying some drinking water, medicines and small camera. We had to pass over many high slopes and some age-old trees lying across the path. Sometimes there was heavy rain that caused rushing streams to develop, causing severe dangers. We had to cling to the life-lines tied to big trees and made utmost effort to climb with the assistance of the professionals. About 100m from the top of the mountain a patch of blue sky appeared. Seen from the top, Da Lat City looks magnificent in the thin mist. It was past 5pm but the weather was still scorching.

While the photographers packed up their tools after capturing the image of the sunset, a gust of cool air blew past us. In an instant the temperature fell several degrees and we had to stay inside the tents. Night fell over the camp fire. The locals treated us with dishes of the mountainous area. We were told about the legend of Lang Bian- a tale about an immortal love between Lang and Bian who overcame a severe dispute which had existed for a long time between the Lach and Chil tribes.

At night it became piercingly cold. The wind was so strong that it was pulling at our tents, seemingly to try to throw everything into the air. In a half awaken state we spotted a “sea of clouds” around the peak of the mountain. At sun rise the clouds were covered with a radiant yellow colour. It was an opportune time for the photographers to create their masterpieces.

With an ecological system of rare and precious flora and fauna, Lang Bian has been protected and preserved to become a natural eco-tourist site of a high land.

Source: vovnews

Supported by http://www.BikeDalat.com

Recommendation in Dalat, Vietnam

Hotels in Dalat: http://www.activetravelshop.com/?name=product&op=listProducts&subcat=DalatHotels

Dalat excursions: http://www.activetravelshop.com/?name=product&op=listProducts&subcat=DalatTours

Tours in Vietnam: http://www.activetravelVietnam.com/

Article Tags: Lang Bian Mountain,, Lang Bian, Bian Mountain,

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA (ATA) offers a wide selection of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar adventure tours, including hiking and trekking, biking, motorcycling, overland touring and family travel packages.

#31, Alley 4, Dang Van Ngu Street, Hanoi

+84 - 4 -35738569

Your Travel Guide to Hotels in Paris

Ok so you are travelling to Paris, you will probably arrive via train or plane and then either use the underground or get a taxi to their desired hotel, but if you are thinking about arriving by car, then do bear in mind that parking is a major problem and there are actually very few hotels that do have their own car parking area.

Paris is probably one of the most famous cities in the world and has over 30 million visitors every year just wishing to experience this diverse city, but for obvious reasons, anyone traveling to Paris will need to think about some form of accommodation and there are thousands of hotels to choose from.

As with any city, there are the very basic hotels, then you get the ones rated from 1 Star hotels

up to the exceedingly luxurious 5 Star hotels, yet incredibly, there are actually more 3 Star hotels in Paris than any other type.

But please bear in mind that in some of the basic hotels they do not have their own bathrooms and some have no washing or toilet facilities within a room at all, and therefore these are shared between several rooms.

Plus Paris is renowned for having smaller hotel rooms than those you would find in places like the UK and especially America where space is often considered a priority, and therefore many budget hotels will often have quite small rooms.

Now when it comes to traveling to Paris, most people will arrive via train or plane and then either use the underground or get a taxi to their desired hotel, but if you are thinking about arriving by car, then bear in mind that parking is a major problem and there are actually very few hotels in Paris that do have their own car parking area. Yet if you are driving into Paris, there are some hotels that do offer preferential rates for public car parks located close by and these can range in price from 20 Euros upwards per day.

Another point you may not have thought about, is that in Europe it is rare to get facilities for making a cup of tea or coffee in your room, so do not be disappointed if you do not have a kettle, etc, but the hotels that do provide this service usually make a point of saying so.

Also, most hotels in Paris do not quote a price with breakfast included as this is usually an optional extra charged per person, but some basic hotels and one star hotels do not serve any breakfast.

Many hotels state a Continental Breakfast, which usually consists of things such as cereals, rolls, croissants, jams, fruit juice and coffee, although some will provide a basic buffet breakfast. It is not usually until you get up to 3 star hotels and 4 star hotels in Paris that they are likely to provide a fuller buffet style breakfast as well as a Continental style breakfast option, yet luxury hotels tend to have a variety of different types of breakfast to suit International tastes.

Paris is an animal friendly city with lots of hotels allowing you to bring your dog with you, although there is often an additional charge for this, plus lots are now catering more for families. So rather than requesting an extra bed within a room you have a great choice of hotels that have triple rooms or quadruple rooms available, which does mean more space to move around!

Being a city renowned for its history, there are numerous hotels that are located within very old buildings and have lots of character, yet many have been modernised to include facilities such as satellite or cable TV and a lift for those of us that are less able or just too lazy to carry the luggage up the stairs!

Visiting Paris on business is also easier now as many Paris hotels have internet access or WiFi available not just in common areas, but also within the rooms, yet some do charge for their use, so it would be wise to check prior to booking if you wish to take your laptop with you.

And the last thing we feel you need to consider when booking a hotel, is where it is located. Obviously some areas are more costly than others, like being near to most famous Paris monument, the Eiffel Tower but if you are willing to be a little further out like in the business district, then you can get a far better deal on the same quality hotel.

Article Tags: Star Hotels

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

http://www.placesinfrance.com - For all your French holiday needs and travel guide to Paris and France, with tourist information, landmarks and attractions - http://www.placesinfrance.com/paris_hotels/hotels_in_paris.html