Thailand to Vietnam: An Overall Guide

It’s very easy to travel from one SEA country to another. And from Thailand to Vietnam, you have several options of transportations to consider for your journey as the distance is quite close, it only takes 1.5 - 2 hours flight. Beside, there are several means of transportation to go to Vietnam from Thailand such as by flight, bus, train, private car or by boat. And each mode of transport has pros and cons over the other. It is just a matter of what you rank higher when making a decision - price or time. In general, flights save you a lot of time, buses and trains cut costs, while boats can offer you more scenery.

Thailand to Vietnam

How to Travel from Thailand to Vietnam

There are serval ways traveller choose to travel from Thailand to Vietnam, let's learn detail about each of them below.

Thailand to Vietnam Flight

Currently flights from Thailand to Vietnam mostly depart from Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) or Don Muang Airport (DMK) in Bangkok, Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX) in Chiang Mai or Phuket International Airport (HKT) in Phuket and arrive in Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) in Hanoi, Danang International Airport (DAD) in Dang and Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) in Ho Chi Minh city.

Most popular airlines operate from Vietnam to Thailand including: Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, AirAsia, Thailion Air, Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways, Nok Air, …with the price ranging around 100-200 USD. Traveling to Vietnam from Thailand by air is quite easy with almost hassle-free customs procedures. 

Thailand to Vietnam bus

It’s easy to travel inn South East Asia by bus. Thailand and Vietnam road systems are connected through Laos and Cambodia, so if you want to go from Thailand to Vietnam by bus, it’s a must to travel through a third country. However it adds an opportunity to visit some Cambodian or Laotian cities and fascinating localities. Plus, you'd traverse amazing scenery along the way.

From Thailand, the bus will normally depart from Bangkok, go through Cambodia to come to Ho Chi Minh city or through Laos and arrive at Hanoi. You can also take a bus from Chiang Mai to Laos, arrive at Luang Prabang or Vientiane then take another bus to Hanoi However it will certainly take quite a long time to travel by bus, so you should consider your choice of transportation as sometimes there’s conflict in the itinerary when you underestimate the traveling time. 

From Thailand from Hanoi: The straight bus tickets 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 to Laos from Thailand (Bangkok) range from $18 to $20 depending on the bus company.

From Thailand to Saigon: The straight bus tickets price ranges over $50. There are trips every day. The transit bus ticket of Thailand – Cambodia and Cambodia – Vietnam is about $30 - $32.

Thailand to Vietnam by train

At present, no railway connections have been made directly between Thailand and Vietnam so you will have to travel through a third country. You can currently travel by train via Cambodia or Laos.

Connect train via Cambodia

You can take train from Bangkok to Phnom Penh, however, it’s a slow journey and you need to take two trains: one from Bangkok to Aranayprathet near the Cambodia border; and then another from Poipet Railway Station to Phnom Penh. For travel between Aranyaprathet Railway Station and Poipet Railway Station you need to take a bus or taxi to complete the 7 km by road because the cross border train line is not currently operational.

Please be aware that the Poipet to Phnom Penh railway is currently undergoing major refurbishment by Royal Railways in an attempt to speed up train travel. Whilst the work is going on, train services only run once a week from Poipet to Phnom Penh with a very early morning departure. Once the work has been complete the frequency of the services will increase with departure times later in the morning.

From Phnom Penh to Vietnam, since there is no railway, you can take a bus to head toward your destination. There are regular buses that run daily from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City, and they are fast and cheap. The average crossing time is normally around six hours, including the stopping time at the border for passport checks, and the ticket price is generally $9-$10.

Connect train via Laos

If you want to enter Vietnam via Laos, a train plus bus tour is available, although can be time-consuming. Because of the railway system, tourists can only take trains from Bangkok to Laos and arrive nearby Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. Compared with flight tours to Laos, it is significantly cheaper with ticket price differs from sleeper train and daytime train. Sleeper train costs $23 in a second class while daytime train costs $11 in the same class. Running for about 11 hours, tourists need to spend overnight on trains.

To continue your journey from Vientiane to Vietnam, you can take a bus from Vientiane to Hanoi, which will spend 20 hours and $41 if bought locally and $32 if bought online. Different in bus types, modern sleeper bus runs in Mon, Tues, Thurs, Sat and older sleeper bus runs in Wed, Fri, and Sun.

Thailand to Vietnam private car 

Since Thailand and Vietnam don’t have close borders and it’s a must to travel through another country if you don’t take a flight, there’s no private car service from Thailand directly to Vietnam. That’s the reason why regularly tourists who want to travel by car would book a full package tour to Thailand, Vietnam and Laos or Cambodia, so that the travel agent can easily arrange all the transportations suitable with the itinerary provided. 

Thailand to Vietnam by boat

Owing to the development of road transportation systems, parts of the waterway in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam have been out of service. Traveling by boat can relatively more expensive than bus and train, sometimes even being risky, but it allows you more time to enjoy the scenery along the way.

There are some international sea cruises like Royal Caribbean Cruises, Celebrity Solstice... offer a cruise combine Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand or some others SEA countries. Price for this option is about: $150/person/night on boat. You can easy find it on internet.

Popular City route to Vietnam from Thailand

From Bangkok

Bangkok is the most popular departure to travel from Thailand to Vietnam, and you can choose any of the transportation options we mentioned above that fit your plan. If your travel time is limited, take a flight within 1.5-2 hours to any airport  nearby your targeted destinations. The bus and train is preferable for travellers who want to spend more time discovering any corner of these countries. And traveling by boats or cruises is the best thing you can choose to have a unique view from another edge of the country.

From Phuket

From Phuket, the best way to travel to Vietnam is by air plane. You can directly fly from Phuket to either Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh. Despite the high price, flight can save a lot of travelling time and keep you in a good health condition for the whole trip. However, there are a bunch of advantages traveling by bus, train or boats that a flight can’t have. Take a bus or train to Bangkok and continue your trip to Vietnam with any means of transportation available if  you don’t want to pay a big amount of money just to flash a flight to Vietnam and miss out on all the interesting journeys.

From Chiang Mai

Flight is one of the most popular ways tourists choose to come to Vietnam from Chiang Mai.  Despite the high price, flight can save a lot of travelling time and keep you in a good health condition for the whole trip. But if you haven’t visited Bangkok yet, you absolutely should make a visit to this energetic city before moving to Vietnam. And it is even more convenient to travel to Vietnam from Bangkok as all the ways are mentioned above.

Local tips to get to Vietnam from Thailand

• Book the flight as soon as possible to get the best deal.
• Change your money into USD at your home country, and change it to VND in the Vietnamese airports or border gates, you can get better exchange rates.
• Check the weather forecast in advance to bring suitable clothes and an umbrella since the weather in Vietnam varies according to different regions, it’s humid with a lot of rainfall some time in some certain areas also. The winter in Vietnam is colder than most foreigners think.
• Buy a sim card with 4G data at the airport or from your hotel reception are all good, the price is extremely reasonable. 
• Make new friends who share some similarities in the itinerary with yours since you can book tours with greater deals in a bigger group.
• Although it is not a mandatory document, travel insurance is one of the necessary "tools" to protect you when traveling. You should make sure your travel insurance card is valid by choosing reputable insurance companies.
  
  

Recommend Thailand to Vietnam tour itinerary

If you are planning for a journey going through Southeast Asia countries including Thailand and Vietnam, the best of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam Package 19 days tour with BestPrice Travel will probably satisfy you. 

In this tour, after the first arrival in Thailand, you will have chance to discover Bangkok with finest temples and a tour around the city’s fascinating canals. 1 free day discovering Bangkok city is a good time for you to try as much as you can the famous street food of the region, or escaping the hustle and bustle of Bangkok with an optional Ayutthaya tour with Grand Pearl Cruise. 

The next 3 days are about to visit Chiang Mai - the cultural and business centre of northern Thailand. A half day city tour takes you to visit the most outstanding tourist spots of the cultural and business centre of northern Thailand such as  four of the most iconic temples as well as a mountaintop temple, while driving past city markets, residential areas and Chiang Mai’s main street. The next day is about joining a half-day morning visit to Elephant Nature Park; a rescue and rehabilitation centre for elephants, as well as many other rescued animals.

The journey in Vietnam starts by exploring the most iconic destination of Hanoi City - The Capital of Vietnam to understand 1000 year history & culture of this area. After dinner with all authentic Vietnamese food, a night sleeper train will take you to Sapa. A trekking through ethnic villages in Sapa helps you learn more about local life & enjoy the natural beauty. After that, you can take an overnight cruise in Halong Bay which helps you refresh yourself in one of 7 wonders in the world before continuing your trip to south & Cambodia.

In the Central of Vietnam, the historical buildings in Hue with the most beautiful and ancient architectural structures like: Imperial city, King tomb or Thien Mu Pagoda gives you great ideas about Vietnam ancient culture and the royal life of the Nguyen dynasty. Stroll through narrow alleys past 18th-century shop houses, the tour takes you to visit ancient temples, try street food or enjoy shopping in Hoi An, the stunning ancient town.

The South Vietnam journey brings you to Ho Chi Minh city, the biggest and most energetic city of Vietnam Our guide will show you the most interesting sights that Ho Chi Minh City has to offer. Come to Ben Tre Province for a day exploring the Mekong Delta where you will observe daily life along the river banks before leaving Vietnam.

Visiting Cambodia with a short series of "jungle temple" Ta Prohm, Angkor Wat and Phnom Bakheng, embraced by the roots of enormous fig trees and gigantic creeks and took a view of Khmer ancient architecture. The glorious sunset from the top of the temple mountain Phnom Bakheng brings the trip to an end of 3 weeks itinerary Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

In a nutshell, the transportation infrastructure in Southeast Asia is developing day by day, it is so simple to travel from this country to another. Take a chance to visit Thailand and Vietnam, you will surely love the countries so much.

Hue Pham

Image source: Internet