Mekong River Cruise Visas

[sanger727]

Has anyone does the Mekong River cruise since covid? We are booked for one in November and trying to sort out what we need in terms of visa. We will get our own to fly into cambodia. Our travel packet from Avalon says that we will also need to arrange our own visa for vietnam, and that we can't use an e-visa at a river crossing. They refer you to a visa service. To get an e-visa directly, it's $30; this service charges $300 for a visa. There has to be another way??

[iancal]

We arranged a 30 day visa for Vietnam while we were in Cambodia.    I found out how when going thru tripadvisor forums.  We were entering Vietnam by land (phu quok).   

 

We were in Siem Reap for three days.   On the first day we went to a recommended travel agency.  We completed the required forms for a 30 day visa.  We expected to spend 29 days in Vietnam.

 

The travel agency sent the forms and our passports to the nearest Vietnam consulate.  It was in Battambang.  We got our passports back 1 1/2 days later.  The cost as I recall was minimal.  I believe the TA charged us $15 USD over and above the cost of the visa.   This was a recommended and well known (apparently) agency.  They knew what they were doing.  We were somewhat nervous about sending our passports off like this but it was certainly not the first time that we have had to do this.

 

Seems to me that a $300. charge for this service verges on the criminal.  

 

Check on the travel forums, do some shopping.  Or check with your nearest Viet Nam consulate or embassy.

 

 We were not in a position to do this prior to leaving home.  We were on an extended snowbird trip and we not certain when we would be entering Viet Nam or for how long.  

[sanger727]

Thanks,

 

We have looked into it more. The only way to get the 30 day visa is to arrange it through a travel company (per the Vietnam consulate). However, we will be in Cambodia for 2 days prior to boarding the river cruise and not having the visa ahead isn't an acceptable option to us. 

 

We are stuck because we have to send out passports out either way and would much rather send them to DC than off to an unknown company in Vietnam. Plus, shipping would eat away at the cost savings. 

[iancal]

2 hours ago, sanger727 said:

Thanks,

 

We have looked into it more. The only way to get the 30 day visa is to arrange it through a travel company (per the Vietnam consulate). However, we will be in Cambodia for 2 days prior to boarding the river cruise and not having the visa ahead isn't an acceptable option to us. 

 

We are stuck because we have to send out passports out either way and would much rather send them to DC than off to an unknown company in Vietnam. Plus, shipping would eat away at the cost savings. 

Have you checked to see if there are any VietNam consulates closer to your home?

 

When we snowbird in Thailand we need to obtain 90 day visas.   It is a three hour drive for us each way to visit the consulate office however we prefer this to sending our passports away.

 

One thing to be very careful about when completing the visa application is indicating when you plan to enter VietNam vs the date that you are applying for the  visa.

 

 BTW...my spouse was not exited about going to Vietnam at first.   We spent 28 days of independent travel from south to north   It was very memorable and we plan to return at some point.  Such friendly people.

Edited August 22, 2022 by iancal

[sanger727]

2 minutes ago, iancal said:

Have you checked to see if there are any VietNam consulates closer to your home?

 

When we snowbird in Thailand we need to obtain 90 day visas.   It is a three hour drive for us each way to visit the consulate office however we prefer this to sending our passports away.

 

One thing to be very careful about is indicating when you plan to enter Vietnam vs the effective date of the visa for entry into Vietnam. 

 

 BTW...my spouse was not exited about going to Vietnam at first.   We spent 28 days of independent travel from south to north   It was very memorable and we plan to return at some point.  Such friendly people.

 

Yes, there are 4 vietnam consulates in the US. DC and NYC are the closest to us but certainly not close enough to drive to. NYC doesn't issue visas anymore and DC is the one who told us we had to work with a Vietnamese travel company to arrange one.

[TriMomma]

I don't understand how an E-Visa is not acceptable?   

[debxed]

We are doing a river cruise in October.  We did the Visa Central which is $$$$.  We are waiting for our visas to come in the mail.  When our boat enters Cambodia, we were told that we could purchase that visa for about 30.00 on board. Hopefully this will all work out.

Deborah

[sanger727]

On 8/29/2022 at 1:54 PM, TriMomma said:

I don't understand how an E-Visa is not acceptable?   

I don’t either. But the cruise line explicitly says in the paperwork that it’s not accepted. I think they are wrong but it’s not worth taking a chance for a couple hundred $$$ at this point.

[skurvish]

I am with a group of 22 working through an Australian tour company that books this cruise for 100's of passengers every year. They said we MUST have a PAPER visa for entry into Cambodia on the mekong river cruise. They have been doing this for years so I believe them. Do otherwise at your own risk and wallet. 

[iancal]

My understanding from a few years ago is that you can do evisas, or visas on arrival only at certain airports within Vietnam.   

 

We were crossing by land from Cambodia so an evisa (or visa on arrival) was not permitted.   Hence we had to send our passports out while we were in Cambodia to the Vietnamese consulate in another city.  It was overnight.  Back at 4PM the next day as I recall.

 

We flew into Cambodia (Siem Reap) from Thailand without a Cambodian visa.  We were able to get a visa at the airport.  It took about 10 or 15 minutes.   Of course, it could be different now.

 

Cambodia was not a challenge for us.  Vietnam was different but once we figured out what we needed to do and who in Siem Reap to use it was a cake walk.

Edited September 3, 2022 by iancal

[terry&mike]

I have been going down this rabbit hole for many days now, and have been in touch with local tour operators and providers in Vietnam, Visa service companies, and the Vietnam Embassy in both Washington, DC and Houston, and here is what I have found. I am posting it in case it helps someone else, but things could change and your mileage may vary. 

 

I am a US citizen, with a US passport. We last visited Vietnam in January, 2020, and we will be back in December, 2022-January, 2023. 

 

First, it depends on which direction you are sailing the Mekong, north to south, Cambodia towards Vietnam, or south to north, Vietnam towards Cambodia. On one you are entering Vietnam by air and Cambodia by land port, on the other you are entering Cambodia by air and Vietnam by land port (I know it is the river, but the border control office you will need is on the actual land itself nearby). 

 

Next it depends on if you are entering Vietnam multiple times, or a single time. Many of the itineraries call for 2 entries into Vietnam on your trip, which is what mine is. It is worth noting that the eVisa and the Visa On Arrival (VOA) are slightly different, and you can read about the differences on the Houston Embassy site. 

 

Our itinerary is as follows. Fly in to Hanoi, Vietnam, time there, then on to Halong Bay/Lan Ha Bay for a couple days, then on to Hoi An for a few days. We will fly from DaNang, Vietnam to Siem Reap, Cambodia. After a few days in Siem Reap, we will board the river cruise and sail southbound, in the direction of Vietnam. We will cross into Vietnam using the Song Tien land port. Continue on to Ho Chi Minh City, and then fly out from there. 

 

Since Covid, Vietnam is no longer issuing Multi-Entry Visas to independent travelers. To obtain a Multi-Entry Visa for Tourism, you would first need to obtain an Approval Letter from the Department of Immigration, which is produced by a local travel agency in Vietnam, or a Visa service company. Although there are many of these companies online offering to provide this letter for a fee, my Hanoi hotel also has information on this letter service on their web site, they are all telling me that since Covid they are no longer providing this letter, and that a Single Entry 30 Day Tourist Visa is all that is currently available for my type of trip. 

 

The work around is that I will need to obtain 2 single entry eVisas for Vietnam, which sounds insane to me, but has been verified in writing by the Vietnam Embassies. As a local Vietnam guide who I have known since 2020 said in reference to this, "Yes, it is a crazy country". 

 

Here is how mine will work -

 

Vietnam eVisas, apply directly at https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/trang-chu-ttdt  , cost is $25 per person, per Visa, turn around time is 2-3 business days. Need to upload passport information page, and 2x2" passport photo, white background, no glasses, use 400x600 pixels. eVisa will arrive via email. Can be obtained as far as 6 months in advance. Be careful of your date of entry and entry place, as you cannot enter sooner than your date of entry you put on your Visa (but you can enter later than your date of entry you put on your Visa), and you cannot alter your entry place. Once you enter, the Visa clock starts ticking and you can stay for up to 30 days. I have listed all of the different ways that my entry/exit points could appear on the Visa, as different authorities call them different names, and I want to easily be able to recognize which name I need to select.

 

Vietnam eVisa 1 - enter Vietnam through HAN Hanoi Airport/Noi Bai International Airport/SBQT Noi Bai on Thursday, December 22. Exit Vietnam through DAD DaNang Airport/4 SBQT Da Nang on Friday, December 30 - but I will use the exit date of Saturday, December 31, if a exit date is required, in case of flight delays/interruptions. 

 

Vietnam eVisa 2 - enter Vietnam through 21 Song Tien/Song Tien Landport, which is the port for the crossing area we will take sailing from Cambodia down towards Vietnam, on Saturday, January 7; I will use Friday, January 6 for the entry date on this eVisa, in case the river cruise alters it itinerary. Again, you can enter Vietnam on the date you chose for the start of your Visa or on a later date, but you cannot enter on an earlier date. Exit Vietnam through Ho Chi Minh Airport SGN/8 SBQT Tan Son Nhat on Wednesday, January 11 -- but I will use the exit date of Thursday, January 12, if an exit date is required, in case of flight delays/interruptions. 

 

The biggest question I have here, and I am waiting for confirmation from the embassy is if I can apply for both Visa 1 and 2 at the same time, will one cancel the other out; or if I apply for Visa 1, wait until I arrive in Cambodia, and then apply for Visa 2. I will let you know the official answer when I receive it. 

 

As to my Cambodia Visa, it's a lot more straightforward, as I am entering Cambodia only 1 time, and via an airport. I can use a Single Entry Tourist eVisa. 

Cambodian eVisa, apply directly at www.evisa.gov.kh , cost is $36 per person, turn around time is up to 3 business days. Visa is only good for 90 days from when you apply, so do not apply earlier than 3 months in advance of your last day in Cambodia. Will need to upload copy of passport information page, and passport style photo, minimum 400x600 pixels, maximum 800x1200 pixels, maximum weight 1MB, in PNG, BMP or JPEG format. 

 

Cambodia eVisa - enter Cambodia through REP Siem Reap Airport on Friday, December 30. I will be departing Cambodia on the river cruise, through exit point Kaoam Samnor, Saturday, January 7, but will use Sunday, January 8 for the Visa if they require an exit date, in case something gets changed on the itinerary. 

[terry&mike]

As a follow up, I did find a travel operator who will issue an Approval Letter for $70 per person. They require you to book the transfer on each of the trip, and the first and last nights hotel stay with them; those rates are reasonable. You use this Approval Letter to obtain your visa.  If someone wants to go that route they are vietvisiontravel.com 

Edited September 6, 2022 by terry&mike
Web address correction

[dkf11]

Our trip is similar to yours. We flew into Hanoi 10 days ago,  flew to Danang and then to Siam Reap to join the Uniworld cruise to Saigon. We got 2 single entry Vietnam visas. We applied for the visa into Hanoi first with the expiration date 2 days after our scheduled flight out of Danang. In case our flight changed. Once we received it within just a few days, we applied for the second single entry visa into Song Tien starting the day after our first visa expired, and then received the second visa.  Note that you MUST have the correct point of entry of Song Tien. Some folks on the cruise did not  and have to get a replacement visa with the correct port at a high fee plus a fee to expedite it. 

[terry&mike]

4 minutes ago, dkf11 said:

Our trip is similar to yours. We flew into Hanoi 10 days ago,  flew to Danang and then to Siam Reap to join the Uniworld cruise to Saigon. We got 2 single entry Vietnam visas. We applied for the visa into Hanoi first with the expiration date 2 days after our scheduled flight out of Danang. In case our flight changed. Once we received it within just a few days, we applied for the second single entry visa into Song Tien starting the day after our first visa expired, and then received the second visa.  Note that you MUST have the correct point of entry of Song Tien. Some folks on the cruise did not  and have to get a replacement visa with the correct port at a high fee plus a fee to expedite it. 

Thank you for this real time report, I appreciate it. I have received our first eVisa, and have applied for our second eVisa which should approve early next week. Song Tien is the border entrance I used for the river cruise portion, so we should be good there. 

How is your trip going?

[dkf11]

Our first 3 days are at the Sofitel hotel;  today we went to Angkor Wat. Very hot and lots of steps but of course worth seeing. Our cruise portion starts Sunday. There are only 24 people on this trip;  the boat holds 68! So should be very good. It is the first cruise on Mekong for Uniworld after 3 years. 

[terry&mike]

1 hour ago, dkf11 said:

Our first 3 days are at the Sofitel hotel;  today we went to Angkor Wat. Very hot and lots of steps but of course worth seeing. Our cruise portion starts Sunday. There are only 24 people on this trip;  the boat holds 68! So should be very good. It is the first cruise on Mekong for Uniworld after 3 years. 

24 people sounds wonderful! If you have time, I'd love to read any reports or tidbits from your trip as you go along. Wishing you a great journey!

[Kylie]

Please keep posting about the visa situation - we go in March on Emerald from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Ming City.  We haven't checked into visas yet.  I appreciate the information posted here!

 

Any one have any reports on Emerald Waterways Mekong cruising?

 

[terry&mike]

13 hours ago, Kylie said:

Please keep posting about the visa situation - we go in March on Emerald from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Ming City.  We haven't checked into visas yet.  I appreciate the information posted here!

 

Any one have any reports on Emerald Waterways Mekong cruising?

 

Will do. Thus far, we have received both of the Vietnam eVisas, one for each entrance date. We have applied for the Cambodian eVisa, and received a pop up that our entry was far in the future (December 30) and they will process it closer to that date.

 

We will be on Scenic, which is the parent company of Emerald. While slightly different, there are some shared features between the brands, so I will try to post my cruise experience. 

 

This is part of a longer trip for us, as we will depart the US on December 9 for Thailand. 

[sanger727]

Just as an update. We leave on our trip 11/18. We ended up using a Visa processing service. While we couldn't confirm that evisas were not valid for our trip, since the cruise documents specifically said they weren't, we didn't want to take the chance of being denied boarding. We did confirm that the only option for Vietnam right now is an evisa, to use a Vietnamese travel agency or to use a Visa processing service. We ended up using the visa processing service. Yes, it was a hefty surcharge, but still, small in relationship to the trip price.

[TriMomma]

Just back last night.  Mekong Delta from Vietnam to Cambodia.

 

We used an E-Visa to enter Vietnam in Hanoi.  Strangely enough, the only time someone looked at it was getting on the plane in Toronto.  

 

TA had advised us to get official photographs for Cambodian Visa.  Emerald completed all the paper work and all we had to do was sign the application.   We didn't even have to use our photographs and Emerald just added the $40 fee to our stateroom.   Was pretty slick!

[Emeline from Toronto]

Hi, that is good to know.  We are going on Emerald and they still have physical passport photo listed on the packing list. 

 

Would other Cruises on other cruiselines share whether or not they had to produce physical passport photos for their port visit to Cambodia?