<p>Has anyone had experience with individual travel in Vietnam with Green Papaya (ad in ITN)? I want to travel in the first two weeks of April and need to be in Singapore no later than April 17. </p>
<p>Any suggestions on how to fly from west coast to Vietnam and/or on to Singapore. Is it better just to buy roundtrip to and from Vietnam and then purchase local tickets when in Vietnam? Is there some sort of pass to use with one air line within SE Asia. I looked at kayak but did not recognize many of the airlines. Are they safe in terms of flying safety?</p>
<p>Any comments would be helpful. Thanks Pat Mitch
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Vietnam with Green Papaya Travel/AIR travel with in SE Asia
Message Submitted by patmitch on Sat, 12/11/2010 - 09:11
Malaysian Airlines used to have a great All Asia pass with flights going in and out of Kuala Lumpur. Very nice airlines and a great SEA hub, plus they had airport hotels that made any forced layovers very easy to accommodate. I used Handspan for my independent travel in Vietnam and was very happy with their service and low costs. They are based in Hanoi but will put anything together for you.
My sister and I travelled in Vietnam in 1998 and found it extremely easy all on our own. We flew on United Airlines from Los Angeles, via Narita, Japan to Bangkok, Thailand. From there we had reservations on another regional airline to Hanoi. We researched our own trip via the Internet and travel books and made our own reservations as we traveled from Hanoi to Saigon. We also booked our own train travel at the train station in Hanoi for travel from Hue to DaNang as well as our flight from Hanoi to Hue. Via the Internet we had booked a room at the Hotel Saigon Morin in Hue and enjoyed our stay. Among the cities we visited were not only Hanoi and Hue, but also Hoi An, DaNang, Phan Thiet (a resort) and Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). In Saigon we stayed at the Caravelle Hotel. From Saigon we flew back to Bangkok. A day later we flew from Bangkok via Narita, Japan to San Francisco and then Los Angeles. We used many modes of transportation such as airplanes, rickshaws, taxis, trains, hired cars and drivers (Hue), and taxis. We ate at hotels, sidewalk mom and pop restaurants, and train stations. We had absolutely no problems and that was 12 years ago. I have heard of the Green Papaya travel service, but did not use it.
Marilyn
We just returned. Use American to narita and jal to ho Chi min. We have been there 3 times. The only travel service to use is. Tony@anntours.com. I say this because he carries blackberry and is available 24/7
We have used him 3times.
George. Dottl
i have used ms an at green papaya for two trips to vietnam,laos and cambodia,,she is english speaking, will work diligently for best prices, best if you know your itenerary, level of hotels,,she was able to upgrade hotel room when the ones that were booked were 'not available' and the staff tried to replace with lesser rooms, this seems to be common in vietnam ,,the guides she chooses are fantastic,!