By boat

Getting around or getting to Vietnam is not a problem at all, because of the varied range of transport services that Vietnam has to offer. There are easily available train and bus services and cars, motorcycles and even bicycles can also be hired at very pocket friendly rates. Apart from these Vietnam transportation also includes the Vietnam boat service, which is conveniently used by both locals as well as tourists.

Vietnam has about 17,702 kilometers of traversable waterway, which has been conveniently used by the government for water transportation. Over the years boat service in Vietnam has gradually developed. River boats and barges have increased and now have a capacity for more than 280,000 passengers. Apart from this Vietnam has more than ten thousand small country boats and ferries running within the country.

This is only really an option in the Mekong Delta, where you can travel in both tourist boats for short haul trips and take freighters for longer trips. The former are comfortable, the latter can sometimes be comfortable, othertimes less so. Boat transport is slow -- figure on two days for a trip from My Tho to Chau Doc on the Cambodian border. The most popular tourist service are the ferries from Saigon to Vung Tau, and the boats from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh. Boat travel generaly works out as being more expensive than bus travel over a similar route.

Apart from the Vietnam boat services other popular water transport includes hydrofoils in Vietnam which runs quite regularly from Haiphong to Cat Ba and Mong Cai. Then there are the express boats in Vietnam running between Rach Gia and Phu Quoc.