Getting Around & Transport– category –

Near Mui Ne, a resort in southern Vietnam, a 14.8-billion-yen private Phan Thiet airport broke ground. Completion in 2027, capacity 2 million a year. From HCMC, a five-hour drive shortens to plane plus a two-hour drive. With entry into Booking.com's "Top Destinations 2026" as a tailwind, the way Japanese travelers design southern routes will change.

Vietnam Railways (VNR) will apply AI dynamic pricing to all trains from May 1, 2026. Remaining short-distance segments after a long-distance booking get 15-35% discounts. It's the first revenue management by a Southeast Asian national railway to counter airlines and LCCs. Japanese tourists can use it on Hanoi-Ninh Binh, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh-Phan Thiet, and more.

In 2026, eSIM is the new normal for travel in Vietnam. We compare the latest plans from Saily, Airalo, Holafly, Gigago, and MobiFone MVNO, and explain a new way of using them, running Grab and Xanh SM in parallel on separate devices for each family member, with fare tables and setup steps.

Xanh SM, the electric-vehicle-only ride-hailing service from VinFast, has overtaken Grab to take the top spot in Vietnam's ride-hailing market. According to data from several research firms, its share is roughly 40 to 44.7 percent (varying by metric and quarter), ahead of Grab. Xanh SM is VinFast's...

The largest hub airport in the south will run a 750-flight schedule over the April 30 holiday. In line with the nine-day "Southern Liberation Day and May Day" holiday from April 25 to May 3, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) will raise the hourly slot allocation at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat International Airport from the usual 44 flights per hour to 46...

A resident explains flight times from Japan to Vietnam (Hanoi about 5h / Ho Chi Minh City about 6h), the four direct-flight carriers (Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, JAL, ANA), departure airports, and points to watch when carrying souvenirs home.

Charter flight VJ55, which arrived at Da Nang International Airport from Astana, Kazakhstan on April 13, 2026, carried 370 passengers, including 250 travel industry representatives. As Da Nang aims to welcome 19 million visitors in 2026 (approximately 10% more than the previous year), Russia and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States)...

Vietnam's travel-agency-affiliated carrier Vietravel Airlines will resume the Hanoi-Bangkok route on April 24, 2026. The company plans to add one new Airbus A321 and expand its fleet to nine within six months. Anticipating a surge in travel demand in summer 2026, each Vietnamese airline...

Vietnam's largest LCC, Vietjet (VietJet Air), signed a contract to lease 10 regional jets, the "C909" (formerly ARJ21), made by China's COMAC. On April 16, 2026, it reached an agreement with SPDB Financial Leasing (SPDBFL), a subsidiary of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. At the same time...

The "digital arrival card (PAI)", a pre-arrival declaration filed before entering Vietnam, went into pilot operation at Ho Chi Minh City (Tan Son Nhat) on April 15, 2026 and expanded in June to the airports at Hanoi, Da Nang, Phu Quoc and Nha Trang (Cam Ranh). Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security and the Japanese embassy say it is not mandatory, while the U.S. Embassy describes it as mandatory. Registration is free from three days before your scheduled date of entry, and you can also file it at the airport after you arrive.