Permission fees Vietnam

So I have read some posts about permission fees a have been told by my private tour operator that we must pay. I am not questioning the "legitimacy " of these fees but whether I should be charged at all 3 ports based on the following scenario

We arrive in Ha Long harbor where we will be picked up and taken to Hanoi. We will overnight in Hanoi and then fly to Da Nang to meet the ship because we only stay in Ha Long for 8 hours. We then will be picked up at Da Nang airport for a day of touring and then dropped off at the port in Da Nang. Then picked up next day in HCMC for your.

The operator wants to charge us for 3 days charges but I feel since he is just dropping not picking us up in Da Nang that we should not have to pay there. Additionally I have heard that they do not charge This fee for Ha Long.

At the most I feel we should be paying 2 days. This is not petty change as there are 6 of us

Any thoughts!

First of all, yes in Vietnam it is normal for ports to charge fees for taxis & tour operators.

Quite steep fees.

So the principle of being asked to pay those fees is legit.

Whether they're applicable in all cases, or at the rate quoted, is a different matter. :rolleyes:

Halong Bay. Most ships moor in the bay & passengers are ferried ashore by tender to a simple un-manned jetty on the coast road, so there should be no fee. This might be why you've heard that there's no fee at Halong Bay.

But some ships berth quayside in the port - I don't know for a fact, but wouldn't be surprised if there's a fee to pick up in the port.

(your ship's itinerary should tell you whether this is a tender port for your cruise)

Da Nang. Yes, there's a fee. But for dropping-off???????

Saigon. Yes, there's a fee.

I don't know all the ports for those places (for instance there are 4 ports for Saigon), but it may be easy to walk out to the road & meet your vehicle there.

Since at worst you'll have overnite luggage it might be worth asking your operator.

JB :)

Da Nang port is Chan May

Saigon port is Phu My

The itinerary does not say whether dock or tender

Da Nang port is Chan May

 

Saigon port is Phu My

 

The itinerary does not say whether dock or tender

Both of those are berthed.

I've not ported at either, but I'm pretty sure the fee applies to both.

Perhaps others can comment whether it's lawful and feasible to walk between ship & port gate and get dropped / picked up outside the port.

JB :)

Da Nang port is Chan May

 

Saigon port is Phu My

 

The itinerary does not say whether dock or tender

Recently docked at Phu My onboard RCI Mariner...Our private tour operator met us just outside the port gate and many other's were doing the same...an easy walk.

The fee charged for picking up/dropping off passengers ship side (inside the port) is not an authorised charge, rather a way of the port staff (probably the senior staff) getting extra money out of what the perceive is "rich " people.

Unfortunately because it was such a poor country a lot of ways to extort monies from visitors in so many ways became an art. Just ask a Viet Kieu (Vietnamese person living overseas) who had to put money inside their passport on arrival in Vietnam just to get processed through. Still hear of the occasional request for payment in this way

I had a long argument about this same matter on this forum some time ago with a person who worked for a cruise line in Asia and heshe defended the charge because, in his opinion Sydney was more expensive for a ship to dock??? Could not get his logic on that one

I suspect the cruise companies do not pay the fee $25USD per head, and they probably give the scam their tacit support as it might encourage more to use their tours.

Certainly in Phu My you can walk out to the port gates (in safety too, despite what others might say). In the other ports we used the ships shuttle to get into town and when from there.

Vietnam is changing so fast and becoming more sophisticated so I believe that in a few years time the fee will go. Until it does try and get yourself and your party to the outside gate and save the money for something else

The fee charged for picking up/dropping off passengers ship side (inside the port) is not an authorised charge, rather a way of the port staff (probably the senior staff) getting extra money out of what the perceive is "rich " people.

 

Unfortunately because it was such a poor country a lot of ways to extort monies from visitors in so many ways became an art. Just ask a Viet Kieu (Vietnamese person living overseas) who had to put money inside their passport on arrival in Vietnam just to get processed through. Still hear of the occasional request for payment in this way

 

I had a long argument about this same matter on this forum some time ago with a person who worked for a cruise line in Asia and heshe defended the charge because, in his opinion Sydney was more expensive for a ship to dock??? Could not get his logic on that one

 

I suspect the cruise companies do not pay the fee $25USD per head, and they probably give the scam their tacit support as it might encourage more to use their tours.

 

Certainly in Phu My you can walk out to the port gates (in safety too, despite what others might say). In the other ports we used the ships shuttle to get into town and when from there.

 

Vietnam is changing so fast and becoming more sophisticated so I believe that in a few years time the fee will go. Until it does try and get yourself and your party to the outside gate and save the money for something else

Thanks. So for Phu My we will walk out

What are your thoughts on the other 2 ports

Recently docked at Phu My onboard RCI Mariner...Our private tour operator met us just outside the port gate and many other's were doing the same...an easy walk.

Was this the only Vietnam stop? If not what about the other ports

We were there in early December and our tour was delayed 2 hours,we believe because we had arranged to take a taxi to the ferry wharf to meet our guide and some of the locals at the tender pier picked up on this offering us a mini van transfer but not allowing us onto the boat. It is far from unmanned!!!Very long discussions followed and our tour company ended up paying the 'fee' before we were allowed to board our junk.

In Danang taking the ship shuttle avoids this. Not sure they would be happy about you walking through the industrial port to meet outside the gate and it seemed to us the taxi drivers were well controlled and charged appropriately. Our tour group was allowed back into the port without apparent payment at the end of the day after taking the shuttle.

Where our ship docked in Saigon I think you could have picked up a taxi outside the port area - no gates or apparent checks. Here we took the ship shuttle both ways.

According to the port authorities approached by our ship, there are no ' fees'!!!

We did not get the feeling the ship agreed with it although we got the usual ' ship excursions avoid all this'!!!

I would think you are up for 2 pickups 1 in Halong and Saigon unless you meet outside the port in Saigon.

We were there in early December and our tour was delayed 2 hours,we believe because we had arranged to take a taxi to the ferry wharf to meet our guide and some of the locals at the tender pier picked up on this offering us a mini van transfer but not allowing us onto the boat. It is far from unmanned!!!Very long discussions followed and our tour company ended up paying the 'fee' before we were allowed to board our junk.

Hi Pete,

Your first sentence kinda lost me :confused:

But the krunch with the tender jetty is that it's right alongside a public road - there's no vehicular access, cars collect & pick up on that public road, with no fees.

Likewise our junk was moored further along that same road, the tour operator transported us, some in his car & others in taxis, again no vehicular access & no fees - and no-one there except the junk crew. There are other junk moorings, I don't know the score with them.

JB :)

Am never sure how explicit to be on these forums! We took an Azamara ship tender to a wharf( don't know the name) and as instructed by the tour company approached 3 waiting taxis(there were 10 of us). A woman ( obviously working with a group we realised later) approached us and offered her mini van at a good price to Bai Chay wharf where we were to meet our guide.We discovered ( via this woman by now joined by her 'friends') not long after our arrival at Bai Chay that our guide was delayed on his bus trip from Hanoi. Much phone discussion ensued between us, this woman, our tour guide and the tour company. They wanted us to pay more but we refused.We had all paid in full upfront but did offer to arrange refunds with our credit card companies which was refused!! So another tour was not an option.When our guide arrived he disappeared by car and returned with the apparent appropriate Halong Bay tickets and we departed. Other passengers had walked off the tender, bought a tour from the touts and were long gone.-guess the ' fee 'was included in their ticket?? The woman (and her 'friends') was waiting for us on return to do a transfer. I have contacted the tour company and they said they had to pay the 'tour ' company involved so we could leave and sadly it was taken out of the sales person's pay. Maybe we were just unlucky - a lot of Azamara passengers complained about these fees but figured they had no choice but to pay. It is still way cheaper than a ship excursion!

Was this the only Vietnam stop? If not what about the other ports

This was our only Vietnam port...and so the only one I can offer information on. Our private operator told us if he had to (we wanted him to) enter into the port area there would be an extra charge....our group opted to walk out of the gate to meet him...which was very easy to do...and as I said most other's were doing the same...even some that didn't have prearranged private tours as there were some just hoping to get one at the gate (several to choose from)....glad we preplanned this port and didn't have to spend the extra time arranging this as it's quite a drive into Saigon even with the new highway.

Am never sure how explicit to be on these forums! We took an Azamara ship tender to a wharf( don't know the name) and as instructed by the tour company approached 3 waiting taxis(there were 10 of us). A woman ( obviously working with a group we realised later) approached us and offered her mini van at a good price to Bai Chay wharf where we were to meet our guide.We discovered ( via this woman by now joined by her 'friends') not long after our arrival at Bai Chay that our guide was delayed on his bus trip from Hanoi. Much phone discussion ensued between us, this woman, our tour guide and the tour company. They wanted us to pay more but we refused.We had all paid in full upfront but did offer to arrange refunds with our credit card companies which was refused!! So another tour was not an option.When our guide arrived he disappeared by car and returned with the apparent appropriate Halong Bay tickets and we departed. Other passengers had walked off the tender, bought a tour from the touts and were long gone.-guess the ' fee 'was included in their ticket?? The woman (and her 'friends') was waiting for us on return to do a transfer. I have contacted the tour company and they said they had to pay the 'tour ' company involved so we could leave and sadly it was taken out of the sales person's pay. Maybe we were just unlucky - a lot of Azamara passengers complained about these fees but figured they had no choice but to pay. It is still way cheaper than a ship excursion!

We were on Azamara Quest a few years ago in Halong Bay and did not have the trouble you experienced. Unfortunately you were taken advantage of in accepting the ride in the Van - had you used the taxi it should not have been a problem.

It seems also that the tour company you engaged also let you down on the occasion as well.