King Hotel Saigon Airport

It is an ok airport. The airport itself is nice, but ... Traffic cannot be worse and checking cannot be more time consuming, so plan ahead to be here 4 hours at least for international flying. Be wait, don't be late. Unfortunately it is the only international airport in the south of Vietnam, so you will be there.

I had a poor experience at SGN airport on a return ticket where the online evisa I applied for 3 days before hand still had not been processed by the time my flight arrived. My next connecting flight was in 14 hours and I had already booked my hotel but was unable to exit the airport. Unfortunately, the officer in charge of providing on visa arrivals was unable to help at all in processing my evisa faster and when asked it seemed as if there was lack of communication and contact between them and the immigration office A pair next to me in a similar situation was able to get an emergency evisa for $200 USD with a processing time of 30min-1hr. However, considering I had already paid $25 USD in advance for my evisa and filled out everything beforehand and just required the approval from an officer I felt cheated, especially considering it was non refundable. When I realised the SASCO sleep zone service was fully booked, I knew I was in it for the long haul. I had read some online reviews regarding this airport in my 14 abundant hours of sitting awkwardly on a minimally padded chair outside the evisa counter and realised that by the time my evisa arrives (if it ever does) I'll have to return fairly early to the airport to check in again as others have reported painfully long and inefficient security clearing process, undermining the whole point of going out in the first place. Accompanying these 14 hours was reconnecting to the wifi every 30 minutes because???? No idea. Anyway I'm glad it's not limited like some other airports so I can be constantly remind myself how much USD is worth in my own currency and thus how expensive and limited the food options are which is exacerbated by a lack of water fountains. It's also interesting to note that on my first flight through SGN to reach my destination the water taps in the bathroom were not working at my gate, so poor experiences seem to be a pattern and not an exception. Ultimately, I truly was excited to exploit my 14 hour layover to make the most of my time in Vietnam. Yet instead I sit here, hungry, frustrated, and disappointed that my chance to witness and explore Vietnam has been halted by an unresponsive immigration office. For the future I hope Vietnam is able to better facilitate a smoother visa acquisition process so travellers do not leave Vietnam with a bitter taste for an otherwise beautiful country and for the time being, make sure everyone applies for their evisas at least a week in advance.