Vietnam and Thailand compete for the same slot in most Indian travellers' plans: a five-to-ten-day tropical trip that doesn't demand Schengen-level paperwork. Both are easy by global standards, but they're easy in different ways, and the right choice depends on how you weigh cost, speed, and flexibility. Here's the honest comparison we give clients.
Vietnam: the predictable one
Vietnam's e-Visa is fully online, costs around ₹2,200, and clears in two to three working days with remarkable consistency. The stay is generous — up to 90 days — and the document ask is minimal: passport scan, photo, and your entry/exit points. The one rigidity worth knowing: your e-Visa is tied to the entry checkpoint you declare. Land at Da Nang with a visa that names Hanoi and you have a problem. Decide your airports before you apply, not after.
Thailand: the flexible one
Thailand gives Indian travellers two live options: the e-Visa arranged in advance, or the visa on arrival at major airports. The e-Visa costs more (around ₹3,500) but removes airport risk; the visa on arrival is cheaper but means queueing after a red-eye flight with cash and documents in hand, and stay periods are shorter. For families and first-timers we recommend the e-Visa without hesitation — the arrival queue at Bangkok on a December morning is not where you want to discover a missing photocopy.
- Speed: Vietnam wins — 2–3 days versus 3–5 for Thailand's e-Visa
- Stay length: Vietnam wins — 90 days versus 30–60
- Flexibility on arrival: Thailand wins — multiple airports, visa-on-arrival fallback
- Cost: Vietnam wins — roughly ₹1,300 cheaper
- Beginner-friendliness: tie — both are gentle first international trips
Our verdict: if your itinerary is fixed, Vietnam is the smoother process end to end. If your plans might shift — different airports, an extra city, dates in flux — Thailand's flexibility earns its premium. And if you genuinely can't choose, note that plenty of travellers now do both in one trip: the Bangkok–Hanoi leg is under two hours, and holding both visas simultaneously is completely routine.