The prices have increased despite most operators raising their capacity for the five-day holiday (April 27-May 1) that combines a weekend and Monday with the National Reunification Day and Labour Day. 

Most flights to domestic tourist cities are nearly booked out. For instance, one out of six VietJet Air’s Hanoi - Nha Trang flights on April 27 is full, and tickets on the remaining flights cost at least VND3.4 million ($146.38), almost double ordinary rates.

Vietnam Airlines tickets on these dates also cost at least VND4.2 million ($181), while flight tickets on the same route after May 1 cost just above VND2 million ($86).

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), Vietnamese carriers have increased supply by nearly 1.9 million seats (8,700 flights) on both domestic and international routes to meet the demand of holiday goers.

Vietnam Airlines has added nearly 800,000 seats for this period, 78,000 more than it did for the 3-day weekend for the Hung King’s holiday that fell on April 15. These extra seats are concentrated on routes from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to coastal cities like Da Nang, Phu Quoc and Nha Trang.

The carrier has also allocated over 25,000 extra seats to Asian tourist destinations like Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Cambodia.

Vietjet Air has announced it increases its supply by 60,000 to 860,000 tickets across its international and domestic network.

Jetstar Pacific Airlines, the low-cost carrier that is 68.85 percent owned by Vietnam Airlines, will provide a total of 200,000 seats for the occasion.

More train tickets

The Hanoi Railway Transport JSC has announced it will run 43 extra trips for the holiday, of which 41 will be between Hanoi and HCMC, totaling around 20,000 seats. All trains will have extra coaches that add another 14,000 seats for the holiday.

As of this week, many trains departing Hanoi on the evenings of April 26 and 27 to southern localities have run out of sleeper berths, and only ordinary or added seats available (extra chairs provided by the train).  

The Saigon Railway Transport JSC has also reported that it has sold out tickets for many routes that weekend.

Demand for bus tickets has also increased. Nguyen Anh Toan, director of Hanoi Bus Station JSC, said the number of visitors the company expects to serve at certain terminals could double or even triple.

"Demand is very high because many localities are organising festivals or events to start off the tourist season this year," he said.

As such, the company will be organizing an extra 550 trips to accommodate holiday demand, he added.