Nha Trang Visa Run Schedule 2026: pickup windows, run days, and holidays

The Nha Trang visa run is a same-day trip. Pickups start before dawn, the convoy is over Khanh Le Pass and into the highlands while the coast is still dark, and you are back in Nha Trang the same evening. Most people are home by 21:00.

Door to door, that is about 16 hours. It is a long day, and it is the same day for every bundle. The bus seat and the private car both work inside this window. What changes between them is the pickup and the price, not the schedule.

The times move a little with the season. Truck traffic on the highlands road, weather over the pass, and how many pickup stops are on the list can push the border arrival toward noon. Nothing about the day changes except the clock.

Runs depart 365 days a year. Weekends, public holidays, Tet, all of it. The border at Moc Bai operates daily and so does the convoy. If your visa expires on a Saturday, you run on Saturday.

This matters more than it sounds. Visa expiry dates do not check the calendar, and the 90-day clock on an e-visa runs through weekends and holidays like everything else. A service that took Sundays off would leave you stuck until Monday, and by Monday you are overstaying.

Two caveats shape weekend and holiday planning.

The e-visa rush tiers, one hour, two hours, and four hours, run Monday to Friday only. The slower tiers, one to four days, process on weekends too. So a weekend run works fine if you can wait a day or two for the new e-visa. If your situation needs the same-day rush, book a weekday run.

Rescheduling is painless. Because the convoy runs daily, a booking that falls apart usually just shifts to the next departure. Bookings include free 24-hour cancellation, and there is no prepayment to chase: payment happens on arrival, in cash or by bank transfer.

The practical rule: pick the day your visa actually expires, not the day that is convenient. Runs leave every day, so the calendar is never the constraint. The constraint is your passport validity and the two blank pages, so check those before you pick a date.

The pickup sweep is not one fixed time. It is a rolling window that starts in the city and works its way out, because the convoy collects people across the whole bay before heading inland.

The order goes roughly like this:

• Nha Trang center first, starting around 02:30-03:00. The driver works through the city streets, so your exact time depends on where you sit in the sweep.
• An Vien, Vinh Hoa, and the northern and western districts next, as the bus fills.
• Cam Lam and the Cam Ranh Bay resorts after that, usually between 04:00 and 05:00.
• Tuy Hoa and Van Phong when the roster allows. These are bus-sweep stops, not guaranteed ones, so ask at booking rather than assuming.

The full window, from the first city pickup to the last resort pickup, runs from about 02:30 to 05:00. If you are in Nha Trang center, expect the driver early in the window. If you are at a Cam Ranh resort, expect the tail end.

The night before, dispatch confirms your pickup time to the minute. That confirmation is the number to trust, not the range on this page. Be ready ten minutes early, wait at reception or the lobby, and keep your phone on you. Drivers do not wait long at a stop, because every minute of delay pushes the border arrival toward noon and the return toward 21:00.

The private car runs on the same window with one difference: your door is the only stop. There is no sweep, so the departure time is set around your address rather than your place in a queue. For anyone with a suitcase or a family, that is the whole appeal. See the private car page for the full rundown.

Every booking, bus or car, runs on the same rule: confirm your pickup by 20:00 the night before. Dispatch needs to know you are still on the roster, and the driver needs the exact address before the 02:30 start.

Confirmation is one WhatsApp message to +84 369 308 237, or a reply to the dispatch message you get after booking. Have these ready when you confirm:

• The exact pickup address, including the building or hotel name and any gate or alley detail a driver would need at 3 a.m.
• How many travelers, and whether anyone has a passport close to its six-month validity limit or short on blank pages.
• Whether you added the visa desk to the bundle. If you did, your passport page photo and portrait should already be uploaded, because the e-visa is filed the moment your exit stamp lands at Moc Bai.
• Which bundle you booked. The car and the bus run different vehicles, and the driver needs to know which one is coming for you.

Dispatch confirms bookings within one business hour, so by bedtime you should have a pickup time, a vehicle, and a driver name or plate. If you have not heard back, message again. Silence the night before is the one thing that should never happen.

Miss the 20:00 window and you are rebooking at whatever tier is left, which often means paying for speed you did not plan for. Miss it entirely and the convoy leaves without you, because a driver cannot halt a 3 a.m. sweep for one passenger.

The convoy does not take holidays off, but the border gets busier around them. The two periods that change the day are Tet and the summer peak.

Tet, the Lunar New Year, is the big one. Runs still depart every day of the holiday and the border stays open, but everyone in Vietnam is travelling at once. Moc Bai sees heavier traffic, the queues at the exit counters grow, and the convoy sometimes sits at the border longer than usual. If your visa expires inside the Tet period, book three to five days ahead instead of the usual one or two, and treat the schedule as flexible on the day itself.

Summer, roughly June through August, is the second busiest stretch. Nha Trang fills with holiday traffic and the highlands road with trucks, so border arrival trends toward noon and the return toward 21:00. Not a reason to avoid a summer run, just a reason to expect the later end of the window.

Public holidays that fall mid-week barely register. The border operates daily and so does the service, so a mid-week holiday changes nothing about pickup times. The e-visa desk is the only piece with a holiday calendar: rush tiers run Monday to Friday only, and standard processing continues through the weekend, which covers most holiday stretches.

One rule covers all of it: if your visa expiry falls on or near a holiday, book early, confirm early, and keep the night-before phone number handy. The run will happen. The question is only how smoothly.

Booking takes about five minutes. Use the form on the site or message WhatsApp at +84 369 308 237 with your pickup area, the number of travelers, and whether you want the visa desk add-ons. Dispatch confirms within one business hour, and you settle the price on arrival in cash or by bank transfer. No prepayment.

Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before departure. Because the convoy runs every day, a cancelled booking usually just means shifting to the next departure. Same-day changes are handled case by case over WhatsApp.

What the schedule means for your choice of bundle:

• Transportation only: you already hold a valid visa and just need the exit and re-entry stamps. Same window, lowest price.
• Standard bundle: bus seat plus the Cambodia visa at Bavet and the 90-day e-visa. The default for most first-timers.
• Premium private car: the same window with your door as the only stop and one checked bag per person. The pick for couples, families, and anyone with a suitcase.

For the full cost breakdown, see the 2026 cost page. The complete guide walks through every border counter step by step, and the FAQ answers the questions everyone asks, from luggage to overstays.

The same Moc Bai border serves the network's other coastal cities. If you are comparing options, the Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang sites run their own schedules and pricing. Nha Trang's version is the 16-hour single-day format with pickups from your door, every day of the year.

The numbers to remember: pickup between 03:00 and 05:00, confirm by 20:00 the night before, home by 21:00, and every day of the calendar is a run day.