Ho Chi Minh is
a melting pot city with many tourists from around the world coming to explore
its breath-taking scenery. But for expats, travelling in a crowded city that is
full of motorbikes isn’t an easy task. There are hundreds of public
transportations alongside with other conveyances for visitors to choose for
getting around Saigon.
Here’s an
in-depth guide about public transportation in Ho Chi Minh city, which you can
follow to get the most enjoyable journey.
For any expats,
if you come to visit Ho Chi Minh city, your first arrival is always Tan Son
Nhat airport, one of the biggest airports in Vietnam. From the airport, you can
choose whether a taxi or buses to get to your hotel and start your trip in
Saigon. You can find them at the entrance of the airport after collecting your luggage.
Remember to
exchange your currency into VND for at least 500,000 VND ≈ $21.5 for travelling
cost and some spare cash to spend in daily life in case where you live have a
lower exchange rate.
Some tips for
choosing your transportation from the airport:
- Bus: some
buses you can catch to get to the city center from the airport
- Bus 152: the cheapest one but not very convenient for many people. It runs through the city center from 6:00 to 18:00 and each bus apart for 20 minutes. The price is 6,000VND for the whole journey per person or large luggage.
- Bus 109: a most favorable bus for expats to get to the airport. It runs from the airport to Pham Ngu Lao street from 5:30 to 1:30 and each bus apart for 20 minutes. The price is 12,000VND for the length under 5 kilometers and 20,000VND for over 5 kilometers per person.
- Taxi: it
about 150,000 to 180,000 to District 1, some reliable taxi brands:
- MaiLinh: green with a little bit white colors or you can call 028 38 38 38 38.
- Vinasun (more recommended): white with a little green and red colors or you can call 028 38 27 27 27.
Now, when
everything is settled down, the next thing is travelling around Ho Chi Minh
city
1. Taxi
Taxi is one of
the easiest ways for travelling in Ho Chi Minh city since you can find them all
over the street. The taxi drivers are good at recommend tourist attractions for
you too so if you don’t know what to do in your first time in
Ho Chi Minh city, a taxi is a good option. But, be
aware of scamming when the taxi drivers try to drive around for a longer
distance. The best idea is using Google maps to know the direction first by 3G/ 4G on your mobile phone.
The taxi fare
is also different among brands, but the price is not fluctuated much. For a
7-seat taxi, starting price is about 12,000VND for the first kilometer,
16,000VND for the upcoming kilometers and 14,000VND for 31 kilometer or higher.
In District 1, you are able to visit most places with the price of less than
80,000VND.
One local tip
for you: If you see a taxi driver sleeping in his car, don’t hesitate to wake
them up and become your driver. They are always eager to find more customers.
2. Xe om
The price is
usually about 10,000VND to 15,000VND between most hotel and tourist attractions
but you must haggle before sitting on the motorbike. A demerit of xe om is most
of them don’t know English so you just give them your destination’s location
and bargain down the price. You will be given a helmet for safety during the
ride, and trust me, 90% of the xe om are skilled drivers.
3. Xich lo
Xich lo or
cyclo is a three-wheeled vehicle unique in Vietnam. Although a few countries in
Asia have a cyclo, there structure aren’t the same with each other. This type
of transportation is preferred by the expats very much and there are many tours
for you to experience the cyclo.
However,
remember NOT to ride any cyclo you find on the street simply because most of
them are scam, they will increase the price by many times compared with the
price you have negotiated before by many stupid reasons. This is an issue
happened to many expats so avoid it to happen. Ask your hotel receptionist to help you
register for a cyclo tour. Big hotels always connect to these tours to help
their visitors.
The average
price for an hour riding cyclo is about 50,000VND.
4. Bus
There are
tremendous number of buses in Ho Chi Minh city with more than 100 bus routes.
With buses, you can travel everywhere around the city with only a small amount
of money. Major bus stations are Ben Thanh station, Cho Lon station, Mien Dong
station. From these stations, it usually takes one bus to get to all the major
tourist sights.
Be aware of
thug, pickpocket and perverted
when going by bus. There are many crimes may occur on bus so make sure to rise
your awareness against any situation. Ask for help from surroundings if needed
is necessary.
The price for
students is 2,000VND per person. The price for normal bus is from 5,000VND to
6,000VND per person. And the price for travelling bus such as 109 can get up to
20,000VND per person.
One thing you
should remember that is saving the first seat behind the driver for pregnant,
old people or people with disabilities.
In Ho Chi Minh
city, there are a website called BusMap that help its citizen
to get the shortest path as well as. Open that website to figure out your route
and get to the right bus stop. It also appears the bus position for you to know
how long you have to wait for the next bus.
5. Transportation apps
Using these
applications having a big advantage that you won’t be overcharge or driving
around for a longer route. When you booked for a car or a motorbike, choose
your destination and the price will be calculated immediately. There are also
some coupons for new user too, so it is a good way for travelling in Saigon.
In Vietnam for
general and Ho Chi Minh city for particular, there are 3 famous transportation
apps:
- Grab: this app was used the most with 60% of drivers in Ho Chi Minh city using it. On the street, you can see many drivers with a green coat and a green helmet with Grab’s brand on it. You can come to a parked Grab Bike and add their code for an instant ride, escape from waiting time.
- GoViet: the 2nd famous for its successful marketing recently. More and more drivers are using GoViet since 2019. You can recognize them by wearing a red coat and a red helmet with their brand name on it.
- BE: a new app from Vietnam to compete with Grab and GoViet. Although BE is made by Vietnamese, it is very new in Vietnam and less well-known than Grab or GoViet. You can recognize them by a bee’s color coat and helmet.
However, there
is one fun fact for those electronic motorcycle taxi. Most of the drivers wear
a combo of clothes like a Grab helmet with a GoViet coat and they drive for
both applications. So whether application you install, you can get access to
driver easily.
For a lonely
woman at night, an electronic motorcycle taxi is a best option to get home. You
can track their position, show it to your friends and families to make sure
there is no problem happening to you. If anything occurs, your companions can
call the police immediately to rescue you. It is much safer than going on a
taxi or a xe om late at night.
6. Tips
Ultimately, there are lots of ways for you to get to your destination, each have its own pros and cons. After reading this article, you can widen your knowledge and choose the suitable transportation for your own purpose. But make sure not to forget these tips:
- Always bring some cash with you. Most of the transportation only accept cash so bringing a credit is useless.
- Set up a 3G/ 4G (the link showing how is above) for your mobile phone to get access to the Internet. With Internet, you can get access to most feature, including using Google maps for direction or calling for help when necessary.
- Bargain for a better price. In Asia, bargain for the price is a common thing in life. Expats from other continents should know about this to get the right price, avoid from overcharge.
- Be friendly. If you are nice and friendly, the driver can share with you many great stories about the city so make sure not to be aggressive to other people for no reason.
I hope you can
find this article helpful to you. If it is, make sure to give a like and a
share for others to read about it.
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