Travel in HCMC and Vietnam

Traveling in HCMC

In HCMC there are many ways to travel. But public transport is not as easy or accessible as it is in Bangkok, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Taxi

This is a standard in almost every city. There are many taxi companies along with counterfeit taxi cabs. Many taxis will have a meter, but there will be several rates depending on location and how foreign you look....in short the taxi driver will overcharge you.

Only Vinasun and Mailinh taxi companies do not overcharge for any reason. The drivers are well trained and fair. But because of this there are many independents that counterfeit the taxi cabs exploiting the reputation. I have seen Vinasum and Mailim taxi cabs. The best way to look is not only the name, because even less legitimate cab counterfeits will have the same name. The details to look for are phone numbers and dress of the taxi driver. Mailinh and Vinasun have set phone numbers, if you know the phone number than it is obvious. But as a tourist, you will not have the phone number memorized. So the other detail is the dress of the driver. The Vinasun and the Mailinh taxi driver is paid a bit better than other drivers and because of this they have higher uniform standards, and in this uniform is a tie. If given a preference, the Vietnamese man will not wear a tie. The driver of a counterfeit cab will not wear the tie or take it off when he leaves the garage and the watchful eye of his supervisors.

An average taxi drive should never cost you too much money. It should cost about $10 to cross town.

Bus

The city bus system is fast, cheap, and efficient. The buses are a bit old, but they are all air conditioned. But because of the heavy traffic and the schedules, it may seem a bit crazy for you. Many times there is not enough room or space for a bus to pull over, so you may have to get out in the middle of traffic. And if you are young, the bus may not really stop, just slowly roll, so you must run and jump on the bus. But the cost of the bus is about 15 cents. So it is hard to complain.

During rush hour (aka peak traffic), the buses wil be crowded, but the bus lines wil compensate by having two buses on the route instead of one. But even then you may not get a seat and have to stand. Another problem with a bus is that if you don't know where to get off, and know the exact route, then you will have problems. Unlike many other buses where you will get off the front door, in HCMC you will get off the middle or second door. You stand near the door to signal you want off the and driver will pull over, again if you are young(ish) you will only get a rolling stop.

Xe Om

Xe om is Vietnamese for a motormike taxi. These drivers are all over HCMC and if there is just one of you, it can be much, much cheaper and faster. But you have to negotiate the price. The cost of going across town is about $2.50. But if you have any emotional problems about riding a motorbike, forbidden from riding on something with only two wheels or easily scared, then the xe om is not for you. But if you want a true Vietnamese experience, you must ride one of these at least once in your life.

Traveling in Vietnam

Van Rental

You can rent a van and a driver. You can arrange this option for a road trip where there is a large group of people involved. The problem is that there is one driver, and if you decide that you want to travel overnight, then be aware that around 4 am your driver will be falling asleep and may cause an accident also. So if you are with a group that wants to travel overnight with one driver, just refuse. The rented van is comfortable for about four hours at most. After that, find another form of transportation.

Bus

The travel bus has two forms, the seat and the sleeper. The seat is a comfortable and cheap form of travel. The other option that is a bit more expensive called the sleeper bus. You will get in a seat the reclines and you travel overnight so you can sleep as you travel.

The main problem with this form of travel is the length of time it takes to get from one part to another. The infrastructure of Vietnam is still developing and the road system is not efficient. There are no highways, thus you have to travel through municipal areas and the speed limit will rarely exceed 50 mph. Because of this a trip to Da Lat is about 280 miles and it will take 8 hours to get there. The cost for a trip like this is about $5.

Plane

Plane is the quickest form of travel, and it is best and quickest and most comfortable. But the downside is the expense. It will cost you $50 to $70 to travel from one part of Vietnam to another. Thankfully there will be an addition to budget airlines and it will open up routes and lower costs for you to travel.

Last Point

Remember that Vietnam is still developing and the infrastructure of the cities and nation are not up to the standards that you will see in many other countries (even other developing nations such as China and Thailand). An extra ounce of patience and planning is needed for travel in Vietnam.