If you have plans to visit Vietnam, you may be interested in knowing how to get around in Vietnam. This post will discuss different types of transportation in Vietnam.
Most big cities in Vietnam are densely populated. The largest city (in population) in Vietnam is Ho Chi Minh city (thành phố Hồ Chí Minh), which has 9 million people in 2022 – about the size of New York City. Because the big cities have many people, there is no shortage of ways to get around.
Table of Contents
- Taxi
- Grab
- Xe ôm
- Motorcycle
- Bicycle
- Bus
- Train
- Airplane
- Subway
- High Speed Train
- Parking
- Vocabulary in this post
- Quiz
Taxi
Taxis are everywhere in Vietnam. If you just get out of the airport, you won’t have to wait long to get a taxi, because there will be a line of taxis right outside the airport. You can also waive down a taxi on most big streets or call the company’s number and they will send a taxi to where you are.
If you are going to get a taxi, it is best to go with a big brand taxi company. If you’re in a big city and you do not know the area well, you just never know when the taxi driver may drive the longer way or have faulty clock. It is safer to go with established big time taxi companies that have good reputation.
But even so, be careful when you waive down a taxi. There may be when cars that painted similar color to the brand name ones to lure customers. It doesn’t happen often, but you just never know what things can happen in big cities. It happened once to my family when I was little.
So what are some of the big name or biggest taxi companies in Vietnam?
I am not paid to mention these names but they were what my family often used and had good experience so I thought I’d share. They are big, have been around for a long time and have good reputation.
- Mai Linh (https://www.mailinh.vn/)
- Vinasun (http://www.vinasuntaxi.com/)
Taxi Mai Linh is a big time taxi service company in Vietnam. To order a taxi over the phone, you can just call 1055 on your phone. How convenient is that! They now also have an app that you can download in Apple store and Google Play.
Grab
If you are wondering if we have Uber or Lyft in Vietnam, we do, but it’s called Grab.
Uber came to Vietnam in 2014. They eventually sold their Southeast Asia business to Grab in 2018.
Grab is a very popular app to get around in Vietnam. Not only they have a point system for different levels of membership, they also offer discounts, coupons at local shops and restaurants as their perks. It is very addicting.
Grab does not only offer taxi service, they also offer xe ôm, which is taxi service offered on motorcycles and which I will discuss more in the later section. Grab also provides food delivery service, like UberEats, Grubhub or Doordash.
Xe ôm
While xe means vehicle, xe hơi or xe ô tô means car, xe gắn máy means motorcycle and xe đạp means bicycle, xe ôm is NOT a type of vehicle.
Ôm in Vietnamese means hug. Xe ôm is just a motorcycle that is used like a taxi service. The word ôm is there because when there is a passenger in the back seat of the motorcycle, the passenger is more likely to hug the driver while the motorcycle is being operated, usually for safety reason. It is actually a joke because not all people who sit in the back would hug a stranger. But the word has been used since way back that it is now a term to describe taxi service offered on a motorbike.
How do you get xe ôm?
You can sometimes find people who offer xe ôm service sitting idly on their motorcycles on the streets. But make sure to ask and not assume because they could just be waiting for someone. You can tell them the location and they will take you there. It is much cheaper than taxi. You pay then with cash.
As mentioned above, Grab also offers this service now so many xe ôm drivers just transitioned to Grab to get more customers. When you book a ride on Grab, there is a lower priced option for xe ôm. It’s usually the cheapest option, even lower than shared ride on taxi. They will even lend you a helmet. It is required by law to wear helmet on motorcycles in Vietnam. You will get a ticket if you don’t wear one.
Motorcycle
Now if you want to drive yourself so you can save even more money, or if you just enjoy the feeling of being free to to wherever you want on motorcycle, you can either buy or rent a motorcycle.
If you plan on just staying in Vietnam short term, renting it may be better than owning. My friend went to Vietnam to visit for the first time and was able to rent a motorcycle and went every where with it, even to different cities. Be sure to check for requirements, local laws and rules. Don’t forget to get a helmet too.
If you are concerned about where to park your motorcycles when you go to places, go to the Parking section of this post.
Bicycle
You can also ride bicycle, though it may take longer to get to places. It is actually not that uncommon to use bicycles to go around the cities in Vietnam. You will often see teenagers riding bicycles since there is a minimum age requirement to ride motorcycles.
You don’t have to worry about bike lanes. Lanes? Ha. You’re kidding. You just go wherever there’s space and avoid crashing into others. There are, however, roads that are dedicated only to cars. As more and more people buy cars, there are more and more car-only roads and lanes being built, though you may not see them that often yet.
If you are concerned about bike racks or where to park your bikes when you go to places, go to the Parking section of this post.
Bus
Bus is another type of transportation in Vietnam. The word bus in Vietnamese is xe buýt, which we have learned it in previous post about pronunciation.
While there are buses, motorbikes and bicycles are not expensive to own so you will find most people have their own vehicles. Buses are usually used for for long distance.
Train
The word “train” in Vietnamese is xe lửa or tàu lửa. Train is usually used to go from one city to another. “Ga” means station. You can book the tickets or learn more at https://dsvn.vn/ (Vietnam Railways Corporation).
Airplane
But these days, more people just fly instead of taking train when going from one city to another. Airplane in Vietnamese is called máy bay.
Vietnam Airlines has affordable tickets to fly from one city to another city. For example, from Sài Gòn (Ho Chi Minh City) to Đà Nẵng (Da Nang City), Vietnam Airlines has tickets ranging from $11 to $37 one way, subject to changes. They also have tickets from Sài Gòn to Hà Nội from $40 one way. You can check out their flights and learn more at https://www.vietnamairlines.com/us/en/Home.
In 2021, Vietnam Airlines launched direct flights from Vietnam to the United States. This is huge because for the longest time, there was no direct flight to Vietnam from the United States and vice versa.
Subway
Subway in Vietnamese is called tàu điện ngầm. Vietnam is developing a Metro subway system. Some of the routes are already completed and running. The ticket price is 8.000 VND ($0.35) for short trip and 15.000 VND ($0.65) for full trip. It’s 30.000 VND ($1.31) unlimited rides in one day. Please note that these prices may change in the future. They also have monthly package.
Also see: Vietnamese Currency
High Speed Train
There has been talk about a project to connect the North and the South using high speed train, but the estimated completion date at the time of this post is said to be some time in 2050. High speed train in Vietnamese is called tàu cao tốc or tàu điện cao tốc (điện means electric).
Parking
Most big places have dedicated parking space out in the open or in the underground garage where you can access by driving down a ramp. There is no dedicated parking space for each vehicle. There may be for cars, but for motorbikes and bikes, you just park them one next to another. Usually paid parking areas will give you a ticket once you pay and they have people watch and check whenever someone leaves with a bike so those are usually more secured. These places usually have a sign that says “giữ xe,” which means that someone will store the vehicle for you. Or if you see a sign that says “bãi đậu xe,” it means it’s a parking space.
For small shops, you can usually park in front of the shops on the sidewalk and watch it yourself. Many shops have a dedicated person to stay in the front to watch the bikes and motorbikes. The space in front of those small shops are usually too small for a car to park so cars usually park on the street, along the sidewalk.
Vocabulary in this post
| xe |
| xe hơi / xe ô tô |
| máy bay |
| xe gắn máy |
| xe đạp |
| tàu điện ngầm |
| xe ôm |
| xe buýt |
| tàu lửa / xe lửa |
| ga |
| tàu điện cao tốc / tàu cao tốc |
| bãi đậu xe |
| giữ xe |
