World City Guide

Getting There By Road

The road network throughout Vietnam is reasonable but the standard of the roads varies dramatically from good to appalling. In theory, traffic drives on the right but in practice drivers take the most direct path avoiding the many thousands of bicycles, motorbikes and animals in the road. As self-driven car hire is non-existent, visitors to the country have to hire a car with a driver. Most will agree that this is the only way until the country introduces and enforces a system of road rules. There are basic rules, such as you must stop at a red light and headlights must be used at night but that tends to be as far as it goes. Long-term foreign residents are allowed to drive a car but few are brave enough to do so, preferring to employ a Vietnamese chauffeur. It is safe to assume that if a foreigner is driving a car involved in an accident, they will automatically be assumed to be at fault.

Emergency breakdown service: None.

Routes to the city: The national highways are all designated by numbers. Highway 1 travels the length of the country from the very south, through Ho Chi Minh City and northwards to Hanoi and beyond to the Chinese border. Major towns in the south of Vietnam on Highway 1 are My Tho, Can Tho, Phan Thiet and Nha Trang. Dalat is reached by Highway 20, Vung Tau by Highway 51 and the Cambodian border (Moc Bai) by Highway 22.

Driving times to Ho Chi Minh City: From My Tho – 1 hour 30 minutes; Vung Tau – 2 hours; Cambodian border – 2 hours 30 minutes; Phan Thiet – 3 hours 30 minutes; Can Tho – 4 hours 30 minutes; Dalat – 7 hours; Nha Trang – 12 hours.

Coach services: There are several bus stations around the city that each serve different destinations. Facilities are very basic and are unlikely to have more than food stands serving local snacks. The buses throughout Vietnam range from fairly good to ramshackle. Some express services to Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Hanoi are in relatively modern air-conditioned buses but videos can play constantly throughout the journey. Services on short journeys depart when they are full and those travelling longer distances generally depart early in the morning. It is not possible to book tickets over the telephone and visitors should go to the relevant bus station the day before to check the schedule for the following day and purchase their ticket. In addition, a very useful telephone number is 1080 where English-speaking operators can give information on timetables.

The bus to Cambodia (better known in Vietnam as Kampuchea), operated by Cong Ty Xe Khach Saigon (tel: (08) 920 3623), departs from 309 Pham Ngu Lao Street, District 1, twice daily for the nine-hour journey to Phnom Penh. The Cambodian visa should be arranged in advance but can be obtained at the border crossing point. Buses to Dalat, Buon Ma Thuot, Nha Trang, Danang, Hue and Hanoi depart from Mien Dong Bus Station (Ben Xe Mien Dong) (tel: (08) 898 4893), on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh in Binh Tan District. Other bus stations include Ben Xe Mien Tay, Kinh Duong Vuong Street, An Lac, Binh Tan District (tel: (08) 875 2953), which has a special booking service located a little nearer to the city centre at 765 Le Hong Phong, District 10 (tel: (08) 752 0364); Ben Xe Cholon, 86,Trang Tu, District 5 (tel: (08) 854 8832), and Ben Xe Tay Ninh on Truong Chinh Street, Tan Phu Disctrict, for buses for Tay Ninh Province, has renamed and relocated the passenger pick up area to Ben Xe An Suong, Quoc Lo 22, Xa Ba Diem, Hoc Mon District (tel: (08) 883 2513).

Ben Xe Mien Tay and Ben Xe Cholon should soon merge into one big station on Kinh Duong Vuong Street, Binh Tan District.

Credit cards are still not common in Vietnam and Vietnamese are not in the habit of booking buses in advance (although they do like to book trains by a prior visit to the station). Bus station telephone information is likely to be restricted as to whether or not there are seats available and appearing in person to obtain a ticket for that day with cash will still be necessary. The exception is private bus services operating solely for foreign tourists, often with a booking office located in a tourist cafe such as at De Tham Street (off Pham Ngu Lao), which are much better organized. There are also rogue bus (van) services to tourist resorts from Ho Chi Minh City which can be hailed and boarded en route, but these are packed and with very little legroom available, very uncomfortable.