Getting around Ho Chi Minh City

1. Grab and Be

App-booked cars and motorbikes; the default way visitors get around.

2. Motorbike taxi

Several million bikes move this city, and a pillion ride is the honest way to experience it.

• Tip: Insist on a helmet — reputable operators provide one without being asked.

3. Metro Line 1

The city's first metro line, connecting the centre out to the eastern districts.

• Cost: VND 7,000–20,000

4. Metered taxi

Fine with the two established operators, risky otherwise.

5. Walking District 1

The colonial core is compact and walkable.

• Tip: Pavements are frequently used for parking; expect to walk in the road.

Grab

The most widely used ride-hailing app in Vietnam, covering cars and motorbike taxis.

• Coverage: All major cities; thinner in rural provinces.
• Why it helps: Fare is agreed in the app before the trip, and the route is recorded — which removes the refused meter, the tampered meter and the fixed 'foreigner price' in one move.

Be

Vietnamese ride-hailing operator with cars, bikes and intercity coach booking.

• Coverage: Strong in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.
• Why it helps: Fare is agreed in the app before the trip, and the route is recorded — which removes the refused meter, the tampered meter and the fixed 'foreigner price' in one move.

Xanh SM

All-electric taxi and ride-hailing fleet, metered and app-bookable.

• Coverage: Expanding across the major cities.
• Why it helps: A metered fleet with fixed rates, which avoids the tampered-meter problem common in street taxis.

12Go

Books trains, sleeper buses and ferries including the Hanoi–Hue–Da Nang corridor.

• Coverage: Nationwide.
• Why it helps: Removes the street-agent middleman who sells downgraded or non-existent seats.