Ho Chi Minh City Travel Answers

Hello I am travelling in June so haven't visited Ho Chi Minh yet but have been doing heaps of research. If you have a look through Hostelworld or any of the other hostel providers online you will see that there are a few hostels close to the airport.

hi, i was in vietnam last march. since it was off-peak season for travelling, the prices might vary. from the airport to dist 1. it cost us about usd5-7 for a 4-ppl taxi ride from the airport to any dist 1 destination. they also have van-type whose starting rates differ from the regular taxi. since you will be arriving at night, its best to play it safe and try sasco taxi service. they are an official taxi company, do it before leaving the exit of the airport. if you would rather opt for metered rather that a fixed price find a vietnamese guard/security personnel at the airport exit. they can help you out. they speak little english, so make sure you keep it simple. write down the hotel name and address so that all you need to do is point it to them. and say, "go here". hehehe! btw, their letters have markings around them, make sure to include this, we experience delay because they dont know how to read the addresses without the markings. USD1=16,000VD(estimate) so i would suggest you exchange USD100 at your hotel, and then just exchange more if needed. for somebody who would not shop, and well shared taxi bills with others, and going to average-priced restaurants, the USD100 was enough for the 5 days that i was there. i would suggest you book a hotel through the internet. we did that thru smartstay.com.(Check if Empress hotel, at buithixuan st, suits your fancy and budget.) but i dont know if its the USD15 you want but its walking distance to most of the sights and benthan market. and you can book other trip through the hotel receptionist. i know they book cu chi tunnels at USD6 per person for a 1/2 day tour. they also have available tours for mekong, etc. also USD is widely accepted in VN, lots of vendors at benthan market would actually let you choose if you want to pay in USD or in VD. so regarding exchanging dongs and ending up carrying million of it (literally) hehehe! i would suggest you exchange on a daily basis depending on the need. lastly, i would suggest not to return home wtih dong, since its basically useless outside their country. so exchange it back to USD. the airport provides this service. after you go through all exit requirements.

you should walk out of area airport , take motobicycle to Hoang Van Thu park ( at traffic-circle )about 1 usd/per you will see a lot of hotel that price about 15-20 usd/night. from airport to it about 1 km , on morning you take a bus go to center city at this hotel that it cost about 0.2 usd/per. when you to Ben Thanh market ( near pham ngu lao street ) you can go every where at here. goodluck

The Tan Son Nhat (Sai Gon) Airport is very near city centre (about 4 km from airport to Dist 1), the airport is in Tan Binh Dist. In many main city (Hoi An, HA noi, Sai Gon, Da nang, Hue..)and travel centre, you can payment my travel check, cridit cards or visa. But the best way is come to Sai Gon and exchange about USD 100 to vietnam dong (USD 1 = 16.000 vietnam dong (VND)) anyway, you can payment by USD is ok. In Pham Ngu Lao area, you could have mini hotel with free internet, very clean room with only from 12 - 20 USD. Some mini hotel is only 7 - 10 USD per night. But almost of these hotel are not so good.

At 10 pm, you will definitely be tired, particularly if it rains as you are approaching rain season! Airport from Tan Son Nhat airport to Pham Ngu Lao / De Tham / Bui Vien street will take about 30 minutes. For a four person taxi, you can firmly stick with 100,000 dongs, or 6 to 7 USD. Once coming out of the airport the chaos will hit you hard in the face with street sounds and its busyness. Best to have 2 (assertivepeople go out to the taxi area, and deal with them, so as to keep all your belongings in one safe spot (inside the airport) for the rest of the family to look after it and not get hassled. Some people lose things, and some are more responsible. If you are responsible, or have responsible members in the family, let them take charge of holding the money. It's better to carry cash and exchange it in vietnam. There is a place at the hotel to exchange all types of currency. You will find it's much greater value to exchange international currency in Vietnam than to exchange currency in Western countries. Prepare USD money for airport taxis, but I'd use the currency of your local country to exchange for vietnam dongs. You will lose some money in the exchange rates if you change from for example, AUD to USD to VND. Best to just exchange AUD to VND in Vietnam. Travellers cheques tends to have extra costs, and inconvence because you can only get it exchanged at banks. Jewelers have the best rates. Money and cards of a confidential nature can be taped / wrapped up in a small box, then kept at reception safe. If that does not fair well with you, consider putting money in a napsack, in a suitcase in your room locked up. If everyone in the family prefers safety, travellers cheques could work. I find most people find it not the better way. The BEST rate in HCMC (and I'll bet my reputation on it) is: Kim Mai (jeweler's store) within walking distance of Bui vien Street. 34C Cong Quynh, District 1 8360412 phone they have cameras for security purposes, so u feel like u wont be robbed and can be assured it's good money. It may sound like I'm an advertising, but I've had good experiences at this place and met some great people around the world particularly English, Ozzies, & north americans, so i'll mention it again. Yellow House on 31 Bui Vien street is a decent place for you, with free breakfast. Free internet is available, but not decent internet. If you have a laptop, their wireless connection is great. It is rain season, and I've talked to the manager, and she will have rooms for the family, just needs to know the days for arrangements and reservations. She'll try to organize people into rooms to suit your needs, depending on relationship and family structure, preference and room needs. Yellow House hotel on 31 Bui Vien Street Van Anh - Manager Cell 0908 784388 Pham Ngu Lao Ward, district 1 Lan Phone: (848) 8368830 & (848) 8368829 She checks email 3 or 4 times a day at yellowhousehotel@yahoo.com There are also free maps, and she can tell you where places are, costs and other advice. There is a Co-op Mart much like Woolworth's within 10 - 15 minutes walk of the hotel also, with fixed average prices. Aside from tours, you can do a rough estimate of how much money you can expect to spend. My previous posts provide average pricing for many items like food, beer, hotel prices and clothes in the HCMC forum. Cheers and happy travels.