How to Get to Ho Chi Minh City - Complete Guide

Overview of Ways to Get to Ho Chi Minh City

• Ho Chi Minh City on the Map of Vietnam
• Distance from Da Lat – 340 kilometers / 1 hour by plane, 6-10 hours overland.
• Distance from Nha Trang – 400 kilometers / 1 hour by plane, 6-10 hours overland.
• Distance from Hanoi – 1500 kilometers / 2 hours by plane, at least 24 hours overland.
• Distance from Mui Ne – 200 kilometers / 4-6 hours overland.

Ho Chi Minh City has a large international airport, a railway, and several bus stations. So there are no difficulties in getting here, it's all simple and easy. We will tell you in detail about all the methods in our detailed guide below, but first, here are brief instructions for directions:

• From cities in Russia, CIS, and other countries. There are many flights with connections (direct flights are not operating yet but may resume soon). Upon arrival, it's easy to get from the airport to the city center by taxi or city buses №152 or №109.
• From Nha Trang. It's best to fly, but you can also get there by bus, train, and even taxi. The bus is the cheapest, especially convenient with FUTA Bus Lines: they will pick you up from the hotel and deliver you to the Ho Chi Minh City tourist district or one of the bus stations.
• From Da Lat. There are about a dozen flights. Also, many FUTA Bus Lines buses depart from Da Lat bus station, they take you to one of the bus stations, where you transfer to a free minibus to the tourist district.
• From Mui Ne/Phan Thiet. From the Mui Ne resort area, FUTA Bus Lines runs to Ho Chi Minh City (pick-up from the hotel). There are also tourist minivans and taxis. You can go by train, but first you need to get to the Phan Thiet railway station.
• From Hanoi. Best by plane, very many flights per day. Also by train or bus, but it takes more than a day.
• From Phu Quoc. By plane, there are many flights daily, prices are reasonable. Theoretically possible by ferry and then overland by bus, but it's long and costs almost the same as a flight without luggage.
• From Vung Tau. Many FUTA Bus Lines bus routes.
• From Da Nang. There are planes, trains, and buses. If possible, it's better to fly.
• From Hoi An. There are direct tourist buses from Hoi An. Also via Da Nang by plane, train, or bus.
• From Sapa. No direct train or bus routes, all with a transfer via Hanoi.
• From Cambodia (Phnom Penh). There are direct bus routes and flights. Also, there is a tourist route on the Mekong River via Chau Doc lasting 2-3 days with overnight stops along the way.

And now in detail about each method:

✈ By Plane

Ho Chi Minh City is home to Vietnam's large international airport – Tan Son Nhat (Tan Son Nhat). Many flights arrive here, including from the Russian Federation, but there are no direct flights yet. But this is not a problem at all, since there are many options to fly here with a connection on a ready-made ticket. Currently, Chinese airlines offer many convenient and inexpensive flights with connections, including from Russian regions. A transfer via China is not a problem: a visa is not required even for several connections, you can fly with different airlines. You can familiarize yourself with the rules of visa-free transit through China here... For long layovers, some airlines even offer a free overnight stay in a hotel, but you need to check this in each specific case.

You can safely buy tickets to Ho Chi Minh City, including ready-made flights with connections, via the search form from Aviasales or on Trip.com, or via this search form from Aviasales:

ЦЕНА	ПЕРЕСАДКИ	АВИАКОМПАНИЯ	ДАТА ВЫЛЕТА	ДАТА ВОЗВРАЩЕНИЯ
Купить от 43336 ₽	1 пересадка		22.07.2026	04.09.2026
Купить от 42586 ₽	1 пересадка		17.08.2026	18.09.2026
Купить от 41452 ₽	1 пересадка		14.09.2026	12.10.2026
Купить от 46494 ₽	1 пересадка		04.10.2026	12.10.2026
Купить от 48805 ₽	1 пересадка		19.11.2026	23.12.2026
Купить от 48191 ₽	1 пересадка		05.12.2026	25.12.2026

How to Get from Ho Chi Minh City Airport to the City Center

Ho Chi Minh City Airport is located very conveniently within the city (airport on the map), and literally stepping out of the arrivals terminal, you will find yourself on city streets. From the terminal to the city center and the tourist district, you can get very cheaply by city bus or taxi.

• By City Bus

  • 💵 Cost: from 5000 dong / 0.19 USD
  • ⏲ Travel Time: 30-60 minutes

  

  The cheapest and quite convenient way to get from the airport to the city center to Ben Thanh Market or the Ho Chi Minh City tourist quarter is to use local city buses №152, №109. The buses are quite comfortable, mostly air-conditioned, and usually almost empty. Travel time to the center is from 20 to 40 minutes depending on traffic.

  • Bus №152 from/to the international terminal T2 and the old domestic terminal T1. Fare - 5000 dong (0.19 USD), operates from 06:00 to 19:00, runs frequently. Goes through the tourist district past Ben Thanh Market and further along Tran Hung Dao Street.
  • Bus №109 from/to the new domestic terminal T3. Fare - 15000 dong (0.57 USD), operates from 06:00 to 21:30 and runs on schedule every 30-60 minutes. Goes to the final bus station right in the tourist district (city bus depot on the map). Interestingly, GAZ buses (Gazelle) operate on this route, it's a branded route of Futa Bus Lines company.

  A separate ticket must be purchased for large luggage. Payment to the driver or conductor upon boarding.

  You will find the buses immediately upon exiting the international and domestic terminals. Bus stops are marked with signs, you will easily recognize the bus: it is marked with the route number №152 and №109 front and back. Do not believe taxi drivers who will say that buses №109 and №152 no longer run.

  Also, buses №103 and №72 run from the airport, but they go to other districts. For route planning, it is convenient to use Google Maps, which has most of Ho Chi Minh City's public transport routes. And in general we have told all about Ho Chi Minh City public transport and how to use it here.

  

  Please note that Ben Thanh Market itself is not the final stop of route №152: the bus stops at the square in front of the market, and then proceeds further through the tourist district and along Than Hung Dao Street to other city districts. If you are here for the first time and are not very well oriented, then to avoid missing the tourist zone, it's better to get off at Ben Thanh or at the next stop after it. The Ben Thanh stop can be easily recognized by the number of passengers (usually many people get off and on there), by the covered market itself, and by the large concentration of buses in this place. And do not confuse the direction when you board the bus to go to the airport, because the bus route in one direction and back to the airport runs slightly on different streets.

• Taxi

  • 💵 Cost: from 100,000 dong / 3.8 USD
  • ⏲ Travel Time: 20-40 minutes

  

  A taxi ride from the airport to the city center and tourist street will cost from 100,000 to 200,000 dong. The cheapest way is to order a taxi via the Grab or Maxim apps; for ordering, you can use airport WiFi or buy a local SIM card at the airport.

  You can also order a taxi at the counters after exiting the terminal or directly from drivers, but they try to 'rip off' inexperienced tourists much more – they can easily ask for 500,000 dong. So, be guided by the price we indicated above and bargain, or order via the app, and that's it.

  By the way, there are now also 'honest' drivers who meet passengers upon exiting the airport and offer a ride at Grab's price. They themselves offer the trip and show the Grab app on the screen, you can ride with them.

  You can also use motorbike taxis, they are half the price of a car. Also available via Grab and Maxim apps. Motorbike taxis are only suitable for one person without a large suitcase, but for solo travelers with a backpack, it's perfect.

  And finally, if you are used to comfortable travel, you can order a ready-made taxi transfer with driver meet & greet at the airport on kiwitaxi:

• Car Rental

  In Vietnam, it is completely legal to drive a rented vehicle with an international driving permit (IDP) that complies with the requirements of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (read more about renting a motorcycle and car in Vietnam). These are the ones issued in the Russian Federation, and previously it was necessary to obtain temporary local licenses, and no others were recognized in the country. Now you can safely drive with a driver's license issued in Russia. Just don't forget that the IDP is only valid together with your national license, so you need to bring both types of licenses to Vietnam. You can obtain an IDP from the traffic police (GIBDD), its cost/state fee is 3200 rubles. No exams are required to obtain an IDP. More about what licenses are needed in Vietnam, read here.

  The price for car rental still remains quite high - from 50 dollars per day. Offices of international rental companies have opened in the country, and now you can book a car and pick it up at Ho Chi Minh City Airport upon arrival on these websites:

🚌 To Ho Chi Minh City by Bus

It is very inexpensive to get from other cities of Vietnam, as well as from Cambodia and Laos, by intercity scheduled or tourist buses. The fare is low, the buses are comfortable, equipped with air conditioning. If possible, for long-distance travel, we advise choosing sleeper buses (sleeping bus). You can sleep in them as on a train, which is very convenient and comfortable.

There is also a special class of local minibuses called Limousine or "Limousine". These are essentially high-comfort minivans where you can recline the backrest far, there are even massage seats. They are more expensive than regular buses, even sleeper ones, but still, in our opinion, sleeper ones are better.

What Routes Are Available

You can reach Ho Chi Minh City from almost any major city and resort in Vietnam, with rare exceptions. The most popular routes: Nha Trang, Vung Tau, Da Lat, Phan Thiet and Mui Ne, Phan Rang, Quy Nhon, Hoi An, Da Nang, Hue, Hanoi, Vinh. Below there is a schedule of buses and trains to Ho Chi Minh City, you can find routes and schedule there.

Where to Buy Tickets

Bus and minivan tickets can be purchased at travel agencies, at hotel receptions, at bus stations, at bus company offices, online. Completely different ticket and transfer options are offered everywhere, i.e., there is no place where you can see everything in one place and choose. Even at bus stations, tickets for different companies are sold at different ticket counters, and you need to go around and ask everywhere to compare prices and routes.

And important! Some travel agencies, especially Russian-speaking ones, greatly inflate ticket prices. From our experience, we once searched for tickets on the Nha Trang-Quy Nhon route. A Russian travel agency quoted a price of 450,000 dong, local 300,000, online 360,000 dong, but in the end, at the ticket counters at Nha Trang bus station, we bought for 225,000. The difference compared to the Russian-speaking travel agency – twice!!! Therefore, the most economical option is to buy tickets at the bus station ticket counters or at the carrier company's offices.

We have used and recommend the company FUTA Bus Lines many times. This is one of the largest carriers in the southern part of Vietnam, and it performs many routes specifically to Ho Chi Minh City. The company has a website https://futabus.vn/, where you can view the schedule and even buy tickets if you have a foreign card. If you don't have a card, you can buy tickets at their ticket counters at all major bus stations in Nha Trang, Mui Ne, Da Lat, Vung Tau, etc. Or look for this company's offices on Google Maps (it has many offices) and buy there. In the tourist district, FUTA Bus Lines also has a couple of offices, including the most convenient one on Pham Ngu Lao Street (Pham Ngu Lao Street on the map).

And finally, you can book tickets on the well-known aggregator 12go and other websites. Most routes are available there with a very small markup. But UnionPay cards from Russian banks do not work, only foreign ones:

View a detailed schedule and book a train or bus to Nha Trang via the search form:

Where Buses Arrive/Depart From in Ho Chi Minh City, Where Are the Bus Stations

With bus stations in Ho Chi Minh City, there is the same confusion as with the routes of different bus companies. I.e., there are several bus stations, plus there are separate mini-stations of different carrier companies. And some small carriers don't have departure points at all, they simply collect passengers from hotels.

Therefore, our advice from experience is not to 'bother' with searching and studying Ho Chi Minh City's bus stations, but to take a simpler path. The fact is that most carriers deliver or pick up passengers to/from the tourist district. Usually, a large bus arrives at one of the large bus stations on the outskirts, there you are transferred to a minibus and taken for free to the center to the hotel or just some drop-off point. The same when leaving Ho Chi Minh City. This is very convenient, you don't need to spend money on a taxi or figure out public transport. You can find out this information when buying tickets.

🚆 By Train

Traveling by train in Vietnam is considered a fairly convenient, comfortable, and inexpensive way to travel. The railway connects all major cities of Vietnam. What's good is that traveling by train you will see Vietnam from the window, and you can save on accommodation if you choose a night journey. You can get to Ho Chi Minh City from Mui Ne and Phan Thiet, from Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hue, Hanoi, and other cities along the way. Read more about Vietnam trains and how to use them in our separate guide.

Ho Chi Minh City's railway station (Ga Sai Gon, website http://gasaigon.com.vn/) is located on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, about 2 kilometers from the tourist district (Ho Chi Minh City railway station on the map). By taxi you can get there for 40,000 dong, with a backpack you can easily walk.

It's better to buy tickets in advance and directly at the station ticket counters. There is also a sales office on the tourist street at 275C Pham Ngu Lao. You can buy tickets to any destination at any station, not necessarily from that city.

Also, buying online is relevant for tourists, since it's best to buy long-distance train tickets in advance. Unfortunately, it is impossible to buy official e-tickets on the railway website https://dsvn.vn/, because payment is only accepted by plastic cards from Vietnamese banks and foreign ones, Russian ones are not accepted.

You can also buy tickets through the website 12go.asia. It has a Russian-language interface, but again, purchase with Russian cards is impossible, only foreign cards.

📅 Bus and Train Schedule to Ho Chi Minh City