TRANSPORTATION

1-   Airline in Vietnam

International flight
Airway market in Vietnam has many airlines offering international flights. The main airports which are able to response for international flights in Vietnam nowadays are Noi Bai airport (HAN) in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat (SGN) in Saigon. Besides, there are many other international airports such as Can Tho International Airport in Can Tho, Cat Bi International Airport in Haiphong, Phu Quoc International Airport in Kien Giang, etc. The number of direct international routes are very limited between Europe, Australia and North America with Vietnam. Passengers who want to travel to foreign countries mostly have to take a transit in airports of Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Bangkok and Singapore, etc.

Domestic flights
Nowadays, there are only 7 domestic airway companies in Vietnam. Vietname Airlines – a state-owned airway corporation, is the company occupying the biggest portion of about 70% in the market. Ranked in the following positions are Jet Star Pacific and Air Mekong which are applying low-cost strategy. Besides, there are several small and new entrants like Vasco, Blue Sky Air and Vietjet Air growing slowly and focusing on niche market.
There is a increase in number of routes and frequency of domestic flights in Vietnam. Main cities with large and qualified airport such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang are places having the most frequent flights. Otherwise, there are several other destinations having direct flights like Dien Bien, Hai Phong, Dalat and Nha Trang but in fewer frequency.
In the recent, Vasco and Air Mekong has offered rarer routes to Southern islands like Con Dao and Phu Quoc with attractive travel deals.

2-   Car in Vietnam

As a fast and convenient method of transportation, car has become more and more popular for both locals and foreign visitors. Travel to any regions, especially Vietnam’s major cities and urban areas, you can encounter endless stream of cars. If you desire to find a private method of transportation, catching a car is an optimal choice.

3-   Taxi in Vietnam

In recent years, taxi has becoming more and more popular means of transportation because of its convenient and safety. However, it is more common in urban areas due to having higher price than other transportation methods such as “xe om” (a typical means of transportation in Vietnam including a driver who takes you to anywhere you want on a bike) or other private transportation. Basically, taxi services in Vietnam has 2 types which are official and unofficial taxi. Taxi corporations are considered as official taxi because they have reputation and offer high quality in a good price for customers. As for unofficial ones, they are belonged to small and private taxi companies who have poor-quality services and offer unreliable price. These taxi also can not ensure the safety for customers because the drivers usually drive the cars very fast and carelessly.

There are several big and well-known taxi brands in Vietnam that are highly recommended for international tourists:

– Mai Linh Taxi: this taxi company has a huge number of cars offering high quality and services for customers and readily serving them in many tourism destinations. – – – Vinasun Taxi:this taxiis a well-known taxi brand in Ho Chi Minh City having over 3,500 cabs with high quality in services. It has the cover of white with one red strip and green strip below.

– Taxi Group: this taxiwas established since 1993 and nowadays it is one of the biggest taxi corporation in Vietnam with high-quality services and reasonable price. It can be recognized by its painted white color.

4-   Bus in Vietnam

Nowadays, bus is becoming more and more common means of transportation in Vietnam especially for foreign tourists because of its cheap price, availability and well-developed system. Bus system in Vietnam can be divided into 2 types which are inter-provincial and local buses. Here are some tips that can help you use this public transportation more easily.

Inter-provincial buses

In each province in Vietnam, there are several main terminals to support the transportation of that city. Known as two of the biggest and crowed cities of Vietnam, Hanoi owns two major terminals called My Dinh and Giap Bat Bus Station; otherwise, Ho Chi Minh City has Mien Dong and Mien Tay Bus Station. These buses will take passengers to every tourist destinations and other provinces in Vietnam as well. Notably, they have high quality in terms of service and facilites. Another advantage of using buses is that there is no limitation for your baggage’s size. To get a ticket, you can buy it from ticket booths inside the terminals and then show it to the conductor to get in the bus.

In addition, passengers can ask their travel agencies to buy ticket in advance or book it through Internet. However, only few bus companies such as Hoang Long offer online booking for customers. The ticket price depends on the distance of the trip and type of seats that you choose. One things you should notice is that you have to change your buses to travel to big cities such as Hanoi, Hue, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City if you depart from other provinces because there is no direct route to those destinations.

Local buses

In major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, etc. local people and foreigners can use a cheap and convenient means of transportation which is public buses. Similar with inter-provincial buses, local buses also depart from main terminals in the city then work on different routes. Bus stations are place where passengers wait and catch a bus. In big cities, there are many buses and bus stations so travelling by this kind of vehicle is very easy. To get in the buses, you have to buy a ticket from the conductor with price under 10,000 VND. However, you may have bad experiences on the bus. For instance, it is very crowed especially in rush hours, conductor can not speak English well and there is no air conditioners in old buses, etc. Overall, bus is still an ideal means of transportation for people who want to save money or get experiences like local people.

Hanoi Bus

At the present, there are many kind of buses working in Hanoi. One of them is traditional one covered by 3 typical colors of white, red and yellow. There is a number sticked in the front of each bus which is correlative with its routes. Recently, there is a particularly new kind of bus which only serve customers travelling from Hanoi Train Station to Noi Bai Airport with cheap price. These buses are recognized by the typical cover with orange. In addition, in Dec 31 2016, there was a new type of bus called BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) expected to improve the quality and speed circulation of Hanoi traffic.

Ho Chi Minh Bus

There are 152 routes covering almost every part of Ho Chi Minh City. Buses in Ho Chi Minh City are recognized by the white cover and a light green strip. Depending from the distance of the routes and types of buses, The advantage of using bus in Ho Chi Minh City is that it is not crowed like in Hanoi. However, Ho Chi Minh City is very large so the distance between tourist destinations and bus stations is quite long that results in the long waiting time of passengers. Therefore, bus seems not to be a good choice to use for tourists in this city. Similar with buses in Hanoi, buses in Ho Chi Minh City also have its terminals before spreading out to the whole city. Ben Thanh Station, Cho Lon Station and Mien Dong Station are the biggest bus stations in Ho Chi Minh City.

5-   Motorbike in Vietnam

Motorbike is considered to be the most common means of transportation in Vietnam. It is easy to ride a motorbike for Vietnamese people. However, as for foreigners, they can find it hard to control this kind of vehicle on the road because local people do not always follow the rules and the traffic jam is still an unsolved problem in big cities such Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Based on the law, foreigners must have a driver license to ride a motorbike but Vietnamese traffic police rarely check it.

As for foreign tourists who want to use this vehicle in Vietnam, motorbike rental service is a good choice. There is a wide range of motorbike for you to choose that can response to your own purpose and budget. At first, you have to determine the length of time of your trip and search information about the quality of the road and the terrain of the chosen destinations before you go. Reading travel guides on the Internet is also an essential thing you need to do to get helpful tips and experiences for yourself and to avoid unexpected situations. There are many motorbike brands that backpackers use commonly such as Dream, Wave, Minsk or Simson.

It is easy to find renting shops in big cities and tourism destinations as well such as the Old Quarter in Hanoi, District 1 area in Ho Chi Minh City or Hung Vuong Boulevard in Hue, etc. In addition, you can ask your travel agents and hotels for reliable shops.
However, if you find it hard to ride motorbike in Vietnam, “xe om” – a typical means of transportation in Vietnam which you will sit on the back of a person considered as a “live map”, is a good solution for you. This way is very easy and cheap to transfer from one place to other places in the city. You do not need to be too worry about the safety because the drivers always bring an extra helmet for their customers.

6-   Train in Vietnam

Railway System

Built by the French colonist over a hundred years ago, the Railway System in Vietnam has been continued developing by Vietnamese Government after the Reunification in 1975. At the present, this railway system helps the transportation between most cities and provinces in Vietnam more convenient with the total length of around 2.600km spreading out from the North to the South. Besides, the Vietnamese railway system also has routes connecting with Chinese railway to the borderline and stations in Yunnan and Guangxi.

Travelling by train is a chance to experience Vietnam from the North to the South in an unique and interesting way. During the journey, you can witness various landscapes in this beautiful country from mountains, forests, plateaus to the sea. Besides, the train’s speed is not too high that allows you to relax while having a long trip by contemplating the scenery, taking photos and videos, etc.