Millions of people are now opening their eyes to all the travel opportunities in Vietnam. That includes lots of men who are attracted by the beautiful Vietnamese women! Most people will start out in Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon. That’s the biggest city in Vietnam. If you are traveling there, you are going to want to know about getting from Saigon airport to your room. It can be really confusing if you don’t have an idea ahead of time. It’s a chaotic place!
In this guide we are going to tell you how to get from Saigon airport to your room. We will give you the best options so that you don’t get ripped off as soon as you arrive in Ho Chi Minh City. We’ll also give you some extra tips. They include getting a sim card for your phone and picking the best place to stay as a guy.
Where to stay in Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City is really huge. It is divided into different districts. Some of the districts are like an hour drive from the main part of the city. You don’t want to stay way out there. The good thing is that rooms are reasonable even in the heart of Saigon.
You want to be in District 1, District 2, or District 3. On the map they are sometimes called “Quan 1,” “Quan 2,” or “Quan 3.” These are the Vietnamese words for districts. The most important thing other than district is staying in a guest friendly hotel. By law, you are not really allowed to take a Vietnamese woman you aren’t married with to your room. In practice, some hotels will let you do it.
Here’s a list of confirmed girl friendly hotels in Ho Chi Minh City that are also rated good places to stay:
- Caravelle Saigon (District 1)
- A25 De Tham (District 1)
- Dai Nam Hotel (District 1)
- Boss Hotel (District 3)
You may be tempted to go the Airbnb route if you plan to stay more than a week. We’ve done the research and the fact is hotels are a cheaper and better deal in HCMC. They will also be in a good location and have security. A lot of Airbnb rooms in Saigon are in apartment blocks with locals who will cause problems if you bring girls back to your room too.
Transportation from Tan Son Nhat to your hotel
Ho Chi Minh City used to be called Saigon. Some people still call it that. The airport code is SGN, which stands for Saigon. Yet, the actual name of the airport is Tan Son Nhat. If you think that’s confusing, wait until you get to the ground transportation area!
Saigon is a huge city, but the airport isn’t that big. After you get through immigration, you’re in a little hallway. Just past that you are already outside. There is the ground transportation area. Among the crowds of people you can catch a bus, taxi or other car.
You want to avoid the buses. They’re cheap but confusing and oddly routed. Just ignore them. You want to take a taxi, but it’s not that easy. Taxi scams in Vietnam are legendary. The airport is the number one place they happen. Foreigners are usually the targets.
How much is a taxi from Ho Chi Minh airport?
The real price of a metered taxi from Ho Chi Minh airport to the hotels we mentioned above is going to be around 100,000 to 150,000 Vietnamese Dong. That is just $4-$7 dollars in American money. The problem is finding a legit metered taxi.
The only two companies you can really trust in Ho Chi Minh City are Vina Sun with white cars and Mai Linh with green cars. They are the ones you mostly see in the city. You want to avoid any others. It can be hard at first, because others copy their colors and even name. You don’t want to get in a white taxi called “Vienna Sun.” You’re going to get ripped off majorly.
Sure, you can stand outside in the sweltering heat battling with other people to try to get one of the few legit taxis that come through the area. You will eventually get lucky and find a car. Is that how you want to spend your time though? The easier thing is to just book a private car inside the airport. You can get your sim card there while you’re at it too.
Look for the beautiful women
There are a lot of taxi stands and banks in the hallway just out of the customs area. Don’t get confused and go to the big taxi signs. Just look for the beautiful Vietnamese women in their colorful áo dài traditional dresses. They stand at two small tables in the middle of the floor.
These women are very pretty and they speak English. They also offer all the services you need at the airport. First you can get a sim card there. The price is 150,000 Dong for one week. You can pay more for addition time. This lets you use data on your phone so you can check Google maps, use a dating site to line up dates, and check Guys Info Hub for daily updates!
You can buy a sim card in the city but you will have to take a picture and show your passport. Just do it at the airport where it is quick and easy. This way you don’t have to worry about someone spying on you as much either.
Then book your car at the same time. For 200,000 Dong they will get you a personal private car to take you from the airport directly to your room. This is just over $8 dollars, so it’s no big expense. Plus they call the car so there’s no waiting. You pay in advance too, so you don’t have to haggle or tip the driver. No worrying about a meter either!
Just have the name and address of your hotel ready. Give it to the pretty girls and they’ll write it down for the driver. The drivers will know exactly where it is. It’s not like Bangkok where the taxi drivers don’t know their ABCs.