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Park Van Thanh Tourist, Ho Chi Minh City

© Creative Commons / Eustaquio Santimano

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Ho Chi Minh City Local time

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Vietnam

Travel to Ho Chi Minh City

Flying to Ho Chi Minh City

There are no direct flights to Ho Chi Minh City from the UK, but there are several airlines offering indirect flights, including Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Thai Airways International, Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines. Cheap flights to Ho Chi Minh City are available in late March or April, but the best time to book flights is during the dry season between December to March.

Flight times: 

From London - 16 hours 30 minutes; New York - 21 hours 30 minutes; Los Angeles - 18 hours; Toronto - 20 hours; Sydney is 9 hours 15 minutes.

Travel by road

Summary:

The road network throughout Vietnam is reasonable but the standard of the roads varies dramatically from good to appalling. In theory, traffic drives on the right but in practice drivers take the most direct path to avoid obstacles and oncoming vehicles. As car hire is non-existent, visitors to the country tend to go for the easiest option of hiring a car with a driver.

Emergency breakdown service:

None.

Routes:

Highway 1 travels the length of the country from the very south to Hanoi. Major towns in the south of Vietnam on Highway 1 are My Tho, Can Tho, Phan Thiet and Nha Trang. Dalat is reached by Highway 20, Vung Tau by Highway 51 and the Cambodian border (Moc Bai) by Highway 22.

Driving times:

From My Tho - 1 hour 30 minutes; Vung Tau - 2 hours; Cambodian border - 2 hours 30 minutes; Phan Thiet - 3 hours 30 minutes; Can Tho - 4 hours 30 minutes; Dalat - 7 hours; Nha Trang - 12 hours.

Coaches:

The buses throughout Vietnam range from fairly good to ramshackle. Some express services to Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Hanoi are offered in relatively modern air-conditioned buses. It is not possible to book tickets over the telephone and visitors should go to the relevant bus station the day before to check the schedule for the following day and purchase their ticket.

Buses to Dalat, Buon Ma Thuot, Nha Trang, Danang, Hue and Hanoi depart from Mien Dong Bus Station, on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh in Binh Tan District. Call 1080 for English-speaking operators who can provide information on coach timetables.

Regular buses to Cambodia, operated by Saigon Passenger Transport Company (tel: (08) 3920 3623; www.saigonbus.com.vn), depart from 309 Pham Ngu Lao Street for the seven-hour journey to Phnom Penh.

Travel by rail

Services:

Travelling by train on the route north from Ho Chi Minh City is picturesque but trains are the slowest form of transport with express services not living up to their name. As yet there are no rail passes available and it is advisable to book tickets as far in advance as possible. Soft class has seats with padding and four-berth cabins with thin mattresses, as opposed to hard class, which has wooden slatted seats and six-berth wooden berths.

Operators:

The Vietnamese railway company is Duong Sat Vietnam (tel: (08) 3843 6528 or 3931 8952; website: www.vr.com.vn). It is however better to go to the station, at 1 Nguyen Thong, District 3, to purchase rail tickets.

There is one major route in Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh City, via Nha Trang, Danang and Hue, to Hanoi.

Journey times:

To Hanoi – between 29 and 42 hours; to Hue – between 17 and 25 hours.

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