Getting to Ho Chi Minh City: By plane

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Tan Son Nhat (Tân Sơn Nhất) (IATA: SGN | ICAO: VVTS) is Vietnam's largest international airport. You can fly direct to SGN from Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Phuket, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bandar Seri Begawan, Manila, Macau, Hong Kong, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Nanning, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming, Seoul, Busan, Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Doha, Frankfurt, Paris, Moscow, Perth, Darwin, Sydney and Melbourne. There are two terminals: the new international terminal, which took over all international flights in 2007, and the old terminal, which is reserved for domestic traffic.

The recently introduced No. 152 air-conditioned airport bus is the cheapest way to the city from the airport. For about 3,000 dong, it will drop you off on the west side of the Pham Ngu Lao area, or at the bus terminal on the south side of the Ben Thanh Market roundabout. Upon exiting the airport, turn right and walk towards the domestic terminal - about a 5 minute walk. In front of the airport across a small road, you will see the bus waiting there. Note: Ignore taxi drivers that may tell you there are no more airport buses. However, the bus is only available until 7 pm.

In lighter traffic periods (which usually only happens between 9 am-11 am and 2 pm-4 pm), taxis from the airport to the city center will usually take as little as 15 minutes. During these lighter traffic periods, this should cost no more than 90,000 dong. More typically, taxis can creep along in near-standstill traffic for 30 minutes or more. During these heavier traffic periods, taxis will cost about 120,000 dong to 150,000 dong from district 1 (inclusive of airport tax).

As of spring 2009, the airport instituted a taxi queuing system on the left side at the far end of the terminal. A company called Sasco has the airport taxi concession. Their cars are the first you will see by the curb. Less expensive rivals, such as Vinasun and Mai Linh, can be found waiting in abundance 500 meters away and further out into the parking lot. Whichever taxi you choose, immediately ensure and require that the driver uses the meter. Make sure they start the meter before you get in the taxi. They may start driving without starting the meter, and will try to negotiate for a fixed price at a location where it's not feasible for a tourist to hire another cab.

In general, use caution and common sense when hiring a taxi in HCMC. When locals avoid a articular taxi service/driver, you should sense something is wrong as well. Blindly queuing for taxis may cost you, so look for the taxi wardens usually standing around the queue line (Mai Linh wardens are in green shirt green tie, Vinasun warden are in dark green shirt maroon tie), and they will radio the taxi for you. Major taxi companies are fairly honest, but if you want to avoid all stress, you could simply buy a "taxi coupon" at one of the counters after the custom declaration & x-ray at international airport terminal, next to the exchange counter.

Be cautious of taxis which resemble the above mentioned reputable companies, yet are actually scam artists. A lot of gangster taxis exist and some very closely copy names and markings of the more reputable taxi companies with very minor differences, e.g. VinasOn or VinasuM instead of VinaSUN, MEi Linh or Mai Lin or M Taxi instead of Mai Linh) To the unsuspecting visitor, they will charge outrageous fares. There have been instances of the fake cab services/drivers running off with unsuspecting, overly trusting visitor's belongings still in the taxi trunk/boot.

Watch out for taxi touts who also dress in white shirt uniforms and brandish laminated "fixed prices" cards at 4,400,000 dong per car to the city hotels. They will be prepared to drop the price to 2,600,000 dong but it is still a rip-off. Ignore them, stick to the metered taxis. Also ignore any taxi drivers that want to charge 140,000 dong to go from the Airport to Ben Thanh Market. The cost is only 75,000 dong on a weekday afternoon at 5 PM using a metered taxi.

If you are to take metered taxi, you should change just enough amount of money (usually around USD10 is sufficient) at the airport. The exchange in the airport may charge a commission as high as 3%. Taxi drivers earn commission by taking customers to certain hotels, so be explicit about exactly which hotel you want to be driven. To trick visitors into staying at other (commission paying) hotels, drivers may come up with any kind of excuses, e.g., "no vacancy", "the circus is in town", "that hotel burned down recently", etc.

Car Rental Service Drivers Recently, Budget Car Rental became the first international car rental company in Vietnam. They offer English speaking drivers and new model vehicles, one trip to the city costs fixed price of 140,000 dong.

Departure / Leaving HCMC When you going to the airport, be specific which terminal you want to go to. International flights go from the newer international terminal (go straight); Domestic flights (to Hanoi, Danang, Nha Trang, etc) are from domestic terminal (turn left).

If you get dropped off at the wrong terminal, you'll have to dash your way to the right terminal via pedestrian walkway link 600m away. This is not recommended, especially if you're already late for boarding.

When entering the airport, taxi drivers will add an entry fee to your total meter. This is for the airport entry fee (5000 dong). Don't confuse this entry fee with the "Airport Departure Tax" as International Departure Taxes should have been included in the price of your flight ticket. As of November 2009, going from Ben Thanh Market to the airport at noon, the total fare is 80,000VND using the green and white metered taxis (VinaSun and Mai Linh).

• Ban Nam Giun, in Tinh Lai Chau