Hey guys,
We are leaving tonight to go to Vietnam. We have been before around 3 years ago but Uber wasnt that much of a thing back then. I was wondering what experiences people have had with uber or its vietnamese equivalent in Vietnam. We will be going to Hanoi, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh. Is it cheaper than cabs there?
Thanks in advance
Uber or It Likes in Vietnam?
Marioedd on 01/12/2017 - 10:01
Comments
Thanks, i recall cabs being very cheap aswell. Ill have a go anyways. Thanks
Has your trip started yet?
Try Grab car. Trip cost is calculated basing on your start and end point, no matter which route the driver goes. That would be safer for foreigners
Uber and Grab are awesome.
DL both and compare.
Best thing is you always know what you are going to pay upfront and wont get ripped off by cabs.That was my main concern aswell. Thanks
Yep - we used Grab back in August for most stuff.
It was very convenient and we knew exactly what the cost was - no chance of being scammed.
@blaircam
Ignorance is bliss
lol
LOL, using lol at your age…
From my experience, the level of service are better with Uber or Grab compared to taxi. Quite similar to the situation here to be honest. More often than not you'll get a taxi driver who reckons personal hygiene is overrated.
And you'll more likely to get an Uber/Grab driver that knows English than with taxi.
We used Grab alot and Uber, compared between the two and sometimes one app would have a promotion on for discounts, so look out for that too, We found that the apps should include the 10,000 dong airport toll fee, so uber and grab drivers will try and say its not but just show them the bill on your app and theirs should show the fee included as well
I've always used Uber. Remember to sign up for a VN Uber account because Ubers in Vietnam tend to call your registered mobile to discuss your trip. They've always been cheap and reliable, they also tend to be more comfortable cars as well.
Enjoy your trip to Vietnam!
We just got back and basically just stuck to Mai Linh and I think Taxi Group taxis - They get you where you need to go. If you have an address or something written down its even easier. But if you are going to landmarks they know where to go.
Most places you are will call you a cab too - You can walk into a hotel or restaurant and ask them to call you a cab and they will do it no problem
We were never ripped off or anything. They seemed pretty good to me. Stick to those companies and you will be alright. Although look out for the "Fake" taxis with not exactly those names but similar :P
Its all part of the experience, you have to get ripped off somewhere. Like where they tried to get me to buy a ticket that cost 24 AUD to cross a bridge in Hoi An that I had crossed every day for free :P I just flashed them a piece of paper and they said I was free to go :P
The only two safest and most reliable taxi companies in Vietnam are Mai Linh and Vinasun. The rest would most likely give you higher prices or rip you off completely.
Thanks so much for the help everyone! From everyones comments i seem to gather that Uber and Grab are the best in Vietnam and to fluctuate between both according to deals. Furthermore the drivers are more clean, safe and reliable as well as mostly talking English.
Another question: Does anyone recall the name of a plaza like area that had a market inside it within Ho Chi Minh. It mostly had clothes and I wanted to go there to buy some. If i remember correctly it was near a army or military building of some sort that was guarded.
Thanks!Sorry forgot to mention its not ben thanh. The clothes at this market were way better than ben thanh.
Saigon square?
It's like a clothes market with some electronics inside a building. 2 levels only.
Not far from Ben thanhHighly highly recommend Saigon Centre. It's pretty much an Australian large shopping centre in Vietnam.
There are quite a few. But if you think of fleece market style, it's Saigon Square market. Look it up as it might have relocated recently.
If you want to save a few bucks, practice your bargaining. Like vigorously.
Was there early November and I tried Uber for the first time, it was amazing. Only the big cities like Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Hanoi have them. You don't have to worry about the fare jumping up and you can track how the car is heading to your destination.
I used uber on a recent trip, service was great and prices were super cheap.
I used Uber in Hanoi back in December last year and it was great and so cheap. A 15 minute trip only cost us like $4-5
scooter taxis appear to be cheaper than car taxis through personal experience
Especially during peak hour
For those wanting taxis in HCMC, Vinasun and Mai Linh are a brillant taxi company (I think that they are asociated). Never problems for me over many trips. I now never take any other taxis.
Based on my experience a few months ago, here are a few tips for taking Uber and Grab:
- In Saigon, Grab is the more popular one, while in Hanoi they are pretty much on pair. This one matters in case you landed in some strange place away from popular tourist attractions where the number of available driver make a difference. Uber seems to have more optimised apps catering for English speaking tourist.
- Grab and Uber differs a bit in terms of calculating fare. Grab provides fare based on the shortest route between two destination and fare remained unchanged, what you see is the final you have to pay. Uber on the other hand give you estimated fare but actual fare depends on actual trip. So taking Grab is more price-wise option and you're less likely to be driving around the block, but this can leads to unpleasant situation in place like Hanoi where driver decides to drop you off mid-trip because the calculated route is unfair to them (lots of one-way trip over there but Grab programmers don't care/don't know).
- Watch out for promotions, both have frequent promotion code so make sure you opt in for that options in the apps or email sign up. The promotion is usually in the form of taking 2 trips and you get 40% off or 40,000vnd ($2) off the next 10 trips (or first trip of the day for the next 7 days). So if you are a hardcore ozbargainer, you can plan to get most of your trip free or half price (if you stay within popular place, i reckon most trips are under $6).
- Use your card (with zero foreign exchange fee like Citi or Macquarie) to pay for the trip through the app, you do have the options to use cash payment but using card you don't have to worry about driver being dishonest (double dipping from Uber promotion and taking full fare, expect you to tip the spare changes) or sorting out spare changes yourself. Exchange rate I found was very competitive.
-Watch out for peak hour and weather event when you take taxi, because in peak hour or after heavy rain (when the street is flooded and traffic jams everywhere), taking taxi (Mai Linh and Vinasun in Saigon, or a bunch of other no name company in Hanoi) is the better option because Grab and Taxi both raise fare during these hours.
-Watch out for driver side promotions if you could, because this will dictate your experience with Uber and Grab when you take short trips (less than 2-3km). This obviously requires a bit of talk with driver so it might be too hard. Reason for this is sometimes one of them decided to offer incentives to driver if they meet certain target. For example while we were in Hanoi Uber was offering rewards to driver hitting a certain number of short trip for the day so everytime we booked with Uber we got a confirmed booking while more than 50% of the booking with Grab ends up being cancelled. And those Grab driver taking those short trips were very grumpy and rude to us.
- Taxi/Uber/Grab to and from the airport has been and always the problems especially for cities having airport within close proximity of the city centre. Saigon is a typical example of this. Driver taking passenger to/from airport normally expect to hit a jackpot (and those airport security guide too) so everyone expect to get a bit of a pie. So if you trip is too short and driver is likely to make a loss, so it is very common to see driver calling you to enquire about your destination and cancelled the trip if they deemed unprofitable. And you find yourself spending over half an hour looking for a driver or ends up with poor customer service along the trip.
- Outside Hanoi and Saigon, your only option is traditional cab driver so go with Mai Linh because they are nationwide.
In general, Grab and Uber were real cheap, saved me like more than 50% compared to regular taxis. But you still expect some bad weeds coming out of them because the way Uber and Grab milking them for profit. Some obviously showed discontent and poor customer service if they realised they're not making much profit out of your trip. It is common to see driver calling you to determine the destination and cancelled the trip if they deemed unprofitable."But you still expect some bad weeds coming out of them because the way Uber and Grab milking them for profit. Some obviously showed discontent and poor customer service if they realised they're not making much profit out of your trip. It is common to see driver calling you to determine the destination and cancelled the trip if they deemed unprofitable"
correct, i had that in other asian countries….. taxis are cheap, so if Uber/Grab are 50% cheaper you just get some very average service and driver plugging a local " massage business" for a commission…… depends how much of a tight @ss you are to save $3 on average.
well, i'd say traditional taxi service is no better if not even worse. And you don't have any venue to complain to (calling to customer hotline almost certainly falls to deaf ear, even if you speak the local language, and most cases you won't be remember driver name or plate number). With Uber or Grab you have the record and head office are more willing to offer resolution.
yeah i get your point, but most time taking local transport is an uneventful journey so paying cash with a few bucks you have is often easier than worrying about the forex you use lose in using that inflated credit card rate on a per transaction basis
I have a slightly related situation.
In January 2018, and within Thailand, I want to go from Chiang Mai to Pai, and then back again after a couple of days.
I have read nightmare stories about the trip by minivan (200THB each way).
Off the cuff I asked one taxi propped near my hotel for a quote and he said 3000thb. each way. I am sure that I can beat that as taxis propped at hotels tend to 'stooge' tourists.
Anyway Uber is quoting about 2000thb each way. However in a trial run when I look at the app and try to schedule a time it comes up
"Pickup Area Unavailable Ride scheduling is not available in this area at this time!".
Does this mean that I can only book for Immediate pick up, or that the journey is not available?
Does anyone have any recommendations for transport for this journey?
I tried to download the Grab app. but can't activate it as it does not accept the verification code.
I was there in August. Cabs were so cheap, efficient and available that I didnt bother with Uber. When you get in it is like 40 cents AUD and the most any cab cost me was like $5. Once you get a sim over there, try Uber and see what you think, but I personally wouldnt bother with the hassle.