Become a Virtual Tourist Member Today!  Sign Up for Free | Sign In

Over-pricing, Ho Chi Minh City

Search:
email to friend | help

Ho Chi Minh City Travel Guide


Sponsored Links for Ho Chi Minh City

Private Guided Vietnam
Hanoi, Ha Long, Ho Chi Minh, $975+ Nat'l Geo Adventure, Top Outfitter.

LA to Vietnam from $1225
Includes Taxes & Fees. Book Now! Best Fare Guaranteed. Singapore Air

General Contractor
Kitchen&Bathroom Remodel & Addition Free Estimates

Ho Chi Minh Hotels
Save $ on your hotel reservation in Vietnam. Reserve now!

InterContinental Hanoi
Upscale luxury accommodation near Hanoi Opera House. Official Site.

Over-pricing, Ho Chi Minh City
See all Ho Chi Minh City Tourist Traps
A stroll along the well-known Dong Khoi Street.... - Ho Chi Minh City
A stroll along the well-known Dong Khoi Street....
by sailor_p
Ho Chi Minh City Tourist Traps: Over-pricing tips and photos posted by real travelers and Ho Chi Minh City locals.
Over-pricing
• 7 Photos
• 18 Reviews
Sort By:  Most Recent | Best Rated
Over-pricing: Avoid the minibar in your...
  • Tip Rating:
  • Avoid the minibar in your hotel! A can of coke in our room cost 50,000 Dongs while in the nearby supermarket it is only 4,000 Dongs! The hotel restaurant is no different than the minibar: 12x normal! The area around the Caravelle Hotel where we stayed (District 1) is a tourist trap area. Even the street vendors will overcharge if you are not careful. They will attempt to sell a set of dirty old coins that are not used anymore for USD 10.00 while they are probably worth less than USD 1.00. If you want to buy maps, buy it from a real bookstore.

    Leave a Comment


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Over-pricing
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Over-pricing: Be Ready to HAGGLE!
  • Tip Rating:
  • people in the markets have 100% mark up in their merchandise so you MUST HAGGLE!, start at 70% of the price and if they don't agree then LEAVE since 90% will ask yes to your price. Remember, just walk away if you don't like the price and chances are they will agree to your asking price.

    knock off 70% from their asking price for the merchandise.

    buy at department stores even if they have fixed prices since you can be assured of the quality!


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Over-pricing
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Over-pricing: You must know your taxis in HCMC
    All the tips on taxis overcharging so far are based on tourist experience. You need to know that there are licensed and "private" cabs. Licensed cabs have company names printed prominently and the last 6 numbers (company tel no) are always in a pattern. Eg (08) 8 383838. Even these licensed cabbies bring you for a long ride at times. The biggest culprits are "private" unlicensed cabs - they have small stickers (some camouflage themselves so well that they look like the licensed cabs), no patterns in their tel no, and meters that have been tweaked to go at double the rate.

    The AIRPORT : The new HCMC airport opened in Aug 2007. It's much nicer and less intimidating than the old one. No longer will you be able to move out to hail the cheaper taxis. Instead, the various taxi companies post their own "guides" who will try to get you on to their cabs at the highest price. So you have to bargain around and see which will give you the best price. Determine the price before you board so that you are not brought on a long ride. GENERALLY : I always take Taxi Vinasun because they maintain a very professional standard and I have never been ripped off by a Taxi Vinasun. And there are many white-&-green Taxi Vinasun cabs around. Next is the yellow Vinataxi - also quite reliable. The blue Savico-Comfort ripped me off twice in a row and Saigon Tourist once. Please refer to the following site for more details on taxis in HCMC and on how to distinguish between the real and imitation cabs!!! http://his3site.com/page3.html

    You can always hire a car with driver (from one of the travel companies in Pham Ngu Lao) for about 800,000-1 mil VND to bring you around for a whole day (8 hrs). I did that when I had a big group of 7-8. Convenient and value for money. The adventurous will rent a motorbike but I've yet to try - not that adventurous. You can get on the local illegal motor bikes alias "xe om" or "Honda om" (about 10,000-15,000VND for short distances within town) - well, it depends on your bargaining skills but always determine price first. And you ride at your own risk! But with the new compulsory helmut law coming in Dec 07, I doubt if I'll be taking any more of these xe oms - God knows how many hundred people would have used the helmuts these xe oms provide.


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Over-pricing
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Over-pricing: Beware
    Beware of paying too much at the markets especially if you're a first timer to Vietnam...I paid $12 US for an item last year and this year was offered the same thing for $3!!!!! Incidentally, I thought $12 was a fair price!!

    Don't buy at the first stall no matter how tempting. Walk away and the price will all of a sudden be reduced.

    Leave a Comment


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Over-pricing
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Over-pricing: Haggling
    On one occasion at the famous Ben Thanh market, my friend and i were interested in buying a man utd replica jersey. To our shock, we were quoted $68!!! Luckily for us we did not fall for the trap and bought it for $10 instead. This experience just makes me wonder how many ppl have been duped to pay such extravagant prices.


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Over-pricing
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Over-pricing: Money matter
    Overpricing is a -ve point in Vietnam. if you are a foreigners, especially people with golden hair, american and japanese tend to have thier disadvantage here. 2 things to note, they goods from the trips to the bags, soveniers, t-shirts are all over price. Make sure you cut 40% off their usual tag price. If not dun buy and its really not clever to buy things in USD. Always ask for DONG.


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Over-pricing
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Over-pricing: Taken for a ride by cabby
    The cabby picked me and my mum up in front of ben thanh market, heading back for our apartment in district 1, which was not very far away. Normally the whole trip would cost us only about 20,000 dong. However, shortly after we got onto the cab, the meter jumped to 23,000 dong. The cabby took a route that was unfamiliar to the both of us, so we did not know where he was supposed to be heading, until when he drove to a park, where the apartment was just down the road. However, instead of just heading straight for the apartment, he made a left turn and drove further and further away. My mum asked him if he knew where the place was, which he insisted he did, and mumbled some things in vietnamese which we did not understand. In the end, we told him to stop the cab when the meter read 54,500 dong, which is obviously a ripoff since the trip from the airport to the apartment only cost about 60,000 dong. We paid him 50,000 dong and then took another cab back to the apartment for about 17,000 dong. The license plate number of the cheating cab was 0533.


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Over-pricing
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Over-pricing: Typical Tourist Trap
    You find these souvenir shops all around Asia. The prices are about double the price outside. The tour guide gets a commission for just bringing you to these shops. Don't buy anything, but if you must, buy some small stuff like a keychain or fridge magnets costing about US$1 to US$2. Otherwise, just note down whatever items you like and try to find them at Ben Than Market.

    For just entering this shop, you'll get a free mini plastic fan which is useful during the hot season. This particular shop is in Chinatown.

    Leave a Comment


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Over-pricing
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    More Ho Chi Minh City Tips
    Overview
     
    General Tips
    Tips: 174 - Photos: 114
    Restaurants
    Tips: 505 - Photos: 360
    Hotels and Accommodations
    Tips: 315 - Photos: 200
    Things To Do
    Tips: 863 - Photos: 760
    Nightlife
    Tips: 137 - Photos: 87
    Off the Beaten Path
    Tips: 109 - Photos: 104
    Tourist Traps
    Tips: 54 - Photos: 26
    Warnings or Dangers
    Tips: 96 - Photos: 43
    Transportation
    Tips: 147 - Photos: 94
    Local Customs
    Tips: 104 - Photos: 69
    Packing Lists
    Tips: 42 - Photos: 25
    Shopping
    Tips: 168 - Photos: 121
    Sports Travel
    Tips: 9 - Photos: 6
    Flights
    Tips: 19 - Photos: 13

    More Sponsored Links for Ho Chi Minh City

    Ho Chi Minh Vacation
    Experience True Luxury - Fly Cathay Pacific Airways - Official Site.

    Discount Vacation Deals
    Over 40 Great Vacation Offers All In One Place. See Our Packages Now!

    Airlines
    We go out of our way to find you the perfect trip at a great price.

    Search Hotels
    Find the best room rates
    All Ho Chi Minh City Hotels

    Check-In Date:


    Check-Out Date:


    Guests



    Hotels by OneTime.com




    Find:        Matching:  Advanced