Buses, Ho Chi Minh City

When you arrive in Ho Chi Minh City, wander past the taxis and touts waiting outside the international terminal. Head towards the domestic terminal and you will find that there is a local bus, number 152 that will take you into town. The cost was 3,000 dong plus an extra 2,000 dong for luggage. We were able to get off the bus right next our hotel in De Tham street in the Pham Ngu Lao area. This bus ride was our very first taste of Vietnam and being up higher than in a taxi we were able to take in so much more! We had the locals on the bus in stitches as they watched us laughing and gasping at the chaotic traffic!

If you intend to visit HCMC from Phnom Penh, purchase the bus ticket from Capitol GH in Phnom Penh.

The guesthouse is actually working with Sinh Cafe in HCMC. The whole journey is devided into 2 pars. The first part is from Phnom Penh to MocBai (Cambodia-Vietnam border) and the 2nd part is from MocBai to HCMC.

You will be sitting in a van rather than a bus until u reached MocBai. The van depart at 6:45am and reach the border around 5 hours later. During this 1st part journey, they van will stopover at a restaurant for lunch. It is advice to take the lunch because you will reach HCMC in the laet afternoon.

Second part of the journey is after the stamp in custom, in vietnam site, there is a waiting house across the custom counter ( after you get your health cert). This is where you wait for the bus to go HCMC. The bus is now supplied by Sinh Cafe. The time from border to HCMC is around 2.5 hours. But the problem is, you have to wait for the bus to reach.

In my last trip, we crossed the border at 12 noon but the bus reached here on 2pm, that is why you re adviced to take your lunch first.

The bus will bring you from MocBai to Pham Ngu Lao area in HCMC where the sinh cafe located.

The ticket from Phnom Penh cost 6USD.

(last date took the bus - Dec. 26, 2004)

Saigon to Phnom Pehn, Cambodia

Bus Fare - 4 US $

Address : Hanh Cafe
158 Bui Vien St. Dist. 1 HCMC
Tel. # 08-8378750

Departure time - 8:30 a.m. (saigon)
Arrival time - 4:30 p.m. (phnom pehn)

4 more images

Saigon
Many times while travelling in and through Vietnam and Cambodia I have chosen to use The Mailinh Express Bus Company. I found them very handy to where I was in Saigon in Pham Ngu Lao area and are located beside the ABC bakery ..another great find..
I used this Company on many accassions and found the busses that I used were clean ,realiable and got you there on time..I travelled on these busses through Vietnam and also cambodia..They are inexpensive to use and just book the day before..There is a waiting room at the bus station and they will also look after your luggage.They have booking offices in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Location address Van phong 201 , Pham Ngu Lao, Qaun 1, tp. Ho Chi Min city. Vietnam

Ignore the taxi drivers telling you that there's NO BUS from the airport. Actually THERE IS !!
Keep walking towards domestic terminal which is located right from Intl. Airport. In the last lane you will see the buses. There fare is only 3000VND. Takes about 45min. to Bus terminal near Ben Than Market.
To the airport, from bus stop #16 ( sorry I forgot but front side ) same bus #152 is going to the airport.
Have a nice trip.

price is about $18 round trip from pham ngu lao street (saigon) to bus terminal in Phnom Penh. It took 7 hours to travel including 30 minutes at the border and another 30 min lunch somewhere there also. They serve free 2 bottles mineral water and a bun vietnamese style. Taste g0od though. Bus is aircon. Bus conductor will collect your passports and m0ney for visa-on-arrival (if applicable).
Schedule i took is 6:30am. Although there are other 3 m0re schedules.

Address: pham ngu lao corned de tham sts., HCMC

A great, cheap and easy way of travelling the whole length of the country from north to south (or vice versa) is by taking the Sinh Cafe Open Bus. They have an office in each major town/city and offer a daily service between the main sightseeing points of Saigon, Dalat, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue and Hanoi on modern clean buses with plenty of leg room and (where applicable) sleeper buses. If you go to their office, they'll explain everything for you along with a timetable and costs (this is also found on their website below so you plan this before you arrive in Vietnam). The first leg of my trip involved travelling between Ho Chi Minh City and Dalat which took about 8 hours with a stop for lunch along the way and cost me 100,000 VND (Jan 2009). They pick up and drop you off at their offices so it's probably best to find out where they are in each place before you arrive.

If you are staying in the central district there is not much use for you to take a public bus, except perhaps for the ride to the airport in which case you can take number 152.

For those who like to explore the surroundings/outskirts of HCMC, taking the bus is not that difficult as it looks but keep the following rules in mind:

- Standing at the busstop is not enough, hail the bus like you would hail a taxi (wave your hand).
- Get on the bus quickly, the do not stop for you, when driving slowly simply jump on and hold on tight :)
- If you pay on the bus for a ticket it costs you 6000Dong, simply sit down and the conductor will approach you and you get a receipt, hold on to it as sometimes inspectors check the bus.
- Tickets purchased in advance are only 3000Dong, you have a coupon (or a coupon booklet with more coupons in it) with 2 identical numbers, board the bus, once the conductor approaches you, tear the ticket in half and give 1 number to the conductor, hold on to your receipt.
- Getting of is like getting on, before your stop comes get up, walk to the door.. and get out. The conductor will warn you and motorcyclists wenn you can get off.. but still keep an eye out for those motorcyclists.

For anyone intersted in going from HCMC to other major tourist centers in Vietnam, I would advise taking an express "sleeper bus".

These buses are convenient and cheap (we went from HCMC to Muy Ne for $8), and travel as fast (or as slow) as a private car. They have upper and lower rows of bunks, which enable you to recline or lie down quite comfortably.
You can make a reservation in any travel agency in Pham Ngu Lao, HCMC, and that is also the area where these buses depart from.

There are good sleeper bus services between HCMC - Dalat - Hanoi, and between HCMC- Muy Ne- Na Trang - Hanoi.

One word of caution: the driver has absolute power to decide when and where to make a toilet stop! On our bus two pretty desperate girls pleaded with the driver to stop as soon as he could for toilets, but he just drove on for another hour before making a stop!

Windsor Plaza Hotel, which is in District 5, is some distance from the centre of the city. The hotel provides free Shuttle Bus Service every hour on a loop route.

The red maroon mini bus can seat about 12-15 persons and would seems insufficient given the size of the hotel.

At about 10:00am, the shuttle bus arrives at the hotel promptly and only 5 persons boarded the bus (including the 3 of us).

The first stop was on the side road of the roundabout (across from Ban Thanh Market). Second stop is close the Tax Mall (shopping center with fixed prices goods/products).

On this return trip, there was only 2 persons in the mini bus and one alighted soon after leaving the 4 of us in the mini bus.