Moving around Vietnam by which means of transport will give you the easiest and relaxed time ever? The answer will be sure taxi even though it can be a bit pricey right? However, compared to money you have to pay back when you’re in your country to Vietnam, sure, you will think it’s not so expensive anymore. However, we still need to be aware of the rip-off taxi scam which can make everyone shock when open the wallet to pay. Thus, in this blog, you can find some advices in choosing the best taxi services to go around.

Taxi companies

Please note some of their outside appearance first before getting in any taxi:

• Have pristine bodywork—no rust or dents
• Display a fare chart inside the cab
• Have the driver’s ID and number visible
• Never turn you away when you say where you want to go
• Always use a meter
• Ask for directions when they don’t know the way
• Take the most direct route, or the route with least congestion
• Never ask for the fee in US dollars

Hanoi

There are 3 reputable taxi companies in Hanoi that you can count on:

Mai Linh

Hanoigroup

ABC taxi

Da Nang

Mai Linh (picture above like in Hanoi)

Vinasun

Tien Sa

Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city)

Vinasun and Mai Linh (pictures above)

The fare of all taxi companies will be around VND 12,000 – 14,000/km

There will be some copy-cat taxis that will use similar or likewise names to trick you; however, please watch out the tips carefully:

• If there are letters missing, or the name is misspelt then don’t be fooled
• The car will not be at its best condition with rusty patches or dents outside.
• Look through the windows first to see if the driver’s id and meter there or not

Uber and Grab (available in Hanoi, Da Nang and Saigon)

Yes, you see it right. Uber is available in Vietnam and the app is as easy to use as in your country. Their fare is of course cheaper than normal taxi and from our point of view, is a better choice than taxi since you will know before how much you will have to pay and get to the place fasttest.

There is a competitor of Uber in Vietnam which is Grab. They operate their business the same way as Uber but the company somehow is in bigger scale than Uber with more car partners.

For both companies, the pros are:

• The fare are way cheaper than normal taxi
• You can rate and feedback the services directly on the apps.
• New cars in general
• Many promotions
• You can choose to pay by your card or cash.

The cons (for the normal taxi companies as well)

• Most of the driver can’t speak English or the very basic lines only.