As i wrote preciously transportation in Vietnam can be more successful and simple than possibly expected. One thing to make sure you do is to download the MobilePhone application called Grab. it is like Uber. Otherwise you wind up negotiating prices with local taxi drivers and you will definitely be paying much more. You can register your credit card with Grab so you can just get in and get out and the payment will automatically be made or you can pay them in cash. But in small towns you most likely will not find that service. our experience has been the local taxi drivers in small cities seem to be more honest so there probably will be not much of a disagreement about how much needs to be paid. But be very careful at any airport getting out and trying to get a taxi. Those places are rife with transportation scams of all kinds. Grab didn’t seem to be an option in airports.
For long distance, by chance, we found a company called FUTA, which has offices all over Vietnam, and seems to be very reputable. They were very helpful. They run a series of large buses throughout the country and they can even pick you up at your hotel and take you to the bus station if you request that in advance for a small fee, seemingly less expensive than a taxi. There are other bus services as well, but we didn’t try them and the reputation of Futa seems to be pretty good. it seems many of their buses for distances of over three hours are semi sleepers, propped up seats which can recline almost all the way. don’t take your big bags on those buses. There’s not enough space inside, so make sure you put your big luggage down below and make sure you have no valuables in that luggage, always caring your valuable stuff with you on the bus.
Airplane travel is very convenient. They have a variety of airlines, including the most expensive, which is Vietnam airlines, the national carrier. One we took was Vietjet, which is good, inexpensive and services smaller cities, and also Bamboo Airlines. you can go between many medium-size cities with most of those airlines and also to some of the outlying islands.
The train seems to be pretty much a disaster and no one recommends it. It doesn’t seem to run on time, is very slow and not much good to say about it, but I never tried it.
Make sure for any transport services that you are clear how much it’s gonna cost from one point to another and stick to that price. Don’t let people change prices on you. Be tough at your final destination Regarding the fees. of course the buses will require payment upfront as well the mini buses, large vans that seat 6 to 24 people depending on the size. Read up on the Internet regarding all of these services to get the most update information on which companies and services are reliable and have the least amount of hassle.
Disclaimer: Most of these photos are from Laos travels but there are so many similarities with Vietnam.