Every piece of travel content about Vietnam gives the same advice: download Grab. It is good advice. It is also where most transport guidance ends, leaving first-time visitors without the knowledge to navigate the country's layered, often opaque, and deeply practical transit ecosystem.
A returning traveler who completed a 12-day circuit of Hanoi, Phu Quoc, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City put the question directly on r/travel: what do you do when ride-hailing apps aren't available, and how do you decode the real costs of everything else? Here is the complete answer.
Grab and Bolt: When They Work and When They Don't
Grab dominates urban ride-hailing in Vietnam and works seamlessly in all major cities. Bolt competes in some southern markets. Both apps provide fixed prices, eliminate haggling, and leave an electronic record — essential for solo travelers. The limitation: in smaller towns, rural areas, and some island destinations (including parts of Phu Quoc), driver availability is thin or nonexistent. Do not arrive at a remote waterfall expecting to Grab back.
The Train System: Better Than Its Reputation
Vietnam Railways (VR) runs the Reunification Express from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, stopping at all major destinations. The train is slow by regional standards — the full journey takes 30+ hours — but the overnight sleeper classes offer genuine value: a bed, a panoramic coastal route through the central Vietnamese interior, and an experience no airline can replicate.
Class matters enormously. SE-class soft-seat trains represent the baseline for comfort on shorter segments. Four-berth soft-sleeper cabins (the second-highest class) are the sweet spot for overnight journeys — clean, air-conditioned, and bookable in advance through the official Vietnam Railways website or third-party platforms like Baolau and 12Go Asia. The cheaper six-berth hard-sleeper cabins are functional but noticeably less comfortable.
Sleeper Buses: The Backpacker Standard
For routes the train doesn't serve efficiently — or for budget travelers — sleeper buses ("giường nằm") provide reclining-bed transport between cities for roughly $8–20 USD depending on distance. The Hanoi-to-Ninh Binh run, the Da Nang-to-Hoi An corridor, and connections into the Central Highlands are well-served by reliable operators including Futa, The Sinh Tourist, and Ha Long express services. Book directly at bus stations or through reputable hostels; avoid unmarked buses at border crossings.
Xe Om and Local Motorbike Taxis
Before Grab, xe om (motorbike taxi) drivers were the primary short-distance urban transport. They remain useful in areas where Grab coverage is sparse, and for riders comfortable with motorcycles. Agree on a price before you get on. A reasonable rate for a short urban hop is 20,000–40,000 VND ($0.80–$1.60 USD). The Grab Bike function within the Grab app effectively digitalizes this option with price certainty.
Open-Tour Tickets and Their Limits
Open-tour tickets — multi-stop passes allowing travel between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on a flexible schedule — were once backpacker gospel. They remain available but have been largely superseded by the flexibility of booking individual sleeper buses and train segments as needed. The exception: if your itinerary is exactly the standard north-south route with no detours, an open-tour can simplify logistics at a modest cost.
Key Practical Rules
Always have small Vietnamese dong (VDN) for bus tickets, market transport, and local xe om rides. ATMs are common in cities but scarce in rural areas. Download offline maps before leaving WiFi coverage. And build in buffer time at every junction — Vietnam's traffic does not operate on airline schedules.
