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🚇 Metro · Taxi · Bus

Getting from District 2 to District 1 and around town — how to ride Metro Line 1, taxis, buses and the waterbus, and what to know before riding a motorbike yourself

What to take? A quick comparison

• Metro Line 1 — from Thảo Điền and An Phú stations in District 2 to Bến Thành in District 1. No traffic jams, and cheap.
• Grab · Xanh SM · Be — picks you up at your door. The most convenient. Details in the 🛵 How to Use Grab guide.
• Taxi — for hailing on the street. Reliable companies are listed under 'Taxis · Buses · Waterbus' below.
• Bus — cheapest, but you need to figure out the routes.
• Waterbus — along the Saigon River to Bạch Đằng in District 1. Sightseeing and transport in one.
• District 2 ↔ District 1 are linked by the Thủ Thiêm Tunnel, Ba Son Bridge, Sài Gòn Bridge and more. At rush hour the bridges get very congested, so the metro is often faster.

Riding Metro Line 1

1. 1. Stations and route —
   • Bến Thành (District 1) ↔ Suối Tiên (bus terminal), 14 stations. Bến Thành, Opera House and Ba Son are underground; the rest are elevated.
   • The former District 2 has Thảo Điền Station and An Phú Station (elevated above Võ Nguyên Giáp, formerly Xa lộ Hà Nội).
   • To District 1: Thảo Điền → Văn Thánh → Tân Cảng → Ba Son → Opera House → Bến Thành. No traffic all the way to downtown District 1.
2. 2. Tickets · Fares —
   • Buy tickets from station machines or counters, or pay cashless with a bank card, e-wallet or QR. Transit cards (smart cards) are also available.
   • Fares are 7,000–20,000 VND depending on distance. Cashless fares are slightly cheaper at 6,000–19,000 VND.
   • Passes: day pass 40,000–90,000 VND, monthly pass 300,000 VND (as reported in 2025).
3. 3. Operating hours —
   • As of Aug 2025: starts at 05:00 daily, runs until 22:00 on weekdays and 23:00 on weekends and public holidays.
   • Every 6–8 minutes at rush hour, 10–12 minutes otherwise.
   • Hours may change, so check official announcements.

Metro stations in District 2

Taxis · Buses · Waterbus

• Reliable taxis: Vinasun (white), Mai Linh (green) and Xanh SM (Vingroup's electric cars, teal). Fake taxis copy their logos, so check the company name spelling and phone number.
• When you take a taxi off the street, check that the meter is turned on. If not, get out.
• Bus routes are complicated. Check the route number first in a navigation app (Google Maps etc.). Pay in cash or cashless.
• The Saigon Waterbus leaves from Bạch Đằng pier in District 1 and goes via Thủ Thiêm, Bình An (former District 2) and others to Linh Đông. Sources differ on the number of stops and fares (to be confirmed) — check the official site saigonwaterbus.com.

Riding a motorbike yourself? Know this first

• To ride a motorbike in Vietnam you need a Vietnamese driving license. Vietnamese law (Luật Trật tự, an toàn giao thông đường bộ 2024) only recognizes International Driving Permits issued under the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (1968), carried together with your national license. IDPs issued under the older 1949 Geneva Convention, which reportedly include those from the US, Canada, Australia and South Korea, are not accepted, so check which convention yours was issued under (check the latest rules).
• If you crash without a license, insurance won't cover it and all fines and liability fall on you.
• When renting a motorbike, don't leave your original passport. Negotiate a deposit or a copy instead.
• Until you're used to the traffic, GrabBike and the metro are the safer choice.

Phrases for getting around

Sources

• Wikipedia — Ho Chi Minh City Metro Line 1
• Tuoi Tre News — Metro operating hours extended (Aug 2025)
• HCMC Metro — Line 1 fares
• SGGP — Urban areas around Metro Line 1 (Thảo Điền · An Phú stations)
• Jackfruit Adventure — Saigon Waterbus (2025)
• Tuoi Tre News — Xanh SM becomes market leader (2025)

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