Grab Ho Chi Minh Airport Step-By-Step Review
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Taking Grab from Ho Chi Minh Airport to District 1 is only around 100k VND with an additional 10k VND airport fee. The pick-up point for international arrival is just at the parking lot crossing the road after the exit. While for domestic arrival, the pick-up point is some walk from the terminal at Lane D but it is not far. The duration is only around 35 minutes much less than taking the airport bus.
Using Grab will assist you in exploring the whole of Ho Chi Minh City efficiently in a short time. It also helps you to head straight to the best rate shop in HCMC to exchange VND, before the need of using any cash.
I have visited HCMC several times and find it totally worth it. Getting from the airport to the city center is the first step to ensure a fruitful journey. Based on my last visit to Ho Chi Minh City, you may find all the information you need for the Grab review for Tan Son Nhat International & Domestic Airport.
For International Arrival: Grab Pick-Up Point Is At the Arrival Gate Parking Lot
The pick-up point for international arrivals is just at the parking lot opposite of the arrival gate exit. Clearing customs, baggage claim area, and passing through the front door of the HCMC international arrival hall.
You shall see a two-lane road with zebra crossings. You need to be careful that usually there will be taxi drivers waving or try to claim that they are the “Grab”. This is usually a tourist scam. Instead, you should keep walking straight until you reach a spacious parking lot with Vietnam national flag in the middle. The area is usually crowded with people carrying their luggage waiting for Grab day and night so it is hard to miss.
Additionally, you can also follow the instruction on your Grab apps for the pick-up point but in short it is the spacious parking lot after all the zebra crossings. On the apps, you can also track and message (with auto translation) to ensure you get on the right car.
For Domestic Arrival: Grab Pick-up Point Is At Lane D, Not C
Clearing customs and passing through the front door of the HCMC domestic arrival hall. You shall see a two-lane road with zebra crossings and a waiting area in between. At that middle point is Lane C with all the green cars waiting.
However, it is not the pick-up point for Grab instead it is a taxi stand. To reach the Grab waiting point you need to cross both of the lanes heading to the café shops on the other side of the road.
From there, you shall see an information board with directions to “Pick-Up Area; Contracted Car; Ride-Hailing Service” with a layout. From there walk straight, and you will be in a car-park-like structure and find other tourists waiting there.
From City Center To Airport
Unlike departure, getting back from the city center with a grab is easy. You just need to hail the Grab plotting to the departure gate D1 or D2 of the airport. There is no restriction for Grab getting to the front of the arrival hall so your journey is smooth.
If you are taking a Grab bike instead, you can only drop off around 600m from the airport.
Price To District 1
The Grab ride from the airport to HCM District 1 takes only 100k VND (~ 4 USD). Depending on the hour, it may go up a bit, but it is still in a very reasonable range. You shall find no shortage of Grabs in HCM from the airport to the city center or the other way around.
If you are using Grab Bike, the price would be at least 50% off. The drawback would be first it only accommodates 1 person. It is only suitable for backpackers and the pick-up or drop-off point is at least 600 m from the airport.
With the cheap price and around 30-minute drive, it is easy to have a short trip to the city center even if you are doing a layover in HCMC. However, you need to ensure that you have a VN visa in advance or else you would be better off staying in the business lounge instead.
Airport Fee For Grab
The airport fee is 10k VND regardless of using Grab or Grab Bike. You can settle the fee on Grab with a card or with cash to the drivers. Usually, if you do not pick any option it will automatically settle on Grab via card. So you do not need to respond to any additional fee request from the driver.
On the Grab interface, you will see a message below to notify you of the information about the settlement.
Safety Concerns For Taking Grab In Ho Chi Minh
I used Grab ( & Grab Bike) multiple times in Vietnam, including in Ho Chi Minh. So far, it is the only Country that I have never had a bad experience with ride-hailing. Based on my experience, it is very safe to use Grab in Vietnam. There are several points of potential concern you may want to know in advance.
- As per my session about Airport fees, you just need to refuse any additional fee demanded by the drivers.
- If you are taking a Grab Bike, you may want to hold on to the handrails on both sides and wear the helmet provided, as the speed could be fast sometimes
- As a general practice, always turn on the app for tracking. If there is an unusually long drive or the route does not match, you should shout out.
Final Call Grab Or Taxi Or Bus
Taxi is definitely out of the selection unless you love higher prices even after brutal negotiation. Grab is my choice because it takes around 110k VND (~ 4.5USD) in total and takes me to District 1 in 35 minutes.
If I only carry one backpack, I would even do Grab bike which cut the cost by half and journey time to less than 30 minutes. Plus it is exciting.
The bus only takes around 5k VND (~ 0.2 USD) for bus 152 or 15k VND (~ 0.6 USD) for bus 109. They are both cheap and reliable. The journey is around 45 minutes but if you miss a bus you will need to wait for at least 30 minutes. So I would prefer paying more to buy my travel time with Grab service.
