Travel in Viet Nam

  passport & visa     trains & planes     [ xe ôms & taxis ]

To get around within the city, you've got a few choices: xe oms and taxis. Of course, you can always walk, but if there's much distance to travel, it's best to grab a wheeled vehicle.

Xe oms (say ohms) are often referred to as motorbike taxis, but the name really translates to something closer to "hugging transportation". Of course, you won't be expected to hug the driver, but foreigners do tend to hang on a lot more than the locals!

Xe oms are everywhere in the cities, but are found throughout even the small towns of Vietnam. They are a common, and cheap, way for people to get around. You'll often see families of 3,4,or even 5 on a motorbike, but it's safer to keep it down to 2 or 3 on a bike. We often rode the xe oms, taking one for me and the kids on another. Dozens of times we rode this way and it was a bit nerve-wracking at first, but we all soon got used to it and we never had anything bad happen.

The key to using xe oms is negotiation. The cost should range from 10-20,000VND in the city, depending on the distance and how desperate you are for a ride. Negotiate the price down and don't be afraid to walk away if he won't drop it to a resonable amount. It's amazing how quickly prices will drop when you head toward another driver!

Safety is another important issue for parents. Helmets are required by law (as of fall 2008), so if you plan to do much travel via xe om bring along some helmets. We brought helmets from the states with us, but you can purchase glorified skateboarding helmets here in all manner of colors and design, if you prefer.

Burns from the exhaust pipe are fairly common, so be careful to keep your legs away and consider having the kids wear long pants to prevent contact with the hot metal.

Taxis are always zipping around the cities, although it seems that too often they are not there where and when you need them. Truly they are constantly roaming the streets, but there are (too) many who are not legitimate and run scams from their small cars, overpricing and rigging the meters. We found Hanoi Taxi to be the best and used them dozens of times. We also got taken for a ride, quite literally a few times. Our second time back to the city, we were charged more than 100,000VND for a ride that (we'd later find out) normally cost about 25,000VND. We haven't been cheated by Hanoi Taxi or Mai Linh taxi (the taxi of choice in Thanh Hoa).

There are plenty of stories about taxis getting lost (happened), travelers getting ripped off (happened) or being diverted to another hotel (happened). Expect it, but be on your guard. Always carry smaller bills since one scam seems to be the "I can't make change" ploy. Recently, there's been an uptick in the driver thinking that he gets to keep the change as a tip. Make your own choice there.

On the whole, though, we had very few negative experiences and more often than not were treated kindly and with respect. In fact, one of our best experiences in Vietnam was with a taxi driver in Thanh Hoa.

Outside resources:

• Global Volunteers Network (the organization we used)
• Cross Cultural Solutions