Ride-sharing or ride-hailing, however, it’s written (with or with dashes and spaces), generally pertains to an Uber or Lyft-like driver service, in Vietnam’s case: Grab, Go Viet or Be. Simply down one of these apps to your smartphone and you can start relying on a myriad of experiences and trustworthy cars and motorbikes.
Ride-hailing Apps in Vietnam
The more time you spend in Vietnam the more you’ll notice all the colorful uniforms of the local Grab, Go Viet, and Be motorbike drivers. While Grab and Be both have car services, GoJek is a motorbike-only service. All the rides are very reasonably priced and you should expect to pay cash every time.
Guide to Ridesharing (-hailing) Apps in Vietnam
Ride-sharing(or ride-hailing) apps in Vietnam around towns and cities, big and small, as well as to and from popular destinations. There’s no Uber or Lyft operating in Vietnam, instead, the big three are:
They are readily available in most touristy areas and used by travelers and locals alike. You’ll nearly always save a bit of Dong versus using a taxi. Both cars and motorbike ride-hailing is available.
Ride-hailing tips
While very similar to Uber and Lyft, there are some regional differences in the Vietnamese ride-sharing services, like Grab, GoJek and Be. Let’s look at some practical tips for using the ride-hailing apps:
- You’ll need a small phone to download the app as it needs a phone number. It’s best to pick up a local sim card so you can purchase cheap data in Vietnam. $5 will go a long way. Then you get service everywhere and don’t rely on Wifi. It makes travel and hailing the motorbike/vehicle a lot easier. A decent new phone for the job of apps, internet, and talk in Vietnam will be $50+; available from a lot of bumblebee-colored stores, among others.
- Bring Vietnamese Dong as you’ll need to pay in cash. It’s not like credit cards pre-paid with Uber.
- Tipping is never required but always appreciated. A typical motorbike trip usually own runs 20,000-40,000 Dong ($1-2) for a cross-city trip. You’ll likely tip 10K.
- Cars have air conditioning and can fit more people and luggage. Even if traveling solo, sometimes the coolness of the A.C. is worth the surcharge over a motorbike.
- Motorbikes are cheaper and travel faster than vehicles in large cities, so they are perfect for single riders with little baggage or a few friends who want to get thru a city’s traffic a lot quicker.
- Grab, GoJek and Be usually CANNOT pick up directly at the airport. You’ll need to walk outside the airport limits to be picked up (plenty of people do this), or just opt for a reliable taxi service on-site, especially if you got luggage.
- If you plan to use a motorbike driver a lot you can buy your own helmet nearly anywhere, as they are affordable and it will be nicer, better fitting, and cleaner. And likely a whole lot safer. There are levels. This applies to only longer-term travelers that prefer not to drive themselves.
Grab, GoJek and Be serve the most densely populated areas around the country. Keep in mind that GoJek is motorbike-only, while the others you can secure an air-conditioned car if you need/want/gotta have it. Have a safe trip and enjoy saving some dong over taxis!
