What is worth knowing in advance: how the service works, what to ask, what to look at. Each guide is written for its own city and links to that city’s listings in this directory.
Address, booking and opening hours of the Russian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, and what to do if you lose your passport: police, return certificate, exit visa.
How to get from Ho Chi Minh City to My Tho, Ben Tre and Can Tho without a tour, where the Cai Rang floating market is and what the delta provinces are called now.
How to reach the Cu Chi Tunnels without a tour: buses 13 and 79, Grab and taxi, travel time, Ben Dinh or Ben Duoc, what to bring and when to go.
What is fastest from Ho Chi Minh City to Mui Ne, Da Lat and Nha Trang: bus, train or plane, where buses leave from, the Da Lat airport status and which province you end up in.
How to choose a dentist in Ho Chi Minh City: clinics with addresses and hours, licence check, written plan and warranty, what to do at night, insurance.
Does Grab work in Ho Chi Minh City, how to get a taxi from Tan Son Nhat airport, where Metro Line 1 runs, its hours and how to pay for a ticket.
Which hospital to go to in Ho Chi Minh City: ambulance 115, 24-hour emergency departments, languages and phones, insurance, 24-hour pharmacies and prescription rules.
Which licence you need for a motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City, what happens without one, helmets, rental shops, why not to leave your passport and what to do after an accident.
One walking day in central Ho Chi Minh City: Ben Thanh Market, Nguyen Hue walking street, the post office, Notre-Dame, Independence Palace, the War Remnants Museum and the Opera. Hours and Metro.
Where a foreigner can get a SIM in Ho Chi Minh City, which documents are needed, whether the airport sells SIMs, how eSIM works and what to do if a SIM is blocked.
Where to change currency legally in Ho Chi Minh City, which banks are in the centre, what street exchange risks, Mir cards, roubles and cash declaration.
Ho Chi Minh City has a dry season from December to April and a rainy season from May to November. It is hot all year, about 27-30 degrees on average, hottest in April and May. High tides (trieu cuong) flood low streets late in the rainy season.
Tan Son Nhat airport is about 7-8 km from Ben Thanh market: 20-25 minutes by taxi without traffic, 45-60 minutes at rush hour or in heavy rain. Grab, Be or Xanh SM is the simplest; bus 109 runs by day to Pham Ngu Lao.