Airport Transfers in Ho Chi Minh City

Tan Son Nhat sits closer to the middle of Ho Chi Minh City than almost anyother major airport is to its city - it is inside the urban area, in TanBinh district, a handful of kilometres from the centre. That sounds like itmakes transfers trivial. What it actually means is that every journey fromthe airport is a city journey, on city streets, in city traffic, from themoment you leave the kerb. The domestic and international terminals are adjacent but separatebuildings, and the walk between them with luggage is longer than it looks onthe signage. A driver needs to know which one you are arriving at. Districts are the organising fact here, and they are numbered rather thannamed, which trips up first-time visitors. District 1 is the centre - DongKhoi, Ben Thanh, the opera house, and where most first-time visitors stay.District 3 is immediately adjacent and often quieter for the same journey.Phu Nhuan and Tan Binh sit between the airport and the centre, which makesthem the shortest transfers in the city. Binh Thanh is east of the centrealong the river, and it is where the tall new towers are. Two districts behave differently from the rest. District 7, and Phu My Hunginside it, is a planned area south of the centre across the canal - wideroads, low density, and a longer transfer than its distance suggests becauseof the crossings. Thao Dien, in District 2 across the Saigon River, is theexpat neighbourhood, and reaching it means a bridge, which is where the timegoes. Two practical notes. Ho Chi Minh City traffic is dominated by motorbikesrather than cars, which means it flows differently from Bangkok or Delhi -it rarely stops completely, but it rarely moves quickly either, and journeytimes are more consistent than they are elsewhere. And the airport kerb isgenuinely chaotic at peak arrival times, with a mix of metered taxis, appcabs and informal touts. A pre-booked driver meeting you inside is thedifference most travellers are paying for here, more than the fare itself.