From Dalat to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) by bus

This bus was booked through my hostel in Dalat, and included pickup and drop off at my hostel in HCMC. I spent extra on a VIP cabin bus (my favorite!) which has larger single cabins where you can lay down flat.

Honestly, having taken buses all over the world, Vietnam’s VIP buses are so far my favorite just for how comfortable they are!

Rather than chance another rocky road situation where I’d get no sleep all night because of mountains/rough roads/who knows what, I took a day bus instead. It was only 8 hours long, so not too bad, and the ticket cost about $16 USD.

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The trip to Saigon was fairly easy– we stopped for slightly less than an hour for lunch and there was a bathroom on the bus (nice!) so overall it was very comfortable. I spent the whole time reading and listening to podcasts, and snacking on things I bought from a convenience store back in Dalat.

We arrived on time to HCMC…or rather, we arrived at the bus depot for the company I was riding with. It’s VERY far from the city center (Plus code: VRJ8+57 Thủ Đức, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), about 22km or nearly an hour driving before taking traffic into consideration.

Once we arrived at the station, the bus staff took everyone’s hotel info and then sorted us into shuttle buses. Nobody really spoke English, but I showed them my hostel reservation and they gave me a shuttle ticket. Then, when it was time to get on the shuttle, a staff member came over and got me to put me on the right shuttle. I was the only Western tourist there that day!

It took nearly 2 hours to get from the bus station to my hostel within the center of town. Partly that’s because of the traffic, and partly because we had to drop off people along the way. So, altogether, it was a 10 hour bus ride from Dalat to Saigon.

The hostel I picked was Alleyway Hostel, in District 1. It’s a nice hostel with great staff, set slightly back from the main road so it wasn’t too noisy. There’s a great rooftop area where guests can hang out, and a tiny kitchenette plus free coffee/tea, too.

After booking a tour for the next day, I ordered food delivery for dinner (via Grab Food) and then crashed. Travel days are always tiring!

More bus adventures around Southeast Asia:

• From Malaysia to Singapore by bus | Overland travel guide
• From Luang Prabang to Phonsavan by minibus
• From Siem Reap to Bangkok by bus | Overland travel from Cambodia to Thailand
• From Sukhothai to Chiang Mai by bus
• How to book bus tickets in Southeast Asia