About Tan Son Nhat Intl. Airport
In the period when Vietnam was a French colony, the colonial government started to build Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in the country and was opened in the 1930s. Tan Son Nhat International Airport had a small asphalt runway and was greatly expanded and renewed with the assistance of the United States in order to make it suitable for international flights. During the Vietnam War, which started in the mid-1950s and continued until 1975, the airport was used as a military air base by the South Vietnamese and United States Air Forces. After the war years the damaged areas were repaired and the airport was reopened to civilian flights. In 2007, large-scale expansion works were carried out at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. The airport has managed to achieve a modern look and the annual passenger average of the airport is 32 million people.
Getting to the City Center from Tan Son Nhat Intl. Airport
You can buy a ticket for the bus, or take one of the taxis waiting in front of the terminal as soon as you land in Tan Son Nhat Airport, located just 5 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City center. Another option is to rent a car. It is possible to get to the city center from Tan Son Nhat Airport in 30 minutes by bus and in a maximum of 10 minutes by other means of transportation. Go out when you arrive at the arrival terminal of the airport, and there you will see the stops of the direct buses to the city center. You can get on bus number 152 by purchasing your ticket immediately from the offices. These light cream and green colored minibus sized buses depart every 30 minutes from Tan Son Nhat Airport to the famous Ben Tanh Market, which is a 15-minute walk from to the city center. It is economical and easy to go to the city center by bus number 152, which runs between 6 am and 6 pm. The single-use fare is only 30 cents as of 2017. In addition to this, bus number 109, operated by SATSCO which runs every 15-20 minutes, provides access to the city center from Tan Son Nhat Airport. The bus number 109, which provides transportation services from 05.30 in the morning to 01.30 at night, departs from the column 18 of the domestic terminal and the column 15 of the international terminal and arrives at Ben Thanh Station within 45 minutes. Some of the bus stops on this route are Troug Son, Tran Quoc Hoan, Hoang Van Thu, Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Pham Ngu Lao Park 2. The fare for bus number 109 varies between 12.000 (less than 5 km) – 20.000 (more than 5 km) Viet Nam Dong as of March 16, 2016. The taxis, those take you directly from Tan Son Nhat Airport to the center of Ho Chi Minh City, for only 5-7 dollars (150.000-170.000 Viet Nam Dong), wait for the passengers 7/24 outside the terminal. If you want to use private taxis outside the airport, you can ask for a taxi by calling Vinasun Taxi (+84838272727) or Malinh Taxi Group (+84838383838). The most known car rental companies at Tan Son Nhat Airport arrival terminal are Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt. If you are going to stay in Ho Chi Minh for a few days, you might benefit from renting a car. Because renting a car on an hourly basis is generally not possible. It would take 10-12 minutes to reach Ho Chi Minh City center by the car you book in advance and pick up as soon as you land.Bus
Taxi
Car Rental
Getting to Tan Son Nhat Intl. Airport from the City Center
In Ho Chi Minh City center, called also Saigon / District 1, you can see many public transport means. It takes about 40-45 minutes to get to Tan Son Nhat Airport with public buses, which are also very popular in urban transportation. If you want to have a faster and more comfortable journey, you can choose to take a taxi or rent a car. It is possible to reach the airport in maximum 10 minutes in this way.
Bus
Buses, the cheapest means of public transportation, have 152 different routes in Ho Chi Minh City. These public buses, which are light cream and green in color, are in the size of a minibus and provide a very convenient transportation service between 6 am and 6 pm. Bus number 152, which departs every half an hour from the Ben Tanh Market district, which is a 15 minute walk from the city center, goes to both Tan Son Nhat Airport's domestic and international terminals. It is very easy and economical to get to the airport from Ho Chi Minh by these buses which are departing every 30 minutes. You can get your one-way bus ticket from the booths at a fee of only 30 cents. Another alternative is bus 109, operated by SATSCO. These buses, which have a longer route than the other, depart every 15-20 minutes from 05.30 in the morning to 01.30 in the night and it takes 45 minutes to get to the airport from the city with the buses. It also goes directly to the airport's domestic terminal (column 18) and to the international terminal (column 15). Park 23/9, Pham Ngu Lao, Tran Hung Dao, Ben Thanh Station, Le Loi, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Nguyen Van Troi are some of the stops between the city center and Tan Son Nhat Airport. As of March 16, 2016, the fare for single-use ticket for bus 109 is 12.000 (less than 5 km) – 20.000 (more than 5 km) Viet Nam Dong.
Taxi
If your priority is speed and comfort on the journey from the city center to Tan Son Nhat Airport, taking a taxi would be an ideal choice for you. Taxis in the city are often preferred by tourists. You need to pay approximately $ 5-7 (150.000-170.000 Viet Nam Dong) to go to Tan Son Nhat Airport by taxi from Saigon. Vinassu Taxi (+84838272727) and Malinh Taxi Group (+84838383838) are among the most reliable taxi companies that take passenger to the airport in only 7 to 10 minutes.
Car Rental
First of all, we can say that there are more alternatives in terms of domestic car rental companies in the city than in the airport. If you have already searched these companies located in the most central locations of Ho Chi Minh, you may also have information about prices. You can take your car with your international driving license within minutes if you book your car in advance. Going to Tan Son Nhat Airport from the city center can take 10-12 minutes by car. Some of the car rental companies, which have offices both in the city center and in Tan Son Nhat Airport, are Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt.
Airport Information
The Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Vietnam's capital Ho Chi Minh is located 5 kilometers north of the city center, also known as District 1 or Saigon. At Tan Son Nhat Airport, which is the largest airport in Vietnam, there are two separate terminal buildings for arrival and departure. The airport, which increased its passenger capacity from 8-10 million in 2007 to 25 million in 2017 as of January, serves the passengers with travel agencies, car rental companies and tourist information centers.
