Let us start with the advice that costs us a booking: in central Saigon a car is usually the slowest way to get around. Nine million motorbikes, one-way streets that add three blocks to every trip, and parking that turns a ten-minute errand into half an hour. For dinner in Thao Dien or a museum on Le Duan, a taxi or Grab is quicker and cheaper.
Outside the city it is a different story. The Mekong Delta, the beaches of Vung Tau, the dunes of Mui Ne, the cool of Da Lat and the whole road to Nha Trang begin where the taxi meter stops mattering. That is what a car in Ho Chi Minh City is for. Below: prices, documents, rules and five routes, including one almost nobody else offers: pick the car up in Saigon and drop it in Nha Trang.
Do you need a car in Ho Chi Minh City?
- Two or three days in the city — no. Taxis and Grab beat parking.
- Mekong Delta, Vung Tau, the Cu Chi tunnels — yes, and leave early.
- Mui Ne, Da Lat or Nha Trang — yes, and it is a real road trip instead of a flight.
- Family or group with luggage — yes: a 7-seater solves luggage and the taxi-for-everyone problem.
- Relocating or a long work stay — rent by the month; it costs almost half the daily rate.
How much does it cost: per day, per week, per month
Price depends on class and duration: the longer you rent, the cheaper each day. Indicative figures for our Ho Chi Minh City fleet (VND, before 8% VAT, protection plan and delivery):
- Economy (VinFast VF3, Kia Morning): 1 day — ~ 980–990k; 7 days (per day) — ~ 840–850k; 30+ days (per day) — ~ 390–410k; Full month — from 9.9–10.5M
- Sedan (Toyota Vios): 1 day — ~ 1.0M; 7 days (per day) — ~ 870k; 30+ days (per day) — ~ 420k; Full month — from 10.8M
- Comfort sedan (Mazda 3, Honda Civic): 1 day — ~ 1.25M; 7 days (per day) — ~ 1.1M; 30+ days (per day) — ~ 600k; Full month — from 15.3M
- 5-seat SUV (Hyundai Creta, Tucson): 1 day — ~ 1.3M; 7 days (per day) — ~ 1.14M; 30+ days (per day) — ~ 615k; Full month — from 15.6M
- 7-seat MPV (Mitsubishi Xpander, Toyota Veloz): 1 day — ~ 1.3M; 7 days (per day) — ~ 1.15M; 30+ days (per day) — ~ 610k; Full month — from 15.6M
- 7-seat SUV (Toyota Fortuner, VinFast Lux SA): 1 day — ~ 1.3–1.4M; 7 days (per day) — ~ 1.2M; 30+ days (per day) — ~ 750–770k; Full month — from 19.2M
These are guide figures. The calculator on each car's page shows the exact price for your dates; it varies with season and demand. Roughly 26,000 ₫ = $1, so 1M ₫ ≈ $38.
In practice:
- For 1–3 days, budget from about 1M ₫ a day.
- A week is roughly 850k–1.2M ₫ a day.
- A month costs almost half the daily rate. Long-term terms are on the monthly rental page.
What's not in the price
You see the full total before you pay.
- Protection plan. Not in the base price. Legally it is not insurance but a contractual limit on your liability (the car always carries compulsory TNDS third-party cover). The base option has a 15M ₫ excess. Premium (420k ₫/day) has a zero excess; for a first time in Saigon traffic we would take it. Tyres, glass and underbody are charged separately under any plan.
- VAT 8% (10% from 1 January 2027).
- Delivery. Pick-up at the VinRent office in Ho Chi Minh City (102 Phổ Quang, daily 08:00–20:00) is free. Delivery to a hotel or to Tan Son Nhat airport is 300k ₫.
- Hand-over or return outside office hours carries an extra fee.
- Booking less than 24 hours before hand-over — a 300k ₫ fee.
- Unlimited mileage. We don't count kilometres, which matters for Nha Trang and Da Lat.
- Late return. Up to 2 hours is free; after that each started 24 hours is charged as a full day.
Licence, documents, deposit
- Passport.
- A category B driving licence in one of two forms: an International Driving Permit (IDP) under the 1968 Vienna Convention, or a licence issued in an ASEAN country.
- Which licences Vietnam recognises and how to get one is covered in our separate guide.
- Age and experience: requirements for each car are shown at booking.
The deposit is refundable: 5M, 10M or 20M ₫ depending on class (10M for most cars). Pay it online or in cash at hand-over.
The question we hear most: "Can a foreigner rent a car without a driver?" Yes — with an IDP under the 1968 Vienna Convention or a licence issued in an ASEAN country.
One-way from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang, Da Lat or Da Nang
This is our strong suit. Take the car in Saigon, drive north and leave it where your trip ends. One-way fee (shown in the total before you pay):
- Ho Chi Minh City → Nha Trang — 1M ₫. About 430 km, 8–10 hours with stops, along the coast via Phan Thiet and Phan Rang.
- Ho Chi Minh City → Da Lat — 1.5M ₫. 6–7 hours, climbing to 1,500 m.
- Ho Chi Minh City → Da Nang — 4.5M ₫. Over 900 km: usually a multi-day trip with stops in Nha Trang or Quy Nhon.
The reverse (Nha Trang → Ho Chi Minh City, Da Lat → Ho Chi Minh City) is priced the same. Between Nha Trang, Da Lat and Da Nang there is no one-way fee, so you can chain them into one route.
Five road trips from Saigon
1. The Mekong Delta (My Tho and Ben Tre ≈ 1.5 h; Can Tho 3–4 h). If you want the floating market and not the photograph of where it was, leave before six.
2. Vung Tau (≈ 2 h on the CT01 expressway). An easy drive and good beaches. Weekends are packed, so go midweek if you can.
3. Cu Chi tunnels (≈ 1.5 h northwest). A half-day in your own car beats the coach that arrives with forty others.
4. Mui Ne (4–5 h east). Dunes, seafood, and a coastal road that gets prettier the further you go.
5. Da Lat (6–7 h north). A climb from the heat into pine forest. Most people fly it; driving is better, and if your trip ends in Da Lat we can take the car back there.
Driving in Saigon: the short version
- Leave against the tide. The city empties southwest on Friday evening and refills on Sunday night. An hour's difference in departure is often two hours at the other end.
- Motorbikes flow, they don't queue. They fill any gap and pass on both sides. Signal early, move predictably, avoid sudden stops.
- The expressways are the easy part. CT01 to Vung Tau and the roads into the Delta are wide and well signed. The effort is the first and last twenty minutes inside the city.
- Rain arrives on schedule. From May to November it comes in the afternoon, hard and brief; some streets flood for an hour. Drive in the morning.
- Parking. Hotels and malls have basements; the street mostly doesn't. Ask your hotel whether they park cars or only motorbikes.
- Speed. Every car has GPS and a dashcam. Contractual penalties for speeding run from 1.5M to 18M ₫, a red light is 40M ₫. State fines are yours to pay, even if they arrive after the return.
- Zero alcohol. No exceptions.
- The contract covers Vietnam only. Cambodia and Laos are excluded.
Which car
- A couple heading to the Delta or the coast — a compact (VinFast VF3, Kia Morning, Toyota Vios) fits a hotel basement more easily.
- A family, or four adults with luggage on the Mui Ne, Da Lat or Nha Trang run — a 7-seater: Toyota Fortuner, Hyundai Santa Fe, VinFast Lux SA, Mitsubishi Xpander, Toyota Veloz, Kia Sedona. These are the longest distances of any city we serve, and legroom stops being a luxury after the third hour.
- Long mountain climbs — an automatic with good cruise control matters more than power.
How to book
- Pick dates and a car in the Ho Chi Minh City catalogue.
- Choose pick-up (office, hotel, Tan Son Nhat airport) and drop-off.
- Choose a protection plan and extras.
- Pay online or at pick-up.
More on the city and pick-up points is on the Ho Chi Minh City page. Heading on to the coast? Read our Nha Trang guide.
Prices as of October 2026. The calculator on each car's page shows the exact cost for your dates.
