Phu May Port

Hello all,

Does anyone know if there is any taxis at the Phu May port? We would like to DIY to Ho Chi Minh city. Not planning to join the Princess tour.

Thanks.

SJ

Hello all,

Does anyone know if there is any taxis at the Phu May port? We would like to DIY to Ho Chi Minh city. Not planning to join the Princess tour.

 

Thanks.

 

SJ

We are going to be doing this port onboard RCI in March and my understanding is that we will probably be better off doing the ship offered excursion DIY Saigon...with the city being a 2 hour drive away...best to make sure the ship waits for us :eek:;)

We were there in September and did the princess tour "HCMC on your own" I do not recall seeing any taxis waiting at the port.

There may be or may be not taxis outside the port gate (about a 300 metre walk from the ship) so I would not take the chance. Also they have a captive client base so the price probably will be quite high. If you are lucky enough to do it this way do not pay any monies until you return to the Port - it is a long walk from Saigon to the ship.

Better to organise a van or taxi before you get there, many do this and share the expense so it can be quite a good deal. Go to your roll call for the cruise and you will probably see others organising a day tour which you may be able to join or organise your own.

There are several companies who are mentioned on cruise critics so just search the thread for private tours to HCM from Phu My.

Thank you all who responded to my Phu My port query in Oct. We were on the Diamond Princess Cruise...and did DIY tours on all ports. There were free bus shuttle service from ports to nearest drop-off at all ports. And from there we organized our own transportation. We felt safe and there was no problems at all. Just make sure you agreed on a price and places to visit and time of return. When we were at the last port Phu My, we didn't bother to venture out to HCMC. Instead we took the time to hang around Barai and had a great time exploring the town, shopping, eating & a massage.

Thank you all who responded to my Phu My port query in Oct. We were on the Diamond Princess Cruise...and did DIY tours on all ports. There were free bus shuttle service from ports to nearest drop-off at all ports. And from there we organized our own transportation. We felt safe and there was no problems at all. Just make sure you agreed on a price and places to visit and time of return. When we were at the last port Phu My, we didn't bother to venture out to HCMC. Instead we took the time to hang around Barai and had a great time exploring the town, shopping, eating & a massage.

Where..what is Barai ... this part of the world to me is unknown :confused:

Where..what is Barai ... this part of the world to me is unknown :confused:

Baria is the nearest town to the port and the town provides a free shuttle service to an from the Port - about 20 minutes travel each way - Is really quite a small city now - you get dropped of near a "supermarket" which is also near a market. If you take time to walk downtown there is a very nice old church and near there is a river with a very nice coffee cafe etc.

Most people who go to Baria use it as a place to organise a taxi for the day to go to Vung Tau or Saigon.

When you get off the shuttle there are plenty of touts around looking for you travel business - just try and organise direct with the taxi driver if possible and don't pay any money until you get back to either Baria or the taxi takes you to the port gate.

Baria is the nearest town to the port and the town provides a free shuttle service to an from the Port - about 20 minutes travel each way - Is really quite a small city now - you get dropped of near a "supermarket" which is also near a market. If you take time to walk downtown there is a very nice old church and near there is a river with a very nice coffee cafe etc.

 

Most people who go to Baria use it as a place to organise a taxi for the day to go to Vung Tau or Saigon.

 

When you get off the shuttle there are plenty of touts around looking for you travel business - just try and organise direct with the taxi driver if possible and don't pay any money until you get back to either Baria or the taxi takes you to the port gate.

We wanted so much to go into Saigon but our RCI ship (Mariner March 7, 2015..7:00am-5:00pm) isn't offering the DIY on this cruise and I'm so worried about the time factor..So do you think it's something we could arrange with a taxi driver for the round trip ?..Of course I understand to give no money until we get back to the ship..Will it be worth it ?...So uncertain about this particular port.

We wanted so much to go into Saigon but our RCI ship (Mariner March 7, 2015..7:00am-5:00pm) isn't offering the DIY on this cruise and I'm so worried about the time factor..So do you think it's something we could arrange with a taxi driver for the round trip ?..Of course I understand to give no money until we get back to the ship..Will it be worth it ?...So uncertain about this particular port.

Hi Ashland,

My bad, I meant Bà Rịa... and thanks to Bpos for clarifying.

Though we chose not to visit HCMC, I still think it is doable to organize your independent tour when you get to Bà Rịa or whatever town that your shuttle bus drop-off is. You just have to be mindful that you have limited time so you got to know what you want see and make sure you leave HCMC not later than 2:30pm. Good luck.

There will be a lot of van, taxis that are willing to take you HCMC. As everyone says, make sure you leave HCMC by 2:30 because of the heavy

traffic. HCMC is very busy and it takes a lot of time to get place to place.

If you do arrange a taxi or van, make sure that they we will return you

to the port gates, there a shuttle runs every 20 minutes to the dock.

Our shuttles to the town with the coop market stopped running at 4:00pm

and our sailing was at 6:00pm. Because of your limited time, I really

feel that you would be better off booking a ships tour. Many government

sites in HCMC shut down for lunch 12:00-2:00pm daily.

It is worth it to see the sites of HCMC if you have never been there.

There is also alot of road construction and subway construction in the

centre of the city.

There will be a lot of van, taxis that are willing to take you HCMC. As everyone says, make sure you leave HCMC by 2:30 because of the heavy

traffic. HCMC is very busy and it takes a lot of time to get place to place.

If you do arrange a taxi or van, make sure that they we will return you

to the port gates, there a shuttle runs every 20 minutes to the dock.

Our shuttles to the town with the coop market stopped running at 4:00pm

and our sailing was at 6:00pm. Because of your limited time, I really

feel that you would be better off booking a ships tour. Many government

sites in HCMC shut down for lunch 12:00-2:00pm daily.

It is worth it to see the sites of HCMC if you have never been there.

There is also alot of road construction and subway construction in the

centre of the city.

If you have not been to Vietnam before and HCM City - it would be a great pity to miss out on seeing the city. So in this instance, I would cop the price of a ship's tour in order to feel safe about the return to ship and at least you will be able to see one of my favourite Asian cities.

You can make up the cost of the ship's tour by doing your own thing at other more accessible ports of call on your cruise.

Just getting off the ship and into Baria can take up to at least one hour or more and in this case your time is very limited so get on a tour that leaves the ship as early as possible.

I would love to feel safe and do a ship excursion (wanted a DIY) but the only (excursion) ones their offering are driveby's, Runification center and lunch..not interested in this at all or spending time with a bunch of passengers doing lunch..and not really interested in the tunnels..We're a bit different in that we prefer to just shop at the markets and only one tour offer's a "bit" of shopping at approx $100.00pp and the DIY would have been $45.00pp but price isn't a factor for us it's the itinerary)...very upset at what's offered in this port thru the ship...I just assumed there would be a DIY. I don't know what to do at this point :(:confused:

I would love to feel safe and do a ship excursion (wanted a DIY) but the only (excursion) ones their offering are driveby's, Runification center and lunch..not interested in this at all or spending time with a bunch of passengers doing lunch..and not really interested in the tunnels..We're a bit different in that we prefer to just shop at the markets and only one tour offer's a "bit" of shopping at approx $100.00pp and the DIY would have been $45.00pp but price isn't a factor for us it's the itinerary)...very upset at what's offered in this port thru the ship...I just assumed there would be a DIY. I don't know what to do at this point :(:confused:

I booked a private tour with Van from Vietnam Alive. $90 each for 8 of us but he will do less people for not much extra. He tailor makes your tour. The van is very comfy and air conditioned and has water for you. We were also worried about time etc so we got off as soon as we were able. Picked up 7.45. Traffic was fine as being a small van we went through local areas of Saigon and got there in about an hour and half. Lunch was in a local restaurant and was fantastic, included in price. The reason why it's expensive is they have to pay port fees which is about $30 each person to the government. It is worth it being picked up right next to the ship. We had plenty of time for sightseeing and shopping and got back to the ship by 3.45. People that did the Princess tour said they had to do a lot of walking. We didn't as the van was always waiting for us whenever we got off. We did ho to a Lacquer Factory as 2 people on our tour wanted to see it, it was a quick tour and really interesting with lots a beautiful things.

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I booked a private tour with Van from Vietnam Alive. $90 each for 8 of us but he will do less people for not much extra. He tailor makes your tour. The van is very comfy and air conditioned and has water for you. We were also worried about time etc so we got off as soon as we were able. Picked up 7.45. Traffic was fine as being a small van we went through local areas of Saigon and got there in about an hour and half. Lunch was in a local restaurant and was fantastic, included in price. The reason why it's expensive is they have to pay port fees which is about $30 each person to the government. It is worth it being picked up right next to the ship. We had plenty of time for sightseeing and shopping and got back to the ship by 3.45. People that did the Princess tour said they had to do a lot of walking. We didn't as the van was always waiting for us whenever we got off. We did ho to a Lacquer Factory as 2 people on our tour wanted to see it, it was a quick tour and really interesting with lots a beautiful things.

 

 

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Thank you so much for your info. Did you book this directly with him before your cruise..and did you only pay at the end of your tour and what currency did you use ? There are only two of us so I assume it will be priced higher or perhaps a smaller vehicle.

Thank you so much for your info. Did you book this directly with him before your cruise..and did you only pay at the end of your tour and what currency did you use ? There are only two of us so I assume it will be priced higher or perhaps a smaller vehicle.

I booked it directly on his website. He was very helpful and reassuring to get us back on time. You could go on your role call and get a few more to join you. I paid a small deposit and paid the balance in USD at the end of the tour back at the ship. The guide was a registered guide and very professional. I would send Van an email and ask any questions.

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I booked it directly on his website. He was very helpful and reassuring to get us back on time. You could go on your role call and get a few more to join you. I paid a small deposit and paid the balance in USD at the end of the tour back at the ship. The guide was a registered guide and very professional. I would send Van an email and ask any questions.

 

 

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I checked out his website and it looks very good.

We will probably prefer to go it alone...as our rollcall is almost non-exsistant.

Again...many thanks..you are so helpful.

I checked out his website and it looks very good.

 

We will probably prefer to go it alone...as our rollcall is almost non-exsistant.

 

Again...many thanks..you are so helpful.

No worries, I am sure you will enjoy it and get your money's worth. I forgot to mention that our guide took us on a guided tour through the Palace, very informative. Just remember to get off as soon as possible. That way you will not miss all the sights.

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Thank you so much for your info. Did you book this directly with him before your cruise..and did you only pay at the end of your tour and what currency did you use ? There are only two of us so I assume it will be priced higher or perhaps a smaller vehicle.

It appears we will be on the same cruise. I am trying to organize something for me and my son from Phu My. Things we are considering are mostly the ooh, and aah free looking around at archetecture and temples, with some cultural performance (a water puppet show) thrown in there, as one of us is 10 years old. If you are interested in combining with us let me know. Otherwise, I have seen tours for around $82 per person to go to the main sites.

We took the cruise transfer to HCMC. It took from memory 2.5 to 3 hours with the traffic. Dropped at the Rex hotel, next door to a shopping complex which was air conditioned. We walked around, and took taxis between sights (it was so humid).