Overview
The Ho Chi Minh City Metro (Vietnamese: Đường sắt đô thị Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) is the rapid transit system serving Vietnam's most populous city. It opened on 22 December 2024, when Line 1 began carrying passengers between Bến Thành Market in the city centre and the New Eastern Bus Terminus (Suối Tiên) in the northeast. The system is operated by Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Company No. 1 (HURC1), under the city's Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR).
Riding it end to end as a visitor is straightforward. Enter a station, buy or tap a ticket, pass through the fare gates, ride to your stop, then tap or scan your ticket again to exit. Line 1 is 19.7 km long with three underground stations and eleven elevated ones, and the full trip takes roughly 30 to 32 minutes. Trains run from 05:00 to 22:00 in the initial phase, with peak-hour frequencies of about eight minutes and off-peak frequencies of about twelve minutes. Signs and announcements are in both Vietnamese and English, and all stations have escalators and lifts for accessibility.
The network
Ho Chi Minh City's rail network is still young, so most of your journeys will combine the metro with buses and, on the river, a waterbus.
- Metro Line 1 (Bến Thành – Suối Tiên): the only operational metro line, opened 22 December 2024. It runs from Bến Thành in District 1 through 14 stations to Suối Tiên Terminal, including three underground stations (Bến Thành, Opera House, Ba Son) and eleven elevated stations (Vân Thánh Park, Tân Cảng, Thảo Điền, An Phú, Rạch Chiếc, Phước Long, Bình Thái, Thủ Đức, High Tech Park, National University, Suối Tiên Terminal). The three underground stops are Vietnam's first underground metro stations.
- Metro Line 2 (Bến Thành – Tham Lương and Bến Thành – Thủ Thiêm): under construction, with ground broken in 2026 and service expected around 2030.
- Line 12 (Bến Thành – Cần Giờ): construction began in December 2025.
- Planned network: the city's urban railway master plan envisages a full network of six metro lines, with further lines under construction or planned for a total length of 612.7 km, including light-rail lines. A full network of eight lines is often cited in planning documents.
- Metro feeder buses: 17 dedicated electric bus routes, numbered 153 to 169, link Line 1 stations with the surrounding city, running District 1 to Thủ Đức City. They are blue with yellow wave patterns and sunflower motifs, marked "xe buýt điện," and operate 05:00 to 22:00 to match the metro.
- City buses: bright green and blue city buses, plus the teal feeder buses, serve over 170 routes across Ho Chi Minh City. Key hubs include Saigon Bus Station (Bến xe buýt Sài Gòn) next to Thái Bình Market, and Ham Nghi Bus Transfer Station (Trạm Trung Chuyển Trên Đường Hàm Nghi) beside Bến Thành Market.
- Saigon Waterbus: a river service on the Saigon River from District 1 into Thủ Đức City in the north, aimed more at local commuters than tourists, with a stop near the Hotel Majestic.
- National rail: Saigon railway station (Ga Sài Gòn) on Nguyen Thong Street handles long-distance trains, including the Reunification line to Hanoi.
Tickets & fares
Fares on the metro are distance-based, and the figures below are approximate and subject to change.
- Single journey: VND 7,000 to VND 20,000 in cash, or VND 6,000 to VND 19,000 if you pay by contactless card, which earns a small discount. The maximum fare applies to the full Bến Thành to Suối Tiên Terminal trip.
- 1-day pass: VND 40,000 for unlimited trips.
- 3-day pass: VND 90,000 for unlimited trips.
- Monthly pass: VND 300,000, or VND 150,000 for students and schoolchildren.
- Free travel: children under six, elderly people, disabled passengers, and revolutionary contributors travel free under city policy. The metro was also free for its first 30 days of operation, and connecting feeder buses were free from 22 December 2024 until the end of that fare-free period.
You can buy tickets in several ways. Ticket offices at stations issue paper tickets with a QR code, though paper tickets are being phased out. Touchscreen vending machines offer Vietnamese and English and take cash only, up to a 100,000 VND note. You can also tap a contactless Mastercard, Visa, NAPAS, JCB, American Express or UnionPay card directly at the fare gates, including cards linked to Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, or pay through the HCMC Metro HURC app, which generates a QR code to scan at the gates. Digital wallets including MoMo and Zalopay are also accepted.
Two card types exist. A single-journey ticket carries a 15,000 VND deposit and must be returned. A stored-fare card, issued for 1-day, 3-day and stored-value tickets, carries a 35,000 VND deposit that is refundable at vending machines, can be topped up, and is valid for one year. Monthly passes can be bought through the HURC app using ID or a chip-based citizen ID card.
From the airport
Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport (SGN) sits about 8 km from the city centre. Public transport into town is by bus rather than metro, since Line 1 does not serve the airport.
- Bus 152: a city bus costing 5,000 VND, with an extra 5,000 VND for luggage. It departs every 15 minutes and stops at Ham Nghi Bus Transfer Station beside Bến Thành Market.
- Bus 109: an express bus costing 20,000 VND, with an extra 20,000 VND for luggage. It departs every 45 minutes and stops at both Saigon Bus Station and Ham Nghi Bus Transfer Station.
If you are heading from the airport into the centre, buy your ticket at the terminal. If you are travelling from the centre to the airport, buy it from the conductor on board. Taxis are also available but considerably more expensive.
Etiquette & customs
A few local habits will make your journeys smoother.
- Queuing and boarding: wait behind the yellow safety line on platforms and let passengers off before you board. Do not board or step off while the doors are closing or a closure signal is showing.
- Escalators: stand to one side so that people in a hurry can pass, and hold the handrail.
- Priority seating: give up priority seats to elderly passengers, disabled travellers, pregnant women and those with young children.
- Eating and drinking: eating, drinking and smoking, including e-cigarettes, are prohibited in lifts, ticketed areas, on platforms and on trains. Strong-smelling food is discouraged, and sealed food may be carried but not eaten on the premises.
- Noise: keep conversations quiet and avoid playing devices at high volume.
- Safety: do not lean over platform barriers, lean on train doors, put your hands near door gaps, or throw anything onto the tracks.
- Rush hour: peak periods are busy, so keep your belongings close to avoid pickpocketing, and move clear of the doors once you are aboard.
- On buses: flag the bus down as it approaches, press the stop button before your destination, and expect buses to slow rather than fully stop outside the city centre. If you lose something, try the bus station where the route begins or ends.
Official links
Survival terms
- Subway / metro: đường sắt đô thị (duong sat do thi)
- Ticket: vé (ve)
- Line: tuyến (tuyen)
- Entrance: lối vào (loi vao)
- Exit: lối ra (loi ra)
- Transfer: chuyển tuyến (chuyen tuyen)
- Single fare: vé lượt (ve luot)
- Day pass: vé ngày (ve ngay)
Keep small notes and a contactless card handy, since vending machines take cash only while tapping a bank card earns you a small discount and saves you the queue.