Ho Chi Minh City names best tourism brands

Ho Chi Minh City - country’s biggest tourism center, last Saturday announced the best Vietnam travel firms, hotels, travel websites, shopping venues and tourism service providers in the city.
Four companies of Vietnam tour – Saigontourist Travel Service, Fiditourist, Ben Thanh Tourist and Vietravel – are all included in the lists of the top 10 inbound companies, 10 outbound companies and 10 domestic companies.

All these companies but Fiditourist are in the top five with the best e-commerce websites, together with Viet Media Travel and TST Tourist.

HoChiMinh Travel Guide

Get around
By taxi and Rental Car 
Taxis are the most comfortable way of getting around, and not too expensive - about 12,000 dong for the first 1km, plus 10,000 dong per additional km. (Prices jumped about 30% at the start of 2008, and again in July 2008 due to the soaring price of fuel but have since been reduced.) It's usually not hard to flag a taxi anywhere in the central city, though finding an available one in the rain or during peak hours can be difficult.

Taxi rates are not regulated by the city government, and each company sets its own fare structure, which changes from time to time. The market is fairly competitive, however, and the major companies all reasonably honest with similar rates. Major companies include: Vinasun (white and dark green), Mai Linh (various shades of white (standard), light green (mini w/ cheaper rate), brown, and silver, Vinataxi (yellow and blue), Petrolimex (white with blue and orange) and Savico (blue). Hoang Long (green and yellow) charges similar fares for short trips, but is 10-20% higher for long trips. Some off-brand taxis, such as "Taxi-Meter," have fast meters, and are best avoided unless you are a regular and know them well. Drivers generally do not speak English or any other foreign language, so if your destination is somewhere other than the airport or a major hotel, it might help to write the name and/or address on paper beforehand.