Vietnam’s Open Bus Ticket: Is It Worth It?

The backpacker classic, honestly assessed

The Open Bus (also called Open Tour Bus) is a system of tourist coaches connecting Vietnam’s major cities from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City with stops at Hue, Hoi An, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Mui Ne, and others. You buy a ticket covering the full route and hop on and off as you please. It’s been the backbone of budget Vietnam travel for 20+ years.

The case for it

Cheap: Hanoi to HCMC for around $30–45 covering all stops. Convenient: tickets sold at every hostel and backpacker guesthouse. No need to research each leg independently. Good if you’re genuinely uncertain about your itinerary and want flexibility to extend somewhere you love or rush through somewhere that doesn’t grab you.

The case against it

You travel exclusively with other budget backpackers on a specific circuit — it can create a bubble where you only see tourist-oriented Vietnam. The buses are fine but not particularly comfortable for very long legs (Hanoi to Hue is 13 hours). Departure times are fixed and can be inconvenient. Domestic flights have gotten cheap enough (sometimes $20–40) that the time cost of the bus doesn’t always make sense.

What I actually use now

I buy individual tickets for each leg through 12Go Asia or directly from bus operators, and I fly the longer stretches. Hanoi to Hue by night train: excellent. Da Nang to HCMC: fly for $35 with VietJet. This gives flexibility and the cost is similar. The Open Bus makes most sense for first-time Vietnam travelers who want simplicity over optimization. — book via Kiwi.com for the best deal.