DIY day trip to Vung Tau – with cost breakdown

Even though Vung Tau has become a ward of Ho Chi Minh City, it still takes two hours to get to this beach surrounded headland area Northeast of HCMC city centre. Vung Tau is known for its beaches, its Jesus Statue and Cable Car up to an Amusement park. To have the freedom to go at my own pace, I went on a DIY daytrip to Vung Tau instead of a tour.

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Overview of my DIY day trip to Vung Tau

• How to get to Vung Tau
• This was my DIY trip to Vung Tau itinerary
• Cost breakdown
• Map of my DIY day trip to Vung Tau

How to get to Vung Tau from Ho Chi Minh City

For transport you have three options: the bus, the ferry or private transport. The mini bus is the cheapest option, the ferry my favourite and the private transport the most flexible.

The bus

There are several companies who operate mini vans between Ho Chi Minh City and Vung Tau. You can book two of them online on klook* and get a guaranteed reserved seat at your booked timeslot for 10€ to 12€. This is the cheapest option and takes as long as the ferry if there is no traffic (there almost always is).

The ferry

My favourite option, though not the most convenient one. There used to be several lines connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Vung Tau City, but currently I’m only aware of one currently running: Greenlines DP*. I went with Greenlines DP.

The earliest ferry leaves Ho Chi Minh City at 9:00 AM from the Bach Dang Speed Ferry Terminal (not the Ho Chi Minh City Passenger Ferry Port) and takes almost two hours to reach the pier in Vung Tau. The last ferry leaves Vung Tau at 3:00 PM. That leaves you four hours to explore the city.

During weekdays each way is 320.000 VND, so 640.000 VND in total round trip. You can book it online (on klook* / on GetYourGuide*). When you book there you get a QR code which you take to the terminal and it is exchanged for a ticket. This way you have a guaranteed seat on the ferry.

Tips: Bring a jacket or scarf for the ferry, they run the AC cold ! You can go outside onto the deck during most of the journey for better views. They have toilets on board.

Private transport

You can book a driver, but most only offer one way trips, meaning you have to book each trip separately. One way is about 40€, but you’re also the most flexible. You’ll be picked up and dropped off and you can choose how long you want to stay. If you’re sharing the car with more people the cost doesn’t rise, since you’re paying per car. This option on klook* offers a return trip option as well, which is cheaper than booking two seperate trips.

Transport booking platform

You can also book all of these three options on the platform 12go*, which is an aggregator of many transport options within Vietnam.

This was my DIY trip to Vung Tau itinerary:

09:00 AM Left Ho Chi Minh City from the Bach Dang Speed Ferry Terminal

11:15 AM reached Vung Tau and disembarked the ferry. Walked along the shore until I reached the “Front Beach – Bãi Trước” and enjoy the mostly fresh wind after the stuffy air of Ho Chi Minh City.

11:45 AM booked a Grab motorbike taxi (20k VND) to Bánh khọt Dì Hương for lunch. During lunchtime they are packed. It pays to be early or you’ll have to wait outside. But no matter how early you are, you will share a table with strangers. Bánh khọt Tom (savoury mini pancakes with shrimp) will run you about 65k VND a portion. The Banh Khot here were a lot fattier than I am used to from Central Vietnam (Since these were fried swimming), but nonetheless delicious.

12:30 PM I stopped at one of the branches of Golden Bakery and try the famous Vung Tau Salted Egg Sponge Cake. I went with the cream cheese and passionfruit topping for 65.000 VND. It was the perfect to-go “meal” for the ferry ride back.

12:45 PM I walked through the steets on Vung Tau, just to look at everything and passed Linh Son Temple. Before booking a grab to the museum I stopped by the Back beach and found it almost entirely deserted. Not a single person in sight.

01:15 PM Ba Ria – Vung Tau Museum

The Ba Ria – Vung Tau Museum covers the history, economy, culture and biodiversity of the former Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province. The museum also features an exhibit on the Con Dao prison, since the Côn Đảo islands were part of the former province. In 2025 the area of the Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu province was incorporated into Ho Chi Minh City.

It’s a great visit for an hour or two and I learned some new things, despite this being my n’th visit to a museum in Vietnam. Especially the exhibit on the Con Dao prison was memorable, since as an island prison it functioned differently to mainland ones. The exhibition on more recent history was also very interesting, with a focus on industrial and tourism development.

2:50 PM From the museum it’s just a short walk to the pier, where you have several options to get a to-go drink while waiting for the ferry back to Ho Chi Minh City Centre.

Cost Breakdown

What I did	Cost in VND
Round Trip on the ferry	640.000
Grab from the Pier	20.000
Bánh khọt Tom (lunch)	65.000
Vung Tau Salted Egg Sponge Cake (to go snack)	65.000
Grab to the Museum	20.000
Vung Tau Museum	40.000
Iced Milk Tea at Katinat while waiting for the ferry	55.000
Total Cost	905.000 VND

So in total the day ran me about 30€. If you add more drink-stops, or choose a different main focus of your trip those costs will obviously change.

Aside of the Museum you have options:

• Go to one of the other beaches, Vung Tau has several to choose from!
• Take the cable car from across the road from the ferry pier up to the Hồ Mây Amusement Park (bring your swimmsuit and a travel towel*)
• Visit the Jesus Christ Statue (be prepared to climb 800+ steps), the view from up there looks amazing
• If you want a view of the headland that includes the Jesus statue visit Vung Tau Lighthouse

Several other tourism-focused development projects are currently underway in Vung Tau ward. According to hoarding banners along the fences of building sites there is a resort coming, an aquarium and a safari. I don’t know when, but it might be finished by the time you get there!

Map of my DIY day trip to Vung Tau

I listed everything I did on one layer with colours and the options I mentioned in another layer in grey.

Or, if you don’t want all the hassle of planning, you might want to consider one of these tours: