port at Phu My

[holidayhelen]

Does anyone know if there are taxis or tours available at the dock at Phu My. We are sailing on the Diamond Princess and the ship docks here for HCM city. We believe it is a 2 hour trip to HCM - each way so this would take up a lot of our day - so we were wondering if there were taxis that would suggest something else to do.

 

The princess excursions also go to Vung Tau - is this an area worth thinking about?

[greatam]

Does anyone know if there are taxis or tours available at the dock at Phu My. We are sailing on the Diamond Princess and the ship docks here for HCM city. We believe it is a 2 hour trip to HCM - each way so this would take up a lot of our day - so we were wondering if there were taxis that would suggest something else to do.

 

The princess excursions also go to Vung Tau - is this an area worth thinking about?

 

Vung Tau is the beach area south of Saigon. There has been a lot of development in the last few years, mostly by the Aussies and Kiwis. There are a couple of nice resorts there, so if a day at the beach is what you want, it can be found at Vung Tau. For a "tour", IMHO, NOT much to see.

 

YES, a good percentage of ships dock in Phu My or Vung Tau. The river is too narrow/shallow for the larger cruise ships. Azamara, Seabourne, Silversea and some of the smaller ships can navigate the river and get much closer to Saigon. I have seen the Silversea ship docked at the Riverside hotel in downtown Saigon. The larger ships have to stay out much further. It is 2+ hours to Saigon, of course depending on traffic and which port.

 

Although I spend quite a bit of time in Vietnam, I sure would not depend on a taxi to give me a "tour". Transport, yes. And taxi drivers in the South speak English more than in the North, BUT will you get a "tour"???? Really questionable. What was wrong with my suggestions on your other thread-War museum, INSIDE tour of the palace, shopping at Bin Thanh market, post office, cathedral, and finish off the day at the Rex Hotel for late lunch and drinks.

[newfarmers]

Does anyone know if there are taxis or tours available at the dock at Phu My. We are sailing on the Diamond Princess and the ship docks here for HCM city. We believe it is a 2 hour trip to HCM - each way so this would take up a lot of our day - so we were wondering if there were taxis that would suggest something else to do.

 

The princess excursions also go to Vung Tau - is this an area worth thinking about?

 

 

there were a small number of taxis at the dock at Phu My when we were there earlier in the year. One couple we had met through CC managed to nab one of them. They paid USD100 (I think) for the taxi in to HCM. They were very disappointed as they had no fixed itininerary and places were closed when they got to them. They also paid a fortune for a meal that should have cost them maybe a quarter (at most) of what they paid.

 

We had originally booked (and paid for) the hydrofoil from Vung Tau but the ship ended up docking further upstream at Phu My and we did our dollars. We ended up on a ship's shorex and much that we hate them it was a pretty good day and we saw quite a bit. Just spent too long at the lacquer factory at the end.

 

Of all of the places we visited on our cruise the three Vietnamese ports were the most disappointing. We were ripped off at Chan May (pre-paid tour to Hoi An - though luckily our insurance refunded us the entire amount), missed out on our hydrofoil tour though this was an issue with Royal Caribbean, and were badgered crazily in Nha Trang. We felt like we had giant flashing signs over our heads saying "rip us off". Made us both very sad as we had so looked forward to visiting Vietnam.

 

In contrast, Cambodia, the Cambodians and our trip to Phnom Penh, were just terrific and possibly the highlight of our trip - for many and varied reasons. Just something to consider for any contemplating the trip to PP. The trip back to the ship in the dark was terrifying, all four of us just about kissed the ground when we got out of the car beside the ship :).

 

Many found Sihanoukville and PP confronting and would gladly have missed it but those who put some effort into embracing Cambodia got a tremendous amount out of our short stay.

 

pete

[Jade13]

there were a small number of taxis at the dock at Phu My when we were there earlier in the year. One couple we had met through CC managed to nab one of them. They paid USD100 (I think) for the taxi in to HCM. They were very disappointed as they had no fixed itininerary and places were closed when they got to them. They also paid a fortune for a meal that should have cost them maybe a quarter (at most) of what they paid.

 

We had originally booked (and paid for) the hydrofoil from Vung Tau but the ship ended up docking further upstream at Phu My and we did our dollars. We ended up on a ship's shorex and much that we hate them it was a pretty good day and we saw quite a bit. Just spent too long at the lacquer factory at the end.

 

Of all of the places we visited on our cruise the three Vietnamese ports were the most disappointing. We were ripped off at Chan May (pre-paid tour to Hoi An - though luckily our insurance refunded us the entire amount), missed out on our hydrofoil tour though this was an issue with Royal Caribbean, and were badgered crazily in Nha Trang. We felt like we had giant flashing signs over our heads saying "rip us off". Made us both very sad as we had so looked forward to visiting Vietnam.

 

In contrast, Cambodia, the Cambodians and our trip to Phnom Penh, were just terrific and possibly the highlight of our trip - for many and varied reasons. Just something to consider for any contemplating the trip to PP. The trip back to the ship in the dark was terrifying, all four of us just about kissed the ground when we got out of the car beside the ship :).

 

Many found Sihanoukville and PP confronting and would gladly have missed it but those who put some effort into embracing Cambodia got a tremendous amount out of our short stay.

 

pete

 

What happened with the guide to Hoian? Who did you use in Sihanoukville and were they pre-booked?

[newfarmers]

What happened with the guide to Hoian? Who did you use in Sihanoukville and were they pre-booked?

 

Hi

 

I'll get the details and let you know. They were both pre-booked. Hoian was (stupidly) pre-paid but Sihanoukville was arranged over the internet and we paid the driver when we got back to the ship

 

pete

[newfarmers]

What happened with the guide to Hoian? Who did you use in Sihanoukville and were they pre-booked?

 

Hi again

 

The company was Hoian Online Travel (Hoian Online Travel Company) and the person who was in contact us was Mr David Duong.

 

His email was E-mail: info@hoianvietnamtours.com (not that anyone would want to contact this rogue)

 

I think the website is hoianvietnamtours.com

 

cheers peter