Written By Anthony Jury

As is widely known, Uber was taken over by Grab in most Southeast Asian countries and is now a popular choice for transportation in the region.

Is Grab safe in Vietnam? Straight off the bat, I say yes. I would never put myself in any danger, but more importantly my family also and while travelling in Ho Chi Minh City, I never had a bit of fear in using Grab ride-hailing transportation.

I do have a few pet hates in life. One is getting ripped off and being taken advantage of in life, especially when in a vulnerable situation. It’s life’s little cruel acts that happen to us all from time to time that annoy me. I know, I know, it’s only small things. But, we all have those little things that piss us off, and it is each to their own.

As a traveller, I am always mindful of such circumstances when travelling abroad, primarily locals who think they can up the price upon clumsy tourists — for example, getting the cost-driven up on you while shopping at a local market, or a taxi driver ripping you off by a deliberately taking a more extended route home.

You all know what I am talking about and I am sure you have been there and seen it all before.

Enter Uber in Vietnam, now Grab. You know, that new craze taking the world by storm. Where you order a driver through the Uber app on your phone, the fee is pre-determined and pre-paid by your registered credit card. From day one into Vietnam, Grab truly was my saviour when I ventured into Ho Chi Minh City, and it became a useful friend and my number one means of transports, so often I used it at least 20 times in a two week period.

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Is Uber safe in Vietnam? You bet it is.

The Ease of using (Grab) Uber in Vietnam

Convenience is the key when using Grab anywhere in Southeast Asia. You know the fee before you get in the car. No ifs, no buts, no arguments. You don’t get ripped off by the driver and vice-versa, you can’t cheat the driver. It’s a win-win situation for all involved.

Sure you may run into a little trouble from time to time, I didn’t, but we don’t live in a perfect world, but in my own opinion, Grab is safe in Vietnam and very convenient.

Save your coins

No need to get your foreign cash-out or go digging for your coins, save your money for shopping in the markets or a good meal where you take advantage of a delicious Vietnamese soup.

When you sign up, it’s valid in any Grab operating country, and your credit card is registered through the Grab app, and the rest is taken care of for itself, from the moment you click for a driver on the smartphone.

Grab is cheaper than a taxi

I used a taxi once in Ho Chi Minh City, what a fool, but to be fair it was when I first entered the city from the airport, and I was still getting my bearings right. In saying that, I know on average I saved from that trip with a taxi and it’s fair to say I saved a good 4-5 dollars per trip, using Uber over a standard taxi.

Maybe it doesn’t seem such a big deal for a single trip, but times it by ten and all the sudden you’re looking at a significant saving. That equals a heck of a lot of meals or singlets in a Southeast Asian country.

The drivers are quite cool and Friendly

The driver’s got me from point A to point B in a safe manner. In Vietnam as you are probably aware, the locals English is not so good, so the drive is rather quiet, but you get to your destination safely, and timely manner as the driver does his best to dodge the insane traffic of Saigon.

I had to get out of my comfort zone in a foreign country to get hooked on to Uber, I never use it much in Australia because I have no real need to do so, and while I know their services have been around a while, I’m just glad I got hooked on Uber in Vietnam and with the number of times I used their services, I saved a heap of cash and never had one bit of fear using the services.

Yes, Grab or Uber in Vietnam is safe.

Uber your way around Ho Chi Minh City