Taxi & apps
Every card says why to go, what to know before you do, and what catches people out.
Grab, Be and InDrive must
App · city-wide
25–75k₫
$1–2.85
typical 3 km trip · approx.
Works with foreign cards, needs no Vietnamese phone number, and the app is fully in English. It removes every taxi argument.
Worth knowing. Grab is the default: cars and bikes arrive in minutes and the price is fixed in the app. InDrive works differently — you name your own price and wait longer for someone to take it, which pays off on long runs: people get to Nha Trang for around 500,000 ₫ and order a seven-seat minivan for under a million.
Street taxis — Mai Linh & Lado
City-wide
12.5–14.5k₫
$0.48–0.56
per metered kilometre · approx.
If you must flag one on the street, use only Mai Linh (green) or Lado. Mai Linh 0263 3838 3838, Lado 02633 666 777.
Worth knowing. That is the running rate per kilometre; the pick-up charge is counted separately, so a short hop across town works out dearer per kilometre. Call centres: Mai Linh 1055, Lado 1900 1111; Lado keeps a Da Lat office at 222 Mai Anh Dao.
Careful. The classic Da Lat scam: a driver tells you your hotel is closed or full and takes you to a commission property. It is never true. Use Grab.
Xanh SM taxi (electric)
App · city-wide
12.5–20k₫
$0.48–0.77
per km · approx.
VinFast's all-electric fleet — silent, clean cars and drivers who do not haggle. A good second app when Grab is surging.
Worth knowing. Card support is still patchy; carry cash. A Vietnamese number helps but is not always required.