Bus
The bus systems in Hanoi and HCMC have improved in the past few years but are light years behind Hong Kong and Bangkok and, in general, buses are not a practical way to get around town. Fortunately there are many other fast and economical options, such as meter taxis, cycles and motorbike taxis.

Cyclo
The cycle (xich lo), from the French cyclo-pousse, is the best invention since sliced bread. Cycles offer cheap and environmentally friendly transportation around Vietnam's sprawling cities.

Groups of cyclo drivers always hang out near major hotels and markets, and many speak at least broken English. To make sure the driver understands where you want to go, it's useful to bring a city map. Bargaining is imperative. Settle on a fare before going anywhere or you're likely to get stiffed.

As a basic rule, short rides around town should cost about 5000d. For a longer ride or a night ride, expect to pay double that or more. It pays to have the exact change when taking a cyclo, as drivers may claim they don't have change. Cycles are cheaper by time rather than distance. A typical price is US$1 per hour.

There have been many stories of travellers being mugged by their cycio drivers in HCMC so, as a general rule of thumb, hire cyclos only during the day. When leaving a bar late at night, take a meter taxi.

Taxi
Western-style taxis with meters, found in most major cities, are very, very cheap by international standards and a safe way to travel around at night. Average tarifts are about 10,000d per kilometre.
 
Xe dap loi & Xe loi
The two forms ot transport used mostly in the Mekong Delta are the xe dap loi, which is a wagon pulled by a bicycle, and the xe lôi, a wagon pulled by a motorbike.

Xe lam
Xe lam are tiny, three-wheeled trucks used for short-haul passenger and freight transport (similar to the Indonesian bajaj). They tend to have whining two-stroke “lawn mower” engines with no mufflers and emu copious quantities of blue exhaust smoke.

Xe om
The xe om (zay-ohm) is a motorbike that carries one passenger, like a two-wheeled taxi. Xe means motorbike, and om means hug (or hold), so you probably get the picture. Getting around by xe om is easy as long as you don't have a lot of luggage.  

Fares are comparable with those for a 5 cyclo, but negotiate the price beforehand. There are plenty of xe om drivers hanging around street corners, markets, hotels and bus stations. They will find you before you find them.