MK90
Always learning
I have just returned from a trip to Vietnam, including some time in Cat Tien. Before going I read a lot about the various ways of travelling there from HCMC, with many people suggesting getting a bus towards Dalat, getting off at a particular junction then getting a moped the rest of the way.
As I couldn't be bothered with the hassle I ended up catching the local bus which runs from Mien Dong bus station in the north of HCMC direct to Cat Tien. I was fearing the worst as I'd read a few very negative reviews about this trip. In fact, this was a very pleasant trip and one I'd definitely recommend to anybody going from HCMC to Cat Tien.
Getting to Mien Dong was simple enough - as its a major bus station loads of busses from around the city go there. I'm sure a taxi wouldn't be too expensive either.
Once at the station (very well maintained, a bit like a small airport terminal) go to kiosk number 5 and ask for the Nam Cat Tien bus. As of April 2019 this costs 80,000 dong (£2.63, US$3.45), significantly cheaper than the alternative route.
The busses are spacious (i had more leg room on this trip than on the flight from London to Vietnam, and i'm 6'2") and there is aircon. We were even given a free bottle of water on the outward journey.
As the bus route begins in HCMC and ends at Cat Tien you are pretty much guaranteed a seat, although the bus gets busy for the middle hour or two of the trip. The journey takes 4hrs. We were even dropped off at the entrance to our hostel.
Before going I was very unsure about the best way of getting to the park so hopefully this post will help people doing the same journey in the future.
One word of warning, it looked as though they run two different types of bus for this journey. Although the buses we got to and from Cat Tien were perfectly fine, i did see another much smaller bus doing the same journey which may have been a lot more cramped.
As I couldn't be bothered with the hassle I ended up catching the local bus which runs from Mien Dong bus station in the north of HCMC direct to Cat Tien. I was fearing the worst as I'd read a few very negative reviews about this trip. In fact, this was a very pleasant trip and one I'd definitely recommend to anybody going from HCMC to Cat Tien.
Getting to Mien Dong was simple enough - as its a major bus station loads of busses from around the city go there. I'm sure a taxi wouldn't be too expensive either.
Once at the station (very well maintained, a bit like a small airport terminal) go to kiosk number 5 and ask for the Nam Cat Tien bus. As of April 2019 this costs 80,000 dong (£2.63, US$3.45), significantly cheaper than the alternative route.
The busses are spacious (i had more leg room on this trip than on the flight from London to Vietnam, and i'm 6'2") and there is aircon. We were even given a free bottle of water on the outward journey.
As the bus route begins in HCMC and ends at Cat Tien you are pretty much guaranteed a seat, although the bus gets busy for the middle hour or two of the trip. The journey takes 4hrs. We were even dropped off at the entrance to our hostel.
Before going I was very unsure about the best way of getting to the park so hopefully this post will help people doing the same journey in the future.
One word of warning, it looked as though they run two different types of bus for this journey. Although the buses we got to and from Cat Tien were perfectly fine, i did see another much smaller bus doing the same journey which may have been a lot more cramped.
