Ho Chi Minh City eSIM 2026: the Terminal 3 reshuffle, Metro Line 1 and the free-bus scheme
Three big things have changed in Ho Chi Minh City in a little over a year: Terminal 3 opened and the airlines were reshuffled, Metro Line 1 began running, and city buses went fare-free for the second half of 2026. All three affect how you move around, and all three come with exceptions. Here is where each one actually stands, according to the official notices.
Getting online in Ho Chi Minh City: eSIM, airport SIM or roaming
| Option | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| eSIM | Short leisure and business trips | Install over Wi-Fi before you fly, then turn on data roaming |
| Local SIM at the airport | Travellers who need a Vietnamese number | Decree 163/2024/ND-CP requires foreigners to register with a valid passport |
| International roaming | Transits and very short stays | Higher rates; check the daily cap |
| Hotel Wi-Fi | In the room only | No help hailing a ride, buying a metro ticket or checking the terminal shuttle |
What makes data unusually important here is that the metro and the buses have both gone digital for payment: metro tickets come from an app QR or a contactless bank card, and the second phase of the free-bus scheme requires electronic identity verification. Without a connection, each of those stalls.
- ・Works nationwide, from the city and the Mekong Delta up to Da Nang and Hanoi
- ・5GB a day, resetting at midnight Vietnam time, with reduced speed rather than a cut-off once used
- ・No physical SIM, no passport registration; refundable if the signal is unstable or the plan goes unused
Vietnam eSIM: the Viettel network and when to install
Peanutmo’s Vietnam eSIM runs on Viettel with nationwide coverage. The install:
Arriving in Ho Chi Minh City: three terminals at Tan Son Nhat and who uses which
Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) now has three passenger terminals, and getting the terminal wrong is the easiest mistake to make on a domestic connection. Per the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam:
| Terminal | Used by | Note |
|---|---|---|
| T3 | Vietnam Airlines domestic flights | All remaining VNA domestic services moved here on 17 May 2025 |
| T1 | VietJet Air, Pacific Airlines, Vasco, Vietravel Airlines, Bamboo Airways | VNA ATR72 flights to Con Dao, Ca Mau and Rach Gia also stay at T1 |
| T2 | International flights | Where flights from Taiwan arrive |
You can move between terminals by ride-hailing, taxi or the airport shuttle, which the authority publishes as running roughly every 20 minutes. Build that into an international-to-domestic connection, and note that checking the shuttle and the terminal signage in real time depends on landing already online.
Ho Chi Minh City trains and buses: fares, payment and the 2026 free-fare scheme
Metro Line 1: fares, payment, and the fact it misses the airport
Line 1 (Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien) entered commercial service on 22 December 2024, operated by HCMC Urban Railway No. 1. The initial notice set opening at 05:00 and closing at 22:00 with headways of 8 to 12 minutes, later extended to 23:30.
| Ticket | Published fare |
|---|---|
| Single, by distance | 7,000–20,000 dong in cash; 6,000–19,000 by electronic payment |
| Day ticket | 40,000 dong |
| Three-day ticket | 90,000 dong |
| Monthly | 300,000 dong standard; 150,000 for students |
Payment methods in the official notice include tapping a contactless bank card at the gate (Mastercard from 21 January 2025, Napas from 24 January), a QR code generated in the HCMC Metro app after picking your origin and destination, the MoMo e-wallet, and counter purchase by card or transfer in exchange for a QR. Day, three-day and monthly passes are bought through a registered app account.
The point to plan around: Line 1 does not serve the airport. Getting in from Tan Son Nhat still means a taxi, an app or a bus.
Fare-free buses in late 2026: what is covered and what is not
Under the city People’s Committee’s implementation plan, inner-city buses are 100 per cent fare-free from 1 July to 31 December 2026 across 134 routes. A few boundaries are worth reading first:
- Excluded: inter-provincial routes, open-top sightseeing buses, and routes connecting the city centre with the airport. So do not assume the ride in from Tan Son Nhat is free.
- Phase one, 1 Jul to 30 Sep: entirely free with no mandatory identity check.
- Phase two, 1 Oct to 31 Dec: still free, but identity must be recorded and verified electronically, by ID card, VNeID, bank card, e-wallet or a designated app.
- Whether visitors qualify: the official documents do not distinguish by nationality, nor do they state explicitly that foreign visitors are included, so take the notice at the stop as it stands on the day.
What a day of data in Ho Chi Minh City looks like
| What you are doing | Rough daily use | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Maps and route checks | 300–500 MB | Dense traffic means a lot of lookups |
| Grab bookings and messaging drivers | 50–100 MB | Light in itself, but needs a live connection |
| Electronic metro and bus ticketing | Low | Barely any data, but unusable without a connection |
| Social feeds and stories | 300–600 MB | Driven by how much video you watch |
| Photo and short video uploads | 400 MB and up | The Post Office and Ben Thanh area push this up |
Most itineraries land between 1 and 1.5GB a day, so the 5GB daily allowance leaves plenty of room.
Picking days and data for a Ho Chi Minh City eSIM
- Days: land day to departure day, plus one if a red-eye crosses midnight.
- Daily allowance: 5GB a day resetting at midnight Vietnam time, so heavy early days do not leave you short.
- After the allowance: speed drops rather than cutting off, so you can still pull up a map or scan a ticket.
- City plus the Mekong Delta or Hanoi: one Vietnam plan covers the whole trip.
- ・No physical SIM to swap, installed before you leave home
- ・Delivered in about 10 minutes, with no airport queue
- ・Refundable if the signal is unstable or the plan goes unused
Support 10:00–17:00 (UTC+8), LINE @peanutmo
Ho Chi Minh City data FAQ
How are the terminals split at Tan Son Nhat?
Per the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, from 17 May 2025 Vietnam Airlines moved all its remaining domestic flights at Tan Son Nhat to Terminal 3. T1 keeps VietJet Air, Pacific Airlines, Vasco, Vietravel Airlines and Bamboo Airways, plus Vietnam Airlines ATR72 services to Con Dao, Ca Mau and Rach Gia. T2 remains the international terminal. An airport shuttle links the terminals, published by the authority as roughly every 20 minutes.
Can I take Metro Line 1 to the airport?
No. Line 1 runs from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien and does not serve Tan Son Nhat. Getting between the airport and the city still means a taxi, a ride-hailing app or a bus.
What does Metro Line 1 cost and how do I pay?
The city People's Committee publishes distance-based singles at 7,000 to 20,000 dong in cash, or 6,000 to 19,000 by electronic payment, a saving of 1,000 dong a trip. A day ticket is 40,000 dong, three days 90,000, a monthly pass 300,000 and a student monthly 150,000. You can tap a contactless bank card at the gate, scan a QR generated in the HCMC Metro app, pay with MoMo, or get a QR at a counter by card or transfer.
Is it true that city buses are free?
Yes, within limits. The city People's Committee's implementation plan waives 100 per cent of the fare on 134 inner-city bus routes from 1 July to 31 December 2026, but it explicitly excludes inter-provincial routes, open-top sightseeing buses and routes connecting the city centre with the airport. From 1 October 2026 the second phase keeps the fares free but requires identity to be recorded electronically, by ID card, VNeID, bank card, e-wallet or a designated app.
Do I need a passport to buy a local SIM in Vietnam?
Yes. Under Decree 163/2024/ND-CP, a foreign national registering a mobile number must use a passport valid in Vietnam for the duration of the entry visa or permitted stay. An eSIM skips that counter.
How much data does a day in Ho Chi Minh City use?
Mostly maps, Grab and photo uploads. Peanutmo’s Vietnam eSIM gives 5GB a day, resetting at midnight Vietnam time, which is generous for a normal itinerary. See our data sizing guide.
Related reading
How the Vietnamese plans compare and which network you end up on.
Validity, port restrictions and the declaration filed after you arrive.
Worth reading if central Vietnam is on the itinerary.
Match your habits to the table and the tier becomes obvious.
