First Published October 2019 | Words and photos by Vietnam Coracle
This post was last updated 5 years ago. Please check the comments section for possible updates, or read more on my Updates & Accuracy page.
INTRODUCTION | GUIDE | MAP | RELATED POSTS
Part of a growing trend in luxury bus lines on popular routes, Thien Thanh Limousine service runs between Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and the Mekong Delta hub of Rach Gia, gateway to Vietnam’s islands in the Gulf of Thailand. Rach Gia is the main port for fast boats and car ferries to/from Vietnam’s exquisite tropical islands, namely the well-known beach retreat of Phu Quoc, but also the lesser-known (and less-touristy) islands of Nam Du and Hon Son. Thien Thanh Limousine is a premium, luxury (or VIP as it’s commonly termed) sleeping bus that whisks you in style and comfort (and peace) from the nation’s largest city to one of its most bustling ports, from where island-hopping opportunities abound. Journey time is 5-6 hours, and there are at least 6 services daily in both directions. Comfort is exceptional and prices are reasonable: one-way fares are 280,000vnd ($12). For that, you get a private cabin, fully-flat bed with cushions and blankets, personal TV and air-con, a headset and USB sockets, free transfers to/from the bus stations and ports, and free food and drink. And you can take your motorbike on board.
Thien Thanh Limousine is a luxury sleeper bus for passengers & motorbikes between Saigon & Rach Gia
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GUIDE: SAIGON↔RACH GIA VIP BUS
Below is my full guide to taking the Thien Thanh Limousine bus service between Saigon and Rach Gia, for passengers and motorbikes. I’ve divided this guide into several easy sections and plotted all relevant places on my map. I recommend using this bus service in conjunction with my ferry guides and island guides to Phu Quoc, Nam Du and Hon Son: this will give you all the information you need to go on an independent island-hopping exploration of Vietnam’s islands in the Gulf of Thailand.
*Please support Vietnam Coracle: If you use the Baolau.com links & search boxes on this page to book your bus tickets, I make a small commission. All my earnings go straight back into this website. Thank you.
ROUTE MAP
Thien Thanh Limousine Bus: Saigon↔Rach Gia
View in a LARGER MAP
SEARCH & BOOK TICKETS:
*Please support Vietnam Coracle: you can search bus times, prices & make bookings directly from this page by using the Baolau.com search boxes & links throughout this guide. If you make a booking, I receive a small commission. All my earnings go straight back into this website. Thank you.
Bus Operator & Contact:
Although several other bus lines operate along the Saigon↔Rach Gia route, this guide focuses only on Thien Thanh Limousine, which is far more comfortable, easier and more enjoyable than any of the competition. The standard of comfort, safety and reliability is such that the higher price (only an extra $5) is well worth it. Thien Thanh Limousine are easily contacted by phone or through their Facebook page. (However, at the time of writing their website had been down for quite some time.) Alternatively, Thien Thanh have offices in Saigon and Rach Gia. If you speak/write some Vietnamese, then contact via Facebook, phone or in person is easy and smooth. If not, some staff speak a little English, and everyone is generally very helpful. See the contact information below or check Baolau.com:
Faecbook: www.facebook.com/xekhachkiengiangsaigon/
Phone: 0908731119 | 0908621119 | 0941962926 | 0911962926
Website: www.thienthanhlimo.com (not functioning at the time of writing)
Offices:
• Saigon: 99 Tân Thành Street, Tân Phú District, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) [MAP]
• Rach Gia (outskirts): 26-33 corner of Duong 3 & Duong 7 streets , Chau Thanh [MAP]
• Rach Gia (city): Phan Thi Rang Street gas station, An Hoa Ward, Rach Gia City [MAP]
Thien Thanh can be contacted via Facebook, phone, email or in person at their Saigon & Rach Gia offices
*Please support Vietnam Coracle: you can search bus times, prices & make bookings directly from this page by using the Baolau.com search boxes & links throughout this guide. If you make a booking, I receive a small commission. All my earnings go straight back into this website. Thank you.
Bus Schedules & Prices:
At the time of writing (October 2019), Thien Thanh Limousine operates 7 journeys daily in both directions on the Saigon↔Rach Gia route. Departure times are the same in both directions. Journey time is 5-6 hours, including a 30-minute rest break midway. As a general rule: night buses take 5 hours; day buses take 6 hours (due to heavier traffic). Ticket prices for passengers are the same for upper and lower sleeping compartments: 280,000vnd per person. This price includes pick-up and drop-off transfers by mini-van to/from the Thien Thanh bus stops and your destination. For example, transfers to your hotel in Rach Gia or to the ferry port in Rach Gia. Motorbike carriage ranges from 200,000-300,000vnd, depending on the type of bike (semi-auto/auto). The schedule and prices below are accurate at the time of writing (October 2019), but are subject to change. (You can also check current times & prices on Baolau.com):
- Departures: 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, 11pm, 12pm (daily)
- Passenger Ticket: 280,000vnd (upper or lower sleeping compartment)
- Motorbike Ticket: 200,000-300,000vnd (semi-automatic/automatic) [Details here]
- Price Includes: transfers to/from bus stations & destinations
RACH GIA→SAIGON:
- Departures: 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, 11pm, 12pm (daily)
- Passenger Ticket: 280,000vnd (upper or lower sleeping compartment)
- Motorbike Ticket: 200,000-300,000vnd (semi-automatic/automatic) [Details here]
- Price Includes: transfers to/from bus stations & destinations
There are 7 daily services in both directions between Saigon & Rach Gia: 280,000vnd per passenger
*Please support Vietnam Coracle: you can search bus times, prices & make bookings directly from this page by using the Baolau.com search boxes & links throughout this guide. If you make a booking, I receive a small commission. All my earnings go straight back into this website. Thank you.
Booking Tickets:
There are several ways to book tickets for the Thien Thanh Limousine bus: in person at one of their offices, online via Baoalu.com, over the phone, or via the Thien Thanh Facebook page or website (although, at the time of writing, the latter was unavailable). In all cases, I found the Thien Thanh staff to be well-organized and very helpful. If booking online via Baolau.com, you will need to enter your passport details, but booking via any other method only requires your name and phone number. In most cases, you only need to make a booking on the day of travel (with the exception of public holidays, of course). However, it’s a good idea to book at least a day in advance to be sure of getting a ticket for your preferred departure time, especially if travelling on a weekend. Bear in mind that, because the limousine buses are spacious and luxurious, their capacity is far smaller than the average sleeper coach. Thien Thanh Limousines only have 20 sleeping compartments, compared to at least twice that on an average sleeper bus in Vietnam. See below for booking options:
• By Phone: (some English is spoken) 0908731119 | 0908621119 | 0941962926 | 0911962926
• By Baolau.com: make your book at www.baolau.com or use the search box below
• In Person at the Offices: Saigon [MAP] | Rach Gia city [MAP] | Rach Gia outskirts [MAP]
• By Facebook: (some English is available) www.facebook.com/xekhachkiengiangsaigon/
• By the Website: www.thienthanhlimo.com (not functioning at the time of writing)
Tickets can be booked online via Baolau.com or via Facebook, by phone, or in person at the offices
SEARCH & BOOK TICKETS:
*Please support Vietnam Coracle: you can search bus times, prices & make bookings directly from this page by using the Baolau.com search boxes & links throughout this guide. If you make a booking, I receive a small commission. All my earnings go straight back into this website. Thank you.
Taking your Motorbike:
Putting your motorbike on the Thien Thanh Limousine bus between Saigon and Rach Gia is easy and a really useful resource for bikers wanting to visit the Gulf of Thailand islands, such as Nam Du, Hon Son, Phu Quoc, and the Pirate Archipelago. This is because it cuts out the long crawl through Saigon’s industrial suburbs and across the vast, flat, hot, wet plains of the Mekong Delta (a full day’s ride). Instead of that long ride, you can simply drive my motorbike to the Thien Thanh bus station in Saigon, load your bike onto the 11pm departure (for example), travel overnight to Rach Gia, ride to the ferry port, and get a car ferry at dawn to any of the islands. By 9am, you and your motorbike will be standing on a beach in the Gulf of Thailand.
Motorbikes can be carried on-board: a great convenience for riders heading to the Delta or islands
The process is straightforward and the price isn’t too bad considering the convenience of the service. Bear in mind that there’s limited space on the buses for motorbikes. It’s best to book a place for your motorbike by phone (see Contact for details) at least a day in advance, but showing up at the bus station a couple of hours before departure should also be OK. Your bike will not be packaged or even emptied of gas. You do not need to show your motorbike blue/green card or your driving license. Your motorbike is stored in the undercarriage of the bus, lying on its side. Prices are 200,000vnd (semi-automatic) or 300,000vnd (automatic).
Motorbikes cost between 200,000-300,000vnd depending on the type of bike
*Please support Vietnam Coracle: you can search bus times, prices & make bookings directly from this page by using the Baolau.com search boxes & links throughout this guide. If you make a booking, I receive a small commission. All my earnings go straight back into this website. Thank you.
Departure & Arrival Bus Stations:
In my experience taking the Saigon↔Rach Gia Thien Thanh Limousine bus service, passengers need to know three different bus stations: one in Saigon, two in Rach Gia. In Saigon, all buses depart and arrive at the same bus stop; but in Rach Gia, there’s a separate bus stop for arrivals and departures. See below for details, and remember that Thien Thanh Limousine offers a free pick-up/drop-off service to/from their bus stops (you’ll need to arrange this in advance: see Contact for details):
Passengers need to know three different bus stops: one in Saigon & two in Rach Gia
Saigon (Departure & Arrival Bus Stop): 99 Tân Thành Street, Tân Phú District [MAP]: Known as the Thien Thanh Tan Phu Stop, all buses depart and arrive at this location in Saigon’s ‘wild west’. Way out in Tan Phu District, among the pulsating tangle of streets, throbbing with life and youthful energy, this bus stop isn’t exactly convenient if you happen to live in central Saigon. Nor is it a particularly beautiful bus station. In fact, it appears to be a large, gravel parking lot on what looks to be the clearing site for the foundations of a huge new apartment block. The office and waiting area is on the right as you come in from the main street. There are seats and free refreshments, such as noodles, biscuits, coffee, and soda. The toilets are fine and, although the bus stop might look pretty shabby, it’s well-organized and perfectly fine.
The Saigon bus stop in out in Tan Phu District: there’s free food & drink for waiting passengers
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Rach Gia (Arrival Bus Stop): Phan Thi Rang Street gas station, An Hoa Ward, Rach Gia City [MAP] Thien Thanh buses arrive at the large gas station on Phan Thi Rang Street, in the new southern suburbs of Rach Gia. This broad boulevard has easy access to all of Rach Gia’s main thoroughfares, namely Nguyen Trung Truc (to the city centre), and Duong 3 Thang 2 and Ton Duc Thang streets, both of which run parallel to the coast, leading north to Rach Gia ferry port, from where all boats to the Gulf of Thailand islands depart. There’s a Thien Thanh Limousine ticket office at the gas station and several cafes and shops nearby. However, Thien Thanh buses only arrive at this stop; departures are from a different location (see below for details).
Thien Thanh buses arrive at the gas station on Phan Thi Rang Street in the new suburbs of Rach Gia
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Rach Gia (Departure Bus Stop): 26-33 corner of Duong 3 & Duong 7 streets , Chau Thanh [MAP] A few kilometres south of Rach Gia city centre, the departure stop for Thien Thanh Limousine buses is at the corner of two small streets, behind the main provincial bus station (Bến Xe Tỉnh Kiên Giang). The bus stop has a Thien Thanh ticket office, waiting area and bathroom. Just like the Saigon bus stop, free drinks and snacks are available for waiting passengers. The immediate area around the bus stop is pretty quiet and empty, but there are shops along the busy main road just two minutes’ walk to the west.
Thien Thanh buses depart Rach Gia from a stop in the streets behind the main Kien Giang provincial bus station
*Please support Vietnam Coracle: you can search bus times, prices & make bookings directly from this page by using the Baolau.com search boxes & links throughout this guide. If you make a booking, I receive a small commission. All my earnings go straight back into this website. Thank you.
The Buses:
Thien Thanh Limousine buses are Hyundai Universe Express Noble coaches. These are standard vehicles for long-distance bus travel in Vietnam. But the ones used by Thien Thanh Limousine are converted for maximum space, comfort, convenience, and luxury. Several other bus lines on other routes in Vietnam operate similar ‘VIP’ (as they’re known) coaches, but Thien Thanh are the smartest I’ve been on so far. Each bus only has 20 individual sleeping compartments, compared to 40 or more berths on ordinary sleeper buses. Of course, Thien Thanh is more expensive than standard sleeper coaches. But, not really by much: a standard sleeper bus between Saigon and Rach Gia costs around 170,000vnd ($7); Thien Thanh costs 280,000vnd ($12). The difference is 110,000vnd ($5), but the gulf in quality and comfort is enormous. In my opinion, it’s worth the extra expense, especially if (as in my case) you’re taking the night bus and then heading straight to the ferry port in Rach Gia for a connecting boat to one of the islands in the Gulf of Thailand. Add to this, the massive convenience of being able to carry your motorbike on-board the coach, and I think Thien Thanh is great value for money.
Thien Thanh Limousine buses have two rows of fully flat sleeping compartments
Thien Thanh Limousine buses feature two rows of individual sleeping compartments on two levels: upper and lower. There’s no difference between the top- and bottom-level cabins: they’re the same size and getting in/out is equally easy (or challenging, depending of your agility). Each compartment is pretty substantial and private: there’s a window on one side, a curtain on the other, and proper partitions at the top and tail ends, so the space is entirely yours. Each cabin features a soft, nearly flat bed. The length is suitable for a genuine sleep, but taller passengers will be frustrated: I’m about 1.8m and was able to get comfortable and doze off happily (although some seats have an irritating bump which digs into your spine at certain angles). Also provided inside your private cabin are: blanket, pillow, comforter, personal air-con with remote control, headphones, USB port, personal T.V with remote control, WiFi, drinks holder, shelf space, tray table, mood lighting, and even a framed photograph of a famous Vietnamese tourist destination. What more could you want? There’s no toilet on-board, but the bus stops once en-route (about 2.5-3 hours into the journey) for a bathroom break and refreshments.
The cabins are very comfortable: TV, air-con, WiFi, pillows, blanket, mood lighting & more
But the luxury on-board the Thien Thanh buses goes further than the amenities. The whole experience is much more pleasant than an ordinary sleeper bus. Various ‘rules’ are in place to ensure this: no shoes are allowed on the bus (you must take them off and bag them up when you board); no odious or messy food and drink is allowed in the cabins (this means no horrible smells, no irritating loud crunching, no crumbs between the seats); no loud music, movies or phone calls are allowed in the cabins, and none are played on the bus systems either (this means no being forced to listen to other people’s [bad] music, no listening to other passengers family rows, no hearing annoying ringtones and video game sound effects). It’s quiet, civilized, peaceful; professional, hushed and organized. Staff are actually quite strict (but nice) about these rules. This is a rarity on transportation in Vietnam. There are even some safety measures, such as seat-belts and a little red hammer in each compartment to smash the glass in the event of being stuck. The driving discipline seemed better, too: not too fast, and not leaning of the horn for the entire journey.
Thien Thanh buses are clean, quiet & ‘civilized’: the whole experience is very different from regular buses
*Please support Vietnam Coracle: you can search bus times, prices & make bookings directly from this page by using the Baolau.com search boxes & links throughout this guide. If you make a booking, I receive a small commission. All my earnings go straight back into this website. Thank you.
The Journey:
I usually take the night bus, so there’s not much to see as the bus glides through the flat plains of the Mekong Delta on arrow-straight roads, crossing colossal new bridges spanning the great width of one of the world’s longest rivers. During the daytime, there are industrial suburbs which melt into a tapestry of green rice fields and orchards of tropical fruit, bisected by narrow canals, with large barges, laden with an agricultural cargo, ploughing the viscous, chocolatey waters. Even at night, there’s a sense of the vastness of the Delta: on the two occasions that the route crosses the Mekong River, at the My Thuan Bridge and the newly opened Vam Cong Bridge, if you peer out the window, you’ll see an expanse of shimmering silver-black water stretching to the horizon, in it reflected the lights of dozens of boats, plying the waterway from farm to factory.
Comfortable in your cabin, you can sleep or watch the flat agricultural plains of the Mekong Delta go by
Journey time between Saigon and Rach Gia is now only 5-6 hours, thanks to the recent opening of the Vam Cong Bridge, which cuts out the time-consuming and massively overused ferry crossing. Indeed, there’s no longer any ferry crossing at all on this route. The first hour from Saigon utilizes the CT01 Expressway, which was the first of its kind to open in Vietnam. It’s a smooth and fast ride. However, the second hour is along the old and dreadfully inadequate Highway QL1A, a dreary, traffic-clogged drive all the way to the enormous and impressive My Thuan Bridge. After a 30-minute rest stop, the journey continues on Road QL80, which ultimately leads all the way to Rach Gia. West of Sa Dec, the Delta becomes lusher and more interesting. Canals run parallel to the road, where rickety homes of wooden and corrugated iron sheets lean over the water’s edge. A long, new stretch of road flies across the brand new Vam Cong Bridge before deteriorating into the old (and pretty bumpy) road. This dead-straight last leg on QL80 takes over an hour. In general, the nighttime journeys are quieter and quicker than the daytime ones.
At night there’s not much to see, but during the day the vast Mekong River can be viewed from bridges
Disclosure: I never receive payment for anything I write: my content is always free & independent. I’ve written this guide because I want to: I like this bus route & I want my readers to know about it. For more details, see my Disclosure & Disclaimer statements here
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Trying to decide whether to rent a bike in HCM and ride or limo bus to Phu Quoc or just bus/fly into PQ in Feb23 and rent while on the island. Want to visit Con Dao as well during that period, so may rent in HCM and take onboard a limo bus, as done by others. Are there any things to consider travelling from Phu Quoc to Con Dao by ferry and motorcycle? Thanks
Hi Scott,
I think it’s probably best to travel to Phu Quoc by land and sea or plane and then rent a motorbike on the island instead.
To get from Phu Quoc to Con Dao, the easiest way to do it is to fly from Phu Quoc to Saigon and get a connecting flight to Con Dao. Then you can easily rent a motorbike on Con Dao. There are no boat connections between Phu Quoc and Con Dao. If you want to go to Con Dao by boat you have three options: Vung Tau, Can Tho and Tran De (in Soc Trang).
Best,
Tom
I used this bus a couple of days ago, the bus picked up in Rach Gia from their office on Phan Thi Rang (opposite Food Stop Phu Cuong). Comfort and space was better than I ever expected for a coach. Bike also survived fine. Glad I found out about this service from here!
Hi Keir,
Thanks. It’s great to hear you used this bus and found it comfortable and convenient.
Best,
Tom
I too must report that my (full) tank was drained of fuel and the fuel was not returned- that adds 50k or more to the price of the service. But the bike was wrapped with cardboard and handled well, and the final stop in Rach Gia is at a gas station.
Hi Brian,
Glad to hear it worked OK for you. I guess draining the gas must be a new rule on this route – I’ve never had to do it in a dozen separate trips. But it’s good that they’re now taking this safety precaution.
Thanks for the update,
Tom
Just got off the bus and it was an extremely comfortable daytime ride! A note though: we bought our tix at the depot before departure (as our hotel receptionist advised us), and were assigned berths 12 A & B. Not only wete thete no seat number 12s, but seats 11 A & 11B were a full third tinier, about 1m30 (not to mention waaaaay in the back over the engine!)! And we are quite obviously BIG people. We refused thise seats, and started to disembark before we were placed in berths that we could fit in. So I highly recommend this bus, but make sure you are NOT in says 11 ir 12*
Hi,
Glad to hear the journey was OK. Thanks for the tip about seats 12 A & B
Tom
I am sorry to have to provide a negative report on my experience with this company.
On 19th January 2020 and booked to be on the 1pm bus I arrived a couple of hours before departure the first thing that happened was my fuel tank was drained of petrol that I had just filled to a level where it would not reach the filler cap when the bike was on its side. Two other bikes were similarly drained.
I have an old but well cared for Honda Wave and the next issue was that my wing mirrors were forced round to face inwards without slackening the lock nuts. I was starting to get unhappy.
The bike was the loaded on its side with the exhaust on the bus deck on a piece of cardboard. I thought all was well at this stage but worse was to come.
About half an hour later another motor bike arrived but there was not room for it and the guys decided to load it alongside my bike but due to the lack of space half of it had to rest on top of mine. I was very unhappy at this point.
When we arrived at Rach Gia the bikes were unloaded from the side. As mine came off the edge of the bus floor ripped off the rear mudguard as the bike dropped on its side because the offload guys did not have a secure hold of the bikes weight.
On further examination one of the overtaking mirrors had been ripped off as a result of the other bike resting on mine and in being ripped out split of a section of the plastic fairing..
Bringing the damage to the attention of the guys that did the unloading brought shrugs of disinterest and due to my lack of Vietnamese language I could get nowhere. Within five minutes the bus drove off.
Perhaps I was just very very unlucky butt in hindsite I would have been better to have ridden to the bike to Rach Gia and avoided this bad handling of my motorbike.
If you have a motorbike you value think hard.
Hi Mike,
Sorry to hear that. It’s strange because I’ve done it dozens of times and never had to drain my tank of gas, and never had any parts of my bike broken, nor actually has there ever been another bike on board the bus apart from mine. But certainly the staff can sometimes be pretty nonchalant in their handling of the bike. I wonder also it has something to do with pre-Tet holiday sloppiness – it’s quite common to get lackluster service (in many businesses) around the lead up to the Lunar New Year holidays.
Thank you for sharing your experience and I hope you can get your bike fixed up again.
Best,
Tom
Booked through this website. So thankful for your website
Hi Vivian,
Thanks for doing that, I appreciate it.
Tom
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Based on the pictures of Stavros lying on his side in the underbelly of the bus, was there any damage since there was no padding? I assume the bus can be pretty bouncy. When I used to send my bike from Nha Trang to Saigon by bus it still got a little damage/scrapes despite getting packaged. Also, besides removing the mirrors was there anything else to remove? For example, did you remove the GIVI mounting plate? I’m excited to try this service next month.
Hi,
On about half of the occasions that I’ve sent my motorbike on this bus, they have taken the mirrors on my bike, taped cardboard sheets to the exhaust side on my bike, and laid my bike on the exhaust side in the storage compartment on the bus. I expected some scratches, but nothing has ever broken on my bike when taking on this bus. I have GIVI racks etc and they were fine, too.
Obviously, if I had a precious, expensive or delicate motorbike, I would be much more concerned about the potential for damage.
Tom
I totally agree on the comfort of these new VVIP sleeper buses appearing quickly on all long night routes. The terminology is not clear among the different companies, it’s just easier to ask how many passengers can be carried. These new lay flat capsule cabins can accomodate 20 to 22 passengers only depending of the configuration.
The price difference definitely is not a a deterrent for most foreigners.
Also I liked the fact that the air conditioning outlets are controlled from inside the cabin.
I call these new sleeper buses the equivalent of the japanese capsule hotels and they make travelling so much more comfortable.
Good hear you like them, too. Yes, I agree, having your our air-con is a great bonus.
Tom