The short answer: the Saigon Waterbus costs 15,000₫ a trip, whatever distance you go. The first boat leaves Bạch Đằng at 08:30, the last one gets back there at 22:32, and the full run to Linh Đông takes an hour. Only four sailings a day go that whole way. Everything else turns round at Thảo Điền.
Most guides to this boat are wrong, and they are wrong in the same way, because they are all copying a press release from 2017. They list stops that were never built, quote a 30 minute journey, and tell you the first boat is at 06:30. The times below are transcribed from the operator’s own timetable, published as an image on their website in September 2026, which is why nobody quotes it.
What it costs
| Ticket | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, any distance | 15,000₫ | One flat fare. Five minutes or an hour, same price |
| Return | 30,000₫ | This is two singles, not a discount. Online booking only sells one-way |
| Over 70 | Free | Vietnamese ID required for the check |
| Under 1 year old | Free | |
| Wheelchair users, war invalids | Free | Security staff help you board |
| Children aged 1 and over | 15,000₫ | No child fare is published |
The fare has not moved since 2018. Two things worth knowing before you go: the water bus is not part of the free bus scheme running in Ho Chi Minh City until the end of December 2026, which covers 134 road routes and no river services. And you do not need to book. If there are seats left when you turn up, you can buy at the wharf in cash.
If you do book online, you can pay with VNPAY, MoMo, ZaloPay, ShopeePay, a bank transfer, or a Visa or Mastercard. Online tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable, and you lose the fare if you are not there 10 minutes before departure. Arrive 20 minutes early and buy at the counter instead. The operator does not sell tickets by phone or over social media, so anyone offering that is not them.
Saigon Waterbus timetable
There is no clock-face frequency here. Gaps from Bạch Đằng run from 40 minutes to two and a half hours, so read the actual departure times rather than turning up and hoping. Sailings marked W run on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays only. Everything else runs daily, and the weekend service is the weekday service plus three extra boats each way.
Bạch Đằng to Linh Đông
| Stop | W | W | W | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bạch Đằng | 8:30 | 9:30 | 11:00 | 13:00 | 14:30 | 15:00 | 16:30 | 17:10 | 18:05 | 19:50 | 21:20 |
| Thủ Thiêm | 8:35 | 9:35 | 11:05 | 13:05 | 14:35 | 15:05 | 16:35 | 17:15 | 18:10 | 19:55 | 21:25 |
| Ba Son | 8:40 | 9:40 | 11:10 | 13:10 | 14:40 | 15:10 | 16:40 | 17:20 | 18:15 | 20:00 | 21:30 |
| Bình An | 8:52 | 9:52 | 11:22 | 13:22 | 14:52 | 15:22 | 16:52 | 17:32 | 18:27 | 20:12 | 21:42 |
| Thảo Điền | 8:57 | 9:57 | 11:27 | 13:27 | 14:57 | 15:27 | 16:57 | 17:37 | 18:32 | 20:17 | 21:47 |
| Thanh Đa | 9:10 | 10:10 | 11:40 | — | 15:10 | — | — | 17:50 | — | — | — |
| Hiệp Bình Chánh | 9:20 | 10:20 | 11:50 | — | 15:20 | — | — | 18:00 | — | — | — |
| Linh Đông | 9:30 | 10:30 | 12:00 | — | 15:30 | — | — | 18:10 | — | — | — |
Linh Đông back to Bạch Đằng
| Stop | W | W | W | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linh Đông | — | 9:45 | 11:00 | 13:15 | — | — | 16:00 | — | 18:25 | — | — | — |
| Hiệp Bình Chánh | — | 9:55 | 11:10 | 13:25 | — | — | 16:10 | — | 18:35 | — | — | — |
| Thanh Đa | — | 10:05 | 11:20 | 13:35 | — | — | 16:20 | — | 18:45 | — | — | — |
| Thảo Điền | — | 10:18 | 11:33 | 13:48 | 14:00 | 15:45 | 16:33 | 17:20 | 18:58 | 19:05 | 20:35 | 22:05 |
| Bình An | — | 10:23 | 11:38 | 13:53 | 14:05 | 15:50 | 16:38 | 17:25 | 19:03 | 19:10 | 20:40 | 22:10 |
| Ba Son | — | 10:35 | 11:50 | 14:05 | 14:17 | 16:02 | 16:50 | 17:37 | 19:15 | 19:22 | 20:52 | 22:22 |
| Thủ Thiêm | 8:15 | 10:40 | 11:55 | 14:10 | 14:22 | 16:07 | 16:55 | 17:42 | 19:20 | 19:27 | 20:57 | 22:27 |
| Bạch Đằng | 8:20 | 10:45 | 12:00 | 14:15 | 14:27 | 16:12 | 17:00 | 17:47 | 19:25 | 19:32 | 21:02 | 22:32 |
Three things the timetable tells you that nobody writes down
- Only four boats a day run the full route to Linh Đông: 08:30, 11:00, 14:30 and 17:10, plus the 09:30 at weekends. If you want the whole river, you have four chances.
- The last boat does not come back. The final sailing ties up at the terminus overnight and runs the first service the next morning. Take it and you are finding your own way home.
- The full run takes 60 minutes, not the 30 that most articles claim. Bạch Đằng to Thảo Điền is 27 minutes, Bạch Đằng to Thủ Thiêm is 5.
The best trip on the boat
Sunset in Saigon lands between about 17:25 and 18:20 all year, which puts one sailing in exactly the right place: the 17:10 from Bạch Đằng. It runs daily, goes the full length, and puts you mid river as the light goes. Coming the other way, the 17:20 from Thảo Điền gets you back into the city skyline at sunset, and the 18:25 from Linh Đông runs the whole river after dark with the lights on.
Make an evening of it: the boat lands you in Thảo Điền in time for dinner, and our guide to Ho Chi Minh City nightlife covers where to go after. Sit on the open bench at the back. The cabin is air conditioned and fine, but the back deck is where the trip is. Front row cabin seats are the next best thing, with a view over the bow and a headwind through the open doors.
Every stop, and what is worth getting off for
Eight wharves, south to north. One thing about addresses: Vietnam abolished district-level administration on 1 July 2025, so the wards have changed even though everyone still says District 1 and Thảo Điền. Where the ward matters for a taxi app, we have given the current one.
1. Bạch Đằng
The city end, and where nearly everyone starts. It sits on the riverfront in the middle of town with the Majestic across the road.
Address: 10B Tôn Đức Thắng, phường Sài Gòn (the old Bến Nghé ward, District 1)
Walk to: the riverside park is 100m, Nguyễn Huệ walking street 500m, the Opera House 600m, Notre-Dame Cathedral and Book Street 1.2km, Bến Thành Market 1.5km, Independence Palace 1.8km.
This is also the wharf with parking. Motorbikes go in the Bạch Đằng car park, and there is no car parking, so use one of the public car parks nearby.
If you want more of the river than a commuter boat gives you, Saigon Boat Company runs private trips out of the same stretch of water, and gives 10% off with the Saigon Scene app. For a drink before the 17:10, 2 Lam Son at the Park Hyatt is a six minute walk by the Opera House and also gives 10% off with the Saigon Scene app.
2. Thủ Thiêm
Five minutes across the water, added in 2024. It is the shortest hop on the route and the cheapest way to see the city skyline from the other bank.
Address: Nguyễn Thiện Thành, phường An Khánh. The operator publishes no street number.
Walk to: the Saigon riverside park is 100m, Đình An Khánh communal house 350m, the Thủ Thiêm convent, which is over 150 years old, 650m. Sala and Thiso Mall are 1.7km.
3. Ba Son
The newest stop, opened in spring 2026, and officially a temporary one. It exists for one reason: it is the only wharf on the Metro. Ba Son station on Line 1 is right there, so you can come out from Bến Thành by train and leave by boat.
Address: Số 2 Tôn Đức Thắng, phường Sài Gòn
Walk to: the Ba Son cable-stayed bridge, the park underneath it, and Saigon Marina IFC.
4. Bình An
Twenty two minutes out. There is a Katinat inside the wharf compound with a Landmark 81 view across the water, which makes this a decent short round trip if you only have an hour.
Address: Đường Số 21, phường An Khánh. No street number is published.
Walk to: Thảo Điền Pearl mall, 900m. Pháp viện Minh Đăng Quang and Chùa Huê Nghiêm are both about 2.5km, so take a bike.
5. Thảo Điền
Twenty seven minutes from town, and the stop most people actually use. Every sailing comes here, which is not true of anywhere further north, so this is the reliable end of the route.
Address: 6 Nguyễn Văn Hưởng, Khu phố 7, phường An Khánh. Note that “phường Thảo Điền” stopped existing in July 2025, which is the single most common mistake in other guides and will confuse a taxi app.
Walk to: Thảo Điền market and Vincom Mega Mall Thảo Điền.
High Tide at 154 Nguyễn Văn Hưởng, on the same street as the wharf, is an easy, casual drink after the boat and gives 10% off with the Saigon Scene app. A little further in, Union Jack’s on Nguyễn Bá Lân does fish and chips and also gives 10% off with the Saigon Scene app.
6. Thanh Đa
Forty minutes out, on the Thanh Đa peninsula, and the point where the trip stops being a commute and starts being a day out. This is the stop for duck congee and riverside seafood.
Address: Lô 1, Thanh Đa, phường Bình Quới (formerly wards 27 and 28 of Bình Thạnh)
Walk to: Mars Venus restaurant is inside the wharf compound. The long-standing cháo vịt duck congee places, Gốc Nhà Lá and Thu Nga, are about 500m. Phong Cua for crab is 1.3km, and the Bình Quới tourist areas spread from 1 to 4km along the peninsula.
Careful with this one. Only four boats a day come here, and the last northbound one is at 17:50. Check how you are getting back before you get off.
7. Hiệp Bình Chánh
Fifty minutes out, residential, and genuinely off the tourist map. The bánh xèo place directly opposite the wharf is the reason to get off.
Address: 70 đường số 10, phường Hiệp Bình. The wharf keeps the old ward name, the ward itself does not.
Walk to: Bánh xèo tôm nhảy Thanh Diệu is opposite. Bên Sông, a garden restaurant on the riverbank with a lotus pond, is 300m. Giga Mall is 1.8km.
8. Linh Đông
The far end, an hour from town. Four boats a day get here and four leave, so this is a stop to plan around rather than wander into.
Address: the end of đường 36, Thủ Đức. Old Linh Đông ward was split in the 2025 reorganisation and no official source places the wharf on one side or the other, so give a driver the street rather than the ward.
Walk to: the Liên Thành fish sauce shop, a 100 year old brand, is 40m away and sells bottles to take home. Vincom Thủ Đức and the One Pillar Pagoda of Thủ Đức are both about 3.5km.
What you can and cannot bring
- No bikes, e-bikes, skateboards or motorbikes. Park at the wharf and travel on foot at the other end.
- No pets.
- No alcohol, no tobacco, nothing strong smelling or bulky. There is a small bar on board and they sell snacks.
- Wheelchairs are fine, and staff will help you board. There is a toilet at the stern and life jackets under the seats.
- No luggage policy is published. If you are carrying a big case, ask at the counter rather than assume.
Where to go for what
- An hour to kill in town: Bạch Đằng to Bình An and back. Coffee at the Katinat in the wharf, Landmark 81 across the water.
- The five minute novelty: Bạch Đằng to Thủ Thiêm. 15,000₫ for the best cheap skyline view in the city.
- Getting to Thảo Điền without the traffic: 27 minutes, every sailing, and you land on a street with a riverside terrace on it.
- Sunset: the 17:10 from Bạch Đằng, daily, the full hour.
- Lunch somewhere different: the 11:00 to Thanh Đa for duck congee, back on the 13:35.
- Combining it with the Metro: Line 1 to Ba Son, then the boat. More ideas in our guide to things to do in Ho Chi Minh City.
One thing this boat is not
Saigon Waterbus runs this route and nothing else. The cruises advertised alongside it on the same website are sold by a different company, at different prices, and the fast boats to Vũng Tàu and Cần Giờ have not been confirmed as running since the Bạch Đằng pier works began in May 2025. If you want one of those, ring and check before you turn up. The Côn Đảo boat has moved and no longer leaves from Bạch Đằng at all.
How we put this together
Every time and price here was read off the operator’s own timetable artwork, published on saigonwaterbus.com and last modified on 12 September 2026, and cross-checked against their ticketing FAQ and terms pages in September 2026. Where the operator’s website contradicts its own timetable, and it does in two places, we went with the timetable because it is newer and more specific. Ward names come from Resolution 1685/NQ-UBTVQH15, which took effect on 1 July 2025.
Timetables change. If you find one of these sailings has moved, tell us and we will check it.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Saigon Waterbus?
15,000₫ per trip, whatever distance you travel. A return is 30,000₫, which is simply two singles rather than a discount. Passengers over 70 with Vietnamese ID, children under 1, wheelchair users and war invalids travel free. The fare has not changed since 2018, and the water bus is not covered by the free city bus scheme running until the end of December 2026.
What time does the Saigon Waterbus start and finish?
The first boat leaves Bạch Đằng at 08:30 and the last departure of the day is 21:20. The last boat of all is the 22:05 from Thảo Điền, which reaches Bạch Đằng at 22:32. There are 17 sailings on a weekday and 23 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
How long does the Saigon water bus take?
One hour from Bạch Đằng to Linh Đông, end to end. Bạch Đằng to Thảo Điền is 27 minutes, Bạch Đằng to Bình An is 22 minutes and Bạch Đằng to Thủ Thiêm is 5 minutes. The 30 minute figure repeated on many travel sites comes from the 2017 launch and is wrong for the route as it runs today.
Does every water bus go the whole way to Linh Đông?
No, and this catches people out. Only four sailings a day run the full length: 08:30, 11:00, 14:30 and 17:10, plus the 09:30 at weekends. Every other sailing turns back at Thảo Điền.
Can I take the last water bus back to the city?
No. The operator states that the final sailing stops at the terminus and the boat waits there overnight to run the first service in the morning, so you need to make your own way back. Plan the return leg before you take an evening boat north.
Do I need to book the Saigon water bus in advance?
No. If seats are left you can buy at the wharf, in cash. Online booking exists through the operator's website and accepts VNPAY, MoMo, ZaloPay, ShopeePay, bank transfer and international cards, but online tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable, and you lose the fare if you are not there 10 minutes before departure. Arrive 20 minutes early either way. The operator does not sell tickets by phone or social media.
Where does the Saigon water bus stop?
Eight wharves: Bạch Đằng in the city centre, Thủ Thiêm, Ba Son, Bình An, Thảo Điền, Thanh Đa, Hiệp Bình Chánh and Linh Đông. Ba Son opened in spring 2026 and is the only wharf beside a Metro station. Several stop lists online still include Sài Gòn Pearl, Tầm Vú, Bình Triệu and Bình Quới, which were planned in 2017 and never built.
Can I take a motorbike or bicycle on the water bus?
No. Bicycles, e-bikes, skateboards and motorbikes are all banned, as are pets, alcohol, tobacco and anything strong smelling or bulky. Park at the wharf, or at Bạch Đằng where the car park is. Wheelchair users can board with help from staff and travel free.
What is the best time to ride the Saigon water bus?
The 17:10 from Bạch Đằng. Sunset in Ho Chi Minh City falls between roughly 17:25 and 18:20 all year, so that sailing puts you mid river as the light goes, and it runs the full route daily. Coming back, the 17:20 from Thảo Điền reaches the city skyline at sunset. Sit on the open bench at the stern.
