Ho Chi Minh City Airport

The airport has two terminals: International and Domestic which are not connected so any connection forces you to leave the building and go to the other one using a sheltered walkway which is sufficient protection from the rain but not airconditioned. The queues for Passport control and security check are reasonable I have never waited longer than 10 minutes. Friendliness is a different issue. Once outside the taxi-mafia is a real pain especially late evenings (after 9PM) when it becomes more difficult to catch a decent taxi. The taxis from "Saigon Airport Taxi" company are usually available in abundance but the local Expat community avoids them like a plague and for good reason. Queuing for Taxis is a unheard-of concept in Vietnam so don't even try to be polite it is catch as catch can. Departures are ok not much to do airside but at last some decent (but overpriced) food options and a massage place (also overpriced). Again no long queues for passport control and security check.

Very shiny and big and new - really much too big considering the number of passengers and the new terminal seems a bit of a white elephant given that they're planning a brand new airport for HCMC in the medium term. I can't say anything about arrivals but processing was pretty speedy for departures - I even got a smile and some friendly conversation from the guy at the immigration desk which are rare in the typically glum and/or stern world of Vietnamese officialdom. As other travellers have commented the duty-free and food in the airside section are pretty expensive - 3 USD for tiny little cakes at one of the cafes for instance and I paid 4 USD for a pretty but not incredibly remarkable fridge magnet. What it is really lacking is a newsagency - there's precious little to do if you have to wait there for a couple of hours (if you don't fancy paying through the nose to dine at one of the restaurants upstairs) and grabbing a decent magazine or book would be a good way to cope. At the moment all that seems to be available are the propagandist Vietnamese English-language papers - not exactly a substitute for The Economist. Overall it's hardly going to compete with KLIA Changi or Bangkok as a SE Asian hub but it's clean and efficient enough not to be the complete nightmare you might expect in a communist country.

Departing for London via Bangkok was quick and easy check in and passports also quick. Very pricey food (seven US dollars for a basic poor quality sandwich) and drink.

We recently returned from Saigon. Unfortunately we missed our connecting flight to Da Nang and had to stay in the airport 10 hours overnight. We found the staff very friendly and re- arranged our flight for us. Domestic airport closed at 1 am and our flight was 6 am so we could do nothing but lounge on the seats. We found the airport very clean and staff very friendly.

I found this airport (International terminal) excellent. Very impressive big clean. Don't expect much friendly service though; particular as you exit on arrival. I was ill leaving the airport but had a very comfortable experience. Shops are expensive.

Nice clean very modern airport with efficient check in & security for international flights. Catering airside is very pricey even by airport standards. Immigration was not exactly speedy but acceptable (but then I had a proper visa - the queue for "visa on arrival" looked horrendous) and the luggage beat us to the hall despite being one of teh first off the plane. Bit of a scrum outside arrivals - lots of taxi touts etc - but felt safe and secure (like the rest of Vietnam really). Note that if you need to change money you need to do it before you leave arrivals though USD seem to be equally accepted as local currency - the rates offered by some of the moneychangers varied fairly significantly - you could get 5% more by walking 20 yards down the hall!.

The airport at first appearance looked spacious though the duty-free shopping areas were congested and very few seats were available in the check-in lounges. However it was clean and modern in all aspects.

Modern airport much better than last time I visited in May 2007 style reminds me of Hong Kong (bright/lots of steel/clean). Departure smooth though 2 security checks right before and after immigration. Arrival is the same chaos at the 'visa-on-arrival' but as in Hanoi no clear signage and communication skills of staff non-existent. This is not a usual visa-on-arrival you can only get it when you have the electronic approval letter (normally done by travel agency in vietnam). Best to bring your 2 passport pictures. Best if you can secure a proper visa before arrival. If not budget at least 60 minutes for the 'visa-on-arrival'.

Used both the international and domestic terminals while traveling around Vietnam. The international airport is very modern and will certainly mature in its offerings as it becomes a major business center. The domestic terminal is showing its age and could use a deep cleaning and a little bit of a face lift. But it is still efficient and semi-organized.

Used Tan Son Nhat International Airport domestic airport for a VN flight from Saigon to Dalat. Domestic airport is old yet clean and pleasant to use. Understood used to be an old military airport and upgraded to an international airport in Aug 2007. There are about 8 gates where one can view arriving and departing planes. There are 2-3 cafes selling Vietnamese and western food (cheaper than international airport but they don accept credit cards). Plenty of seats available in the departures hall. Toilets were clean however they do not have handicap/baby changing facilities.