- A private car with driver in Hoi An runs $89/day for a sedan, $109 for an SUV and $139 for a 16-seat minibus — for roughly 8 hours and 250 km.
- "All-in" should cover fuel, tolls, parking and the driver's own lunch. If it doesn't, assume $15–25 a day of surprises.
- For two or more people doing anything outside town, a day hire beats stacking Grab rides by the second stop.
Private-driver pricing in Vietnam is opaque on purpose. Quotes are given per car, per person, per hour and per route, sometimes in three currencies, and half of them exclude the things that cost money. So here is our price list and, more usefully, how to read anyone else's.
Day rates, plainly
| Vehicle | Seats | Day rate (8h) | Extra hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedan — Toyota Vios / Mazda 3 | 3 passengers, 2 bags | $89 | $12 |
| SUV — Fortuner / Santa Fe | 6 passengers, 4 bags | $109 | $15 |
| Minibus — Ford Transit 16-seat | 13 passengers, 9 bags | $139 | $18 |
A "day" is eight hours and about 250 km of driving, which comfortably covers anything in the Hoi An–Da Nang–My Son triangle. Longer runs — Hue and back over the Hai Van Pass, for instance — are quoted as a route, not a day, because the mileage is the cost driver rather than the clock.
What should be included
- Fuel. Non-negotiable. A quote that excludes fuel is not a quote.
- Tolls and parking. The Cua Dai bridge, the Hai Van tunnel, Ba Na's car park — small individually, $10–20 across a day.
- The driver's own lunch. You should never be handed a bill for feeding your driver.
- Water in the car, and air conditioning that actually works. Ask. In June, ask twice.
- Waiting time. If you spend three hours inside My Son, that is not overtime — that is the day you booked.
What is genuinely not included, anywhere, at any price: your own meals, site entrance tickets (My Son 150,000 VND, Ba Na Hills 900,000 VND, Marble Mountains 40,000 VND), and tips. Tips are welcome and never expected — our drivers are paid a salary that does not depend on them.
The three quiet mark-ups
- 1Commission stops
The cheapest day rates in Vietnam are subsidised by shops. A $55 day tour that spends 40 minutes at a marble carving workshop and 30 at a pearl showroom is not cheap — you paid for it with two hours of your holiday.
- 2Per-person pricing
Tour desks quote per head because it reads small. Four people at $35 each is $140 for a car that costs $89 to hire. Always convert a quote to per-car before comparing.
- 3Hotel concierge margin
Front desks typically add 20–40%. That is a legitimate fee for arranging something, but you are usually buying the same driver.
When a day hire is actually cheaper
For a single hop — hotel to An Bang beach, Old Town to Da Nang — Grab wins on price and you should use it. The maths flips the moment you have a plan. A typical countryside day is Tra Que herb village, then Cam Thanh coconut forest, then a beach, then back into town for dinner. That is four Grab rides, two of which are from places where no Grab is waiting, plus 20 minutes of standing in the sun each time.
| Day | Grab, stacked | Private car |
|---|---|---|
| Beach and back | ~$12 | $89 — don't bother |
| Marble Mountains + Da Nang + Son Tra | $28–40, plus waiting | $89, car stays with you |
| My Son round trip | $40–55 (drivers charge to wait) | $89 |
| Hai Van Pass to Hue, one way with stops | Not practical | $119–139 route price |
The honest summary: below two stops, use the app. At three or more, or with luggage, or with anyone under ten or over seventy in the party, hire the car.
A note on tipping
Vietnam is not a strong tipping culture and no one will be offended if you do not. If your driver carried a pushchair up the Marble Mountains steps and found you the bánh mì place with no English sign, 100,000–200,000 VND is a generous, normal thank-you. It should never feel like a top-up on an underpaid wage — if it does, you booked the wrong company.