Things to do in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), formerly known as Saigon, is a famous entry point for many travellers visiting Vietnam. The hustle and bustle of the city is all thanks to the city’s fantastic nightlife, shopping precincts, colonial architecture, delicious food, and the sea of vehicles during peak traffic times! This travel guide to Ho Chi Minh City will uncover the best places to visit and things to do so you can plan your trip to this mega city! We’ve also spilled the beans on a secret gem of a location, a unique place to visit when in HCMC.

🚀 How to get around Ho Chi Minh City?

Use GRAB, the southeast Asian ride hailing app that includes car and motorbike options to get around the city. This is a cheaper alternative to hiring a local taxi!

You will also find many motorbike taxis called Xe Om that are fairly inexpensive with prices ranging between VND 10,000-15,000 (USD 0.43-0.65) depending on your destination and bargaining skills. Some riders also offer an hourly booking rate of VND 25,000 (USD 1).

If you want to explore the city at your own pace with more flexibility, then renting a bike will be a great option if you’re prepared enough to brave the city’s chaos and traffic. The Pham Ngu Lao disrict offers great bargains where a full-day bicycle with helmet costs from VND 20,000 (USD 0.86) while motorcycles are about VND 120,000 (USD 5.2).

The local buses are also a budget friendly option to try! The bus from the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC costs only VND 20,000 (USD 0.86).

The three-wheeled cyclo still exists but is a diminishing transportation in Ho Chi Minh City that is suitable for short trips, usually near by important city landmarks, and costs VND 20,000 (USD 0.86) for a ride.

🚀 Where to stay in Ho Chi Minh City?

For a big city like Ho Chi Minh, you will never run out of accommodation options that caters to anyone’s and everyone’s budget. In Ho Chi Minh City, District 1 is the most preferred location to stay in. A lot of budget travellers enjoy staying at Bui Vien Street or Phạm Ngũ Lão street that is located in Quan 1 (District 1). Also known as Backpackers Street / Walking Street, this area gives you access to a wide variety of inexpensive restaurants, bars, souvenir shops and accommodation options.

🚀 Things to do in Ho Chi Minh City

• Saigon Skydeck is located on the 49th floor of the 68-floor Bitexco Financial Tower and offers 360-degrees views of Ho Chi Minh City. Buy the entry passes as a combo with The World of Heineken which includes a guided interactive beer brewing tour and 4D experience, games, Heineken beer tasting at the highest Heineken Bar with free potato crisps, and receive a customised Heineken beer bottle with your name on it. The Saigon Skydeck and World of Heineken combo costs around USD 11 and can be pre-purchased online.

• Go shopping at Ben Thanh Market (also known as Central Market) before 6pm, that also extends to be a night market with various stalls selling all sorts of things after 7pm. If you are keen to try authentic Vietnamese street foods, then you must visit the food stalls that line the streets around Ben Thanh Market.

 

• War Remnant Museum – Learn about the wars that Vietnam was involved in, see the graphic photographs and propaganda posters, as well as the weapons that were used during that atrocious time in Vietnamese history. The entrance fee is VND 40,000 (USD 1.7) per person.

 

• Notre Dame Cathedral – Ho Chi Minh City’s iconic church and a major tourist attraction built using imported French materials. There is no entrance fee to visit the Cathedral.

• Saigon Central Post Office – Located opposite the Notre Dame Cathedral, the post office is an interesting landmark, having been designed by Gustave Eiffel, who also designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The interior is really gorgeous, and it’s good to see it fully functioning as a post office while being a tourist attraction.

• Reunification Palace – Also know as Independence Palace (where the end of the Vietnam war was settled), serves not only as a museum but also where government meetings and events are held even today. Entrance fee is VND 40,000 (USD 1.7) for an adult and VND 10,000 (USD 0.50) for a child. Exhibit admission tickets are also the same price but sold separately and guided tours are available at additional costs.

• Jade Emperor Temple – A significant Taoist temple where you will find statues of various deities, shrines, and altars. Entry fee is free, however donations are welcome.

• Mariamman Temple – The famous Hindu temple Mariamman in Ho Chi Minh City is located close to Ben Thanh Market.

 

• Opera House – Another French colonial building that is located on Dong Khoi Street where traditional Vietnamese shows run regularly.

• Twenty-Three September Park – Seeking some greenery in the middle of the concrete jungle? Head to September 23rd Park for a jog or a walk. This is where many locals come for Tai Chi, acrobatic workouts, badminton, yoga, and all sorts of other exercises and leisure activities. For the kids, a play area is available too. The Tao Dan Park has similar features, but is more lush and beautiful thanks to its diverse flora.

 

• Explore China Town (Cholon) – Brimming with activities, shopping vendors, temples, pagodas, and eateries, China Town is the perfect place to visit without an itinerary so you can get lost and be surprised!

• Ho Chi Minh City Hall – A place of business for the Vietnamese People’s Committee where you will find Ho Chi Minh’s statue. This precinct is colourfully lit up at night.

• Ho Chi Minh City’s Book Street – Saigon Book Street is the cutest place in this busy chaotic city, where you can find your inner muse and just indulge in a lovely book or two in this outdoor street library setting! It’s famously known to be a paradise for book lovers, and is also a breeding ground for many creative activities and events that will add a unique flair to your holiday in Vietnam!

• Starlight Bridge (Anh Sao Bridge) – Located at Phú Mỹ Hung at the high-end part of Ho Chi Minh City, you will find a ritzy appeal to the city here, from elite restaurants and premium shopping malls. At nights, the Starlight Bridge is illuminated and offers a great play of rainbow colors through its fountain.

• Go for a motorbike tour that starts from VND 630,000 (USD 27) and up. A range of tour options are available including local food tours and discovering hidden gems besides the famous landmarks!

 

• Binh Quoi Tourist Village – Located 8km from the city centre, this was an amazing place in an off the beaten track location that I discovered in Ho Chi Minh City. In Binh Quoi 1 Tourist Village, you’ll find heaps of coconut trees, colourful flowers, wooden huts and bridges, bamboo waterwheels, lotus ponds, and GIANT green lily pads like the ones you see in Shiga (Japan). If you want to escape the buzz of the urban city and just unwind in a spacious green arena that’s nothing short of tranquil, this is the place to be! It is no surprise why the Binh Quoi village is a favourite location for Vietnamese pre-wedding photoshoots. While you are there, enjoy a fresh coconut for VND 15,000 (USD 0.65) just opposite this village from a lovely local lady who sells them.

• The Cu Chi Tunnels are located about 70 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City. These tunnels had a length of 200km once upon a time, and were used by the Vietcong as a hiding place during the war. You will find dime a dozen tour operators offering trips to the tunnels, so compare prices and select your preferred agency accordingly. The entrance fee to the tunnels is VND 110,000 (USD 4.8).

 

• Enjoy a day trip to the Mekong Delta – Take a cruise and witness the marvel of the waterways of the Mekong Delta, one of the longest rivers in the world that starts from the Tibetan Plateau and flows through China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, eventually emptying into the South China Sea. You can always join a tour that departs from Ho Chi Minh City which is cheaper and shorter, or you could go the extra mile by hopping on a cruise that sails for a few days starting from the other countries.

The dynamic Ho Chi Minh City and the splendours of the Mekong Delta awaits you! Keen to explore more of what Vietnam has to offer? Check out our other travel guides to plan a trip to Da Nang and Hoi An. Happy Reading 😊