A brief guide to visiting Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

A stop in Ho Chi Minh City will almost certainly bookmark one side of any backpacker’s trip to Vietnam. I enjoyed my time in this metropolis and am sure you will too!

I’ve compiled this guide to help you plan your own trip to this giant city. Here, you’ll find information about what to do, where to stay, what to eat and how to get there.

Of course, Ho Chi Minh City is one of the biggest cities in the world, so this guide will only scratch the surface. However, I hope it’ll be a useful introduction to the city.

About Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) is the biggest city in Vietnam.

When you compare Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, Vietnam’s other big city, they look fairly different. Ho Chi Minh is comparatively very modern, with skyscrapers and high-rise blocks throughout.

However, in this case, new definitely doesn’t equal bad. I really liked visiting Ho Chi Minh City – it didn’t fit all the things I’d previously heard about it.

Investment hub

As you might guess from a city with nine million people, Ho Chi Minh City is an important hub for finance and technology in Vietnam. For the people I met in the country, it’s often associated with good jobs and good money.

As a result of its growing population and continued innovation, Ho Chi Minh City feels contemporary. Walking around, we saw lots of modern bars and restaurants, which advertise a less restrictive environment for younger residents.

This is the one place in Vietnam I could imagine living in! I can completely understand why the city is attractive to expats; there are plenty of exciting features to explore, and it feels like it is continuously evolving.

First stop in Vietnam

For travellers, Ho Chi Minh City is often the first stop in Vietnam. As it’s home to the country’s biggest airport, many backpackers choose to begin their travels here, and there are plenty of buses connecting it to Cambodia.

Therefore, for many visitors, Ho Chi Minh City is their first taste of Vietnamese culture and food, and its traffic and scooters!

It’s no surprise then that Saigon has a reputation for being hectic and busy. And it is, don’t get me wrong – but personally I thought Hanoi was worse. The roads might be wider in Saigon, but Hanoi felt crazier to me.

Chequered history

Saigon is important due to its role in Vietnam’s history. It was a major city whilst the country was under French colonial rule in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. You’ll see that reflected by the centre’s architecture, which has a French style.

Later in the 20th century, it was the capital of the now defunct South Vietnam, and was where the Saigon government and American army was based during the Vietnamese-American War. Only after the war ended was Saigon renamed after Ho Chi Minh, a revolutionary figure who led much of the fight for Vietnamese independence and reunification.

In my opinion, Ho Chi Minh City is the best place to learn about and understand the history of Vietnam. It’s a good place to start before you experience the rest of what the country has to offer.

Ratings

As part of this blog, I give every place I visit a rating so that I can easily compare destinations and decide whether they’re worth a visit. Those are the scores you see at the top of the page!

This is how Ho Chi Minh City rated:

• Safety: 4/5 – Ho Chi Minh City, as far as big cities go, felt very safe.
• Accessibility: 5/5 – it’s easy to get to Ho Chi Minh City. That being said, like most Vietnamese cities, it isn’t built to accommodate people with mobility issues.
• Enjoyment: 4/5 – how much you’ll enjoy Ho Chi Minh City depends entirely on how much you like big cities. I’m more of a nature person so didn’t like the city as much as other areas of Vietnam, but it was fun regardless.
• Value: 3/5 – the city is the most expensive place in Vietnam. However, as an inexpensive country in general, international visitors will still find it to be a bargain!

Overall score: 4/5

If you’ve already visited, let me know if you agree with these ratings! Just to note, the ratings are my personal opinion based on my visit, so you might have a completely different experience.

More: how I rank destinations using the Everywhere Ratings system

How long should you stay in Saigon?

Ho Chi Minh City is massive – there’s no getting around it. You just can’t see everything in a few days!

If you’re only interested in tourist attractions and the must-see activities, like the Cu Chi Tunnels, two days is enough. Don’t mind skipping the War Remnant Museum? Just one day would be sufficient, albeit very rushed!

However, if you want to visit other areas of the city, such as Cho Lon, you’ll need an extra day. Add another day if you want to go to the Mekong Delta on a day trip. And don’t forget to add in hangover recovery time if you want a big night out!

Want to dive deeper? An extra couple of days will be invaluable, although you might need some help finding the best off the beaten track spots.

We spent three full days in the city. An extra day would’ve been perfect, as three days felt rushed and we still couldn’t see everything. I reckon four full days would have been perfect!

How to get to Ho Chi Minh City

It’s easy to reach Ho Chi Minh City. It has the biggest airport in Vietnam and is well connected internationally, with plenty of short haul and long haul flights available.

There are also many connections to domestic destinations, with flights all across Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City is also connected by train to Hanoi; the line runs all the way down the east coast of Vietnam, stopping at destinations such as Ninh Binh, Hue, Da Nang, Nha Trang and Miu Ne. I wouldn’t recommend taking the train the whole way to Hanoi as it’s quite a distance; however, it makes for a relaxing way to travel shorter distances, and there are sleeper coaches available if you want a good night’s rest as you traverse the country.

For other destinations, there are plenty of buses available. Most notably buses are available to take you to the nearby popular locations of Dalat and Miu Ne, as well as across the border into Cambodia. Whilst longer buses exist, it’s more popular to fly if you’re heading even further north!

Where to stay in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is a big place, with a lot of hotels and hostels to pick from across the city. It can therefore be hard to know where to begin!

I’d recommend staying in District 1. It’s where most of the tourist attractions are located, so you’ll be close to the action. However, District 1 is still a big place and it’d take you 1 to 2 hours to walk from one side to the other.

If you like parties, position yourself close to Bui Vien Street. This is the street that most tourists will head to for nightlife (although it is somewhat tacky!).

If you prefer a more luxurious experience, take your pick from one of the fancy hotels in the centre of town. If you want rooftop bars and pools or other amenities, you can find exactly what you want here!

Accommodation in Ho Chi Minh City is pretty pricey compared to almost anywhere else in Vietnam – although still cheap compared to Western countries. If you’ve gotten used to South East Asian pricing, be prepared to raise your budget.

Where to eat

There are so many great places to eat in Ho Chi Minh City, that I feel hardly qualified to give any recommendations. What I will say is, when researching the best places to eat, I found that many recommended restaurants were located outside of District 1, up to a half hour drive from the centre, and so a visit just wasn’t achievable.

The more important question is what to eat. Com tam (literally “broken rice”) is a popular dish in Ho Chi Minh City. Kumquat tea also has to be on your list of things to try: it’s so tasty!

You won’t struggle to find great eats, with plenty of street food available across the city.

However, for the best finds, I’d recommend a food tour for the ideal meal. Many of the food tours across the city are by scooter, letting you try food from vendors you would never have been able to find on your own.

What to do in Ho Chi Minh City

1. Head underground at the Cu Chi Tunnels

The Cu Chi Tunnels, located to the north of Saigon, are a set of tunnels built by Viet Cong for use in the Vietnam-American War. They’ve now been turned into a tourist attraction that you can visit on a tour!

Many people consider the Cu Chi Tunnels a must visit when you come to Ho Chi Minh City. However, to be honest, I wouldn’t say that the tunnels are the most essential part of your trip: they’re quite touristy and are such a small part of the history of the area.

That being said, they make a good starting point for understanding the Vietnam-American War and its impact on people’s lives – which is essential for any visit to Vietnam. This is often a sensitive and complicated topic and a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels is a more light hearted way of approaching it.

2. Take a food tour

Taking a food tour is the perfect introduction to Vietnamese street food culture. Even for me, visiting Saigon at the end of my six-week trip to Vietnam, I tried a bunch of new dishes and had a lot of fun!

You’ll normally get 7-15 dishes (depending on the tour), with a mix of main courses, snacks and desserts. Some are walking, whilst others are on the back of a motorbike with an easy rider. The tour guides are typically students who want to practise their English and meet new people.

Often you’ll get a bit of a city tour also thrown in, like showing you interesting monuments on the way or driving through interesting roads and markets.

We took a tour with Saigon Adventures and I’d really recommend it! We ate so much good food from places I never would’ve known to go to, and our tour guides were so lovely.

3. Explore the War Remnants Museum

To gain a deeper understanding of the Vietnam-American War, head to the War Remnants Museum in the centre of the city. It documents the war, with lots of photos, machinery and vehicles from it.

I will be upfront: as you would expect, the museum contains a lot of sensitive content, including explicit photos. We were surprised that so few of the visitors looked traumatised, and that kids were visiting with their families – we were pretty upset by our visit.

It should also be made clear that the museum is entirely written from a North Vietnamese viewpoint, and there isn’t much wider context about the war before it jumps into specific dates, events and massacres. I therefore wouldn’t recommend visiting it without reading up on the war (or going to the Cu Chi Tunnels) first, as it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on if not.

The museum is thought provoking and very popular: it was one of the busiest museums I’d ever been to. At 40,000 dong ($1.60 / £1.30) per ticket it also doesn’t break the bank.

4. Mail a postcard from the post office

As much of central Saigon was constructed whilst the city was under French control, you’ll notice plenty of French architecture.

One such example is the Central Post Office. It’s a stunning building primarily used by tourists nowadays. You can still send letters and parcels from there. Just pick up a few postcards, write them and off you go!

5. Visit the Independence Palace

Another historical site in the city centre is the Independence Palace, also known as the Reunification Palace. This palace was built whilst Saigon was capital of South Vietnam and was home to the then-president.

Visitors to Ho Chi Minh City can stroll through the Independence Palace and see the old meeting rooms and war relics. It’s not a place I went to whilst visiting the city, but I imagine it would provide further insight into Saigon’s part in the Vietnam-American War: intriguing for history buffs.

6. Have a coffee in the Cafe Apartment

The Nguyen Hue Walking Street in the centre of District 1 is entirely pedestrianised and makes for a good place to visit in the evening, with a buzzing atmosphere and plenty of tourists about.

At the end of the street you’ll find Ho Chi Minh Square with a statue of Ho Chi Minh and the People’s Committee Building, used for important meetings within the city council.

On the street you’ll also find a block of coffee shops, known as the Cafe Apartment. With ground floor commercial lets having extortionate rent prices in this area, the stacking of cafes like apartments makes complete sense.

The cafes are fun to look at and drink at – although expect high prices given this area of the city. We sat at Good Days, which is on the top floor and almost felt like a rooftop bar. We loved watching the street below from this level!

PS: if you find the Cafe Apartment prices too high, another option is Cà Phê Muối Chú Long on the same street. All their coffees cost 20,000 dong ($0.80 / £0.60). An absolute bargain!

7. Visit Cho Lon (Chinatown)

Ho Chi Minh City contains a large Chinatown, named Cho Lon. Here you’ll find pretty pagodas, large markets and interesting streets.

I never made it to Cho Lon myself as there’s just so much to see in the city. But it was next on my list. Check it out for me and don’t forget to let me know how you found it!

8. Take a day trip to the Mekong Delta

If you want to take a day trip from the city, the Mekong Delta is a good option. It’s around 2 hours’ drive from Ho Chi Minh City.

Most tours will take you on a boat across the river, as well as into smaller tributaries. However, prepare yourself for a completely inauthentic experience, where you’ll be asked for tips or to make a purchase at every stop. So much of the time on our trip was spent in tourist shops, where we’d be asked to buy goods like candy or honey.

I left the Mekong Delta happy I wasn’t staying longer, which is worrying. If you visit I’d suggest looking closely at the fine print to see if you can get a more interesting and less money-oriented experience.

You can also do overnight boat trips from the city, including into Cambodia, which I reckon would be a great option if you have the budget. You can also visit independently by taking the bus to Can Tho (the biggest city along the river in Vietnam) and organising a trip from there.

10. Go to the bamboo circus

The Saigon Opera House – another historical landmark worth taking a look at – holds a bamboo circus each night during the week. This production looks like a lot of fun!

However, tickets are quite pricey; when we were there, tickets started at around 800,000 dong ($32 / £25). As such we chose not to go. However, if we had a bigger budget, we definitely would’ve considered it!

11. Browse the stalls at Ben Thanh Market

The most well known market in Saigon is Ben Thanh Market. The market is set in a beautiful building in the centre so is worth taking a look at.

Ben Thanh Market entirely caters to tourists, so expect inflated prices and minimal locals. I would therefore hardly rate it as a must-see location within Ho Chi Minh City. However, it’s a good place to stop for a kumquat tea or juice!

12. Visit the Thich Quảng Đức Monument

Elsewhere in central Ho Chi Minh City, you’ll find a monument dedicated to Thich Quảng Đức. This was a Buddhist monk who set himself alight in protest at the treatment of Buddhists by the Catholic-dominated Saigon government during the Vietnamese American war.

The monument is located at the corner where he self-emolated. I found it one of the most moving places I visited in Ho Chi Minh and it really helped me to understand how the history of the country fitted together, especially after seeing the car he drove in Hue.

Conclusion

Ho Chi Minh City is one of the biggest cities in South-East Asia, so it’s impossible to summarise all the things that make it special into one guide. Tourists will find plenty of interesting attractions both inside and outside of the city, and it makes a great place to begin a tour of Vietnam with the breadth of experiences on offer.

What else would you like to know about Ho Chi Minh City? Let me know in the comments!

Heading further north? Check out my guides to Tam Coc, Da Nang, Phong Nha, Hue, Hoi An & Cat Ba