Ho Chi Minh City

Grab from airport to District 1(30 minutes)

Download Grab before landing. 120,000-160,000 VND (~$5-6.50) to District 1. Avoid taxi touts

Walk around Notre-Dame Cathedral & Central Post Office(45 minutes)

Adjacent French colonial landmarks. Cathedral under renovation but the exterior is impressive. Post office is a Gustave Eiffel design — arched ceiling, Ho Chi Minh portrait. Both free to view

Dinner at Pho Hoa Pasteur(1 hour)

Famous pho restaurant since the 1960s on Pasteur Street. Pho bo (beef noodle soup) 75,000 VND (~$3). The broth has been perfected over decades. Add bean sprouts, Thai basil, lime, and hoisin

War Remnants Museum(2.5 hours)

Entry: 40,000 VND (~$1.60). Sobering documentation of the Vietnam War. Photojournalism exhibits and Agent Orange section are deeply moving. In District 3. Open 7:30AM-6PM

Independence Palace(1.5 hours)

65,000 VND (~$2.60). The palace where a tank crashed through the gates on April 30, 1975. Basement war rooms and rooftop helicopter. Open 7:30AM-4PM

Lunch at Banh Mi Huynh Hoa(30 minutes)

The city's most famous banh mi. 55,000 VND (~$2.20). The line is worth it — overstuffed with pate, cold cuts, and pickled vegetables. Cash only. On Le Thi Rieng Street

Ben Thanh Market(1.5 hours)

Saigon's iconic market since 1912. Bargain at 30-40% of asking price. Night market outside runs until 11PM with better street food. Banh mi from 15,000 VND

Bui Vien Walking Street evening(2 hours)

Backpacker strip. Bia hoi (fresh beer) from 10,000 VND (~$0.40). Live music, street performers, Vietnamese BBQ. Pedestrian-only on weekends 7PM-2AM

Cu Chi Tunnels morning trip(5 hours)

70 km from city center. Book through a tour company (~300,000-500,000 VND / $12-20) or Grab car (~400,000 VND each way). Ben Duoc site is more authentic than Ben Dinh. Entry: 90,000-110,000 VND. Crawl through widened tunnels, see booby traps, and fire AK-47s at the shooting range (60,000 VND / 10 rounds)

Lunch at a local roadside restaurant near Cu Chi(1 hour)

Try com tam (broken rice with grilled pork) ~40,000 VND. A Saigon staple

Afternoon at Saigon Central Post Office(30 minutes)

Send a postcard from this beautiful building. Stamps ~15,000 VND

Rooftop drinks at Saigon Saigon Bar(1.5 hours)

Atop the Caravelle Hotel. Famous since the war — journalists watched the fall of Saigon from here. Cocktails ~200,000-300,000 VND. The view of the opera house below is stunning at sunset

District 4 street food crawl(3 hours)

Cross the bridge from District 1. Guided food tour 400,000-800,000 VND (~$16-32) or self-guided. Must-try: banh mi, com tam, bun mam (fermented fish noodle soup), and Vietnamese iced coffee. Self-guided meals 30,000-60,000 VND each

Cholon (Chinatown) exploration(2 hours)

District 5. Binh Tay Market is the real trading market (less touristy than Ben Thanh). Thien Hau Temple (free) is a beautiful 19th-century Chinese temple with spiral incense coils hanging from the ceiling. The herbal medicine street is fascinating

Vietnamese coffee at The Workshop(1 hour)

Third-wave coffee shop in a converted apartment on Le Loi Street. Ca phe sua da (iced milk coffee) ~55,000 VND. The Vietnamese coffee culture is world-class

Dinner at Secret Garden(1.5 hours)

Rooftop restaurant hidden up stairs in an old apartment building. Vietnamese home-style cooking. Mains 80,000-150,000 VND. The atmosphere — potted plants, dim lights, city skyline — is magical. 158 Pasteur Street

Temple of the Jade Emperor(45 minutes)

A stunning Taoist temple in District 3. Free. Filled with elaborate wood carvings, sculptures of heaven and hell, and smoke from incense and candles. One of Saigon's hidden gems. Open 7AM-6PM

Lunch at Nha Hang Ngon(1 hour)

A beautiful colonial compound with stalls replicating the best street food in clean surroundings. Pho, banh xeo, bun bo Hue — each 60,000-100,000 VND. Great for sampling everything in one place

Afternoon spa(2 hours)

Moc Huong Spa in District 1 — hot stone massage ~450,000 VND/90 min. Or a local nail salon from ~100,000 VND

Sunset at Chill Skybar (rooftop)(1.5 hours)

AB Tower, District 1. 26th floor panoramic views. Cocktails ~200,000-350,000 VND. The Saigon skyline at sunset is dramatic

Mekong Delta day trip(9 hours)

Most tours go to My Tho or Ben Tre, 70-90 km south. Tour: 400,000-800,000 VND (~$16-32). Includes hotel pickup, boat rides through narrow canals, coconut candy workshop visit, honey bee farm, tropical fruit tasting, and lunch. Depart 7:30AM, return ~5PM

Sampan boat through coconut palm canals(1 hour)

Small rowboats navigate narrow waterways under a canopy of nipa palms. The silence after the city is striking

Coconut candy workshop(30 minutes)

Watch fresh coconut being processed into candy by hand. Free samples. Small bags from 20,000 VND

Evening at Nguyen Hue Walking Street(1.5 hours)

Saigon's main pedestrian boulevard. Free. People-watching, street performers, and the illuminated City Hall at the end. Cafes line both sides

Morning ca phe sua da at a street stall(30 minutes)

One last Vietnamese iced coffee. 15,000-25,000 VND. The slow drip through the phin filter is meditative

Last shopping — coffee and souvenirs(1 hour)

Buy Vietnamese coffee beans at Trung Nguyen store or local markets (100,000-200,000 VND per bag). Conical hats, lacquerware, and ao dai fabric make great gifts

Grab to Tan Son Nhat Airport(30 minutes)

120,000-160,000 VND. Allow 2.5 hours before international flights

Grab to District 1(30 minutes)

120,000-160,000 VND

Notre-Dame Cathedral & Post Office walk(45 minutes)

Free. French colonial landmarks

Dinner at Pho Hoa Pasteur(1 hour)

Pho bo 75,000 VND. Since the 1960s

War Remnants Museum(2.5 hours)

40,000 VND. Deeply moving

Independence Palace(1.5 hours)

65,000 VND. Tank through the gates

Banh Mi Huynh Hoa lunch(30 minutes)

55,000 VND. Best banh mi in the city

Ben Thanh Market(1.5 hours)

Bargain at 30-40%. Night market until 11PM

Bui Vien evening(2 hours)

Bia hoi from 10,000 VND

Cu Chi Tunnels(5 hours)

Tour 300-500k VND. Ben Duoc more authentic

Rooftop drinks at Saigon Saigon Bar(1.5 hours)

Caravelle Hotel. Cocktails 200-300k VND

District 4 food crawl(3 hours)

Tour 400-800k VND or self-guided 30-60k per dish

Cholon & Binh Tay Market(2 hours)

Thien Hau Temple free. Herbal medicine street

Coffee at The Workshop(1 hour)

Ca phe sua da 55,000 VND

Dinner at Secret Garden(1.5 hours)

Rooftop. Mains 80-150k VND

Jade Emperor Temple(45 minutes)

Free. Taoist. Elaborate carvings

Lunch at Nha Hang Ngon(1 hour)

Colonial compound. Dishes 60-100k VND

Spa afternoon(2 hours)

Moc Huong Spa ~450k VND/90 min

Chill Skybar sunset(1.5 hours)

26th floor. Cocktails 200-350k VND

Mekong Delta tour(9 hours)

My Tho or Ben Tre. 400-800k VND. Boat rides, candy workshop, fruit tasting

Nguyen Hue Walking Street evening(1.5 hours)

Pedestrian boulevard. Free. City Hall illuminated

Vietnamese cooking class(4 hours)

Saigon Cooking Class on Ton That Dam: ~900,000 VND. Market visit + cook 4 dishes including pho and spring rolls. Small groups

Contemporary art at The Factory(1 hour)

Free entry. Vietnam's premier contemporary art space in District 2. Rotating exhibitions by Vietnamese and international artists

Dinner in District 2 (Thao Dien)(1.5 hours)

The expat neighborhood has excellent international restaurants. Pizza 4P's (Japanese-Vietnamese pizza, 150-250k VND) is a local phenomenon with its own cheese dairy

Evening motorbike food tour(4 hours)

XO Tours or Saigon on Bikes: ~1,200,000-1,600,000 VND. A local guide drives you through the city on a motorbike, stopping at 5-6 street food spots. Includes banh xeo (crispy crepe), bun thit nuong (grilled pork noodles), and che (dessert soup). The rides between stops are an adventure — weaving through traffic is quintessential Saigon

Afternoon at FITO Museum of Traditional Medicine(1 hour)

Entry: 120,000 VND. A fascinating museum about Vietnamese traditional medicine across 5 floors. District 10. Includes a rooftop with herb garden

Can Gio day trip(8 hours)

Tour: 600,000-1,000,000 VND. Or Grab to Can Gio (~300,000 VND each way). The Sac Forest guerrilla base is fascinating. Monkey Island has hundreds of wild macaques (guard your belongings). Mangrove boat ride through the UNESCO biosphere

Seafood lunch in Can Gio(1 hour)

The fishing village serves extremely fresh seafood. Grilled clams and prawns from 100,000 VND

Coffee crawl(3 hours)

Visit 3-4 coffee spots: egg coffee at Cafe Girang (30,000 VND), coconut coffee at Cong Caphe (45,000 VND), and weasel coffee tasting at Trung Nguyen flagship. Vietnamese coffee culture is a world of its own

Drive to Tay Ninh(2 hours)

100 km northwest. Hire car or join tour ~500,000-800,000 VND. Can combine with Cu Chi Tunnels

Cao Dai Holy See temple(1.5 hours)

Free. The Cao Dai religion merges Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism, Islam, and Confucianism. The candy-colored temple and noon ceremony (11:30AM) with white-robed worshippers is surreal and mesmerizing

Black Virgin Mountain (Nui Ba Den)(2 hours)

Cable car ~200,000 VND return. Sacred mountain with pagodas and panoramic views of the plains. The longest cable car system in Vietnam

Saigon Opera House(30 minutes)

Exterior viewing free. The 1897 French colonial theater is gorgeous. AO Show performances (a Vietnamese Cirque du Soleil) run some evenings: 600,000-1,200,000 VND

The Cafe Apartment (42 Nguyen Hue)(1 hour)

A converted apartment block where each unit is a different cafe. Navigate the old elevator and stairways. Coffee 40,000-80,000 VND. A perfect photo spot

Lunch at Lunch Lady (Nguyen Thi Thanh)(45 minutes)

Anthony Bourdain's favorite — she serves a different noodle soup each day. ~50,000 VND. District 1. Get there by 11:30AM before the food runs out

Mariamman Hindu Temple(30 minutes)

Free. The only Hindu temple in Saigon. Colorful gopuram tower. District 1 on Truong Dinh Street

Farewell dinner at Cuc Gach Quan(1.5 hours)

Vietnamese home-style cooking in a charming old villa. Mains 80,000-150,000 VND. The atmosphere feels like dining in a Vietnamese grandmother's house

Saigon Square or Dan Sinh Market(2 hours)

Saigon Square for affordable clothes and accessories. Dan Sinh (military surplus market) for war-era memorabilia, canteens, and helmets — mostly reproductions but atmospheric

Final pho and coffee(1 hour)

Return to your favorite pho spot and cafe

Grab to SGN airport(30 minutes)

120-160k VND. Allow 2.5 hours before international flights

Dinner at Pho Hoa Pasteur(1 hour)

Pho bo 75,000 VND

War Remnants Museum(2.5 hours)

40,000 VND

Independence Palace(1.5 hours)

65,000 VND

Banh Mi Huynh Hoa(30 minutes)

55,000 VND

Cu Chi Tunnels half-day(5 hours)

Tour 300-500k VND

Saigon Saigon rooftop(1.5 hours)

Cocktails 200-300k VND

Mekong Delta tour(9 hours)

400-800k VND

Cooking class(4 hours)

Saigon Cooking Class ~900k VND

Pizza 4P's dinner(1.5 hours)

150-250k VND

Motorbike food tour(4 hours)

XO Tours 1,200-1,600k VND. 5-6 stops

FITO Medicine Museum(1 hour)

120,000 VND

Can Gio day trip(8 hours)

600k-1M VND. Monkey Island, mangrove boat ride

Seafood lunch(1 hour)

Grilled clams from 100k VND

Coffee crawl(3 hours)

Egg coffee, coconut coffee, weasel coffee. 30-60k VND each

Cao Dai noon ceremony(1.5 hours)

Free. Surreal candy-colored temple

Black Virgin Mountain cable car(2 hours)

~200k VND. Panoramic views

Cafe Apartment (42 Nguyen Hue)(1 hour)

Coffee 40-80k VND

Lunch Lady(45 minutes)

~50k VND. Different soup daily

Dinner at Cuc Gach Quan(1.5 hours)

Home-style. 80-150k VND

Flight or bus to Dalat(1-5 hours)

VietJet/Bamboo Airways: 500,000-1,500,000 VND (50 min). Or sleeper bus: 200,000-300,000 VND (7 hrs overnight). Dalat is at 1,500m — bring a jacket

Check-in and explore Dalat market(2 hours)

The night market is famous. Banh trang nuong (Vietnamese pizza, 15,000 VND), strawberry wine, artichoke tea. Temperature is 15-25C — a welcome break from Saigon's heat

Dinner at Le Chalet Dalat(1.5 hours)

French-Vietnamese cuisine. Entrecote ~200,000 VND. Fireplace dining in a converted French villa

Crazy House (Hang Nga Villa)(1 hour)

Entry: 80,000 VND. A surreal Gaudi-inspired guesthouse with tree-trunk staircases, animal-shaped rooms, and spider-web windows. Designed by Vietnamese architect Dang Viet Nga

Datanla Waterfall and alpine coaster(1.5 hours)

Entry: 50,000 VND. The alpine coaster ride down to the waterfall (70,000 VND) is surprisingly fun. The waterfall itself is scenic

Lunch at Lien Hoa Bakery(45 minutes)

Famous Dalat bakery since 1968. Banh mi, pastries, and local breads. Everything under 30,000 VND

Flower Park and Xuan Huong Lake(1.5 hours)

Dalat Flower Park entry: 40,000 VND. Pedal boats on the lake: 80,000 VND/30 min. The lake circuit walk is pleasant

Return to Saigon(1-5 hours)

Evening flight or overnight bus

Hydrofoil ferry to Vung Tau(90 minutes)

Greenlines ferry from Bach Dang Wharf: 250,000 VND one-way. Departures every 1-2 hours from 6:30AM. Much better than driving (2-3 hours)

Back Beach (Bai Sau) relaxation(3 hours)

A long sandy beach. Beach chairs ~50,000 VND. Seafood restaurants line the shore. Much cleaner than any beach within Saigon

Lunch at seafood restaurant on the beach(1 hour)

Grilled squid, steamed clams, rice. 150,000-300,000 VND per person

Christ the King statue(45 minutes)

Free. A 32m statue on Small Mountain. 847 steps up. Views of the coast and city. Smaller than Rio's but still impressive

Binh Thanh flower market morning(1 hour)

Ho Thi Ky flower market. Free. Thousands of flowers at wholesale prices. The colors and energy at dawn are beautiful

District 3 cafe hopping(2 hours)

The most livable district. Walk Vo Van Tan and Tran Quoc Thao streets. Excellent local cafes away from tourist pricing. Ca phe 15,000-25,000 VND

Lunch at Com Nieu Sai Gon(1 hour)

Famous for pot-throwing service — waiters toss clay pots of rice across the room to each other. 150,000-250,000 VND per person. Entertaining

Apartment block gallery crawl(2 hours)

Several old apartment blocks in District 1 (14 Ton That Dam, 42 Nguyen Hue) house indie art galleries, workshops, and concept stores. A window into Saigon's creative underground

Flight to Phu Quoc(1 hour)

VietJet/Vietnam Airlines: 600,000-2,000,000 VND. Daily flights from SGN

Check-in on Long Beach(1 hour)

Resorts from 500,000 VND/night. Budget guesthouses from 200,000 VND

Long Beach sunset(2 hours)

Phu Quoc's west coast faces the Gulf of Thailand — perfect sunset orientation. Beach bars serve cocktails from 80,000 VND

Dinh Cau Night Market dinner(1.5 hours)

Waterfront night market in Duong Dong town. Grilled scallops 10,000 VND each, BBQ squid 80,000 VND, grilled sea urchin 30,000 VND. One of Vietnam's best night markets

Snorkeling trip to An Thoi Islands(5 hours)

Boat trip to the southern islands. 300,000-600,000 VND including lunch, snorkeling gear, and 3 island stops. The coral reefs have good visibility Nov-May

Fish sauce factory visit(30 minutes)

Phu Quoc produces Vietnam's best fish sauce. Visit Hung Thanh or Khai Hoan factory. Free. The smell is intense but the process is fascinating. Small bottles from 30,000 VND

Starfish Beach (Bai Rach Vem)(1.5 hours)

North of the island. Calm, shallow water with visible starfish. Don't pick them up. Seafood shacks on the beach serve clams and rice from 50,000 VND

Pepper farm visit(1 hour)

Phu Quoc pepper is world-famous. Visit a pepper farm (free). Buy directly: 100,000-200,000 VND per bag. Red pepper is the premium variety

Last beach time at Sao Beach(2 hours)

Phu Quoc's most beautiful beach — powdery white sand and turquoise water on the southeast coast. Beach chairs 50,000 VND

Flight to Saigon(1 hour)

Afternoon flight. 600,000-2,000,000 VND

Grab to airport(30 minutes)

120-160k VND