A plan for Ho Chi Minh City

Following the fall of Saigon in 1975, Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. However the old name Saigon is still widely used by both Vietnamese and foreigners, especially when referring to the most central part of the city to which most tourists flock. Although the capital of a united Vietnam is Hanoi in the north, Ho Chi Minh City remains Vietnam's main economic and financial centre. While it does not have the long history that cities like Hanoi and Hue have, it is Vietnam's most modern and cosmopolitan city, with influences from the French former colonial rulers and the ethnic Chinese community in Cholon deeply embedded in the local culture, perhaps most visible in its cuisine.

Though Vietnam has been united since the conclusion of the Vietnam War, cultural differences arising from the division of Vietnam can be seen to this day. To this day, locals in Ho Chi Minh City tend to be more business-minded and less ideological than those in Hanoi in the north. In addition, Southerners also tend to be more hospitable towards Western visitors than Northerners. The Vietnam War — called the "American War" in Vietnam — remains a sensitive topic, and it is advisable not to bring it up in discussions with locals. Do not assume that all Vietnamese think alike, as many Southerners are still bitter about having lost to the North.

Historical sites and museums

1 People's Committee Hall, Nguyen Hue St. Built as the Hôtel de Ville, it's a striking cream and yellow French colonial building beautifully floodlit at night. No entry, but the statue of Uncle Ho in front is a very popular place for photos.

2 Ho Chi Minh Museum, 65 Lý Tự Trọng, Bến Nghé (in the center of the city, a few blocks from Ben Thanh Market, the Reunification Palace, and Notre Dame Cathedral). The museum, housed in a French colonial-era building, narrates the history of Ho Chi Minh City from pre-history to the present and also has exhibits on local culture and traditions. Outside, on the museum grounds, you will find cars and military vehicles of historical significance. The museum also relates the life of the modern-day father of Vietnam. The exhibits include various personal possessions of Ho Chi Minh but are mainly photographs. You may find it a little jingoistic. 60,000 dong (Oct 2026).

3 Museum of Vietnamese History, 2 Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm, Bến Nghé, Quận 1 (at the intersection of Le Duan St and Nguyen Binh Khiem, just inside the zoo gates). Daily 08:30-11:30, 13:30-17:00. The museum has a fine collection of Vietnamese antiquities. Read up on Vietnamese history first or you'll have no idea what you're looking at. Outside, the Botanical Gardens are very nice and a good place for a cheap lunch away from the crowds. Six times a day, you can see a 20-minute water puppet show (adult 50,000 dong, child 35,000 dong). It's quite amusing, even for adults. 30,000 dong. (updated Feb 2020)

1 Dai Nam Tourist Park, Hiệp An Ward, Thủ Dầu Một city, Binh Duong (about 40 km from HCMC; catch Bus 616 from the Ben Thanh bus station and take it all the way to the end (90 minutes, 25,000 dong as of Dec 2015), or talk to a travel agent), ☏ +84 650 3 891 389, +84 650 3 845 878. This is one of the largest tourist attractions in Vietnam. It features the Dai Nam Van Hien Temple, an entertainment site, open range zoo, shopping areas, hotels, local and Western cuisine, and the largest man-made mountain range in Vietnam. Costing over 50 billion dong to build, this park is the beginning of mass tourism in Vietnam, although it is aimed at tourists and locals, and comes highly recommended. Transport options to the park are quite convoluted. As the park is new, online information is scarce. According to the locals, it is very much worth a visit, purely just to view the temple. Adult/child between 1 m and 1.4 m: zoo 80,000/50,000; amusement park 100,000/50,000 dong; waterpark 100,000/60,000 dong; all three 200,000/120,000 dong. (updated Apr 2017)

2 Dam Sen Water Park, 03 Hoa Binh, Ward 3, District 11 (take Bus 11 from Ben Thanh bus station), ☏ +84 8 858 8418, +84 8 865 3453, fax: +84 8 858 8419, damsenwaterpark@vnn.vn. Mon-Sat 08:30-18:00, Sun and holidays 08:00-19:00. Close to the city centre. This water park offers some unique water slide experiences, including the amazing "Space Bowl". Restaurant, health services and animatronic dinosaurs are on the premises. Admission is based on height and time of arrival; under 0.8 m free, others 40-110,000 dong (90,000 after 16:00). (updated Jan 2024)

Happy Ending Massage Yuan, 15B8 Le Thanh Ton St, District 1 Ben Nighe Ward (on Le Thanh Ton between Thai Van Lung and Ngo Van Nam. Across from Sky Garden), ☏ +84 8 3825 0795. Despite the name, legitimate foot and body massage, hostess will explain pricing to you at the beginning, usually offering 30% discount. 223,000 dong.

You're spoiled for choice in Saigon, which offers the country's largest variety of Vietnamese and international food. Bargains are getting harder to find, however, and restaurant prices have been rising at up to 30% per year due to a combination of higher food prices, rising wages, and soaring real estate costs. Land in the city centre now sells for around US$16,000/m2, so even a modest-sized restaurant sits on real estate worth more than US$1 million. Authentic local food at bargain prices is one of the glories of Vietnam, but it's getting harder to find in Saigon as the city becomes ever more upscale and cosmopolitan.

The local food shows influences from French colonial times. Bakeries have fresh and excellent baguettes, which they will fill with cheese (typically of the "La Vache Qui Rit" or "Laughing Cow" brand), potted meat, ham, and onions, or any combination thereof, cheaply. Beef is used in various dishes - whether in any of the many variations of pho, or in a regional specialty such as "bun bo hue" or Hue beef soup. Be sure to try, aside from pho, dishes such as the above-mentioned Hue beef soup, or "banh xeo". Vietnamese savory crepes, consisting of a delicious filling of your choice (various options included bamboo shoots and enoki mushrooms, along with meat, prawns, or both) in a crispy outer crepe-like casing.

The Chinese community has also left their mark in Ho Chi Minh City, and the neighbourhood of Cholon continues to have a large number of ethnic Chinese residents, making it a natural place to go to for some Chinese food, though much of it has been adapted to suit Vietnamese palates. That being said, Chinese food is fairly popular among many upper class Vietnamese, so there are also many upscale Chinese restaurants throughout the city.

Coffee

Vietnam is the world's second largest exporter of coffee after Brazil, and cà phê is very popular among the Vietnamese. It's a paradise for coffee-loving visitors. The local style is strong and sweet; key words to remember are: sữa (sweetened condensed milk), đá (ice), and nóng (hot, pronounced "nowm"). Cà phê đá is strong, sweet iced coffee; and cà phê sữa đá is the same with condensed milk. Cà phê (sữa) nóng is brewed fresh on your table brewed in a little metal apparatus placed over a cup; just lift it off when it has cooled enough to touch (and hence drink). Prices range from 10,000 to 20,000 dong for coffee in the local style.

Since ice might or might not be made with purified water, strictly cautious visitors should avoid it, though long-term residents consume ice from reputable cafes and restaurants all the time.

Espresso, cappuccino, and American-style filter coffee are now also widely available in the tourist district, usually at 2-8 times the price of the local style. You will be able to differentiate the better places if they use UHT milk as opposed to condensed milk.

Bobby Brewery Coffee, Bui Vien St. Nice place with good beverages. Used to show movies on 2nd and 3rd floor. Now reopened as La Cantina.

Cafe 5 Sao, Pham Ngoc Thach (Near the Turtle Pond). Plays loud techno music. Attractive, but pretentious crowd.

Cafe Napoly, Pham Ngoc Thach (Near the Turtle Pond). The decor is Roman ruins-lite (they meant "Napoli"), but the menu is typical for an upscale Vietnamese cafe: coffee, fruit drinks, ice cream, and a simple menu including eggs and rice dishes. Piped music is nice, not too loud by day (though louder at night), prices are decent. Outdoor terrace in the front, air-con section on the ground floor, and evening lounge-bar on the upper floor. Next door to the louder, more trendy and possibly pretentious Cafe Nam Sao.

Cafe Saigon, 57 Nguyen Du St (Opposite to Immaculate Conception Cathedral Basilica), ☏ +84 9378 66066. Italian coffee, foods, free Wi-Fi, relaxing & modern music.

Getting around HCMC can be a challenge: traffic slows to a crawl for most of the day, the heat and chaotic streets make walking long distances impractical, and the public transport system has not kept up with the city's explosive growth.

By train

Ho Chi Minh City's first metro line opened in December 2024, connecting Ben Thanh Market in the city center with Suối Tiên and the Eastern Bus Terminus in the northeast. While it's only mildly useful for short hops around the city center now, a full network of eight lines is planned for the future.

Tickets are distance-based, ranging from 7,000 to 20,000 VND. You can pay by tapping a contactless Mastercard or Visa on the fare gates, including those linked to Apple Pay and Google Pay. Daily and monthly tickets are available from the HURC app. Single journey tickets, 1 day tickets, 3 day tickets, and reloadable smart cards are available from ticket machines at all stations.

Trains run every 8-12 minutes from 5 AM to 10 PM, with the full trip taking around 30 minutes. Most stations are elevated, though three are underground. All stations are equipped with escalators and elevators for accessibility, with signs and announcements in both Vietnamese and English. Many stations also offer bike parking facilities. Use Exit 3 at Ben Thanh Station for direct access to Ben Thanh Market. Use Exit 6 at Ben Thanh Station for direct access to Ham Nghi Bus Transfer Station.

By boat

Saigon Waterbus operates a service on the Saigon River from District 1 into Thu Duc City in the north of the city. It is geared more towards local commuters than tourists, but one of its stops is located near the Hotel Majestic, making it easily accessible from the Opera House and other downtown attractions.

By bus

Primary bus stations:

7 Saigon Bus Station (Bến xe buýt Sài Gòn). This station is in the centre of HCMC, next to Thái Bình Market and September 23rd Park. Bus 109 to the Airport stops here. (updated May 2025)

In general, Ho Chi Minh City is a safe city, with violent crimes such as armed robbery being relatively rare. The most common crimes faced by tourists are pickpocketing and snatch theft from motorbikes.

Scam artists operate on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. A person will strike up a friendly conversation claiming they've either seen you at the airport or some other tourist place where they work. Usually they'll be with other family members who will join the conversation very naturally and once they find out where you're from they'll mention that another family member is moving to a city in your country. You will be invited over for food at their house to help console a worried grandmother or to give advice to their family member. Once you arrive at the house however the family member is not there, or the grandmother has suddenly fallen ill and had to go to the hospital. You'll be presented with various business opportunities, legal or not, or asked for financial support for the suddenly sick grandmother.

Hotel scams are very common, even in the mid-range price level US$20-70. The hotel will remind you that you should place your valuables in the room safe or the hotel safe. Lock up everything that is more or less valuable.

Don't hold up expensive things near the street or leave them out on the table while you're having a meal, especially in District 1, especially around the backpacker area. Petty theft is a big problem, and a lot of times it's done by people on motorbikes. It's easy to prevent by not giving thieves the opportunity.

Don't buy SIM card before the immigration at the airport, they will charge you US$10 for a SIM card. After immigration and baggage area, you can find sim card booth. They sell SIM card for $6 only.

Don't buy coconut more than ~USD2, real-price is ~USD0.5. If you are forced, call police: ☏ +84 8 3829 7643, +84 8 38299835. A favorite trick is for the vendors to strike up a conversation with you, let you hold the carrying-stick, take a picture, and while you're distracted open a coconut for you that you really didn't ask for.