Our comprehensive list of what to do in Ho Chi Minh City. We have selected our favourite spots and created this guide and itinerary for you to follow.
After arriving in Ho Chi Minh we worked out we had 2 days to see as much of the city as possible. The Cu Chi Tunnels were at the top of our list of things to see. Keep reading to see how we spent our 2 days in this chaotic city and where our favourite spots are.
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Day 2 –🌾Binh Quoi Tourist Village + The Cafe Apartments
🥙 Places to eat in Ho Chi Minh
Siagon or Ho Chi Minh
Whether you call it Siagon or Ho Chi Minh it doesn’t matter, everyone will know what you mean. Before the war, this city was called Siagon and after the war, it was renamed – Ho Chi Minh. Shortly after arriving we found out the city, specifically the centre (District 1), was the original Siagon City. But in 1976 with the city expanding into the near by provinces and to celebrate the end of the Vietnam War, the city name was change to Ho Chi Minh.
*This post might contain our affiliate links. This is at no extra cost to you, but you would be doing us a solid if you did use them. It shows us your appreciation after we have written this amazing travel guide for you 😏*
What to do in Ho Chi Minh
Day 1
Morning – Cu Chi Tunnels
The Vietnam War Tunnels are known around the world as they are so fascinating. The section of tunnels located a few hours outside of Ho Chi Minh city, are known as the Cu Chi Tunnels. We decided to book our tour through our hostel as they had a cheap price. The tour gave us two time options. One was to leave at 8am, the other was at 1pm. We would recommend taking the 8am option as the tour is only half a day. This give you plenty of time to explore the city in the afternoon and there are less people at the tunnels at this time.
The roads in Ho Chi Minh are crazy and this was another reason why we booked the tour. We didn’t fancy driving 2 hours on a moped through the city. On our tour we had a English speaking guide, who made the tour much more enjoyable for us. As we were walking around these amazing underground structures, he was providing us with information about the Vietnam War and how the Vietnamese lived. On the tour, we were also taken to a shooting range next to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Here you can try your hand at shoot a M16 and a selection of other guns.
Cost – 300,000 VND [£15 Per Person]
Day 1
Afternoon – War Museum Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Probably the most popular thing to do whilst you are in Ho Chi Minh. The War Remnants museum hosts a series of themed rooms in several buildings, with military equipment. The Museum is located in the District 3 and is a 20 minute walk from District 1. For us this is a must see, before or after the Cu Chi Tunnels. It really helped us get a greater understanding of the horrific times this beautiful country had gone through.
Cost – 40,000 VND [£2]
Day 2
For your second day in Ho Chi Minh City there are lots of option all within close proximity to each other. We have set out the locations exactly how we completed our day. We kept in mind the distance from each place and the direction from our hostel in District 1.
Binh Quoi Tourist Village 🌾
Binh Quoi tourist Village is like no other place in Ho Chi Minh City. It is a huge garden in which anyone can enjoy. We arrived at 10 am and were the only people here. You can hire Vietnamese style fishing rods (a piece of bamboo with some fishing line attached) and try your hand at catching some fish in the ponds and streams that flow through the gardens. There is also a small cafe to grab some food and drinks at the back of the gardens. Trust us you are going to need it after walking around in the sun.
Cost – Free to enter. Our Grab from the city was £1.50 each way.
Cafe Apartments ☕
Tea, Coffee, Brunch- This 9 story apartment block has been converted into an array of Coffee Shops, Restaurants and small clothing boutiques. Partly becoming popular with tourist through Instagram, this block has everything you need in one place. There is a lift that runs through the centre of the apartment block. This will cost you 3000VND Per Person. Although if you purchase something from one of the stores they will refund you. Alternatively you can take the stairs like us and build up a sweat. This way you really appreciate having air con in the coffee shops.
TRAVEL TIP ↠ Look from the outside first at which apartment you would like to visit. This saves a lot of time and effort searching around inside, our favourite was the Poke Bowel.
Cost – Free to enter but you will end up buying something
The Pink cathedral – Tan Dinh Church 💒
After spending a few hours exploring the Cafe Apartments we visited The Pink Cathedral in the heart of Ho Hi Minh City. Created by the French colonisation 1870 it is the second largest church in Ho Chi Ming, only being beaten by the Notre Dome Cathedral. Now days this has become a popular instagram spot.
We didn’t spend to long here and headed back to our hostel. We had a quick rest and got ready for the night markets and Buy Vien Walking Street. (Backpacker Strip)
Cost – Free
Want to know what we use to take our photos? Check out whats in our bags here.
Ben Thanh Markets
At 7:30pm each evening the Ben Thanh day market transform into the Night Markets. Here you can explore the Aladdins cave of food and Vietnam memorabilia. We grabbed some food whilst wandering around before heading over to the walking street.
Bui Vien Walking Street (Backpacker/Party Strip)
If you have ever been to Thailand and experienced Khao San Road or The Bangla Road in Patong Beach, Phuket. It is very similar to those places. A strip of road that is lined with bars, restaurants and night clubs blaring out EDM music. In the evenings the road is closed to motor vehicles and is filled with tourist and locals looking for a good night out. Here you can fill yourself with beer, buckets of god knows what and party all night long.
Places to eat in Ho Chi Minh
£- Backpacker – ££ Budget – £££ Luxury
Pho Quynh 🍜 £
Local Vietnamese Cuisine
The traditional Vietnamese dish is Pho and this restaurant is one of the best in Ho Chi Minh. It is about as local as you can get. Siting on little stalls in the street with your choice of Chicken or Beer Pho. A bowel of noddles in a soup with your meat as the topping. Not only is it very cheap but it is very tasty.
Sushi Nhi 🍣 £
Japanese cuisine
Recommend to us by a friend who’d been living in Ho Chi Minh, this place didn’t disappoint. The price is amazing and the food is outstanding. We loved it so much we went back the next day.
Baba’s Kitchen 🍛 ££
Indian cuisine
The has the be the best Indian meal we have had in a long time. For our last night in Ho Chi Minh we visited this restaurant. The service was unbelievable and the food quality was amazing. They gave us some FREE banjos and Pakoras which is always welcomed.
Den Long 🍜 ££
Vietnamese cuisine
The best way to describe the food quality and style is a modern Vietnam. The restaurant is Vietnamese but was a western feel to it. The food quality especially the meat was amazing. For this quality you do pay a slightly high price than the local places. But for us the extra quality and cleanliness was worth the money.
Journey Sandwich Cafe 🥪 £££
International Cuisine
Defiantly not the cheapest but, Journeys Sandwiches are on another level. They have a huge selection of breads and filling to choose from and you can wash it down with a smoothie.
Where to stay in Ho Chi Minh 🏠
When choosing where to stay in Ho Chi Minh we would recommend finding somewhere in District 1. This is the central area of the city where you will find a lot of restaurants, bars and the Ho Chi Minh Walking Street. You will also find a lot of tour agencies close to the walking street.
Use our Agoda Discount code Link to get up to £50 off your next booking.
We stayed in the Saigon Hub Hostel which was in a great location to reach all the key areas we visited in this blog post. We walked everywhere and the furthest point was around a 20 minute walk.
Saigon Hub Hostel – Check Prices Here
If you are on a budget but don’t fancy the hostel life, then the DDA Hotel District 1 is the place for you.
DDA Hotel – District 1 – Check Prices Here
Get all the up to date prices in District 1 Ho Chi Minh Here.
Getting out of the Airport in Ho Chi Minh 🚕
Once out of the airport we ordered a Grab. It took us around 30 minutes to get from the airport to District 1. The Grab ride from the airport to our hostel, Siagon Hub cost us $2.
Getting around the city 🚕
If you are staying in District 1 you can easily walk to most places. But if you are not feeling taking a walk through the hot, humid streets of Ho Chi Minh then your best option is Grab. This is the Asian version of Uber and are really cheap. You will need a Vietnamese SIM card to activate your grab account.
SIM Card for Vietnam 📲
We highly recommend getting a Vietnamese SIM card if you are staying in the country for more than a few days. We bought our from the airport just before you go through immigration. This cost us $8 for a sim with 6Gb of data for two weeks. Having a sim is really handy for searching locations on google maps and ordering Grabs.
Our budget for two days in Hi Chi Minh City
🏠 Hostel – £4 – 1 Person Per Night
🏨 Hotel – £12 – 1 room for 2 people
🥙 Lunch/Dinner £6 – 1 Person Per Day
🚖 Travel – Per day £10 – Per Day
🚌Tours – £10 Per Person
Ho Chi Minh to Dalat
After our 2 days in Ho Chi Minh decided we needed a change of scenery along with a cooler climate. The humidity in the city is crazy so we chose to head to Dalat. A small city in the Central Highlands of Vietnam with a considerably cooler climate. If you haven’t heard of this amazing city we highly recommend you read our Dalat Blog below. It is one of our favourite cities in Vietnam.
To get here we took a sleep bus which was around 7 hours. We booked this through our Hostel, but the bus company is call FUTA Bus Lines. They are great and you can easily book online, this would probably save you some money.
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