Ho Chi Minh City Travel Tips: What We Learned in Three Days in Saigon

Ho Chi Minh City is hot, delicious, and packed with history. We spent three days there on our honeymoon in 2023, and we learned a lot (and a couple of things the hard way).

Here's our advice for making the most of Saigon, plus the stories behind it.

1. Check Your Cards Before You Fly

On our first morning, we booked a city tour that required cash. At the ATM next door, we discovered Lauren's debit card had expired and I had forgotten my PIN, on our honeymoon, no less. A quick call to the bank fixed it, but it was 20 stressful minutes we didn't need.

Our advice: Before you leave, check every card's expiration date, confirm your PINs, and pack a backup card. Keep some Vietnamese dong on hand for tips, small cafés, and markets, and if a tour operator asks for cash, ask whether a card works anyway. In our case, it did.

2. Ask About Private Tours

We stayed at the Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon, and the concierge there offered us a group city tour or a private one, and the private 4-hour tour cost only $10 more per person. It was worth it.

We moved at our own pace, asked endless questions, and covered a street market, a former house that secretly hid a Viet Cong weapons bunker, the War Remnants Museum, the Independence Palace, Book Street, and Ben Thanh Market in one morning.

Our advice: Don't assume group tours are the budget-friendly default. Ask what a private option costs. The difference may be smaller than you think.

3. Plan Something Gentle After the War Remnants Museum

The courtyard of the War Remnants Museum is full of U.S. tanks, helicopters, and aircraft, but inside, the mood changes completely. The exhibits document the atrocities inflicted on Vietnamese civilians, including tiger cages, the effects of Agent Orange, and war crimes. It was an important visit, and it was also overwhelming. Lauren had to step away.

Our advice: Go, but don't stack your day with heavy sights afterward. We ended ours at a local spa with a 90-minute reflexology and hand massage for $25 and a 75-minute Swedish massage for $35. Massages in Saigon are very affordable, so build them into your itinerary.

4. Respect the Heat

We traveled to Ho Chi Minh in late October of 2023. During our stay, the "feels like" temperature reached 103°F. The Independence Palace, where South Vietnam's president lived and worked during the war, is fascinating, but it had no air conditioning, and its underground bunker was stifling.

Our advice: Do your outdoor and non-air-conditioned sightseeing early, then plan midday stops at cafés, malls, or your hotel. A rooftop pool is a great reward at the end of the day.

5. Give the Cu Chi Tunnels and Mekong Delta Their Own Days

We combined the Cu Chi Tunnels and the Mekong Delta into one tour. It was a highlight, but it was also a 12+ hour day. Traffic is also heavy: the first 55 km took us about an hour and a half.

At Cu Chi, the Viet Cong dug more than 250 km of tunnels by hand. The entrances are tiny. Visitors can crawl through a short section, and our guide offered up to 100 meters, but every person in our group was done after about 20.

In the Mekong Delta, we visited a coconut candy workshop, ate fresh fruit (our first jackfruit!) on Unicorn Island, and floated down a canal in a rowboat wearing traditional conical hats.

Our advice: Book this as a full day and schedule a slow day afterward. If you're claustrophobic, know you can skip the tunnel crawl. The traps, entrances, and history are still worth seeing from above ground.

6. It's Okay to Say No

Some tours include optional add-ons that aren't for everyone. At Cu Chi, you can pay to fire an AK-47 or M16. In the Mekong Delta, you might be offered "Happy Wine," rice wine with a fermented king cobra inside. We passed on both, though I happily tried a banana rice wine that tasted like a sweeter sake.

Our advice: Say yes to what excites you and politely skip the rest. Nobody minds.

7. Shop for the Real Thing

Saigon's markets are full of lacquer art, but much of what we saw was printed onto wood. On the way to Cu Chi, we stopped at a workshop where people disabled by Agent Orange create lacquered pieces with hand-cut mother-of-pearl inlay. We watched them work, then bought a four-piece Ha Long Bay display for our home.

Our advice: If you want authentic handicrafts, buy where you can see artisans at work. It costs more, but you'll know it's genuine, and your purchase supports the makers.

8. Eat Everything, Butn Mix It Up

We had phở for breakfast more than once, and French influence shows up everywhere, from fresh pastries to the bánh mì's baguette. But after several days of lemongrass and basil, Lauren hit flavor fatigue.

Our advice: Dive into Vietnamese food, but don't feel guilty about mixing in other cuisines when your palate needs a break.

Travelers with dietary restrictions have options too. I found Den Long, a home-style Vietnamese restaurant, because it had a gluten-free menu, and one restaurant in our hotel clearly labeled allergens. A little research goes a long way.

9. Consider an Executive Lounge or Club-Level Room

Our hotel's executive lounge included breakfast plus evening drinks and appetizers, a lifesaver after long tour days.

Our advice: When comparing hotels, factor in what a club-level room includes. The upgrade can pay for itself.

Planning Your Own Trip to Vietnam?

Saigon rewards travelers who plan with intention: the right tours, the right pacing, and room to recover. If you'd like help designing a Vietnam trip that fits your interests, energy, and dietary needs, WanderLux Travel would love to help.