Tips on booking tours in Ho Chi Minh City: Saigon is a good destination to travel in Vietnam thanks to the cultural variety, historical places, lots of beautiful architectural buildings, amazing street foods, and specialty dishes. Coming to the city, you will be surprised by the hospitality of Saigonese people and the city vibes at night. Going to the countryside to see the legendary underground city or escaping the city for the green and peaceful Mekong Delta, being on the back of a two-wheel to reach hidden places in far districts are interesting enough. However, you may wonder about booking tours in Ho Chi Minh or have no idea about your days in this city. Let me share with you some useful information and answer some frequently asked questions about traveling to Ho Chi Minh.
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Which are the must-see tourist attractions in Saigon?
There are tens of tourist attractions in Ho Chi Minh City which covers 2,095 km² and has a population of 8.9 million. This is not the main topic of this blog post so I only list some of the must-see places:
- District 1: Ben Thanh Market, Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon Central Post Office, Jade Emperor Pagoda, Saigon Opera House, Nguyen Hue Walking Street, Bui Vien Backpack Area, War Remnants Museum, Independence Palace
- District 5: Saigon China Town, Thien Hau Temple, Cha Tam Church, many special markets
- Cu Chi District: Cu Chi Tunnels
From Saigon, tourists usually take a full-day tour or multiday trip to provinces in Mekong Delta.
In addition, tourists’ favorite things to do in Saigon include:
- Enjoy the night at bars (rooftop bars,…), pubs
- Enjoy dinner on cruise
- Watch water puppet show at Golden Dragon Theater or watch A O Show at Saigon Opera House
- Sample street foods including Banh mi, Broken rice, snail and seafood dishes, beef noodles, Bo la lot, Vietnamese pancakes,…
- Go shopping at Ben Thanh Market, An Dong Market, Tan Binh Market, Binh Tay Market,…
- Join a cooking class in Ho Chi Minh City
- Try to sit on a cyclo and weave Saigon streets
- Trying to sit on the back of a motorbike and explore the complex transportation system of Ho Chi Minh
- Visit pagodas, temples, and mosques where they worship Buddha, gods and goddesses
Which are the best day trips in Ho Chi Minh City?
If you find it difficult to choose excursions in Ho Chi Minh City, we would like to recommend you some interesting options.
Day trips in/from Ho Chi Minh City:
- Ho Chi Minh City tour/Saigon sightseeing tour: visit must-see tourist attractions in District 1 and District 5
- Cu Chi Tunnels and Ho Chi Minh City full-day tour
- Cu Chi Tunnels and Mekong Delta full-day tour: this is a perfect mix if you do not have enough time to visit the 2 travel destinations in 2 separate days
- Mekong Delta full-day tour (Ben Tre/My Tho/Cai Be/Vinh Long): you can choose one from 9 provinces in Mekong Delta to visit
Half-day tour in Ho Chi Minh City:
- Ho Chi Minh City tour/Saigon sightseeing tour: visit must-see tourist attractions in District 1
- Cu Chi Tunnels Tour
- Saigon night food tour
- Water puppet show and Saigon cruise dinner by cyclo
- Saigon cooking class
Multiday tour from Ho Chi Minh City:
- 2 days 1 night Mekong Delta tour (My Tho – Can Tho/My Tho – Vinh Long)
- 3 days 2 nights Mekong Delta tour (My Tho – Can Tho)
For these tours, you can choose to stay at hotels which are located in the city center or homestays which are located in the countryside and great places to immerse in the local life.
Please contact Tracy Do & Bill Bui at +84938314386 (Whatsapp/iMessage/Viber/SMS) for detailed information about Ho Chi Minh City food motorbike tour and the best price for your group
Tips on booking tours in Ho Chi Minh City
Which transportation for your trip?
The popular means of transportation for tourists in Ho Chi Minh City are perhaps private cars, minivans, and buses. They are safe and convenient for visitors from other countries. You can do the city tour, Cu Chi Tunnels tour, Mekong Delta tour by car and bus. They usually use a car or a minivan for a private tour. On group tours, visitors are usually transferred by 29-seater (or 45-seater) buses.
Cyclo was a three-wheel bicycle taxi in Vietnam during the French colonial period and has become a unique means of transportation for tourists in Ho Chi Minh City, provides great experiences, and reminds of the past. You can choose to visit the city center in the daytime or at night by cyclo. Saigon sightseeing tour by cyclo, Water puppet show and Saigon cruise dinner by cyclo are great tours.
Bike tours around Ho Chi Minh City or to Cu Chi Tunnels/Mekong Delta are also available. Tourists are often supported by professional teams and cars.
You can also choose hop-on and hop-off buses to visit the top tourist attractions in Ho Chi Minh City.
Motorbike/vespa/jeep tours around the city for sightseeing and enjoying exotic street foods are more and more popular because they are fun and great chances to learn more about real local life and see hidden corners. Vespa tours are more expensive than motorbike tours. Jeep tours are also expensive, some tourists prefer jeeps to two-wheel vehicles thanks to the great feelings and safety. Motorbike tours are safe because they drive slowly and are experienced in taking care of first-time pillions.
Should I book a night tour in Saigon?
All of the cities and rural areas in many countries in the world are not safe at night. I can’t say that Saigon is very safe but I can say it is safe to travel on a tour that is organized by a trusted company. Local people, including your local tour guides know how to show you the best of the city and take you to the safe places. You can choose a Saigon night food tour, enjoy a water puppet show, enjoy dinner on a cruise along Saigon River. A Saigon craft beer tour or a Saigon bar and pub tour are not bad choices.
Should I travel the city alone or book tours with trusted travel agencies?
In recent days, the internet has provided us with abundant information so you can easily travel to Ho Chi Minh and explore the city to the fullest on your own. Older adults, families with kids, and businessmen prefer traveling with travel companies. Everything is planned and arranged carefully, the trips are nearly stressless. Some travelers would like to be free to explore the city, see something different from the destinations listed by tour companies, or maximize their budgets,…
Must-see tourist attractions in District 1 are close together so you can walk to see them one by one. The information about the Notre Dame Cathedral and Central Post Office can be researched easily on the Internet. At the War Remnants Museum and Independence, you can read the information about the objects quickly and easily.
Solo travelers can rent motorbikes to drive around Ho Chi Minh City and visit many amazing places. However, a family with children and old people can not go around the city like that. They are better to rent a private car to explore Saigon or book a Ho Chi Minh City tour. It is difficult to interact with drivers in Vietnam because they speak limited English. You can rent a private car with driver from the city center to Cu Chi Tunnels for your group, then buy the tickets, and see the underground city of Cu Chi yourselves because there is no need to talk so much with the driver. A motorbike tour around District 1 and far districts is better done with a local tour guide because you are not familiar with driving a motorbike on Saigon streets with crazy traffic and the culture at parking places and stops.
Although you can rent a private car or motorbike to the Mekong Delta, it is recommended to book a tour. Local guides are excellent at showing their guests the best things to do, where to see real local life, and share with them lots of interesting stories.
Would you like to enjoy Saigon street foods? Booking a food tour in Ho Chi Minh City is a simple way to weave the streets and be served lots of amazing local dishes. Tour companies usually design the tour routes and inspect food hygiene carefully. Especially, they will take you to secret food stops to enjoy the hidden foods.
Should I book a packaged tour or separate day trips?
If you would like to be taken care of by one company and contact only the staff of this company, you can book a packaged tour with a trusted company in your country or Saigon. If you would like to do a private Saigon food tour with a company that specializes in food tours, and book a small group Cu Chi Tunnels tour with another company, you book with different tour companies. Certainly, any change on a packaged tour is more easy to make because only one company arranges your itineraries over many days.
How many days to spend in Ho Chi Minh City?
You should spend half day or one day exploring Ho Chi Minh City center. Cu Chi Tunnels can be done in half day, or you can choose the full day Cu Chi Tunnels and cooking class tour. A refreshing Mekong Delta Tour shouldn’t be missed, they provide lots of options including full day, 2 days 1 night, 3 days 2 nights tours,… At night, you can walk around the city center, visit Bui Vien Backpacker Area, walk on the luxurious Nguyen Hue Walking Street, join a motorbike/vespa/jeep tour to see far districts, watch a show or enjoy a cruise dinner,… In my opinion, you should spend at least 3 days in Ho Chi Minh City.
Tips on booking tours in Ho Chi Minh City
How to choose good travel agencies?
There are many ways to choose tour companies providing high-quality services and offering worthy prices for your perfect trips in Ho Chi Minh City. It is best to have your friends, members of family, or colleagues who have used the services recommend some good travel agencies. You can also read reviews about the tour agencies on Google, TripAdvisor, Viator, GetYourGuide, Traveloka, KKday, Klook,… You can also get information about tour operators from trusted blogs and travel guide books. Information about the tour agencies is also easily found on social media (Facebook, Instagram, X,…).
Should I book in advance or when being in Ho Chi Minh?
It is recommended to book in advance because vehicles, tour guides, and tickets may not be available in the high season. Some tourists haven’t made decisions about the plan, itineraries, destinations, services,… before the day they arrive in Ho Chi Minh. Booking last-minute tours is not a bad choice because tourists do not need to cancel the trips or services. For example, a family with kid would like to join a Saigon night food tour in the wet season but worry about the weather. Booking the tour 2 hours before the start time is a good choice. However, motorbike tours may not be available. You should book all of the tours in high seasons (Tet holiday, New Year, Christmas Eve, Vietnam’s public holidays,…). Many tourists can’t find a private car to Mekong Delta on weekends because they call us in the morning of the day.
Please contact Tracy Do & Bill Bui at +84938314386 (Whatsapp/iMessage/Viber/SMS) for detailed information about Ho Chi Minh City food motorbike tour and the best price for your group
