Top 10 tips on Ho Chi Minh City food tour to enjoy to the fullest: When the sun goes down, you may think that travelers should stay in their hotel rooms to relax and sleep well. That goes for some provinces and cities in Vietnam. However, it is an unfortunate mistake if you do not explore Ho Chi Minh City at night. One of the top things to do in Saigon after dark is joining a Ho Chi Minh City food tour. Instead of going around and eat your dinner at a restaurant, you are transferred to new districts and served many local dishes. Travelers can not only have chances to do Saigon night food tours but also Day food tours in the morning and afternoon. Here is the list of Top 10 tips on Ho Chi Minh City food tour to enjoy to the fullest.
Table of Contents
Top 10 tips on Ho Chi Minh City food tour
Wear appropriately
There are jeep, car, taxi, and motorbike food tours so you should choose appropriate clothing. Comfortable clothes such as shorts, trousers, jeans, blouses, T-shirts are great choices. Too loose and too long clothes are not suitable for passengers on motorbikes and tourists walking in small alleys and crowded areas such as local food markets. You will walk for from a few hundreds of meters to a few kilometers so comfortable shoes are an important part of the trip.
Wearing a hat or a cap, sunglasses and applying sunscreen is recommended to protect yourself from the strong sun in the day time.
Read more about What to wear on Ho Chi Minh City Food Tour?
Top 10 tips on Ho Chi Minh City food tour to enjoy to the fullest
Make sure you are comfortable in a vehicle
You may be familiar with being on a car or a taxi. However, you would like to join a jeep or motorbike food tour in Saigon to enjoy the city in a different and “brand new” way. It may be your first time sitting on a motorbike or a jeep. You should let the guide and driver know about that at the beginning of the tour. If there is any inconvenience and comfortlessness, you should let them know right away.
Read more about How to be safe on motorbike tour in Ho Chi Minh City?
Do not eat too much before a Ho Chi Minh City food tour
On Ho Chi Minh City food tours, they usually take travelers to many eating places and serve a lot of local dishes. If you eat too much before the tour, you can not eat delicious dishes and enjoy the tour to the fullest. If you are really hungry, you should eat light. Snacks such as nuts, dried foods, a slice of sandwich are recommended.
Top 10 tips on Ho Chi Minh City food tour to enjoy to the fullest
Do not eat too much at an eating place
On Ho Chi Minh City food tours, there are some visiting places and you should not eat too much at the first places. You can be full before visiting next eating places.
Do not eat too much seafood and many snails
Seafood has been tainted with mercury that is one of the most common ways humans accumulate mercury in their bodies. Eating too much seafood can cause mercury poisoning and high cholesterol levels. Research shows that eating contaminated seafood can lead to food poisoning symptoms like diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and fever. Consuming a lot of snails in one meal can cause bloating and indigestion.
However, seafoods and snails are vital sources of protein, many essential vitamins and minerals for many people. In Ho Chi Minh City, eating seafood dishes and snail dishes, sipping some beers or other drinks are the best things to do at night. You will learn more about the “Nhau” (“drinking”) culture in the city. My recommendation is that you should eat enough.
Do not drink too much alcohol
On a Saigon food tour, you can be served one local beer. Some travelers would like to drink more alcohol and tour guides can not stop them from being drunk.
Check if your meat is not undercooked
Undercooked meat and seafood can contain parasites, bacteria, or viruses, pose health risks and can cause foodborne illnesses. At rice noodle soup restaurants, you should let them know to serve you well-done toppings and blanched vegetables and herbs. At BBQ and seafood restaurants, you should make sure your foods are well-done, meat is not red inside, seafoods do not resist flaking and is translucent.
Top 10 tips on Ho Chi Minh City food tour to enjoy to the fullest
See how local dishes are cooked and interact with local chefs
One of the best parts of Ho Chi Minh City food tours is that travelers dive into the world of Vietnamese amazing foods and immerse in the local life. At many local restaurants and street food stalls, you can easily see how chefs and vendors prepare, cook and serve your foods in details. For example, you should not miss seeing with your own eyes how they fry and fill the crispy Vietnamese pancakes, how they steam and stuff the thin Stuffed rice rolls. Talented local chefs stir-fry and grill seafood and snail at “quán ốc”. All are worth exploring and discovering!
Wash your hands before eating
Hand washing is one of the best ways to remove any harmful bacteria or viruses from your hands that spreads food poisoning and other diseases. If there is a good toilet room at an eating place, you can wash your hand with soap and water. In the contrast, you can use a hand sanitizer to kill bacteria and most viruses.
Keep your belonging carefully and use anti-theft travel accessories
Ho Chi Minh City is not 100 percent safe for travelers, snatch thieves and pickpockets are around the city. You will be in crowded local and chaotic places. No one can guarantee your safety while traveling although most tour guides are experienced on protecting their guests from being stolen. You should watch out your belongings carefully on the trip. Do not bring too much cash and your passport on a Saigon food tour. Anti-theft travel bags and accessories are helpful in protecting you from thieves.
Read more about Is it safe to join a Ho Chi Minh City Food Tour?
Do not wear too much golden jewelry
Thieves usually target people wearing gold. Small rings, bracelets, and earrings are not problems. Wooden and plastic pieces of jewelry do not attract criminals. Wearing big or impressive pieces of jewelry is not good for your safety.
Some popular food tours in Saigon
At first, it needs to know that there is a number of choices for travelers who would like to do a Ho Chi Minh City food tour. Morning, afternoon, and evening food tours are differences because some street food vendors serve breakfasts and only open in the morning, or serve dinner and supper after dark. There are some means of transportation: jeep, motorbike, Vespa, private car, taxi and walking. Some tour agents offer tours with both male and female tour guides or only female riders. Nice Ao Dai riders are favorite choices of many travelers. Some people prefer joining Saigon food tours with professional chefs. So there are different in price.
- Saigon Night Food Tour: classic and popular choice, great street foods
- Saigon Sightseeing & Food Tour: a great mix of tourist attractions and street foods
- Saigon Unseen & Food Tour: a great mix of tourist attractions and street foods
- The AoDai Foodie: traveling with nice female riders in Ao Dai traditional dress
- Street Food Tour with local students: budget choice, going with talented local student, more simple but impressive menu
- Walking Ho Chi Minh City food tour: the most popular choice for travelers that wouldn’t like to sit on motorbikes
- Ho Chi Minh City food tour by vintage vespa: more expensive and unique experience
- Ho Chi Minh City food tour by jeep: more expensive and unique experience on open-air jeep
- Morning Saigon Street Food Tour: exploring the city and trying amazing foods that locals eat for breakfast and lunch
- Saigon Food Tour with Chef: going around and eating with a professional Vietnamese chef
Scooter Saigon Tour is one of the oldest and best food tour company in Ho Chi Minh City. Please contact Tracy Do & Bill Bui at +84938314386 (Whatsapp/iMessage/Viber/SMS) for detailed information about food tours in Ho Chi Minh City and best prices for your group.
