Don’t you know that with only 500,000 VND, you can still join a tour to visit Ho Chi Minh or the surrounding areas, including travel costs, sightseeing fees, and meals for 1 person? Below are some of the most attractive tourist spots you should not miss when coming to this city.
Explore historical relics and architectural works
Not only is it a young and dynamic city, but Ho Chi Minh City also preserves many cultural and historical values. There are many monuments and museums in the city that are known to domestic and foreign tourists.
Independence Palace
The Independence Palace, or Reunification Palace, is one of the attractions not to be missed when visiting Ho Chi Minh City. Located in Ben Thanh Ward, the Independence Palace is both ancient and modern and has long been one of the city’s symbols.
On weekends or major holidays, such as April 30, the Independence Palace is often full of visitors. Tickets to visit the Main Building and Gallery “From Norodom Palace to Independence Palace 1868 – 1966” cost 65,000 VND or more.
War Remnants Museum
The War Remnants Museum ranks 61st and is the only Vietnamese entry on the list of the world’s 99 most popular destinations. The museum, located on Vo Van Tan Street, Xuan Hoa Ward, was established in 1975 and specializes in researching, collecting, preserving, and displaying evidence of crimes and the consequences of wars of invasion in Vietnam.
The museum holds more than 20,000 documents, artifacts, and films. Topics include Weapons displayed outdoors, Prison regime, Agent Orange, Historical facts, and War crimes.
Saigon Post Office
Located at Paris Square, the Saigon Post Office was built from 1886 to 1891. The project was designed by two French architects, Alfred Foulhoux and Henri Auguste Vildieu. After more than 100 years, this is currently the largest post office in Vietnam that still retains its original design.
The domed ceiling features a portrait of Mercury, surrounded by a laurel wreath, in the middle, the god symbolizing human communication. The post office is reminiscent of the Orsay train station in Paris, which is located alongside Notre Dame Cathedral, forming a distinctive architectural cluster in the city.
Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame Cathedral, located opposite the Independent Palace and near the Saigon Post Office, is one of the city’s symbols. The project was started in 1877 and completed in 1880, designed by French architect J. Bourad, with Roman and Gothic styles. The interior of the cathedral is designed into one main heart, two side hearts, and two rows of chapels.
The length of the cathedral is 93 m, the widest width is 35 m, and it can accommodate 1,200 people. In front of the cathedral is a park with four intersecting roads forming a cross.
Visiting time: from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. However, since 2017, the church has been repaired. Expected completion time is 2027.
Take the river bus
River experiences are a characteristic of Ho Chi Minh City tourism. Tourists can see the city from a different perspective, through many famous landmarks such as Nha Rong wharf, Ben Nghe port, Phu My bridge, Den Do cape, and Binh Khanh ferry wharf.
River buses depart daily from 8:30 a.m. at Bach Dang, Binh An, Linh Dong, Thanh Da, and Hiep Binh Chanh wharves. The latest night bus route departs at 10:00 p.m. Tickets can be booked online or purchased directly at the station for 15,000 VND per trip.
You can also join a Ho Chi Minh city sightseeing group tour with a cost of less than 500.000VND for a half-day trip.
Enjoy the local cuisine
Ho Chi Minh City is a convergence of cuisines from many regions and countries. Visitors can find dishes from across the three regions, including typical Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean, and Thai dishes, as well as vegetarian options, at countless large and small restaurants in the city. Typical dishes tourists should try include broken rice, noodles, bread, grilled snakehead fish, and pancakes. The food streets below are suggestions for those coming to Ho Chi Minh City for the first time.
Phan Xich Long Street food
Phan Xich Long Street in the Phu Nhuan area is home to many famous restaurants, eateries, and culinary brands. Here, visitors can find hot pot, barbecue, European-style restaurants, Japanese, Thai, Korean restaurants, and Vietnamese restaurants. 13 streets named after flowers surround Phan Xich Long main street, such as Hoa Phuong, Hoa Lan, Hoa Hue, Hoa Mai… and also have many cafes and rooftop bars, open until midnight.
Vinh Khanh snail street
Snail dishes are a specialty of Ho Chi Minh City. Along Vinh Khanh Street in Khanh Hoi Ward, there are many of the city’s most famous snail and seafood rows. Local stores or restaurants often open until midnight, crowded with customers. Snail dishes cost from 80,000 to 150,000 VND per portion, depending on the type of snail.
Unlike Hanoi snails, which are often steamed with lemongrass and dipped in chili fish sauce, snails in Ho Chi Minh City are prepared in a variety of ways, from salted egg sauce to tamarind stir-fry, grilled with chili salt, and stir-fried with satay.
Ho Thi Ky Food Street
Food Street on Ho Thi Ky Street, Vuon Lai Ward, is a destination that attracts both tourists and locals. Open from 3 pm every day, more than 100 restaurants in Vietnam serve a variety of European, Asian, and other regional dishes.
The neighborhood attracts diners thanks to grilled skewers and processed seafood such as grilled lobster with cheese and grilled squid teeth with salt and chili. Dishes range in price from 7,000 to 100,000 VND.
Nguyen Thuong Hien food street
Nguyen Thuong Hien Food Street (from Dien Bien Phu Street to Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Ban Co Ward) operates from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. every day. On the route, there are more than 90 food and beverage businesses and more than 50 clothing, shoe, and beauty stores.
The street is famous for dishes such as mixed rice paper, mixed tea, and grapefruit juice. Some shops also serve Cambodian-style dishes.
Sparkling puller area in Ha Ton Quyen
Ha Ton Quyen Street, Minh Phung Ward, is a famous address selling Chinese sparkling pullers, with shops along both sides of the street. The whole neighborhood is always bustling with people coming in and out, especially in the afternoon and evening. The dishes here are diverse, including fried, dried (oyster sauce), sparkling puller noodles, shrimp and squid, mixed, fish balls, and pulled noodles, with an average price of 50,000 VND per portion.
Customers often drive along the street, and there will be people from the shops offering offers, showing them where to park for free, and then going inside to order food.
The food street tour also costs from 450,000 VND and can help you get a full experience with a guide.
Suburban destination
Besides tourist spots located inside the city, you can also find another destination just outside the city, where you can visit for only 500.000VND.
Cu Chi Tunnels
Cu Chi Tunnels are located about 50 km from the center of Ho Chi Minh City. The tunnels are preserved in two locations: Ben Duoc tunnels (Phu Hiep hamlet, An Nhon Tay Commune) and Ben Dinh tunnels (Ben Dinh hamlet, Nhuan Duc Commune).
If you visit Cu Chi tunnels, it only costs 125,000 VND/person for the entrance fee. The tunnel’s opening hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 17:00 p.m.
Cu Chi Tunnels is a unique “underground city” with 250 km of tunnels spreading like a spider web underground, including trenches, fighting nests, sleeping bunkers, meeting areas, living areas, military medical facilities, food storage, water wells, and Hoang Cam Stove.
The tunnels are the main attraction of this relic. Here, you will have war-like experiences and explore every corner of the 120 m-long tunnel system with 2 floors. When you come to the Cu Chi tunnels, you can enjoy the dishes people used to eat there, especially cassava dipped in sesame salt…
After visiting the Cu Chi tunnels, visitors can enjoy Cu Chi beef specialties at famous restaurants such as Hong Dao, Xuan Dao, and Vinh Xuan, located on Highway 22 in Cu Chi district. These are long-standing restaurants in Cu Chi that specialize in this dish, and they cost 100,000-200,000 VND per person.
Also, a bus ticket to get here costs around 70,000 VND, and if you want to join a Cu Chi group tours, it costs 15-20 USD/1person, including transportation, a tour guide, and entrance fees for this area.
Mekong Delta Daily Group Tours
My Tho is always the top priority destination for tourists departing from Ho Chi Minh City to the Mekong Delta. Upon arrival, visitors can visit Vinh Trang Pagoda, explore the lives of local people on the islets, experience rowing a sampan, and enjoy local specialties and ripe fruits.
Tour prices for the Mekong 1-day tour only start at 400,000 VND/person, including bus, tour guide, entrance fee, and boat trips.
Can Gio
Can Gio is located about 50 km from the city center, has diverse terrain including forests and the sea, covers an area approximately equal to Singapore’s, and offers many ecotourism activities to experience during the day. Can Gio is the only district in Ho Chi Minh City bordering the sea and is also the first mangrove forest in Vietnam recognized as a world biosphere reserve.
Here, visitors will go to Can Gio Forest Park, canoe in the mangrove forest to visit the Rung Sac revolutionary base; relics and learn about the lives, battles and achievements of special forces soldiers during the war; admire the natural monkey population; canoe on the river to Vam Sat eco-tourism area, row a boat to visit the art bat conservation area, go crab fishing; Visit the bird sanctuary, crocodile…
In Can Gio, there is Hang Duong market, considered a “seafood paradise” with a wide variety of fresh shrimp, crabs, snails, and squid at affordable prices. You can choose fresh oysters, snails, crabs, shrimp, and squid, and have the seller directly process it on the spot at a cost of several tens of thousands of VND per dish.
Vietdreamtravel is running daily Vietnam tours that you can visit for only 500.000VND. Don’t hesitate to contact us for more advice.
Comment (0)