11 Best Things to Do in Ho Chi Minh City in 2020

1. Visit War Remnants Museum

This is the must-visit attractions when coming to Ho Chi Minh City. The War Remnants Museum is one of the top 10 museums in the world (voted by TripAdvisor Readers, 2018). Founded in 1975, the museum exhibits many images and artifacts of the war crimes in Vietnam such as aircraft, tanks, guillotines, and especially images about Agent Orange, which millions of Vietnamese suffer the consequences to this day.

Address: 28 Vo Van Tan, Ward 6, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.

Hours: 7:30am – 6:00pm.

Price: 40,000 dong.

2. Cu Chi Tunnels

Ranked at the second of the best things to do in Ho Chi Minh City is Cu Chi Tunnels. It is an underground defense system in Ho Chi Minh City, about 70 km from the city center. Cu Chi Tunnels was built in 1946, was the revolutionary base of Vietnam soldiers (Viet Cong), included many infirmaries, rooms, kitchen, storage, office, underground road system, supply weapons, food, ammunition, drink, and living quarters during the Indochina War and the Vietnam War.
You can go to Cu Chi Tunnels by bus (13 then 79) from Ben Thanh, but we recommend that you buy a tour for convenience. Tour prices range from 10 – 20 USD (half a day).

Address: Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City.

Entrance ticket: 100,000 dong.

Hours: 7 am – 5 pm.

3. Drink Beer on Bui Vien Street

If Ta Hien is a famous beer street in Hanoi, Bui Vien is a well-know walking and beer street in Saigon.

Bui Vien is a street in district 1, the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, where many Western tourists choose to relax (most of them are backpackers). This is the multinational and multicultural street, where most of Saigon’s delicious dishes are converged, and especially prices here are quite affordable. Come to Bui Vien – Saigon’s culinary paradise, and sip a few bottles of Saigon Beer and feel the love in you!

4. Saigon Water Bus

Ho Chi Minh City is surrounded by the romantic Saigon River. Saigon River winds around the city, creating many beautiful landscapes and peninsulas such as Thu Thiem – Vietnam’s new financial center. Exploring Saigon by water bus is an interesting experience when coming to this southern land, see Saigon from west to east, from buildings to old huts, and maybe you will realize many miracles.

Departure: Bach Dang Wharf (District 1)

Destination: Linh Dong Waterbus (Thu Duc District)

Round-trip ticket: 30 000 VND (1,4 USD).

Full trip time (about 3 hours)

5. Enjoy Saigon Cuisine

Ho Chi Minh City is the crossroad of culinary cultures, from the Oriental cuisine to Western cuisine, you can find any typical dish in Vietnam in this city; however, Ho Chi Minh City still has special dishes such as Com Tam, Banh Mi Saigon, and especially iced Milk Coffee (Ca Phe Sua Da) – a must-try drink in Saigon.

You can refer to the Saigon Food column. At each, we have introduced three restaurants that we surveyed, and prices are listed.

6. Jade Emperor Pagoda

Jade Emperor Pagoda (Chua Ngoc Hoang) is one of the most famous ancient temples in Ho Chi Minh City, about 4km from the city center. The Pagoda was built in Chinese style and architecture in the early 20th century, was built of bricks, roofs covered with yin-yang tiles, roof corners with many colored pottery statues.

On May 24, 2016, US President Barack Obama paid a visit to the Jade Emperor during his official visit to Vietnam.

Address: 73 Mai Thi Luu St, Da Kao ward, District 1.

Hours: 7 am – 6 pm

7. Diner on the boat

Ho Chi Minh City has many rivers and canals, especially the Saigon River. Enjoying dinner on the cruise is an exciting experience and thing to do when coming to this city. There are many types of cruise boats, most of them open from 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm, popular prices ranging from 10 – 40 USD, a simple dinner on a boat is enough for your journey to be more interesting.

Address: 05 Nguyen Tat Thanh, Ward 12, District 4 (next to Nha Rong Wharf).

Prices:

1. Sai Gon Boat: 279 000 – 379 000 Dong/person, depart at 8 pm.
2. Indochina Boat: 320 000 – 1420 000 Dong/person, depart at  7 pm.
3. Indochina Queen (Buffet) 447 000 Dong/person, depart at 6:30 pm.

8. Ben Thanh Market 

Ranked at the eighth of the best things to do in Ho Chi Minh City is Ben Thanh Market. Located in the heart, for a long time, Ben Thanh Market has been a symbol of Saigon’s prosperity. Built-in the 1900s, The market has spent many years of vicissitudes of the war and many times of restoration. Today, Ben Thanh market is a symbol and a must-visit when visiting this city.

Come to Ben Thanh Market, enjoy some typical dishes of Saigon such as Goi Cuon, Banh Xeo and Che with the price from 30 000 – 100 000 /dish.

Address: Le Loi Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

9. Saigon Nightlife

Besides the name Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City also has another name that the non-sleeping city, because as late at night, Saigon more beautiful and striking. Saigon people like to gather friends to drink bottles of beer, or a coffee drink, so more late of night, the restaurants, cafes, and pubs become more crowded.

Come to Saigon, do not forget to visit Ben Thanh night market and take a stroll in the beer streets such as Bui Vien, Do Quang Dau and Pham Ngu Lao.

10. Visit Saigon Chinatown

Saigon Chinatown is a large area located in District 5, about 7km from the centre, another name is Cholon (the big market). There are many temples, pagodas, homes, and many Chinese are living here. Cholon is a large area including many markets such as Binh Tay, Soai Kinh Lam and Kim Bien market. Binh Tay Market is a typical market in Chinatown, so you should start here. From Ben Thanh Market, you can take bus number 56 to Binh Tay market; the fare is 6,000 Dong.

Go to Cholon, enjoy some Chinese dishes, watch colorful lanterns and don’t forget to buy some items here, the price is often cheaper than other markets.

11. Nguyen Hue Walking Street

The last thing to do in Ho Chi Minh on the list is visiting Nguyen Hue Walking Street.

Nguyen Hue is the most beautiful and magnificent walking street in Saigon, connecting Ho Chi Minh City Hall to Bach Dang wharf, on both sides of the road are high-rise buildings symbolizing the city such as Times Square and Bitexco. Every night, many tourists and indigenous people come here to relax and participate in some street games and cuisine. At the end of Nguyen Hue street is Ho Chi Minh City Hall, an architectural masterpiece left by the French.