HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM
Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon) is Vietnam’s largest and most-visited city. The name was officially changed from Saigon to Ho Chi Minh City in 1975 to celebrate the reunification of the north and south following the Vietnam War but locals still refer to it as Saigon occasionally. HCMC is made up of 24 districts and is known for its nightlife, traffic, and War Remnants Museum. I can’t imagine a better city to start your Vietnamese trip!
Attractions:
War Remnants Museum: Eye-opening to say the least. This museum is very informative and isn’t shy of explaining the role the United States had while in Vietnam. Some of it is disturbing but I’m very glad I went; it gave me wonderful perspective.
Cu Chi Tunnels: Definitely do the ½ day tour as the full day tour would be too long. You can do a guided walking tour through the area and crawl inside the tunnels that were used by Viet Cong soldiers. At the end of the tour, there is a shooting range with AK-47s and M-16s if you want to pay to shoot artillery. The tour from my hostel was $15 USD and included the 2 hour bus ride to the site.
Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon: This pretty church is a great spot to take a photo and see how HCMC was influenced by its French colonizers.
Ben Thanh Market: This is HCMC’s largest marketplace and is located in District 1. It dates back to the 17th Century and is a great place to buy souvenirs and eat local cuisine.
Mekong Delta River Tour: I didn’t do this while in HCMC but many fellow travelers signed up and really enjoyed it!
Other places to check out include: Ho Chi Minh Square, Independence Palace, Turtle Lake, Nguyen Hue Street, Tran Hung Dao Monument, the Central Post Office, and Municipal Opera House.
Accommodation:
The Hideout: There’s not particularly a common area here to meet people but once the evening rolls around, the bar crawl gets started next door and your night can turn from 0 to 100 really quickly. This hostel has good tour/bus options and I would recommend staying here if you’re looking to experience HCMC nightlife! A dorm bed cost me roughly $8 USD.
Transportation:
Phnom Penh, Cambodia is 6 hours by bus from Ho Chi Minh City and costs 295,000 VND.
Da Lat is 8 hours by bus from Ho Chi Minh City and costs 320,000 VND.
The route to and from Hoi An is more difficult since you’ll have to get there via Da Nang. There are no direct routes between HCMC and Hoi An. There are four different options:
Option #1 - Flight & Taxi: The most direct route would be to fly into Da Nang from HCMC (1.5 hours) and then take a 30 minute taxi ride (between 400,000-500,000 VND).
Option #2 - Train & Taxi: The train from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang takes between 16-19 hours and costs 1,000,000 VND. Similar to above, you would then need to take a 30 minute taxi ride to Hoi An. The train station in HCMC is located at 1 Nguyen Thong Street in District 3.
Option #3 - Bus & Bus: If you are on a tight budget, take the 21 hour bus from HCMC to Da Nang (600,000 VND) and then take a 1 hour city bus ride to Hoi An for 20,000 VND (less than $1 USD). Most tourist buses heading to Da Nang from HCMC will depart from Mien Dong station in District 1 (292 Dinh Bo Linh, Phuong 26, Binh Thanh).
Option #4 - Motorbike: This would take between 17-19 hours depending on how long you plan to ride. I would advise against this as it is the most dangerous and would require spending at least two nights along the route.
The above photos of me were taken by: my tour guide at Cu Chi Tunnels, a random Vietnamese woman who wanted to take a photo of me with her friend, and my server at “Art Cafe Vegetarian Restaurant”. Thanks, friends!