Easiest recap: I love this city! It's busy and chaotic but organized chaos and the people are insanely nice and try to help without actually speaking much English.
I choose the later. Not sure if this is true but the airport staff told me that only bus #152 leaves from the airport these days (on Google Maps it shows more) therefore I listened and selected my route based on this bus.
How to get from the Airport to the City
HCMC is super big therefore this will depend on where you're going but if your accommodation is in district 1 (very popular hotel area), you can either choose to take a taxi (but be careful and only use the official ones!!) or you can go all in and take public transport.I choose the later. Not sure if this is true but the airport staff told me that only bus #152 leaves from the airport these days (on Google Maps it shows more) therefore I listened and selected my route based on this bus.
For the taxi you will pay around 10-15€, the bus costs 5,000 VDN which is a little more than 30 cents (but you have to pay in cash!)
Get cash before you get to town!
In Ho Chi Minh City most places will only take cash. Do yourself a favor and get cash either before you get here or at the airport. In my case there was no additional fee for withdrawing money (I use Revolut).
How much will you need? That depends on the activities, accommodation arrangements, food etc. but a general rule for me is about 40€/ day (rounded down to 1,200,000 VDN). You can see the 3 day breakdown on the bottom but for reference a smoothy is around 3,50€ (105,000 VDN), 1L of water 40 cent (12,000 VDN), a lunch around 4,30€ (130,000 VDN), museums are 1,30€ (40,000 VDN).
What to see in and around HCMC
Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) is the biggest city in the country. Back when it was called Saigon it was smaller but after the Vietnam war more areas were added and the city was renamed after the last communist leader. Therefore you have plenty to see but as a tourist mostly district 1 will be of interest for you.The places I can recommend are:
How to get around
By foot if in district 1! The traffic is crazy but once you start walking the cars & scooters will take care to let you through.
- Bui Vien Walking Street & Nguyen Hue - simply because they are in the middle of the city and close to lots of different place
- War Remnants Museum - you'll need about 1,5h to get through everything but it's very informative and helps you to understand the history of the city & country better
- HCMC Book Street - the street is fairly small but there are a few cafes and of course book stores
- Main Post Office - I read that people loved the architecture but I personally disagree. I did however find most of my souvenirs there for a reasonable price
- Statue of Ho Chi Minh & Bung Binh Cay Lieu
- Day Trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels - I booked a group tour for 12€ and loved the experience!
- Tan Dinh Church
- Vietnamese National Budist Temple
- Ben Thanh Gallery
- Chua Phuoc Hai
- Jade Emperor Pagoda
- Chua Van Phat
- Ben Nha Rong
- Sky Deck - unfortunately light reflected from everywhere and it was hard to take nice pictures from there (price: 240,000 VDN)
- Independence Place - It's fine to look at but truly nothing special (price: 40,000 VDN)
- Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon - currently under construction
- % Arabica - it's a famous cafe building but honestly there are far more charming cafes in the city
- Duong Hoa Nguyen Hue - super underwhelming and nothing like the pictures online (it might just be seasonal and November is not the season…)
- Ben Thanh Market - you will easily feel like there are too many people and vendors around. Most aren't real prices and people decide the prices themselves but the sales people are very pushy and the quality of most products is super cheap
How to get around
By foot if in district 1! The traffic is crazy but once you start walking the cars & scooters will take care to let you through.Where to eat and drink
- Juicy
- Little HaNoi Egg Coffee
- Pure Bowl
Places if had on my list but didn't go because I didn't have time:
Good To Know Facts:
- Roots Plant Based Cafe
- Oasis Cafe
Good To Know Facts:
- Cash is king here! You won't get around much with your credit card
- Traffic is crazy and you have to be brave to cross the streets. Watch and learn from the locals - it gets easy pretty quickly!
- Food poison is a thing here!! As a vegetarian I already avoid most of it (especially undercooked or mishandled meat) but know that you should always look for places with sinks... It's very common that all dishes & glasses are being watched in a bucket THE WHOLE DAY. Imagine the plate you eat from was washed with the same water a chicken was washed with previously (before cooking).
- Only drink bottled water & be cautious with ice cubes in drinks - if they are made from tap water, chances are they will upset your stomach
- Using toilet paper is not as common in Asian countries - don't expect to have it in all bathrooms & for the ones which do, the toilet paper has to be thrown in the bin (not flushed!) as the pipes are not meant them. I can recommend to always have a pack of tissues with you or alternatively get/ make yourself a Kula Cloth
Budget breakdown:
This breakdown is based on an 8 day trip and as we were two people, the prices for the activities & accommodation are per person - the flight cost is based on flights from Bangkok to HCMC & Da Nang (including a penalty fee as the last flight had to be changed due to weather conditions).
Bare in mind that I didn't go to food stalls (only restaurants) otherwise food expenses would be way cheaper.
Hopefully your trip won't end up the emergency room (though while I was there most others were there due to food poisoning) - that's the main portion of "Other" cost in Da Nang.
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