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Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon, is a huge metropolis in terms of both population and land area. It’s also a popular tourist destination. I’ve been living in Ho Chi Minh City for nearly a decade, and the thing I love most about the city is how much depth it has.
That is, you can’t see all the city has to offer without a bit of exploration. You have to delve deeper into the local community to find the best things to do in the city. Unfortunately, that can create issues for tourists who want to truly experience what HCMC has to offer.
The most difficult thing about visiting Ho Chi Minh City is that the best places to go in Saigon are very spread out. This is in contrast to, say, Hanoi, where nearly all of the interesting sights and attractions – even the hidden Hanoi hotspots that most tourists never encounter – are more or less clustered in a small city center. Instead, lots of the most quintessential Ho Chi Minh City experiences are spread across a large area.
In this guide, I’ll go over 9 experiences to seek out in Saigon that will show you the city in a more authentic and colorful light than the usual Ho Chi Minh City tourist attractions you’ll read about in most guidebooks. Many of them are places that locals I befriended took me to visit. Others are places I found by combing through social media groups frequented by expats and English-speaking Vietnamese.
Top 9 Off-The-Beaten-Track Things to Do in Ho Chi Minh City
Before discussing each of my 9 picks in greater detail, let me provide a quick reference guide, with details for each attraction, including the average spend for 1 person.
1. Ho Thi Ky Street Food Market for Street Food
Eating street food is one of the most popular things to do in Ho Chi Minh City. All the most popular Vietnamese street food dishes are available near the tourist center of District 1, but there are a few streets in the city that offer a street food experience beyond anything District 1 can offer. My favorite food street in Ho Chi Minh City is Ho Thi Ky Food Street in District 10.
Ho Thi Ky is located in an alley that stretches between Hung Vuong and Ly Thai To, two of the biggest streets in District 10. Even though the alley is relatively narrow, it’s completely lined on either side with street food vendors.
The throngs of street food explorers, the bright lights, the exotic and delicious-looking foods displayed at every stall, and the mouth-watering aroma of it all give it a “carnival midway” feel, unlike anything I’ve experienced elsewhere on my travels. One of the aspects that put it above other food walking streets for me is the fact that the thin, crowded alley has almost no vehicle traffic.
My favorite part about Ho Thi Ky Food Street, though, is the sheer variety of street foods, many of which I had never (and still have not) seen elsewhere. The sea snail shells stuffed with a mixture of ground pork, snail meat, mushrooms, and lemongrass were one of my favorites, as were the tiny cups of fried quail egg, fragrant herbs, and dried shrimp. Or the stewed strawberries with chili sugar and ice. Or the kiwi-flavored panna cotta. I could go on for paragraphs.
In my opinion, Ho Thi Ky Food Street is the best place in Saigon to soak up the urban hustle and bustle while filling up on incredible food for less than 200k VND in total. Go between 6:00 pm and 9:30 pm for the best experience.
Note: Ho Thi Ky Market is divided into two alleys that run parallel to each other: the food street and the flower street. The flower street is pretty cool too, as it displays a greater variety of bouquets than you’ve likely ever seen. Make sure to visit both streets!
A few of the best food streets in Saigon besides Ho Thi Ky are:
- Xom Chieu Street in District 4
- Van Kiep Street in Binh Thanh District
- Nguyen Thuong Hien Street in District 3
2. Saigon Riverfront Park for Skyline Views
The best place to view the Ho Chi Minh City Skyline is hidden from sight for most tourists and is basically free to visit.
Venture down to Vo Van Kiet Street in District 1, pass through Thu Thiem Tunnel, and then turn off the highway to reach Saigon Riverfront Park.
The park is situated along the riverfront, and there are rows upon rows of plastic chairs and tables where you can sit and gaze at the incredible cityscape on the other side. Lots of tall buildings adorned with colorful lights cast their reflections on the river. Crowds of pedestrians and motorbikes mill back and forth in between them, which makes the relaxed atmosphere of the park feel even more special.
There is no price of admission, but you’ll be asked to order a drink from one of the vendors at the park. There is no established cafe or restaurant at the park, so you’ll have to choose from a soft drink, a beer, an instant coffee, fresh coconut water, or, my favorite, pineapple juice mixed with ginseng and lots of milk (sâm dứa sữa).
You might expect such a picturesque spot to be crowded with tourists and to be a bit on the pricier side. But, believe it or not, I didn’t see a single other tourist there the few times I’ve gone, and the drinks range in price from 25-50k VND. Not only is this a premier place to view the Ho Chi Minh City skyline in all its living colors, but it’s also a fantastic place to experience a relaxing evening out as a local would.
3. Dam Sen Park for People-Watching
Dam Sen Water Park in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 11 is an often-overlooked day trip for tourists looking to have a fun and authentic urban Vietnamese experience.
While waterparks are usually built outside of cities to save on land costs, Dam Sen Park is located smack dab in the midst of the urban sprawl of Saigon. That means it’s very easy to get to, even for those spending only a short time in Saigon.
The urban location of the Park also means it’s very crowded, especially on holidays and weekends. It might even be a bit much for those who get easily overstimulated. For me, though, and I’m guessing for many readers who love Vietnam, it makes for some of the best “people watching” (which is a favorite pastime for many urbanites worldwide) that I’ve ever encountered.
You’ll see locals from every walk of life, from families wearing matching swimsuit sets and trekking up the tall flights of stone steps to one of the Park’s many waterslides to teenage girls making the “duck face” and taking selfies to small boys running in circles and shooting super soakers at each other to elderly couples holding hands as they bob down the lazy river on innertubes. The most magical part about the Park is that absolutely everyone is smiling.
The park is also a great way to beat the heat, which is a much-appreciated perk in Saigon since the most common complaint by tourists visiting the city is the high heat and humidity levels, especially during summer months. The lazy river and the wave pools are especially good for cooling off, especially since there’s no wait.
Food is available at Dam Sen Park for surprisingly low prices, though they are a bit higher than what you’d expect outside.
Park admission is only 220k VND for adults and 180k for kids. Hours are 8:00 am until 6:00 pm, though they stop selling tickets at 4:30.
4. Xuan Thuy Street for Traffic-Free Walking Street Atmosphere
Bui Vien Walking Street in District 1 is perhaps the most famous thing to do in Ho Chi Minh City for first-time tourists. It’s loud, it’s crowded, and it’s about as hedonistic as you can get without visiting Macau or Las Vegas. It’s fun to see once, but most tourists will probably get tired of it quickly unless they’re in Ho Chi Minh City for the nightlife scene.
On my most recent trip to Saigon, a friend of mine introduced me to what I feel is a decidedly more relaxing walking street located on Xuan Thuy Street in Thao Dien, the city’s largest expat haven in District 2. Starting in early 2024, the City began closing Xuan Thuy off to vehicle traffic on Fridays and Saturdays starting at 7 pm and until 2 am.
The street is lined with restaurants, bars, cafes, and street food vendors. They’re lively and colorful, and many of them play pop music out of speakers. It’s nowhere near as noisy or raucous as Bui Vien, though, with music being kept to a moderate volume and no smoke machines or lasers as you see in front of many storefronts on Bui Vien. At the end of the street is a river walk with some great skyline views and a variety of sellers from pottery studios to souvenir shops. Prices tend to be moderately high.
Xuan Thuy Walking Street is also a lot less crowded than Bui Vien, at least for now. It doesn’t draw giant crowds of drunken party-goers like Bui Vien; instead, you’re more likely to see families (both local and foreign), small friend groups, and couples. You will see people enjoying cocktails and barbecue, but it will probably be a quiet gathering rather than a loud party.
The pedestrian-only part of Xuan Thuy Street is not too long – less than a km – but it’s a leisurely way to spend an evening while enjoying some upscale urban atmosphere.
5. Saigon Waterbus Trip to Binh Quoi Park for Relaxation
Unless they’re up for spending 380k plus the money for an expensive meal on a Saigon River dinner cruise, most tourists to Ho Chi Minh City don’t actually get out on the water. But on a recent trip to Ho Chi Minh, I found that there’s a way to get out onto the river for only 15k. I also felt that it was a more pleasant experience than the crowded and overcommercialized dinner cruises.
The Saigon Waterbus leaves from Bach Dang Pier, which is right across from the Rex Hotel and Nguyen Hue promenade in District 1. The terminal itself is very nice, with several clean but busy cafes to go to and plenty of seats to wait at if you don’t want to buy anything.
Most of the buses go to Binh Dan in District 2, Thanh Da in Binh Thanh District, Hiep Binh Chanh in Thu Duc District, and Linh Dong in Thu Duc District. It’s important to make sure the route you buy tickets for goes to your intended destination because some of them are express routes that skip certain stops.
Note that the schedule for the waterbus is a little weird, though. The buses do not run every day and the tickets sometimes sell out hours before a waterbus leaves, so I’d recommend going to the station the day of your ride and buying tickets then.
My favorite place to go on the Saigon Waterbus is Thanh Da. The ride takes just over 30 minutes. It’s a good amount of time to take in the iconic sites you’ll float past, from a pair of impressively engineered bridges to Landmark 81, the tallest building in Ho Chi Minh City. Feeling the cool river breeze in my hair as I saw the city from a new perspective is one of my most memorable Saigon experiences.
Thanh Da itself is an island. It is connected to mainland Binh Thanh district by a huge bridge, but it’s still quieter and slightly less crowded than most of the city. And although the area is by no means wealthy, it is home to what I think is the nicest park in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Quoi Park. Binh Quoi is divided into a few sections, but all of them are very well-maintained and are a good place to enjoy some genuinely nice green space in Saigon. Park admission is free, and there is a buffet where adults can eat for 270k (150k for kids). The park is open on Fridays-Sundays and holidays.
A good way to cap off a trip to Thanh Da is by eating at Nha Hang Phong Cua, one of the most famous seafood restaurants in Saigon. The restaurant has both fully indoor and open-air areas. Their specialty is crab, though all of the seafood is very fresh and in most cases, you can actually go up to the tanks at the front of the restaurant and pick out what you want.
6. 42 Nguyen Hue Cafe Apartment for French Colonial Architecture
42 Nguyen Hue is a bit higher-profile than most other items in this article since it’s one of the tallest buildings in the center of Nguyen Hue Promenade (a tourist hotspot), but it’s still not talked about nearly as much as it should be considering how uniquely beautiful it is.
The building is a nine-story apartment block that was built while the French occupied Saigon. Nowadays, each apartment houses a cute little shop. Tenants include:
- A bookstore on the entire ground floor
- Cute cafes serving Vietnamese coffee, milk tea, and ice cream
- Speakeasy-style bars
- Clothing boutiques
- A UK-style tea house
- Co-working spaces
- Salons
- An Indian food restaurant
The shops change hands often so publishing an up-to-date directory online is tricky. My advice is to stand on Nguyen Hue, look up at the building, and see for yourself what shop fronts there are to choose from. Alternately, enter the building and use the old stone staircase to explore each floor to see what they have to offer.
7. Phuoc Long Pagoda for an Authentic Adventure
This expedition out into the deep suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City is ideal for those who want to get away from the chaos of the city center to have an authentic cultural experience. District 9 is perhaps the sleepiest district of Saigon, and Phuoc Long Pagoda is located at the very far end of the district, in the middle of the Dong Nai River.
Just the trip out to the pagoda is an experience. It’s a cool experience to watch the inner city trimmings of Saigon gradually fade away and give way to dirt roads, patches of forest, and old ladies selling fruit by the side of the road. The ride should take about 45 minutes by taxi from District 1. If you’re able to drive a motorbike, though, I’d highly recommend driving yourself and taking a more scenic route that avoids the highway.
Once you arrive at the bank of the Dong Nai River, you’ll need to take a ferry to the island with Phuoc Long Pagoda on it. An old hand-paddled boat runs to and from the pagoda constantly during the day every day except holidays. Tickets cost 20k VND each way.
The pagoda itself is lively and colorful, like something you would expect to see in the Vietnam section of Disneyworld’s Epcot Center. It’s not as sprawling as some of the Vietnamese pagodas I visited, but it was one of the most spectacular. It also has an added feeling of quiet and serenity since it’s on an island.
8. Crescent Mall Promenade for an Evening Stroll
Most Ho Chi Minh City tourists never get the chance to visit District 7, but it’s a hotspot for expats because of how beautiful parts of the district are. It has lots of parks and quiet avenues, and maybe the most gorgeous part of all is the walking promenade on Ton Dat Tien Street outside Crescent Mall.
Note: Ton Dat Tien Street continues on the other side of the river. Make sure you start your walk on the Crescent Mall side!
The promenade is at its nicest on Friday and Saturday evenings. During that time, it’s closed off to traffic and is lit with soft multi-colored lights that reflect off the river running along one side of the promenade to create a dreamy effect. The promenade leads to Starlight Bridge, a walking bridge with a rainbow of differently-colored lights lining it and cascades of water pouring from the bridge into the river.
On the other side of Starlight Bridge is one of the best-kept parks in the city. The park contains narrow stone paths leading over small ponds and weaving in between grassy hills where you can sit and watch the stars. It also has an area where children can cheaply rent electric scooters, rollerblades, or hoverboards to putter around.
9. An Dong Market for Shopping
Most tourists in Saigon are told Ben Thanh Market is a great place to buy souvenirs and local goods, but it’s actually way overpriced and not exactly authentic. In my travels, I’ve found An Dong Market in District 5 is the best place to actually shop.
An Dong has that crowded, chaotic feel you want from an authentic Ho Chi Minh City local market experience. Despite that, though, the multi-level market is still orderly enough to where you can find what you want. There’s a floor dedicated to food goods (including cooked street food, dried foods, and produce), a floor for clothes, and a floor for artisanal goods.
The food floor is my favorite. It offers a bigger selection than Ben Thanh when it comes to prepared food, and the prices are nowhere near as high. The dried goods selection is also fantastic, with more jerkies, preserved fruits, and Vietnamese candies than you could consume in a lifetime. I highly recommend trying the khô bò, Vietnamese spiced beef jerky.
The artisan’s floor is a great place to buy souvenirs. They have small metal sculptures of cyclos and other icons of Saigon, chopstick boxes with hand carvings on them, rolls of Vietnamese calligraphy art, and much more. I got all of my gifts for people back home on this floor.
Surrounding the parking lot of the market are several stalls, including a few tailors specializing in the traditional Vietnamese dress áo dài. If you want to get a souvenir that you or a lucky recipient can wear, this is one of the best places to do it. The áo dài you get here will be custom-made and will require several fitting sessions over a few days, so make sure you’ll be in Saigon for a few more days if you buy one.
As I said earlier, my favorite thing about Ho Chi Minh City is its many layers. There are lots of Saigon attractions for first-time visitors to access, but I feel like I am able to “peel off another layer” and find more new things to do every time I go back. I hope this guide will help the more adventurous among you to peel off a few layers at once and get right to the best activities in Ho Chi Minh City.
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Posted NOV 22, 2024
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