Ho Chi Minh City was the fourth stop during our whistle-stop two weeks in Vietnam and I’d allowed just over full two days here. I was already regretting not finding more time to tour this incredible country. We could have spent a lot longer in our last stop, Hoi An. So was three nights enough in Ho Chi Minh City?
We loved a lot of things about our time here. But I’ll be honest and say HCMC didn’t grab me like Hanoi did. It’s a modern city with a lot of western influences. History has a huge part to play in that and we had the opportunity to explore some of this during our stay.
In this post I’m sharing our Ho Chi Minh City itinerary and why we think that three nights was just right.
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About Ho Chi Minh City
Is it Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon? When we were flying from Da Nang our tickets said Ho Chi Minh City but the airport staff told us we were flying to Saigon.
The names are used interchangeably everywhere. But why?
During our stay we were told the Southern Vietnamese prefer the pre-unification name and only use HCMC on official paperwork.
Saigon was the capital of French Indonesia in the 19th and 20th Centuries and the hub for western forces during what’s known here as the American War. The city’s modernisation came after Vietnam’s reunification but the colonel influences remained.
Immediately noticeable as you walk around are the pavements. These are few and far between in Hanoi where everyone shares the same thoroughfares. High rise office blocks and commercial boulevards dominate the city centre. If you enjoy shopping there are department stores and plenty of designer brands.
This makes HCMC feel very familiar to western visitors. If you’re looking for authentic Vietnam, it’s a little more difficult to find.
What Ho Chi Minh is great for is being a launch pad for seeing the Cu Chi Tunnels and Mykong Delta if you’re short on time.
What to do in Ho Chi Minh City in three days
Here’s what we got up to during our three days and nights in Ho Chi Minh City:
Day one in Saigon
After two days in Hoi An we caught a flight from Da Nang and landed at Tan Son Nhat International Airport early in the afternoon.
We had planned to visit the War Remnants Museum, which was just a short walk from our hotel, but a storm came in and forced us to delay going out until the evening.
By this time the museum was closed so we decided to delay our education about the war until another day.
Instead, we booked a Grab taxi to explore the pedestrianised streets around District 1 and found ourselves outside the Bitexco Financial Tower, which has an observation deck. After going up the Lotus Tower in Sri Lanka the summer before we thought it would be fun to see Saigon from above.
Bitexco Financial Tower Sky Deck
The tower was built in 2010 and ranks number five in CNN’s 25 most iconic towers in the world.
It is easy to spot on Ho Chi Minh City’s skyline as it has a circular platform suspended three quarters of the way up. This is not the Sky Deck, as I’d mistakenly thought, but a helicopter pad for the international finance corporations based here.
The Sky Deck is on the 49th floor, 178 meters up, and has 360 degree views of the city.
There’s also a cafe, interactive displays, photo props and free telescopes. This made the experience much more interesting for the kids as they were able to spot landmarks and find out more about them.
Tickets to the Sky Deck cost 240,000 VND (about £7.50) per adult and 160,000 VND (about £4.90) per child under 12. Under 4s are free. This was a third of the price it cost us to go up the Lotus Tower in Columbo and was much more interesting.
Day two in Ho Chi Minh City
In Hanoi, Train Street had been top of the girl’s Vietnam wish list. While we were in Ho Chi Minh City the Cu Chi Tunnels was a non-negotiable for Mr Tin Box.
I wasn’t sure how family-friendly the war tunnels would be so decided to add a sweetener for the kids, and book a tour that included the Mekong Delta where there would be boat rides, cycling and a yummy lunch included.
We booked our day trip through TNK Travel which tour company covering a lot of South East Asia. We had a greta experience with them and would book again next time we are in the region.
We chose a small group tour of up to 10 people and got lucky that there were only seven of us. This made it feel more personal.
Similar tours for large and small groups are available through Get Your Guide*.
It was a long day out and despite initial protests at the 6.30am pick up time, the tour was a hit with our girls.
They particularly loved the Horrible Histories-style information our guide Khôi provided at the war tunnels; man traps and all.
The Cu Chi Tunnels
Vietnam’s famous war tunnel complex stretches 250km from the Cambodian border to HCMC. Some cafes in the city have hidden entrances put there by the owners’ grandparents during the war.
It took us two hours to drive from the city to the Ben Dinh tunnels visitor centre, which really brought home the scale of the underground network.
The Ben Dinh tunnels are one of two complexes open for visitors. Jenny and Jay from Travelynn Family visited the Ben Duoc tunnel complex a few weeks before.
Khôi began by taking us on a walk around the jungle above the tunnels, showing us air holes that had been disguised as termite hills, secret hatches and the resources the Vietnamese fighters used, often recycling bomb shells and discarded American equipment.
Old tyres were used to make the ‘Ho Chi Minh sandal’ that tricked enemies into thinking you were walking in the opposite direction.
We then had a chance to stoop through one of the tunnels. In reality these are not exactly like they would have been in the 20th Century. Khôi explained that have been made at least two times larger than the originals because visitors kept getting stuck. There’s also a ‘soldier’ guiding you through to ensure safety.
The tunnel at Ben Dinh for tourists is 100m long with shafts to the surface every 20m. Our 11-year-old made it 40m, I made it to 60m and Mr Tin Box and our nine-year-old followed the soldier all the way to the end.
After the tunnel we visited the field kitchen where we tried tapioca dipped in sugar and chilli. This carbohydrate-rich root was a diet staple for the soldiers as it was easy to harvest underground.
We were glad we were on a guided tour as there was a lot to see hidden along the winding jungle paths. We spent two hours looking around and where on the road again at 10.45am just as lots of other tours were arriving.
From the tunnels we travelled another two hours to the Mekong Delta for the next part of our day trip from Ho Chi Minh City.
Read more about our visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels at Ben Dinh.
Mykong Delta
An afternoon is by no means the optimum amount of time to explore the Mekong Delta but our tour gave us a taste of life at the end of the world’s 12th longest river.
We took a ferry from My Tho across the muddy-looking Mekong River to Bentre Provence.
A huge dark cloud chased us over the water and let go of its load in a crash of thunder. At this point I was fearing the worst with the girls as it was past lunchtime and we were getting wet, albeit with warm rain.
Thankfully our first stop was a coconut sweet factory where we were able to sample the confectionary. Mr Tin Box also braved a shot of snake wine.
Next we hopped on a tuk tuk to a village where we ate the most enormous spread of fish, rice, noodles and spring rolls.
This was followed by an insight into the different businesses in the area, from fishing to breeding crocodiles for export to China.
We had to forego the usual cycle around the village because of the pouring rain but were able to feed the crocodiles and cat fish (dinner for the crocs) before boarding a sampan boat for a ride around the palm-lined waterways.
Next we hopped on another sampan to Unicorn Island. The four islands in this part of the Delta are named after significant creatures for the Vietnamese. As well as Unicorn Island there’s Tortoise, Phoenix and Dragon Island.
Unicorn Island is the largest. Here we tasted tropical fruits while listening to folk music and visited a honey farm were the bees were incredibly placid.
The farm also breeds boa snakes, which the nine-year-old was keen to meet after handling one in Sri Lanka the previous summer.
I honestly thought the tropical storm might have messed with the kid’s’ mojo but they only grumbled the tiniest bit at the end of the day when they realised they were soaked through.
This day trip is touristy with stops at places where it is hoped you’ll buy something. But we never felt pressured into doing so.
Day three in Ho Chi Minh City
Day two had been so full on that we decided to treat ourselves to a slower start and some sightseeing in the city.
War Remnants Museum
This museum was just a short walk from our hotel and, after being rained off on day one of our stay in Ho Chi Minh City, I was keen that we visited here first.
We’d all learnt a lot about the American War the day before, so it felt like a good place to continue the history lesson.
However, we’d been spoilt by Khôi who used humour and interesting facts to explain what is a very sobering subject.
In contrast the museum was dated and disjointed. It didn’t hold the girls’ interest for long.
Having said that, the photography exhibition was heart-stopping and the recreated torture chambers outside were brutally realistic.
But this is not an interactive museum for children, aside from the kids area on the top floor. Adults can take turns entertaining little ones here while their partner takes in the exhibits elsewhere. There’s dressing up boxes and toys.
We were done after an hour including an ice cream break at the cafe.
If you want to find out more about this Saigon attraction I’d recommend reading Travelynn Family’s guide to visiting the War Remnants Museum.
Entry to the War Remnants Museum won’t break the bank. It’s 40,000 VND (about £1.20) for adults and 20,000 VND (about 60p) for under 16s. If you’re travelling with teens they’ll get more out of it.
Shopping in Ho Chi Minh City
With two pre-teens we weren’t going to get away with bypassing Ho Chi Minh City’s shops.
If you want to visit a market Ben Thanh in District 3 is the most famous in the city. There’s clothes, souvenirs and food to be bagged but don’t expect to do much haggling like you might in Hanoi’s commercial streets. Most stalls have signs saying ‘fixed price’.
Just around the corner is a modern shopping mall – the Saigon Centre.
This is small by Middle East standards but with cheaper prices than in Oman where we live. So we didn’t mind spending a bit of money on Zogg swimming goggles, pool toys and a new rash vest for the nine-year-old – all handy to have ahead of or next destination, Phu Quoc.
Street food challenge
To mark our last evening in HCMC we visited Bến Nghé Street Food Market, not far from our hotel.
There’s around 30 food stalls here selling various street food. It’s worth saying the prices aren’t street food prices. Main meals were between 100,000 and 190,000 VND (£3 to £5.80).
After buying spring rolls as starters we sat down and challenged the girls to buy the rest of our meal.
They loved this and dashed off to find fulfil our main course requests for a pork dish (we were making the most of its availability outside the Middle East) and a ‘weird’ dish. The girls came back with barbecued pork ribs and rice, and something they called a ‘squidy thing’.
They were particularly excited about dessert as they’d been eyeing up a stall while finding the other courses. I was presented with a huge mango ice cream and the girls shared an Oreo milkshake and mound of shaved ice.
It’s safe to say Bến Nghé Street Food was a huge hit despite being relatively pricey.
Want to find out about more attractions and places to visit in Saigon? I can recommend reading this guide to Ho Chi Minh City with kids by Travelynn Family.
Where we stayed
We spent our three nights in Ho Chi Minh City at Orchids Saigon Hotel* in District 3. It is walking distance from the War Remnants Museum, Bến Nghé Street Food and the Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon.
One of the reasons I chose this hotel was because it had a swimming pool. Our girls always ask if I’ve booked a hotel with a pool, even if we’re staying in a city. So finding one seemed like a bonus. It was also handy for downtime in-between sightseeing.
If this is a must for you then check out Orchids Hotel*.
However, if you want to stay somewhere with character then this place isn’t for you. It is also used for business meetings and conferences, so has a corporate vibe.
Orchids Hotel doesn’t have connecting or family rooms but we were given rooms next to each other as requested when we booked. The rooms were comfortable and had everything we needed.
Breakfast was a large buffet with plenty of choice. There was an excursions deck in the main reception but no one was pushing tours.
Check availability for Orchids Hotel Saigon*.
Summing up our three nights in Ho Chi Minh City
There’s part of me that wished we’re reversed our 14 day Vietnam itinerary and started in the south. I think I would have enjoyed Ho Chi Minh City more this way round.
For me it didn’t feel different enough to other cities we have visited around the world, so three nights in Ho Chi Minh City was enough for us.
I don’t think our choice of hotel helped either. There was nothing wrong with it and we enjoyed having the small pool area to relax in, but it was very corporate and impersonal. Once inside, we could have been anywhere.
We enjoyed the Sky Deck and our fun dinner at Bến Nghé Street Food Market. And our day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels and Mykong Delta was the absolute highlight.
We also learnt a lot from Khôi, not least that the Vietnamese language is complex. Get your inflection wrong and there’s a fine line between saying ‘thank you’ and ‘shut up’!
On that note, I will shut up. The final on our two week journey from north to South Vietnam was Phu Quoc.
More reading about Vietnam travel
Ho Chi Minh City was the fourth stop during our 14 day Vietnam itinerary which started in Hanoi, including an excursion to the famous Train Street, and then moved on to Ha Long Bay for a two night cruise.
Our third stop was colourful Hoi An for three nights and from there we flew to Ho Chi Minh City.
Our final destination was the island of Phu Quoc where we stayed at a family-friendly five star beach resort.
You can catch up with the rest of our trip by checking out my Instagram account where there are three Stories about our two weeks in Vietnam.
Usually I’d also recommend the Lonely Planet’s destination guide to help you plan your trip, but I bought the Vietnam 2023 edition and was a bit disappointed. A lot of the information was generic and I spotted several mistakes.
I’d suggest trying the Rough Guide* or Eyewitness travel guide* instead.
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links marked with *. If you click on one of these and make a purchase I may earn some commission. This does not affect the price you pay.