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Most normal human beings will be sitting down to a Turkey Dinner next Thursday. I’ll instead be on a plane with Won’t Run (aka the Traveling Music Man) flying to Vietnam! That’s alright with me – I’m very excited.
I’ll be heading over to the NYC office of the Vietnamese Consulate this morning to pick up my passport, which should now have a single-entry visa in it. $80 just to put one toe in the country. The process was fairly easy – read this post by James Dozer about Vietnam Visas. Although Vietnam recently re-instituted the Visa on Arrival, it still seems too uncertain to rely on it, so I opted to apply for the more traditional (and more expensive) single-entry Visa directly from the Consulate. It helps that there’s an office in New York City, so I didn’t have to go through the trauma of putting my passport in the mail. The only downside to using the NYC Consular office is that the fee must be paid in cash. I believe that the DC office accepts credit cards.
Anyway, I’m psyched!
I’m looking forward to staying at the Saigon Park Hyatt. I’m sure that it is exquisite!
Other than the hotel, not much is planned. I assume we’ll go for a few tours – perhaps the Mekong Delta and the Ci Chu Tunnels. And I can’t wait to eat all that delicious food – maybe we’ll even go on a street food tour.
I usually just rely on the local wifi when I travel – but last night at a Travel Massive event, I won (YES, I WON!) free data for my next trip from KNOWROAMING!
So, I’m asking you for any and all suggestions you might have for how to spend four days in Ho Chi Minh City. Reasonably priced sightseeing, restaurants, tours, travel, money, shopping – you name it. If you used any specific tour companies, or tour guides, I’d appreciate that information too. If you loved or hated any restaurants, I’d like to know. Are certain sights must-sees, or are they too commercial or not worth the bother? Any practical tips on what we should bring or buy, or even what we should be wary of? Are there any pretty places, such as parks, to run or just stroll?
I am looking forward to reading your suggestions. If you wrote a travel blog post, feel free to include it in your comments.
Thank you so much!
A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
My wife (Saigon native), three children and I went to Saigon last summer for 3 weeks! I am totally jealous, you will have a great time. One of the highlights of the trip for us was going on XO Tours which basically will take you on a motor scooter driven by local female guides. Before you think what I know you are thinking….seriously check it out. My wife and our good friends (which included several woman) all spoke glowingly of this tour. They do a food tour at night…pretty fun.
If you do the Mekong delta, plan on doing an overnight one to Cantho, that way you can do the Cai Rang floating market. You will not be disappointed! Saigon has a huge Chinatown as well, called Cholon. Extremely crowded there. Street food everywhere you go, just exercise minor caution (no ice, only bottle stuff, etc) and you will be fine! I could go on and on….but that is probably enough.
If you have any questions or want to bounce ideas, send me an email!
Rooftop bar at the Rex Hotel for drinks. As a Nelson DeMille fan I traced the steps of John Corey in the book Up Country as he went back to Saigon on a mission. Corey rendezvoused with an agent up there, book is worth reading for some local intel and flavor for the city.
That’s so funny – I was just reading a post about the ten top rooftop bars in Saigon and the Rex Hotel stuck out in my mind. Hmm, maybe I’ll get the Nelson Demille book…
I’m so glad this is working out for you! I loved the Cu Chi Tunnels and the Mekong Delta river tour. Highly recommend it. You can skip the city tour. Yelp works in HCMC so look up a bunch of local restaurants to try.
only went to Da Nang Hoi An and the Nam Hai hotel..It was a great trip and a wonderful cooking class on local foods!!
I love Chinese influences cuisine so I like all the restaurants located in district 5. It’s like your equivalent of Chinatown. There’s a great all you can eat Dim Sum place called Royal Garden in Parkson Hung Vuong plaza. It’s about $14 USD or $288,000 VND. If you get 4 people in a party they “gift” you a roasted Peking duck.
I love “Mi Vit Tiem” which is a noodle dish with herbal marinated duck. You can also find the best in district 5.
There are a couple of “beer clubs” rooftop bars which is great for the view, but often disappointing to me. The prices are marked way up, but only subpar.
Ah, another place that my aunt takes me to EVERY SINGLE TIME I come to visit called “Bình Quới 1” which is the original location and there is a “Bình Quới 2”. It’s an outdoor buffet style restaurant with most if not all traditional Vietnamese food. A great place to take pictures. You’ll see a lot of people strolling through with an entourage of photographers. I loved it the first two times, but of course it hasn’t changed in 8 years. I will once again make my appearance there in January when I go for Vietnamese New Years
I don’t know if we will overlap but have a great time. I am in the same boat as you. Booked months ago and completely forgot to plan it. Oh well. We are bouncing between hotels (PH/Sheraton/LM) and super excited. Did you get to use an SWU if you are AA EXP. Mine still have not cleared.