Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City travel guide
Ho Chi Minh City is a city in Vietnam, home to about 14,003,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- SGN7 km · Tan Son Nhat International Airport
- Currency
- VNDVietnamese đồng
- Time zone
- Asia/Ho Chi Minh
- Language
- Vietnamese
About
About Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon, is the most populous city and centrally-governed city of Vietnam, with a population of more than 14 million in 2025. Its geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is the Saigon River.
Following the fall of Saigon in 1975, Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. However the old name Saigon is still widely used by both Vietnamese and foreigners, especially when referring to the most central part of the city to which most tourists flock. Although the capital of a united Vietnam is Hanoi in the north, Ho Chi Minh City remains Vietnam's main economic and financial centre.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Ho Chi Minh City
See
- People's Committee Hall
- Ho Chi Minh Museum
- Museum of Vietnamese History
- Independence Palace
- War Remnants Museum
- Southern Women’s Museum
- FITO Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine
- The Geological Museum of Vietnam
- Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts
- Saigon Opera House
- Ton Duc Thang Museum
- The Venerable Thich Quảng Đức Monument
Do
- Dai Nam Tourist Park
- Dam Sen Water Park
- Happy Ending Massage Yuan
- Twenty-Three September Park
- Nguyen Hue Flower Street
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Ho Chi Minh City to stay in
Most hotels do not allow you to bring back a local female companion to stay overnight. However it's best to confirm guest policy as plenty of non-international chain hotels allow guests. The main backpacker hangout is Pham Ngu Lao in District 1, just a short walk (10-15 min) from Ben Thanh Market. The lanes and alleys in the area between Pham Ngu Lao and Bui Vien are jammed with 5-10 room mini-hotels offering prices around US$15 per room (air-con with hot shower and cable TV). There is no difference in price between single or double occupancy so if you are traveling alone you might want to try finding a dorm bed for around US$6 (but there are not many of them around.)
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 34 °C; September is the wettest, with about 267 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Ho Chi Minh City: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN), about 7.3 km from the city centre in a straight line; Can Tho International Airport (VCA, 133 km) is also within reach.
Getting around
Getting around HCMC can be a challenge: traffic slows to a crawl for most of the day, the heat and chaotic streets make walking long distances impractical, and the public transport system has not kept up with the city's explosive growth. Ho Chi Minh City's first metro line opened in December 2024, connecting Ben Thanh Market in the city center with Suối Tiên and the Eastern Bus Terminus in the northeast. While it's only mildly useful for short hops around the city center now, a full network of eight lines is planned for the future. Tickets are distance-based, ranging from 7,000 to 20,000 VND.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
SGN · Tan Son Nhat International Airport
VCA · Can Tho International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Ho Chi Minh City
Eat
You're spoiled for choice in Saigon, which offers the country's largest variety of Vietnamese and international food. Bargains are getting harder to find, however, and restaurant prices have been rising at up to 30% per year due to a combination of higher food prices, rising wages, and soaring real estate costs. Land in the city centre now sells for around US$16,000/m2, so even a modest-sized restaurant sits on real estate worth more than US$1 million. Authentic local food at bargain prices is one of the glories of Vietnam, but it's getting harder to find in Saigon as the city becomes ever more upscale and cosmopolitan. The local food shows influences from French colonial times.
Drink
Vietnam is the world's second largest exporter of coffee after Brazil, and cà phê is very popular among the Vietnamese. It's a paradise for coffee-loving visitors. The local style is strong and sweet; key words to remember are: sữa (sweetened condensed milk), đá (ice), and nóng (hot, pronounced "nowm"). Cà phê đá is strong, sweet iced coffee; and cà phê sữa đá is the same with condensed milk. Cà phê (sữa) nóng is brewed fresh on your table brewed in a little metal apparatus placed over a cup; just lift it off when it has cooled enough to touch (and hence drink). Prices range from 10,000 to 20,000 dong for coffee in the local style.
Stay safe
In general, Ho Chi Minh City is a safe city, with violent crimes such as armed robbery being relatively rare. The most common crimes faced by tourists are pickpocketing and snatch theft from motorbikes. Scam artists operate on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. A person will strike up a friendly conversation claiming they've either seen you at the airport or some other tourist place where they work. Usually they'll be with other family members who will join the conversation very naturally and once they find out where you're from they'll mention that another family member is moving to a city in your country.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Ho Chi Minh City: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Ho Chi Minh City?
Ho Chi Minh City has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 34 °C; September is the wettest, with about 267 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Ho Chi Minh City?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN), about 7.3 km from the city centre in a straight line; Can Tho International Airport (VCA, 133 km) is also within reach.
What currency is used in Ho Chi Minh City?
Vietnamese đồng (VND).
Nearby
Destinations near Ho Chi Minh City
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.