Saigon is a bright, vibrant, warm almost European city that is bursting at the seams with life. Between their full sized replica of the Notre Dame Cathedral and their bold and pervasive coffee culture, the influence of French colonialism is noticeable. The city is modern, safe and full of fun people while being dotted with palm trees and a tropical feel. Unlike many Asian cities it is stunningly clean and uncrowded with large open parks and pleasant walking, shopping and dining areas. If you were going to live somewhere as a US expat in Vietnam it would undoubtedly be Saigon.
In Saigon, we stayed at the Caravelle Saigon. The hotel was perfect. I honestly would not recommend any other place for your stay. This hotel is in the perfect location. It has fantastic amenities, nice rooms, excellent service (as you will find everywhere in Vietnam) and a wonderful roof top bar with live music. Right next door, if you walk out of Caravelle and make a right is a really nice German-style beer garden.
The Best Things to Do in Saigon
By far the best thing to do in Saigon is taking a tour on a Vespa – The best tour company is Vespa Adventures
One of the most immediately recognizable things about Vietnam, particularly Saigon, is the vast amount of motor bikes that make up the traffic in the country. There are almost no cars whatsoever in Vietnam’s major cities. Almost everyone gets around on motorbike or Vespa scooter. Their traffic laws and ability to navigate crowded city intersections on these bikes is astounding. Watching a guy with 14 chicken boxes strapped to the back of his bike, a baby on his lap, make a left hand turn from the far right lane while moving into oncoming traffic without even losing the ash off the front of his cigarette is one of the most impressive things you will ever see. There appears to be no rules, no lights, just utter chaos. 4 lanes of motorbike traffic will all converge at an intersection, no one will slow down, multiple lines of traffic will cross over onto the other side of the road and enter oncoming traffic and people will turn every which way across this intersection while oncoming traffic neither stops nor slows down. It seems utterly dangerous, but there’s this odd order to everything and no one seems panicked and no one hits each other. It’s like watching four separate swarms of bees merge and disperse without any of the bees touching each other.
I wouldn’t recommend renting your own motorbike. Without knowing the rules of this dangerous game, you’d have to have a death wish to drive one of these yourself. However, there is no better way to experience the city than to hop on the back of one of these vespas and enjoy the scenery while an experienced driver takes the wheel. Vespa Adventures have the most professional drivers imaginable. They are super careful while driving. And, the top speed throughout the city for everyone, not just the tours is about 15-20 mph. Everyone really is just going at a bicycle type speed so it seems a lot more dangerous than it actually is.
Vespa Adventures will take you on an evening eating and drinking tour throughout the city to some incredible places that you’d never go to on your own. You’ll enjoy food and drinks at an iconic noodle restaurant, a mom and pop spot that makes the most delicious homemade vietnamese pancakes, a seafood restuarant and then at least two different bars that feature live music. Live music is huge in Saigon and the acts are phenomenal. Don’t leave Vietnam without booking a tour with Vespa Adventures.
Mekong Delta
Take a trip down the famous Mekong Delta. These trips can seem a bit touristy as they whisk you from one tourist attraction along the river to another, but you can’t go to Vietnam without seeing the Mekong Delta. Riding along in a paddle boat through the Vietnamese Jungle is worth the trip alone, stopping at the little tourist traps where you’ll get to try local honey and snake wine are all part of the fun. Most tours will include a lunch and possibly even a dinner depending on how long your trip is. Moreover, there are some multi day tours also for the more adventurous.
We choose Ho Chi Minh City Urban Adventures to do our Mekong Delta Discovery Tour and couldn’t say enough good things about the experience. We were picked up by a lovely guide who drove us out to the Mekong Delta. From there we took a small boat ride to a local island to have a breakfast of fresh fruits, teas, coffees and homemade pastries while listening to local music. After that we were taken by boat and small cars to a series of local shops hidden within the jungles of the Mekong Delta, visiting a local coconut candy shop, a snake wine shop and a local apiary where they produced a very unique brand of honey. We ate lunch at a local outdoor, jungle restaurant, trying delicacies caught from the delta itself before sailing back down the Mekong river by rowing in a tiny Sampan. The tour was a fantastic way to see a large portion of the Mekong Delta. Please check out some of our photos from that tour below.
Ben Thanh and Binh Tay Markets
Walk around Ben Thanh and Binh Tay Markets. There’s not much more to tell you about either market, other than that these are huge indoor markets with dozens of food stands as well as clothes and electronics. Go spend a couple hours walking around and trying all the delicious treats this place has to offer.
Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon
Have breakfast, brunch or lunch in front of Saigon’s Notre Dame Cathedral. Cafe De La Poste was our favorite spot and had an incredible view of the cathedral and nearby park space from their open deck seating.
Secret Garden
Have dinner at Secret Garden – This roof top oasis is tough to find. You have to find the hidden entrance in a residential courtyard, walk up a residential hallway staircase, before coming out to the most incredible garden rooftop with hanging vines and lanterns. The homemade vietnamese food is second to none. This is one of Saigon’s most popular restaurants. Make a reservation in advance.
The address is 158 Pasteur St, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCMC
It’s hard to find the right alleyway as the restaurant sits hidden on top of an old apartment building. We had to walk up and down the block a couple of times to find it. First thing you want to do is find the intersection of Pasteur St and Ly Tu Trong St, face away from Ly Tu Trong and stand on the right side of Pasteur St. Walk about 150 feet and on your right you will see a small gate behind which are hundreds of motorbikes. On that gate there should be a small yellow sign with green lettering that says Secret Garden. Enter the alley, which looks more like a motorbike parking lot and walk in about 30 feet. On your left you’ll see the entrance of Secret Garden. Walk in the doors and you’ll find yourself in what looks like a pretty dank and gross residential apartment staircase. Ignore everything that’s telling you this is not the place and walk up multiple flights of stairs until you get to the roof where the restaurant is situated.
Ho Chi Minh Opera House
Go to a show at Saigons famous Ho Chi Minh City Opera House – This gorgeous opera house sitting just feet from the Caravelle Saigon Hotel features some of the best shows in the city. They typically have a number of cique du soleil style Vietnamese productions that are a great way to spend an evening before dinner.
Saigon’s Many Outdoor Parks
Explore many of Saigon’s large open intercity parks
Tao Dan Park, pictured above was one of our favorites. We met a group of college students who were conducting a bit of cultural show and tell with tourists. We sat in the park and talked with them about their home towns and discussed American politics which they were very much fascinated by (Trump was running for president which blew their minds). People in Vietnam are extremely personable and want to talk to you about everything. The parks are the centers for public discussions.
Vietnamese Coffee
Sit in a cafe and enjoy a Vietnamese Coffee.
Vietnamese coffee is one of the hidden gems of the universe. After years of French colonial rule, the Vietnamese developed a strong coffee culture, putting their own spin on it in the process. After experiencing Vietnamese coffee for the first time, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that there is basically no other way coffee should be served. Vietnamese coffee features a bold, strong, chocolatey coffee roast dripped through a Vietnamese Phin filter over sweet condensed milk. They serve it both hot and cold. Either way you can’t go wrong. Set the metal Phin filter over your glass and let the coffee drip down slowly. No need to press the beans or do anything but wait. Your patience will be very much rewarded.
Take a Cooking Class
If you want to learn how to cook Vietnamese food check out this 4.5 hour cooking class where you’ll go pick out your own fresh ingredients at Binh Tay Market and then get hands on lessons on how to prepare the food.
