Things To Do In Saigon – What To Do, Where To Eat in Saigon

Last updated on December 29th, 2023 at 05:53 pm

Things To Do In Saigon – What To Do, Where To Eat in Saigon

Traveling in Vietnam can be considered a much different experience than Cambodia. Firstly, the country is more developed compared to Cambodia. In fact, Saigon and Hanoi, two of the biggest cities in Vietnam, are considered as solid places to work and have business right now in Asia.

Visit Saigon can be considered the busiest part of Vietnam. During our stay there, the street is always full of motorbikes. Motorbikes are a signature transportation in Vietnam because of the number of people who actually travel in motorbikes. I would say “a lot” is even an understatement.

Traffic in Saigon is something you definitely can love or hate. Personally, Rachel and I have different thoughts about it. Rachel loves the noise. She feels more alive in cities that are noisy like Saigon. Whereas I enjoy much quieter sceneries.

Read here how to get from Da Lat to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam sim card for tourist and best Vietnam eSim

Read here Saigon Airport sim card, best Vietnamese breakfast and our top Instagrammable places in Vietnam

WHERE TO STAY IN SAIGON

The cost of staying for a night in a private double room in a low-end guest house is $8-10 USD. There are also Airbnb options starting from $10-20 USD and be ready to have a local experience.

Click here to book your accommodation in Hanoi with Booking 

BOOK YOUR TRAVEL INSURANCE

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Things To Do In Saigon

Drink Coffee

Try the best coffee! 
For this, we tried the no. 1 coffee – seriously, it is the name of the exact franchise. Coffee is extremely good and pure, made by the traditional coffee tins, in a much more luxurious setup. In Saigon, you’ll have the view of the city while in this coffee shop.

Eat street food

Bahn Mi

We really loved the street food in Saigon. Not just because these food are all tasty, but also because of their prices! It costs less than $1 for a Bahn Mi. It is a Vietnamese Sandwich with meat, vegetables, and sauce of your choice!

Pho

Rachel and I really liked eating noodle soups and I think we ate once or twice daily while in Vietnam. Prices were around $1. There are different kinds of Vietnamese noodle soups you can try. We loved eating outside because of the local environment where people eat in tiny tables and chairs.

Dessert

Saigon was a great place for deserts! It was hot there and it would help you to ease the warm weather by eating sweets, ice cream, and delicious smoothies which are readily available in local markets.

Eat out with locals

Rachel and I had an opportunity to walk around the city with Kevin, our local Vietnamese friend. It was so fun! We learned so many new things about Vietnam, Vietnamese people, and of course Vietnamese food!

We tried different dishes and the thing that surprised us was how they eat French Fries! Locals eat French Fries with butter and sugar, like some sort of popcorn. We admit that it tasted really good! We also tried chicken feet, coffee, and local beer.

Local atmosphere

Really nice to see how local people interact in the street: selling food, with the traffic, hanging out. We loved the vibe in Saigon!

Crazy Traffic

You have no idea how many motorbikes are there in Saigon. Clue, it’s a lot! Traffic in Saigon is crazy! Just try to cross the street and thousands of motorbikes are already there behind you. It’s fun learning how to cross the street. Just walk at a normal pace and they will avoid you.

Walk around

We spent hours and hours of just walking around the city and finding nice parks and coffee shops where we could relax. You can also see street markets where they sell food and all kinds of things you can’t imagine.

Visit historical places

Notre Dame Church is one of the most visited places in Saigon. The church was under maintenance during our trip to Vietnam but the area next to the post office is still beautiful! You shouldn’t miss this out.

Visit Saigon around the Bay

The Bay was a really nice place to walk around. Near the Bay is a big square where you can enjoy walking and it’s a good news that no cars are allowed here so you can walk at peace.

Stay in a hotel in the middle of the city

Rachel and I chose a nice hotel near the city center so that every place we want to go to was just a walking distance. We really wanted to have a one-of-a-kind local experience so we chose Thien Thao Hotel. We enjoyed nice views from our window and it was a great spot for sightseeing. The staffs were very friendly and they served us noodle soup and Bahn Mi for our breakfast. It was totally worth it! Kevin is one of the people who made our Saigon trip fun!

Read here Vietnam 3 week itinerary  and here to discover gay Saigon!