Ho Chi Minh City Travel Forum

Hi,

I will be visiting Ho Chi Minh City next week and I only have 2 full days there. Could you please let me know:-

a) What are the interesting places that I must visit in my 2 days visit there?

b) I understand that there are tour packages available to bring you to those places...may I know roughly how much are the tour packages, says to Chu Chi Tunnel and the Mekong Delta?

c) Any happening clubs/bars to party at night? Is there any bar street or something in Ho Chi Minh City?

d) What are the local food that I should try when I am there?

e) Is it safe to walk around Ho Chi Minh City at night? Any area that I should avoid?

f) Shopping - anything that I can buy there except souvenirs?

g) Is it possible to rent a taxi to bring me around the city for whole day?

Thank you very much.

hi ccs...

check my homepage on hcm city...

regards.chia

Hi
Places to visit: War remnants museum, Cho Lon market, reunification palace, Notre Damme cathedral.You don't need a tour for these. Your only here for two days, going to Cu Chi is a full day (ish) and you can organise tours easily and very cheaply (Sinh Cafe in De Tam)
Local food: there's loads of it and try it all.
Bars and clubs: again there's a few check my site (sorry for the plug, but easier than typing them)
Its very safe here, so don't worry.

Hi,
Welcome you to HCM city. There are a lot of things and places you can visit here. Within 2 days in HCM city, one day I think is enough for you to explore the city downtown. You can book a city tour at a local travel company even when you reach here.The cost is not too expensive(it's just about 4-6 USD/pax for a half-day city tour). But if you want to explore the city youself, I recommend you to rent a cyclo instead of a cab. For this, you can save lots of money and enjoy a better view while going around. The bad news is the traffic here is not really good.(Maybe you'll get shocked if this is your first visit here).
There are also lots of night clubs,bars and restaurants along the streets especially in district 1(the best district in HCMC) opening to the midnight. About the food, there some dishes you shouldn't miss such as: pho(vietnamese noodle soup), cha gio ( steamed rolled pancake), banh xeo ( vietnamese pancake)... You can enjoy them everywhere in this city. Except souvenirs you can also buy clothes, shoes or coffee. Those product are cheap and good quality(of course, if you know where to buy and have a good bargain skill. You know... here is also a heaven of fake products). In the city you can comfortably and safely walk anywhere you want. To strengthen the security for tourists, the Tourist Security Force have been employed. So dont concern too much about the safety.
Here are some reference addresses, you can book a package tour if you want:

http://www.vyctour.com/eng/category_detail.asp?cat_id=219
http://www.sinhcafevn.com/Tour.asp?TypeTour=48
http://www.innoviet.com/
(They are relatively famous in the city)

A little about myself, my name is Phuong, 3rd year student. Im a local. So, if you need a friend to talk or need some help when reaching here. Just send me a message at fregugroup@yahoo.com or even give me a call, my cell fone is 0909569261. Maybe at that time,if i have free time I'm very willing to take you around the city. Of course, if you dont mind backseat.
Very glad to meet and make friends with all you.
Good Luck.

Hi!

We stayed in Ho Chi Minh City for 1 and a half days.

If you would like to save time,
Cu Chi tunnel and Mekong Delta can be visited in 1 day.
We made a booking at our hotel tourdesk (So I'm sorry I don't know the tour company name).
The price was about 50 US dollars (If I remember correctly) per person.
It includes, car with a driver, a guide who can speak Japanese well,
sight-seeing in Ci Chi tunnel, lunch, Mekong Delta river cruise.
We left our hotel at 8 or 9 o'clock in the morning,
and then we came back to hotel at 18:00.

Hope this helps :-)

Ayurin, Osaka Japan

HI! CCS:

Just an addendum to the replies:

Have a look at this 2 tour agencies for day tours:
Delta Adventure Tours: http://www.deltaadventuretour.com/
Sinh Cafe: http://www.sinhcafevn.com/AboutUs.asp

Also, don't miss out the Baguettes! Wonderful snacks and the Vietnamese drip coffee!

You're welcome to take a look at my VT HCMC pages to see if the tips are any useful.

Oh,yes! Don't miss Vietnamese coffee! Very very delicious! (thick and sweet)

Ayurin :-)