Known by locals by its former name, Saigon, the largest city in Vietnam became Ho Chi Minh City in 1976 following the country’s victory over the French colonial rulers (1954 – 1975).
The city is named after their independence leader and the most famous and respected personality in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh. You will no doubt see his photograph thousands of times during your time spent in Vietnam, hanging over schools, businesses, streets and houses.
The city itself is an extreme juxtaposition between old and new, technology and tradition, rich and poor; a hectic blur of motorbike upon motorbike which makes crossing the road an extremely daring feat!
With a booming nightlife and heaps of culture, the city is the perfect first stop on your Vietnamese adventure. It is also the ideal place to find travel buddies – as most backpackers from here will now be moving in the same direction, northward up the beautiful Vietnamese coastline and then west into Laos.
This journey is made easy by the cheap ‘open bus tickets’ that tour operators are keen to sell you, allowing you to travel through Vietnam stopping off wherever and whenever you like. Read more about backpacking Vietnam here.
Where to stay in Ho Chi Minh?
The best place to stay in Ho Chi Minh City for budget travellers is District 1, the area around the famous Ben Thanh Market. Here you will find plenty of restaurants, bars and cheap hostels. Bui Vien Street is a popular nightlife spot with bars open all hours of the night. Many bus tours and day trips also depart from this area.
Best Hostels in Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City has a plethora of fantastic hostels for backpackers. Clean, sociable and most of all – super cheap! The average price of a dorm bed in HCMC is between $5-9 USD and that includes a basic breakfast and free social activities (often free beer!).
If you’re travelling as a couple and prefer a private room, that will set you back $20-25 USD for a basic double room and upwards of $50 USD if you want more luxury. There is plenty of choice for any budget in this city!
Our pick of the 6 best budget backpacker hostels…
1. The Hideout – Located right in the heart of the Ho Chi Minh Backpackpacker District, this hostel is a hugely popular choice for young travellers. With free breakfast and free beers at the rooftop bar from 7-8 pm daily, the staff at this hostel really know how to make a backpacker feel welcome! With a pool table, TV lounge area, clean AC dorms and plenty of social activities to get involved in, from bar crawls to tours, this is amazing value for money at $8 USD per night.
2. Hangout Hostel HCM – Hangout hostel is a super friendly hostel that’s a big hit with backpackers. They offer lots of freebies to welcome you and help you to enjoy your stay in the city! Dorm rooms start at just $6 USD (with occasional offers making them $4 USD!) and this includes free breakfast, two free beers, a free walking tour of Ho Chi Minh City, a free pub crawl and a free map! The life of a backpacker in Vietnam sure is tough…
3. Punto Hostel – A little more expensive at $12 USD per night, Punto Hostel pitches itself more as a flashpacker hostel that also has private rooms from $40 USD per night. The hostel is located close to the backpacker action of Pham Ngu Lao, but down a side street, away from the noise of the bars and traffic. Clean comfortable rooms, big bathrooms and a lovely rooftop chill-out area with views across the whole city. Thumbs up to this hostel.
4. Flipside HCM Hostel (Currently Closed) – Located in the heart of the Ho Chi Minh backpacker district, this hostel adds a rooftop bar and swimming pool to its list of features to attract the traveller! With dorm beds in AC rooms from $8 USD and a very sociable vibe, all day long, it’s a great place for solo travellers to party and meet people. Flipside also run several awesome and very popular tours from their hostel which you can book through this website!
5. The Common Room Project – Laura, manager of TCRP told us “Our hostel tries to consistently break the norm when it comes to the culture of backpacking. Staying with us is not just another bunk bed experience but to cross the local living and a community we have been growing since a few years ago.” With plenty of communal spaces, community dinners and a shared kitchen and BBQ, this hostel aims to be a modern homestay rather than a backpacker hostel. Clean, beautifully designed and unique. Dorm beds start at $12 USD, privates at $55 USD.
6. Lily’s Hostel – A very simple hostel located in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh that has the cheapest dorm beds on this list (from $6.50 USD). Lily’s gets great reviews due to the friendly staff, great breakfast and the cleanliness of the rooms. For solo travellers who prefer a single room or couples who want a double, the private rooms are very reasonable at $17 USD for a single and $27 USD for a double. Great choice for couples or more mature travellers.
For flashpackers and couples…
Della Boutique Hotel – Wow. Backpackers in Southeast Asia clearly no longer have to rough it with amazing boutique hostels like this. Della has to be seen to be believed. With a rooftop bar with amazing city views, clean, modern and stylish rooms, large bathrooms and power showers, this hostel is a cut above. Dorm beds start at an incredible $10 USD and a private costs $58 USD.
Chill Suites – For those who want to avoid the backpacker dorm room experience altogether, the Chill Suites is a great value for money hotel located in a great area. Delicious breakfast included as well as a free city tour. Bright, clean and super comfortable private rooms, some of them equipped with real coffee making machine and, wait for it… Netflix! This is the perfect place to chill. Search more hostels and hotels in Ho Chi Minh City.
Top 10 Things to do in Ho Chi Minh City
1. Crawl along the Cu Chi Tunnels:
This network of underground tunnels was home to the Viet Cong guerrillas during the 1960s. The American’s job was made difficult by this hidden operations base, which supplied guerrilla fighters across Southern Vietnam with a hideout and a supply network, leading to America’s eventual withdrawal in 1972.
Visit any one of the Tour Agents in Ho Chi Minh and the Cu Chi Tunnels will be high on their list of trips to sell you! Some of the trips go via the multi-religious ‘Cao Dai Temple’, where you can watch a colourful ceremony taking place. If you’d like to book in advance, you can book this Cu Chi Tunnels Tour on our website run by Flipside Hostels.
2. Take a boat trip to the Mekong Delta
The second most popular tour is perhaps a trip to the mighty Mekong Delta. This can be experienced in just one day… or you can take your time with an overnight stopover in a traditional homestay.
Pack your ‘nón lá’, the famous cone-shaped hat that is worn throughout Southeast Asia… or pick one up whilst you’re there – a day on the Delta can be a sunny one with little opportunity to seek shade! As you boat along the river, you’ll visit traditional river villages, sample coconut candy, watch rice paper being made and island hop between the magical named island’s of Tortoise, Phoenix, Dragon and Unicorn!
3. Do the Mekong Madness – An Alternative Mekong Madness Tour
If you’re not a fan of run of the mill tour packages and you’re looking for an alternative way to explore the Mekong Delta, check out the Mekong Madness Tour with Flipside Hostels. On this 2-day tour, you’ll explore the backroads and bio-diverse jungles of the Mekong from the seat of a motorbike (you can either drive or you can ride pillion).
You’ll also spend the night at a rather flashpacker “homestay” where they even have a swimming pool! The cost is very reasonable at $85 US. Read a review of of the Madness Mekong Delta Bike Tour here.
4. Visit Reunification Palace
Previously known as Independence Palace, the ‘American War’ (as it is called in Vietnam) is said to have ended as a tank crashed through its gates. A replica of that tank, number 843, can now be seen on the palace’s lawns. Tours can be arranged, but it’s easier just to wander and browse this 1960s time-warp at your own pace. The entry cost is 30,000 Vietnamese Dong.
5. Visit the War Remnants Museum
Pack your tissues if you’re visiting this Museum, which is home to devastating images of the American-Vietnamese war, taken by famous international photographers. A day here is an uncomfortable one and certain photos of innocent victims of war cannot fail to move you to tears. Perhaps the most shocking photos are those which portray the damage done by the American Weapon of War, the chemical known as ‘Agent Orange’.
It is a must visit in Vietnam if you want to find out more about one of the most significant events of the twentieth century and see the story from the Vietnamese point of view. The museum is closed for lunch 12pm-1:30 pm and last entry is 4:30 pm. Entry costs 15,000 Vietnamese Dong and it’s an easily walkable distance from Pham Ngu Lao (the backpacker hotel hub). Read more about the history of the Vietnam War here.
6. Visit the Chinese Temples in Cholon
Here in Vietnam’s largest Chinatown, there are dozens of colourful Chinese Temples to be visited. Wander around, soak up the distinctive atmosphere and sample the delicious Chinese inspired street food.
7. Visit the Jade Emperer Pagoda
Arguably one of the city’s most beautiful pieces of architecture, this Pagoda, locally known as ‘Phuoc Hai’, is definitely worth a look, for the intricate paintwork and clever detail. Built by the Cantonese in the 20th Century, the air is heavy with incense and the grounds are alive with worshippers.
8. Visit Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica
Another religious building of particular interest is the impressive Notre-Dame Basilica. Unsurprisingly enough, the cathedral was built by French colonists in the late 19th century. The facade of the building echoes quite closely its world-renowned namesake in Paris, though the Vietnamese twist features red-brick and two pointed bell towers perched on top of the familiar front.
9. Enjoy a Traditional Vietnamese Massage
Soothe those aching limbs after all that exploring of Ho Cho Minh City with a relaxing massage, performed by a professional blind masseur. The cost is around $15 USD for a full body massage.
10. Ride on a Xe Om!
Struggling to cross the road in Ho Chi Minh City? Well, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! Hop on a ‘xe om’ (a motorbike to you and me) and whizz through the streets with the locals. The name translates roughly as ‘hugging machine’ and that’s certainly apt as you cling on to your driver for dear life, weaving through traffic, bicycles and pedestrians.
How to get to Ho Chi Minh City?
If you’re travelling to Vietnam then remember that unlike most other Southeast Asian countries, you will need to arrange a visa before you arrive. See our Visa Guide to South East Asia for more information about the Vietnam visa.
By Bicycle(!): Our partners Social Cycles offer a series of cycling adventures for responsible travellers including two options to cycle from Ho Chi Minh from Cambodia! Both the Phnom Penh to Saigon & Siem Reap to Saigon options will be a challenge for many of us. But then, life should be full of challenges! For those of you who aren’t quite up for this kind of adventure, I guess you could always travel…
By Plane: Cheap flights can be found via AirAsia and other budget Asian airlines from neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia. The airport, Tan Son Nhat, is Vietnam’s largest and has a regular bus service (the No. 152) which will drop you to Pham Ngu Lao or at the bus station close to Ben Thanh Market for a mere 4,000 Dong. Expect to pay another 4,000 VND for a seat for your bag!
By Train: If you are already exploring Vietnam, then an ‘express’ train can be caught from Hanoi, with five departures daily. Though this calls itself an ‘express’ service, it takes a minimum of 30 hours, so be sure to pick up a good read! (Or better, still, stop at various places along the way!)
Where to go next?
Phnom Penh: If your Vietnamese adventure has run its course, then Cambodia’s capital is just a 6-hour bus ride away. This will set you back around 250,000 Dong.
Mui Ne: If you’re craving a beach on which to lounge having survived the traffic of Ho Chi Minh, then Mui Ne is the next logical step. Grab yourself a bus ticket which allows you to hop-on and hop-off wherever and whenever then travel the approx. 5 hours North to Mui Ne. (The bus ticket when we last checked cost $30 USD from north to south/south to north).
Dalat: Located in the mountains and dubbed by the French as the ‘Alps of Vietnam’, this peaceful town is the ideal location to test out an Easy Rider tour or rent yourself a bicycle and explore the nearby hills and waterfalls. It’s the perfect city break to escape the fumes of the city. Read more about the Easy Rider tour here in our article: 7 Epic Journeys in South East Asia.