Ho Chi Minh five-day and four-night travel itinerary planning, transportation, and food lazy package

Ho Chi Minh City (Ho Chi Minh), also known as “Saigon Sài Gòn”, the name Saigon originated from the French colonial period, since 1884 France formally colonized the entire territory of Vietnam, until 1955, the North and South Vietnam split, supported by Europe and the United States of America, South Vietnam to Saigon as the capital.

After 71 years of French colonization, Saigon left traces everywhere, even after 20 years of the Vietnam War, Saigon was protected by European and American powers and did not suffer too much, and the French colonial culture was preserved more intact than that of Hanoi, and after the reunification of the North and South Vietnam in 1976, the government of Vietnam renamed Saigon Ho Chi Minh, in honor of the father of the nation, Ho Chi Minh, who was the founder of the Communist Party of Vietnam (VCV).

Nowadays, Ho Chi Minh City is known as “Little France”, with coffee culture, French bread, French architecture on the street corners, and a fusion of East and West, which makes many Travelers stay and live in the city, and the fascination of Ho Chi Minh is something you have to experience for yourself to understand～

Ho Chi Minh City free Trip preparation

First of all, it introduces the do's and don'ts of coming to Ho Chi Minh City for a free trip and other pre-travel preparations, including basic information on flights to Ho Chi Minh City, recommended accommodation in Ho Chi Minh City, airport transportation, transportation in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, and the Internet, to help you organize your luggage more easily before you leave.

Airfare to Ho Chi Minh City

If you want to fly to Ho Chi Minh City in South Vietnam, you can choose to fly into Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN), which is only 6 kilometers away from the downtown area of Ho Chi Minh City. Currently, there are traditional airlines such as China Airlines, Eva Airways, Vietnam Airlines, and other weekly non-stop flights on a regular basis as well as low-cost flights provided by VietJet, and the flight time from Taipei is 3 hours and 15 minutes.

To get cheap airfare to Ho Chi Minh City, compare prices on Skyscanner and you'll have the chance to search for cheap airline tickets to Ho Chi Minh City for less than NT$4,000 or the lowest airfare falls around NT$6,000 for traditional airlines.

Security in Ho Chi Minh City
It is difficult to summarize the security situation in Vietnam in one word. There are not many robberies, usually in the early morning when there are fewer people, or in the alleys at night, and it is more common to see thieves or those who justifiably inflate the price, and when they are exposed, they can still respond without blushing or gasping. There is one trait of the Vietnamese people that may make some people uncomfortable, and that is, they love money more than the Chinese people. Ho Chi Minh is the largest city in Vietnam, there are many Tourists, and there are as many people who want to get the tourists' gasoline as there are cockroaches, so it is common for cabs to jump the meter or take a detour, and it is safer for travelers to use Grab (the Uber of Vietnam) to call for a taxi. It is also recommended to prepare small change to avoid using large bills when taking a taxi or shopping, which can prevent the other party to find money or not find money.

Ho Chi Minh City Airport Transportation

Ho Chi Minh Tan Son Nhat International Airport (airport code: SGN) is about 7 kilometers away from the city center, which is considered very close, so transportation to the city is not expensive, and the main means of transportation at present are airport buses, cabs, Grab hailing, and chartered buses.

Airport bus: Bus No. 190, No. 152, No. 49 can go to the center of Ho Chi Minh City, it is recommended to use google map to see which bus is closer to your destination. The fare is around VND20,000~40,000, which is the cheapest option.
Cab: There are cabs lined up outside the airport, but there are many cab scams in Vietnam, so make sure the driver really presses the jump meter and open googlemap to make sure the driver has not taken a detour, and also have a small amount of money ready in case he intentionally doesn't give you any money.
Grab: Vietnam's version of Uber, much more reliable than cabs, you need to download the app and bind the cell phone door number to use.
Chartered car: a little more expensive than a cab, but the most hassle-free and safest option, you can book an airport transfer to the city in Taiwan.


Transportation in Ho Chi Minh City


Ho Chi Minh attractions are quite concentrated, almost all of them are located in the first county, so most tourists like to stay in the first county, if you want to walk all the way, in fact, quite tired, it is recommended to use transportation assistance. Common means of transportation in the city include: bus, cab or Grab, motorcycle cab, rental motorcycle, and MRT.

MRT: The Ho Chi Minh City MRT Line 1, which officially opened at the end of 2024, is a new transportation option. It connects Bến Thành (Marina Market), the Opera House and Ba Son Station for those who want to visit the main attractions of County 1 such as Marina Market and the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House. MRT is clean, fast and you can avoid traffic jams
Bus: cheap, but not many routes, not very convenient to catch a ride between attractions and no arrival time, you can only wait, unless you want to experience the Ho Chi Minh bus system, it is recommended to just skip this option.
Cab or Grab: The most popular means of transportation for tourists, Ho Chi Minh's cabs are cheap enough to move within the first county, usually not more than NT$50 (unless you are being slaughtered as a fat goat), take a cab to pay attention to the matters mentioned above, if you are afraid of being scammed, it is better to be good to use the Grab to call a taxi!
The downside is that it's easy to miss each other because of the language barrier between the driver and you. If the driver calls you to confirm the address, be brave and ask a passerby for help!
Motorcycle Taxi: Like Thailand, Vietnam also has motorcycle cab service, they usually wear bright uniforms, you will recognize them, the price is cheaper than cabs, but you have to bargain with the driver yourself, or use Grab's motorcycle hailing service, the price is open and transparent.

What to do in Ho Chi Minh City attractions?

Play downtown this way

Come to Ho Chi Minh two days can walk through the city attractions, Ho Chi Minh attractions are mainly East and West cultural fusion of architecture, the first day can be located in the first county of the Red Church as the center, walking can be in a day to play around the attractions, and then in the evening to eat food, massage, it is perfect.

The second day you can take a cab with some of the fringe areas of the first county or even the third county of the attractions, two days can play the Ho Chi Minh City area.



If you have more time, you can take a day trip to the outskirts of the Mekong River Basin, Cu Chi Tunnels, etc. You can refer to my special article to decide which places you want to visit.

Ho Chi Minh City Cuisine

Classic Vietnamese snacks

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, whether in restaurants, roadside vendors, restaurants and other places to introduce food, and our dietary tastes are very different, like to experience the local food culture, you must eat traditional authentic Vietnamese food, Vietnamese river noodles (Pho), Vietnamese French bread (Banh mi), Vietnamese spring rolls (Gỏi Cuốn), Vietnamese pancakes (Bánh x Bánh xèo) are all must-try Vietnamese food, which can be eaten in North Vietnam, Central Vietnam and South Vietnam.



The most recommended French bread in Vietnam is Banh mi Huynh Hoa, and for coffee, you can go to the No. 1 coffee brand in Vietnam, Chung Yuen Coffee.



There are so many famous restaurants in Vietnam, Phở Hòa Pasteur, Kam Lai Pasteur, Pho Hung, Pho Hien are all very famous, and all of them are on top of the standard, but everyone's taste is different, I think Phở Hòa Pasteur is easy to get around and tasty.

【High-end Vietnamese restaurant】Home Finest Saigon Restaurant



If you want to eat at a restaurant with a good atmosphere in Ho Chi Minh City and mainly want to eat Vietnamese food, I recommend going directly to Home Finest. It has a very high rating on Tripadvisor. After dining there, I think it is really good. They cook traditional Vietnamese cuisine in a creative way, which is a visual and taste enjoyment~

【High-end French restaurant】La Villa



When you come to Vietnam, you can enjoy high-end French cuisine at a relatively affordable price, so French restaurants in Ho Chi Minh are also one of the highlights of the trip. La Villa is a manor restaurant, so it not only specializes in authentic French cuisine, but also its beautiful courtyard landscaping (the courtyard also has a swimming pool!). It is recommended to come during the day so that you can take pictures of the French manor to your heart's content.



[Must-drink milk tea in Vietnam] Fulong Milk Tea



People always say that the only way to come to Vietnam is to drink Vietnamese coffee, but I really can't say much about Vietnamese coffee. Instead, I love the famous Vietnamese milk tea shop "Phúc Long Coffee & Tea" more. If you love Hong Kong-style milk tea, Indian milk tea and other milk teas with strong tea and spice flavors like me, I recommend you to try their "Phuc Long Tea Latte". I even changed its name to "Phuc Long Milk Tea", hahaha.

Conclusion, is Ho Chi Minh City fun?

In the past, our impression of Vietnam was limited to Vietnamese laborers or Vietnamese brides, but Vietnam tourism has become more and more popular in recent years, and the impression of Chinese people on Vietnam has gradually changed. I found that there are actually many delicious and fun things here. The point is that Southeast Asian tourism is cheaper than Japan and South Korea!

For example, food, clothing, housing and transportation in Vietnam are about 70% to 80% off those in Taiwan. This is why I love Traveling in Southeast Asia. I spend a little money to be a big boss~

My first impression of Ho Chi Minh City is a busy metropolis with busy roads. The locals seem to have the ability to shuttle freely on the roads without traffic lights. However, next to the busy streets, there are rows of Vietnamese coffee stalls with low tables and low stools. People sitting on the small stools drink strong Vietnamese coffee, which seems to slow down the pace of the city. One fast and one slow, Ho Chi Minh is such a contradictory and conflicting city.