Ultimate Guide to Saigon Vietnam

Google Maps Link - all of our group recommended hotels, bars, restaurants and points of interest.

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SAIGON IMOL RANKINGS

Difficulty Level 2/10

GFE Level 10/10

Concerns: Traffic congestion, unscrupulous taxi drivers, ridiculous currency denomination.

Why we go there: Saigon is a modern, cool and hip city. Cheap hotel rooms, very low crime rate, great food… Plus, Vietnamese women are some of the most beautiful creatures on the planet.

Getting to Saigon,

Also known as Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam.. we think Saigon sounds cooler so we'll stick with the vintage name.

Obviously most of you guys will be arriving by air into Tan Son Nhat International Airport (IATA: SGN, ICAO: VVTS)

There are lots of flight choices especially when connecting through the other SE Asia countries. But we think the funnest is an airline called Vietjet.

Vietjet was launched in the fall of 2007 by billionaire lady Nguyen Thanh Ha. The privately-owned airline rose to fame in 2011 when its ad campaigns featured women dressed in bikinis. Overnight, its image changed from a low-cost carrier to the "bikini" airline.

It's very rare these days to find the flight crew wearing bikini's on any of Vietjet's flights. Those flights were mostly special promotional flights designed to draw interest in the airline. Still, the airline has some very rigid guidelines regarding their flight attendants personal appearance, you will not be disappointed.

Pro Tip: You will need an EVisa to travel into Vietnam. Processing takes 3-5 business days and costs $25 USD

The Vietnamese Immigration Department issues E-visas to foreigners through an online application process. E-visas are issued with a validity period of up to 90 days, one-entry for 25 USD or multiple entries for 50 USD. E-visa holders may enter and exit Vietnam through 42 designated international border gates, including all international airports.

The Vietnamese E-visa instructions and the official application is available online and can be found here.

The taxi drivers at the airport are ruthless. Download the Grab App to your smart phone and enable data roaming BEFORE arriving in Vietnam. It's next to impossible for a tourist to distinguish between a legit taxi driver and the illegal driver. Save yourself the frustration by using Grab as your ride share app. They have a designated pick up/drop off point right outside of arrivals and the fare is predetermined by the app. Note: You MUST be standing in the Grab designated area for drivers to legally pick you up. You can also add your credit card info to the app which makes things even easier. Cost for the trip via Grab - 60,000 dong. Cost for the trip via taxi + $120,000 dong

Hotels

Most of you will want to stay in District 1. There are literally over 100 hotels/inns/hostels inside this District. This is also home to Saigon’s Bui Vien Street aka Walking Street.

Be warned, unless your hotel has soundproof glass or you are an absolute night owl, the noise coming from the bars on Bui Vien can be distracting at night. We would recommend staying a few streets off of Bui Vien or back in one of the alleys. The term "alley" usually wards off most tourists but it shouldn't especially when we are talking about Saigon HCMC, more on that later.

Center your search on Bui Vien street and then expand it out five or six blocks. This is where the fun begins. Sort all of the reviews by "most recent" to get an accurate feel for each property. As said in the video, pictures can be deceptive. We spent a few evenings drinking beer in front of the Rice Hotel and numerous fellow travelers claimed the hotel was fantastic. Might be worth a look.

Akoya Saigon Central Hotel is one of the highest rated hotels in District 1 and well worth a look. Clean, modern, and a modest price.

Hotel Majestic - absolute luxury in the heart of District 1. Just beware, they might not allow you to bring that new friend up to your room. This isn't that kind of place. But it is a five star hotel that you can usually book for under 100.00 US.

We stayed at the Meraki 198 located directly on Bui Vien. The hotel was dated but clean. The price was right at $12.00 usd per night and it's located right in the middle of the action. If it wasn't for the noise this hotel would be worth considering. Yes, it was guest friendly.

The Girls of Saigon

Hands down, Vietnamese women have to be some of the most beautiful women in all of Asia, if not the world. But this isn't Thailand and for those of you used to the point and click ease of the Land of Smiles, Vietnam can seem a bit tedious. Go-Go bars and bar fines are not common in Vietnam, in fact the closest thing that you will find to legal adult entertainment are the KTV / Karaoke Clubs.

This doesn't mean that you can't find a beautiful Vietnamese girl to hang out with. Dating Apps such as Vietnam Cupid, Badoo and Tinder will be your best friend in searching out new friends. You might hear guys talking about Zalo which started out as a Vietnamese dating App but has since gone legit and is now strictly used as a peer to peer messaging app. We recommend sticking with the aforementioned mainstream apps. These will contain the girls who are actually looking to hang out with foreign guys.

As always, use an extreme amount of scrutiny whenever you are dealing with someone online. Fake pictures, embellished bio's and even completely fake accounts i.e. a Russian guy was just caught in Thailand catfishing foreigners into sending him money by pretending to be a hot single girl... it happens. Best method is to verify with multiple video calls before committing to a date.

Freelancers come out late at night and can be found hanging out around the popular expat bars along Bui Vein street and inside Lush which is a popular night club. You'll need to take a quick taxi ride to reach it from District 1 and don't go before midnight. Just down the street from Lush is the Japan Town district. Lot's of small little Japanese style whiskey pubs. We had quite a bit of fun exploring these alleys.

The girls working inside the bars, restaurants, hotels and retail stores are usually also interesting in dating foreign guys. Just understand, this isn’t Pattaya. You are looking at some serious time investment before any funny business will occur. The social climate in Vietnam is extremely conservative. Plan on meeting Mom, Dad and the rest of the family before she is even willing to spend the night.

Beer with ice, it's a thing here. Don't be surprised if your beer arrives semi cold with a cup of ice. This is common in Vietnam outside of the nicer bars.

The Corner Bar International is a fantastic little bar chill at on Bui Vein Street. It has your typical expat vibe and all the trimmings that go with it. Relatively cheap beer, good conversation. After 11pm the freelancers will start showing up.

Around the corner from the aptly named Corner Bar you will find several small pubs tucked in amongst the coffee shops and eateries on Du Quang Street. Meloria and Lavender Bar have some of the cheapest beer in town and some incredible looking waitresses. Pretty sure if you put enough time into one of these bars you could probably hook up.

A little further down is the infamous TNR Saigon, one of the oldest bars in the city and one of our favorite watering holes. This bar just oozes cool, definitely worth a visit. Most of the tourists wandering around District 1 would never think of coming in here. Maybe that's why loved it so much.

The Loft is a roof top bar located just down the street from Lavender. Great pizza and excellent bartenders.

One of the best bistro bars in town is the Hideaway. We featured this amazing bar in the video. The server was so nice that they put the NFL game on the huge projection TV, despite the grumblings of an old German expat who wanted to watch old soccer matches. It paid off because it drew a bunch of fellow North Americans into the bar. Don't be afraid to ask them to put the game on. Excellent cocktails, cold beer, great food and beautiful waitresses. We were in this place every single night. The food here is excellent as well. We came in for a couple late night meals and were never disappointed.

Good Eats!

The food in HCMC Saigon is absolutely amazing. You can find everything from pizza to ribeye's ...but your in Vietnam. So get out and explore the local food.

The sandwich vendors on Bui Vien are excellent for a quick bite late in the evening. Don't be afraid to try one, cheap, fast and delicious. The Hungry Pig is a very good option for such fare.

Remodelled from an old opium refinery, Hoa Túc boasts an al fresco dining area steeped in an early 1900s circa Parisian vibe, while the Colonial-style interior pays homage to Vietnam’s history. On the menu, traditional Vietnamese dishes are updated thanks to fancy presentations. Start with refreshing pink pomelo salad with crabmeat and shrimps, followed by bò lá lốt bánh hỏi (grilled beef wrapped in betel leaves on a rice noodle nest).

Vo Roof is another small rooftop bar/restaurant with an incredibly diverse menu. Ribs, wings, spring rolls, grilled prawns etc. Very cool spot with some of the best food in town. Just beware that it can get very busy in here on a Friday or Saturday night.

Moo Beef Steak Prime is exactly what the name suggests, a steak house. Prime Wagu beef served exactly as you like it. If you're hungry for some red meat this is the place to visit.

Italian food in Saigon ? Carpaccio has been serving up authentic Italian dishes for over twenty years. The rigatoni is so good it will make you want to slap your mama. We know your in Asia and you should be enjoying the French infused Vietnamese food but... the Italian food in this place is damn good.

Sidewalk drinking - it's a thing here. Some of the best bars in town are not really bars. They are small restaurants and stalls that serve beer/food out on the sidewalk. This is a cultural thing here in Vietnam. Most Vietnamese and a lot of the expats actually prefer to sit on the little sidewalk stools. You'll see little tables and stools everywhere in town. Don't be scared to grab a stool, order a beer and watch the nightlife walk by.

The alleys in Saigon are definitely worth exploring. You’ll see them running off all of the main roads, don’t be scared to do a little exploring during the daytime. The alleys of Saigon are home to some of the city's coolest little hotels, pubs and restaurants. Don't worry, it’s safe and you won't be the only foreigner wandering down them.

Excursions:

The most popular excursion in Saigon is a full day tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels and Mekong Delta. This is an 11 hour excursion but you hit the two top attractions in the same day. Included is a tour of the Vietnam War–era fighting tunnels and a river cruise down the Mekong River. Cost is $55.00 per adult. Note: you can choose to do separate tours which only consume 5-6 hours of time. Contact Kim Travel for information on the various tours.