Ho Chi Minh City Discovery Small Group Adventure Tour
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Explore bustling Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) on this small group adventure tour.The Ho Chi Minh City tour will give you an insight into the history, culture and the daily life of the locals in Ho Chi Minh City. Discover the historic Giac Lam pagoda, bargain for souvenirs at Ben Thanh market and enjoy a lunch of local Vietnamese cuisine. Learn about Vietnam's modern history by visiting the Reunification Palace and finish the day with a stroll along Ho Chi Minh City's tree-lined boulevards.
Your first stop is Giac Lam, built in the 17th century it is the oldest pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City. Continue to Chinatown with stops at Cholon and Binh Tay markets to see the locals bartering for wares. Next is Thien Hau temple, built in the early 19th century and dedicated to the Thien Hau the goddess of seafarers. Continue to Nha Rong wharf where Ho Chi Minh first left Vietnam in 1911. Your final stop before lunch is at the Ben Thanh Market, where you can practice your language skills and barter for goods. The market's original location was close to the Ben Nghe River before it was destroyed in 1859 during the French invasion of Saigon. It was rebuilt and moved to its present location in 1899.
Following our market visit, we stop at Fito Museum, which displays over 3,000 objects relating to traditional Vietnamese medicine and dating back to the country’s foundation.
Then, after a short bus ride to the city centre, we’ll enjoy a traditional local Vietnamese lunch of pho, or noodle soup – a must when you’re in Vietnam! After lunch you'll visit the War Remnants Museum, originally opened in September 1975, it displays old military equipment and other related items from the Vietnam War. In the courtyard you will find some larger exhibits including a F5A fighter and a UH1-Huey helicopter. Continue on foot past the Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, the General Post office, and the Opera house which are all beautiful examples of architecture from the French colonial period.
At the end your tour you are free to continue exploring the area or your guide will assist you in getting a taxi back to your hotel.
Excellent tour for Saigon first timers. The knowledgeable and friendly guide -Linda - takes you to all the must see places in Saigon and trough local markets. Lunch in a local restaurant is included. Hotel pick up was on time.
Review by: Neil S, April 2018
Punctual, great tour. We only had two and a half days in Saigon and this was a great way to see the city. Rating would be 5 stars if the guide and minibus had available drinking water. When it is 35 degrees in Saigon with humidity through the roof there has to be cold water either included in the tour price or for sale in the minibus. Only criticism.
Review by: carmelt1505, April 2018
This is a fantastic tour - Linda was amazing - her knowledge was incredible we enjoyed it so much. We only had three people on the tour and it was fabulous - we enjoyed hearing about the history of the Vietnam war as well as seeing so many sights of the city and enjoying lunch at a local restaurant. Thankyou for a most enjoyable day - would highly recommend to anyone wanting to see a snapshot of the city in a day.
Review by: Jane D, April 2018
We learnt a lot about Ho Chi Min city and Vietnam from this tour. The Guide was informative and very helpful. Great if you have limited time in the city because you see a lot in the day, and in air-conditioned comfort.
Review by: Kristin A, April 2018
We did not visit Ben Thanh market, Cho Lon and Binh Tay, and the Opera House. I booked this tour to specifically to visit the market areas, however, our guide did not believe people should shop while visiting Vietnam, so did not take us to the shopping portion of the tour. Disappointed.
Review by: Esme A, March 2018
Really enjoyed this tour as an introduction to HCMC/Saigon. I also really enjoyed the historical background that our guide provided. We were only 3 people on our tour so he was able to answer our questions and we had really good conversation with him. The stops were interesting, we went to the Museum of Traditional Medicine, the War Remnants Museum, the Palace of Independence and the Central Post Office. We also went to a market which is pretty much like any other market in Vietnam. The driver was great and met us timeously at all our stops. All in all, a really good day.
Review by: Marsha Kay L, February 2018
A quick tour of most of the historical landmarks and perfect for the person with little time. The tour guide was very kind and always looked out for our safety. The driver was patient with the traffic and we were never uncomfortable. We gave this tour 4 stars because there was too much packed into one day. We felt a bit rushed through China town and Ben Thanh market. This is just a suggestion for the tour company and not a complaint about the driver or tour guide. And also, please consider we are senior citizens and move slowly and carefully. Younger people could probably keep up better. Otherwise, no problems.
Review by: Susan K, February 2018
Best tour ever ! The guide was wonderful - I'm so sorry I can't remember his name - but he was helpful and fun and made the whole day terrific !!
Review by: BRENDA F, February 2018
The tour has a good agenda. However if all we are going to do isdrive by China Town an d the market then that should be specified in the tour description. tour was certanly not a full fay as expected.
Review by: Joe, January 2018
Tour guide was doing only her 2nd tour, but she did it well. Was able to get us in a lot of places that a larger group could not go, e.g. the Chinese market. Spoke good English. Very friendly young lady.
Review by: Mark W, January 2018
An absolutely outstanding tour. Quality and first class all the way. The tour guide Van and the driver picked me up at my hotel in a brand new Toyota Fortuna that was spotless. It was myself and one other guest, The tour states it will be 12 guests or less on the tour but since it was jut two of us I felt we got a more personalized tour. Our guide Van was absolutely delightful and very knowledgeable and accommodating. I highly reccomdend this tour over all others. I promise you wont be disappointed. The tour was all inclusive with all the tour sites as well as lunch included.
Review by: Richard C, January 2018
We saw all the main sites with a good English speaking guide - Cholon or the Saigon Chinatown in the morning, then a brief lunch at Pho 2000 overrated, but apparently Bill Clinton ate there - now it looks more like a fast food joint in terms of ambience. We also stopped at the Tien Hau temple in Cholon, had visits to local markets - Binh Tay in Cholon and then Ben Thanh in Saigon, and visited the small church where former president Ngo Dinh Diem took refuge in final hours of his life before his assassination in 1963. Also included were a visit to the War Remnants Museum which has a good history of the Vietnam War told through journalists' photographs - and in that sense, at least it was not blatant propaganda - and a tour of the old presidential palace / unification palace. Then a short walk to the cathedral, opera house and main post office - the major French era colonial buildings. Small tour group of 4. Timely pick-up with tour ending at about 4pm.
Review by: Sherin T, January 2018
There was a confusion regarding the hotel to be picked up initially but thankfully as we were the only group this was quickly resolved. Had a great time at most of the sites- the Independent Palace, the War remnant museum, the Notre Dame Cathedral- the guide took us through a lot of sites and the tour is definitely worth the money. However we were quite disappointed with the restaurant with the lunch arranged, near the Thien Hau Pagoda- would have preferred a cleaner restaurant and the food was disappointing as well. Also we visited the Chinatown market instead of the Ben Thanh market- which was very unpleasant- don't know why we visited the Chinatown market. The remaining time was great though and they even dropped us near the fruit shops in Ben Thanh instead of our hotel as we requested them too.
Review by: Wolfgang N, December 2017
Very good tour
Review by: Áine L, December 2017
Really good trip to get an overview of Ho Chi Minh
Review by: Kim K, November 2017
Great way to see the main sights of the city. Guide was absolutely amazing, think her name was Queenie? but was so helpful and friendly it really made the tour very enjoyable.
Review by: Yukyong W, November 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Moire S, November 2017
Great tour. Linda, our tour guide was very informative and helpful. Bus driver coped very with the crazy traffic. Would highly recommend this tour.
Review by: Shane F, October 2017
The best way to see the highlights of Saigon in one day.It was nice to have a small group so you have the opportunity to ask questions while also discussing and sharing thoughts with the group. Our tour guide Nhi was excellent, information and helpful. Highly recommend.
Review by: Daniel N, October 2017
Our plan was to do this trip on out first morning in Ho Chi Minh so that we had a thorough orientation of the city and could pick up ides from fellow travellers of what we should see, and any tourist traps to avoid. This tour exceeded our expectations in this regard. Our guide TAN was a natural entertainer in addition to being knowledgeable and informative, he worked at a relaxed pace ensuring that we did not feel rushed at any of the many sights we visited. We learned so much about the history of Saigon, and the visit to the War Remnants Museum was extremely moving. Lunch was also a highlight, learning to eat the Pho Soup the Vietnamese way at a local haunt which features photographs of Bill Clinton when he came for a feed. We also visited coffee shops, a Chinese temple and the markets. Overall, an amazing introduction to an amazing , vibrant city.
Review by: Felisha T, October 2017
Our tour guide Than was very experienced and knew a lot of the history of Vietnam. Very kind man and patient. We really enjoyed his company and he gave us some good insight on places to see and taught us how to cross as the motorbikes pay no attention to Zebra crossing so that was a fun experience .. crossing the road with our palms up saying Hello Hello Hello trying to maneuver our way through the maize of motorbikes. That was a right laugh. Really great air condition mini van which was ideal as it was quite hot. Great choice for us from Fiji.
Review by: ckalingo, October 2017
Our guide, Queenie, was very helpful and organized, including our driver, Mr. Phom. I turned out to be the only one who was scheduled for that day's tour, so we had flexible time in visiting all the places indicated in the itinerary. Would be grateful, though, if bottled water was made available during the tour, given the hot, humid weather in Ho Chi Minh. But all in all, I am very satisfied with this tour.
Review by: Lia S, October 2017
Great day.
Review by: Ronald C, September 2017
Unfortunately, we had the pleasure of the Mekong River Speed Boat tour the previous day, which spoiled us. During this tour, after being picked up at 08:00, there were no amenities offered to us even water, there was only 4 in our group until well past 11:00. The tour guide Linda was very informed and did her job as well as she was trained to do, but consequently gave very lengthy and tiring oral history lessons at almost every stop. Notre Dame and the Opera house were inaccessible because of renovations, which are expected to be ongoing for a couple more YEARS!! The war Museum is heavy, heavy, heavy into anti-American, agent Orange dis-figuration causing propaganda, torturing and imprisonment activities. The NVN government were above reproach how could anyone expect otherwise here in VN?.
Review by: Roger A, September 2017
Great job by tour guide Mary and driver Hung. Our group of 4 was picked up from 2 separate hotels, and over the next 7 hours visited the War Remnants Museum, Reunification Palace, Post Office, Chinese pagoda, Chinatown market, and a very cool/different Herbal Medicine Museum. Lunch was included at Pho 2000, right next to the market. Top marks for all areas, and we had a great day.
Review by: nlascase, August 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Genevieve, July 2017
Our guide, Linda, provided excellent service - comfortable van, interesting commentary on the many historic and contemporary sites, delicious lunch, flexibility for preferences. A very good tour; highly recommended!
Review by: Matt W, July 2017
A great way to get to know the City! Our guide Tan was amazing and knew his stuff. The sites we visited were great and there was plenty of time to explore each venue. Worth every cent!
Review by: Katherine W, June 2017
Best tour guide ever! Excellent English. Very knowledgeable on all aspects of Vietnamese history. A pleasure to spend the day with Nhi. Gave me great tips for eating out and other places to see. Thanks Nhi. I will always remember that day!
Review by: Voon L, June 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Maureen R, June 2017
It was a very hot day so perhaps not as enjoyable as it could have been. Great guide, well informed and funny. The market was certainly an experience.
Review by: psutton, May 2017
A great tour for seeing the sights of Ho Chi Minh city. All the main sights of the city are covered, from the Presidential palace to Notre Dame Cathedral and the War Museum. The tour is quite comprehensive in terms of Ho Chi Minh. The Pho Lunch included was great and the guide was both knowledgeable and entertaining. This was a different tour operator to the tour I did the previous day and the service inclusions water, fruit etc were not as good as with the tour operated by Les Rives.
Review by: lisaljn, May 2017
I was very lucky. There was only me in this tour group! So I had my tour guide all by myself. Ruby was such a lovely girl and we chat all the way through the whole tour. I enjoyed the attractions as well as the information /knowledge I got from her,oh, couldn't forget the Vietnamese coffee we had in the park too. Everything was well organized with comfortable transportation,nice meal and good people. I had a great time on this tour! Thanks.
Review by: paddyw, April 2017
A great way to get your bearings and see the highlights. More time at the War Remnants Museum would have been nice, but that's probably just a personal preference.
Review by: Sandra S, April 2017
This tour is amazing, if you want to maximise your time in this wonderful city do this tour you will not be disappointed._br/_ All of the places visited were very interesting, lunch was good, our guide fantastic. Thank you again Viator, very happy - now done 20 tours with your expert help!
Review by: Susan B, April 2017
Ho Chi Minh City is so versatile and full of interesting places to see. The old Post Office, War Remnants Museum, Ben Thanh Market, Notre Dame Cathedral. We had plenty of time to see it all and had an interesting lunch where Bill Clinton had dinned. _br/_ The only down to this was the guide was very hard to understand. We had to keep asking him to repeat.
Review by: Carolyn D, April 2017
The tours I booked with Viator were all amazing! The guides we had were special! They were pleasant, informative, interesting, knowledgeable, easy to talk with and attentive to our needs. I have never been so entertained as I was by our guide Linda, on this tour and the same goes for our 3 Day tour to DaLat and our 1 Day tour of Hue but with different guides. We saw everything I considered of interest and then some, in Ho Chi Minh City. The Reunification Palace, War Remnants Museum, Ben Thanh Market, Chinatown and Market, A Pagoda, the Notre Dame Cathedral, Post Office, City Hall and a fantastic Pho Restaurant where we ate superb Chicken Pho. She was very patient with us and attentive to my age. I'm 72 years old and I truly appreciated her patience! I especially loved the Pagoda where we were shown how to light incense trees and dedicate our prayers to our ancestors or someone we loved. The trees would burn for one 1 week. Make sure you wear very comfortable shoes because there is lots and lots of walking and some climbing stairs.
Review by: E M S, March 2017
Our tour guide Linda was great, very knowledgable, passionate and attentive. The War Remnants Museum was very interesting, you do however need a couple of hours to get around it all. The Reunification Palace was also great to tour. Norte Dame Cathedral was closed so it was just a quick look around the outside and the Post Office is just another quick stop. China Town is really like any other so we could have given this a miss. Lunch was a good experience, traditional Noodle Soup. We concluded the tour in 6 hours as we had seen everything and it was nice to get back to the hotel a little early for some R and R.
Review by: Dawn K, February 2017
Linda my guide was fantastic - i was the only person so I had very personal service - we went to some local places rather than the touristy ones all in all 5
Review by: Dermot N, February 2017
This was the 1st tour i did and i enjoyed it immensely.The tour was only 3 people but our guide Ashley was both funny and informative a good way to get your bearings in Saigon for 1st time visitors
Review by: Hannah F, February 2017
Our tour guide was very friendly and helpful and this tour gave us a good over view of some parts of Ho Chi Minh. The highlight was definitely the War remnants museum, which is a very sobering but important experience, we very much underestimated the amount of time needed here - I would suggest 1.5-2 hours it was our choice how much time to spend there.
Review by: James C, January 2017
Our guide, Tahn's English was adequate at best. Additionally, this is only a 6-6.5 hour tour versus an 8 hour tour. Our guide admitted as such as said it was because the small group tours always go faster. If I am paying of a driver and guider for 8 hours, it seems that I sound receive that amount of service. Outside of this fact the tour was good, but not great.
Review by: louis s, January 2017
Linda was the best guide you could ever ask for. She was very helpful with dining and shopping recommendations. Our group was small which allowed everyone enough time at all of our stops.
Review by: David V, January 2017
Excellent tour! Thanks!
Review by: Bob D, January 2017
Another excellent tour..Can't go wrong here...
Review by: Nicholas A, January 2017
The Ho Chi Minh City Discovery Small Group Adventure Tour provided a good high-level overview of the city's historical attractions and districts. Really appreciated the history of the museums, churches, government buildings, shopping areas, Pho 2000, and temples. If you decided to take this tour, be prepared for a long day. During our tour, we were able to see everything that was described and was able to finish early - which actually worked out for everyone involved.
Review by: Amit S, January 2017
The tour was meant to be 8 hours long but we finished within 6 hours due to tour guide not taking us to some places. Unfortunately I did not have the locations that the tour was expected to go so I could not tell the guide. I have never needed to take the tour information as tours are quite standard.
Review by: JORGE L F, December 2016
Este es un súper tour! La guia es muy experimentada y conoce mucho de la ciudad. También mostró muy buena flexibilidad. MUY RECOMENDABLE!
Review by: Jean Frederic H, December 2016
My wife and I really appreciated this tour. Our guide, Ashley, of Urban Adventures, is very knowledgeable and has a very good personality. We really appreciated our day with her. Our driver was very kind too. I believe that this tour is a must if you plan to visit Ho Chi Minh City.
Review by: jtc.jill, November 2016
Was booked as small group - which consisted of me!! First rate! Ms Linda was a wealth of knowledge, anecdotes and interesting information._br/_ Great lunch venue, Pho to die for!! Really enjoyable tour, saw all I wanted to see and because it was one to one we finished earlier than expected but pa led a whole lot into just a few hours. Well worth it, especially if you have limited time in HCMC.
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