Năm ngày, một tình yêu
Năm Ngày Ở Sài Gòn
5 Days in Saigon — The Full Send
Tóm Tắt · The Brief
5 Days
🛵🛵🛵🛵🛵
Deep divers · Food obsessives · Slow travelers
600,000 – 1,500,000 VND/day
November to April
20 min read
- • Motorbike street food tour
- • Cooking class in District 4
- • Vũng Tàu beach day
- • Cho Lon Chinatown
- • Hidden hẻm exploration
Five days is the full send. You'll cover everything the 3-day itinerary has — colonial core, wartime tunnels, the Mekong — and then go deeper. Chinatown. A cooking class where you make phở from scratch. A ferry to Vũng Tàu for seafood on the beach. By Day 5, you'll have a favourite plastic stool, a nodding relationship with the cà phê vendor, and a serious conversation with yourself about whether you could actually live here.
Day 1 — The Colonial Core
Cà phê buổi sáng
Cộng Cà Phê
Cộng Cà Phê
District 1
Không Thể Bỏ QuaStart here. Cà Phê Sữa Đá — iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk — is Saigon in a glass. Cộng does it right, the communist-chic décor is Instagram gold, and the AC is a gift from the gods. It's a popular chain — for a more local experience, try any sidewalk cà phê ông (old man coffee) stall.
“Order the coconut coffee if it's on the menu. Life-changing.”
Entry: Free
Hours: 7:00 AM – 11:00 PM
🍜 Bánh mì from the cart outside — 25,000 VND, no menu needed.
🛵 Drop-off: Cộng Cà Phê, 26 Lý Tự Trọng
Bảo Tàng Chứng Tích Chiến Tranh
War Remnants Museum
District 3
Không Thể Bỏ QuaThe most important museum in Vietnam. Confronting, honest, and necessary. The photo exhibitions are world-class. Go early before the tour groups arrive. Give yourself time — rushing this is disrespectful.
“The Agent Orange exhibition will stay with you for years. Prepare yourself.”
Entry: 40,000–50,000 VND (subject to increase)
Hours: 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM daily (closed for lunch 12:00–1:30 PM)
🍜 Cơm tấm from the stalls on Võ Văn Tần — broken rice, grilled pork, perfect.
🛵 Drop-off: Bảo Tàng Chứng Tích Chiến Tranh, 28 Võ Văn Tần
Lịch sử không thể quên
Kiến trúc Pháp
Nhà Thờ Đức Bà & Bưu Điện Trung Tâm
Notre-Dame Cathedral & Central Post Office
District 1
Đáng GhéTwo French colonial icons side by side. The cathedral exterior is gorgeous — interior currently under renovation. The Post Office is actually functional and beautiful — high vaulted ceilings, old maps, people actually mailing letters. Worth 30 minutes combined.
“Skip the cathedral interior (renovation). The Post Office is the real gem.”
Entry: Free
Hours: Cathedral: 8 AM – 5 PM · Post Office: 7 AM – 7 PM
🍜 Hủ tiếu from the side streets off Đồng Khởi — 35,000 VND, locals only.
🛵 Drop-off: Nhà Thờ Đức Bà, 1 Công Xã Paris
Chợ Bến Thành
Bến Thành Market
District 1
Không Thể Bỏ QuaThe symbol of Saigon. Yes it's touristy. Yes the prices are higher than the wet markets. Go anyway — the energy is irreplaceable and the food court inside is excellent. Eat your way through the stalls for lunch.
“Eat inside, buy nothing from the souvenir stalls without negotiating to 50% of asking.”
Entry: Free
Hours: 6:00 AM – 6:00 PM
🍜 Everything inside — bún bò Huế, bánh xèo, fresh spring rolls. Budget 80,000–150,000 VND.
🛵 Drop-off: Chợ Bến Thành, Lê Lợi
Chợ Bến Thành buổi trưa
Dinh Thống Nhất
Dinh Thống Nhất
Reunification Palace
District 1
Đáng GhéThe building where the Vietnam War effectively ended — April 30, 1975, the tank crashed through those gates. It's been preserved exactly as it was. Time capsule of 1970s political power. The basement bunker is surreal.
“The basement war room looks like a movie set. It's not.”
Entry: 40,000 VND
Hours: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
🍜 Cà phê from the café inside the palace grounds — cheap, shaded, civilised.
🛵 Drop-off: Dinh Thống Nhất, 135 Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa
Phố Đi Bộ Bùi Viện
Bùi Viện Walking Street
District 1
Không Thể Bỏ QuaSaigon's backpacker street. Loud, chaotic, neon-lit, and ridiculously fun. Street food everywhere, Saigon Special beer for 20,000–25,000 VND, plastic stools on the pavement. This is the Saigon everyone warned you about and the Saigon you'll remember.
“Saigon Special from a street vendor for 20,000–25,000 VND is the best value drink in Southeast Asia.”
Entry: Free
Hours: Pedestrian zone: 7:00 PM – 2:00 AM (Fri–Sun). Bars open earlier on all days.
🍜 Everything on the street — bò né, bánh tráng trộn, grilled corn. Budget 100,000 VND and eat constantly.
🛵 Drop-off: Bùi Viện, Phạm Ngũ Lão Ward
Bùi Viện về đêm
Day 2 — Temples, Tunnels & Night Market
Chùa Ngọc Hoàng buổi sáng
Chùa Ngọc Hoàng
Jade Emperor Pagoda
District 1
Không Thể Bỏ QuaThe most atmospheric temple in Saigon. Built in 1909 by the Cantonese community, dedicated to the Taoist Jade Emperor. Incense smoke, lotus pond, turtles, and intricate wooden carvings. Arrive early before the tourist buses.
“The turtle pond in the back is where locals release turtles for good luck. Watch for a few minutes — it's meditative.”
Entry: Free
Hours: 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM
🍜 Bánh cuốn from the stall on Đinh Tiên Hoàng — steamed rice rolls, 30,000 VND.
🛵 Drop-off: Chùa Ngọc Hoàng, 73 Mai Thị Lựu
Địa Đạo Củ Chi
Củ Chi Tunnels Day Trip
Củ Chi District (70km from city)
Không Thể Bỏ QuaThe underground tunnel network where Viet Cong fighters lived, fought, and survived for years. You can crawl through sections — it's claustrophobic, dark, and completely mind-blowing. The scale of human endurance here is impossible to comprehend without seeing it.
“Crawl the tunnel section even if you're slightly claustrophobic. You need to feel it to understand it.”
Entry: 110,000 VND (verify current price; usually included in tours)
Hours: 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM
🍜 Lunch is included in most tours — cassava and peanuts as the tunnels fighters ate.
🛵 Book a half-day tour from District 1 — 400,000–700,000 VND for group tours including transport.
Địa đạo lịch sử
Chợ đêm lung linh
Chợ Đêm Bến Thành
Bến Thành Night Market
District 1
Đáng GhéWhen the day market closes, the night market opens around the outside. Street food, souvenirs, cold Saigon beer. Less chaotic than Bùi Viện, better food, more local atmosphere.
“The bò né (sizzling beef on hot plate) stalls here are the best in the city after dark.”
Entry: Free
Hours: 6:00 PM – 12:00 AM
🍜 Everything at the market — budget 150,000 VND for a full dinner crawl.
🛵 Drop-off: Chợ Bến Thành, Lê Lợi
Day 3 — Mekong Delta & Sunset
Đồng Bằng Sông Cửu Long
Mekong Delta Day Trip
Mỹ Tho / Bến Tre (2 hrs south)
Không Thể Bỏ QuaThe Mekong Delta is the rice bowl of Vietnam — a flat, lush world of canals, floating markets, coconut groves, and river life. Take a boat through the narrow waterways, eat bánh xèo in someone's garden, and watch how most Vietnamese actually live. One of the best day trips in Southeast Asia.
“Skip the group tour if you can — hire a private driver for 800,000 VND and set your own pace.”
Entry: 300,000–600,000 VND for day tour including transport
Hours: Depart 7 AM, return 5-6 PM
🍜 Lunch is always included in tours — fresh coconut candy, elephant ear fish, tropical fruit you've never heard of.
🛵 Book through your hotel or Klook — includes transport from District 1.
Sông Mekong bình yên
Sài Gòn về đêm
Chill Skybar · Tầng Thượng
Rooftop Sundowner — Chill Skybar
District 1
Đáng GhéYour last night in Saigon deserves a rooftop. Chill Skybar on the 26th floor of AB Tower has the best 360° city view in District 1. Watch the motorbike rivers below while the sun sets over the Saigon River. Worth the drink prices.
“Get there 30 minutes before sunset. The view transformation from golden hour to neon is the best show in the city.”
Entry: Free entry, minimum spend applies
Hours: 5:00 PM – 2:00 AM
🍜 Eat before you come — bar food is expensive. Grab bún bò Huế from the stalls on Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai first.
🛵 Drop-off: AB Tower, 76A Lê Lai, District 1
Day 4 — Chinatown & Cooking Class
Chợ Lớn
Chợ Lớn — Saigon's Chinatown
District 5 & 6
Không Thể Bỏ QuaChợ Lớn is a city within a city — a large ethnic Chinese-Vietnamese community living in a neighbourhood that feels like Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Saigon all at once. The temples are spectacular. The food is different from District 1 Saigon. Most tourists never come here.
“The Thiên Hậu Temple at 7 AM with incense coils hanging from the ceiling is one of the most beautiful sights in Vietnam.”
Entry: Free
Hours: All day
🍜 Dim sum at Hải Ký Mì Gia on Lương Nhữ Học — 50,000 VND per person for a full breakfast spread.
🛵 Drop-off: Thiên Hậu Temple, 710 Nguyễn Trãi, District 5
Chợ Lớn rực rỡ
Học nấu ăn
Lớp Học Nấu Ăn Việt Nam
Vietnamese Cooking Class
District 1
Đáng GhéDistrict 1 cooking classes take you to the wet market first, then teach you to make pho, bánh xèo, and fresh spring rolls from scratch. You eat what you cook. The market visit alone is worth it.
“You will never cook pho at home but you'll understand what makes the real thing irreplaceable.”
Entry: 500,000–800,000 VND including market visit and meal
Hours: Classes typically 2 PM or 9 AM
🍜 You cook and eat the food — that IS the activity.
🛵 Most classes include market transport — book in advance.
Day 5 — Vũng Tàu Beach Escape
Vũng Tàu
Vũng Tàu Beach Day
~90 minutes from Saigon by hydrofoil
Đáng GhéSaigon's nearest beach town. Take the Greenlines hydrofoil from Bach Dang Wharf — the ~90-minute ride down the Saigon River past container ships and mangroves is half the experience. Bãi Sau (Back Beach) is the main beach. Seafood lunch at the beachfront restaurants is the main event.
“The ferry is the best part — more interesting than the beach honestly. But the seafood makes the whole trip.”
Entry: Ferry: 250,000 VND one-way (~500,000 VND return)
Hours: Full day — last ferry back 5:30 PM
🍜 Seafood lunch on Bãi Sau beachfront — hải sản tươi sống (live seafood), 200,000–400,000 VND per person.
🛵 Greenlines ferry from Bạch Đằng Wharf, District 1. Departs 7:30 AM and 9:30 AM.
Vũng Tàu bình yên
còn nữa... · there's more...
Beyond Sài Gòn
Mekong Delta
2 hrs by roadRice paddies, river life, bánh xèo hot off the pan.
Vũng Tàu
2 hrs by ferrySaigon's beach escape. Seafood and sunset.
Đà Lạt
7 hrs or 1 hr flightVietnam's hill station. Cool air, French villas, strawberries.
Hỏi & Đáp · Real Talk
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 5 days too long for Saigon?
No. Five days is when you stop being a tourist and start being a temporary local. You'll have your regular cà phê spot, your favourite bánh mì cart, and a hẻm you can navigate blind. The city has enough depth for weeks — 5 days just scratches the surface properly.
Should I include Đà Lạt or Phú Quốc?
If you have 5 days specifically for Saigon, stay in Saigon. The city deserves it. If you have 7+ days in Vietnam, absolutely add Đà Lạt (1-hour flight, completely different vibe) or Phú Quốc (1-hour flight, beaches). But don't shortchange Saigon.
Is the Vũng Tàu ferry worth it?
The ferry ride is spectacular — 2 hours down the Saigon River watching container ships, mangroves, and fishing boats. The beach itself is average by Southeast Asian standards. Go for the ferry + seafood lunch combo, not the beach. It's a great change of pace on Day 5.
What about Chợ Lớn (Chinatown)?
Chợ Lớn is the most underrated area in Saigon. Most tourists never leave District 1 — that's a mistake. The Thiên Hậu Temple alone justifies the trip. The dim sum breakfast is world-class. And the energy of the wholesale markets is unlike anywhere else in the city.
Can I do a cooking class AND Chợ Lớn on the same day?
Yes — that's exactly how we planned Day 4. Morning in Chợ Lớn (Districts 5-6), afternoon cooking class in District 4. Both are food-focused, but completely different experiences. You'll be full by evening — perfect excuse for a light dinner and early night before the Vũng Tàu ferry.
