Ho Chi Minh City travel has always been an excellent choice for tourists around the globe. Also known as Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City is located in Southern Vietnam. The city has pleasant weather, beautiful places, great food, and many exciting events that attract domestic and foreign visitors.
As people set up plans for their Ho Chi Minh city trips, they usually have difficulty choosing the visiting time, destinations, and food to try. If you have the same problem, then this article is for you. It explains everything you need to know about Saigon to make the best preparation!
Best Time To Visit Saigon (HCM City)
The weather in Ho Chi Minh city is divided into 2 different seasons: the Dry Season and Wet Season. Regardless of the period of the year, places in Saigon are always beautiful, and there are always significant events and exceptional food you can try.
However, depending on the weather you are used to, you will decide the best time to visit Saigon.
Dry season – From December To April
If you are not afraid of hot weather, then feel free to plan your Ho Chi Minh city vacations during the dry season. The average temperature is about 82.4℉ but may increase to 104℉ (at the peak).
The weather becomes the hottest between March and April. So make sure to prepare sunglasses, sunscreen, and some protective items to avoid skin burn. Shorts and tank tops are highly recommended for comfort.
The dry season is the best time for you to avoid the sticky weather in Ho Chi Minh city. The humidity is relatively moderate at the beginning of the season and will decrease till April.
As a fan of significant events, you definitely have to travel to Saigon during the dry season. A lot of festivals will be taking place in this period of the year, such as Christmas in December, Western New Year in January, and Lunar New Year in January (or February, depending on the lunar calendar). The price of products, souvenirs, and entry tickets may be high during this period, but totally worth your experience.
Wet Season – From May To November
In the wet season, there will be more rain, and the humidity will be extremely high. It may be a bit inconvenient to walk around, as there will be flooding because of the city’s lousy drainage system. However, the weather is not rainy all day. Therefore, you can go out and visit beautiful places and participate in exciting events in Ho Chi Minh city when the weather is more favorable
You can choose any clothes that make you comfortable. But make sure to have a raincoat or an umbrella. Also, don’t forget to have some insect sprayers, as many mosquitoes will appear during this time.
A lot of events will be held during the wet season. At the beginning of the period, there will be Vietnamese Reunification day on 30th April and National Workers Day on 1st May. As the season comes to an end, you can attend Vietnam’s National Day on 2nd September.
There should be no worry about the price increase. Products don’t cost as high as in the dry season.
>> Read more: What Is the Best Time To Visit Vietnam For Tourists?
Best Places To Visit In Ho Chi Minh City
There are lots of beautiful places to visit in Ho Chi Minh city. Overall, you should not miss the top 5 following destinations.
Tan Dinh Church
- Address: 289 Hai Ba Trung, Ward 8, District 3, Ho Chi Minh city
- Entry Fee: No
This is one of the most beautiful churches in Saigon. Built in the 1880s, the Tan Dinh church has attracted tons of tourists with its pink facades, impressive architecture, and complex patterns. Tan Dinh has gone through many restoration projects, but the leading beauty of construction still remains today.
Don’t visit Tan Dinh too early as it is open from 5 a.m and closed at 7 p.m. There will be a break between 12 p.m and 2 p.m. During this time, visitors are not allowed to enter. Also, people don’t have permission to visit the church on weekends.
Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts
(Source: Internet)
- Address: 97A Duc Chinh Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh city
- Entry Fee: 10.000VND/adult and 3.000VND/Child
If you have great enthusiasm for the arts, you should put this fantastic museum on your Ho Chi Minh itinerary. Visitors are free to visit on any day they like. But keep in mind that the door is open only from 9 am till 4.45 pm.
Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts was designed by Rivera (French) and established in 1934. It leaves a significant impression on tourists thanks to its hybrid architecture between Asian and European.
The museum contains a massive collection of 21.000 valuable artworks of Saigon, including Indochina School of Fine Arts’s paintings, resistance sketches, and many artworks after the Vietnamese reunification in 1975. The interior scene is also great for visitors to take photos.
War Remnants Museum
- Address: 28 Vo Van Tan Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh city
- Entry fee: 40.000 VND
If you are interested in Vietnamese history, let’s include this War Remnants Museum in your Ho Chi Minh City travel plan! There are exhibitions about the Vietnam wars against French colonialism and American imperialism.
This museum was first named “The House For Displaying War Crimes Of American Imperialism And the Puppet Government” when it was first established in 1993. Although the museum goes through many renovations, it still displays the memories of the old days. Several museum pictures visitors can see are Agent Orange, Napalm, My Lai Massacre, phosphorus bombs, and so on.
Tourists can enter the War Remnants Museum on all days of the week, including holidays, from 7 am to 6.30 pm.
Nguyen Hue – The Walking Street
- Address: 22 Nguyen Hue Street, Ben Nghe, District 1, Ho Chi Minh city
- Entry fee: No
This street is located in the very center of Saigon. Therefore, both locals and foreigners frequent this place every day. The road has the most people in the evening, especially on weekends.
Vehicles are not allowed to enter Nguyen Hue street on Saturday and Sunday. People are free to walk and enjoy all activities organized by locals, including singing, playing traditional Vietnamese games, and so on.
There are also coffee shops, souvenir shops, and restaurants surrounding the street. Besides, visitors can try some delicious Vietnamese cuisine there.
Ben Thanh Market
- Address: Le Loi Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh city
- Entry fee: No
It is such a miss if you don’t visit the Ben Thanh Market during your Ho Chi Minh city travel. The market is known as one of the most iconic buildings in the city.
The market was opened for the first time in the early 17th century. The place is famous for small traders and business people. As Vietnam was affected by the French colonial invasion, the Ben Thanh market was used to serve soldiers. At the moment, the market is where visitors can visit to view the old architecture and buy Vietnamese food.
Especially at night, there will be a street food market located opposite the Ben Thanh Market. You can enjoy Vietnamese cuisine here, but remember to make negotiations before buying.
Must-try Dishes During Your Ho Chi Minh City Travel
When visiting Sagon, you definitely must try the special food listed below. It is made to suit the taste of both locals and foreigners around the world.
Banh Trang Nuong – Vietnamese Pizza
- Price: 10.000 VND – 15.000 VND
- Where to eat: Nguyen Hue street, Ngo Duc Ke Street, Cao Thang area
The number 1 food we want to recommend is Banh Trang Nuong, also known as Vietnamese pizza. You can actually find Banh Trang Nuong outside of Saigon. However, people agree that this street food is the best in Ho Chi Minh city.
The translation of Banh Trang is “rice paper,” and the term Nuong refers to “grill.” The food contains a flat, round rice paper grilled on the coal fire. There will be tasty toppings from delicious ingredients, such as dried beef, eggs, sauce, shrimp paste, onions, cheeses, sausages, etc.
Com Tam Sai Gon
- Price: 25.000 VND – 60.000 VND
- Where to eat: Tran Quang Khai street, Nguyen Thi Thap street, Dinh Tien Hoang street, An Duong Vuong street
This is considered the most delicious main dish. It was once suggested as the representative dish of Vietnamese cuisine, besides Pho.
The food contains rice with grilled pork or grilled chicken. The meat is thinly shredded and served along with eggs. People eat this dish with a special sauce and thinned vegetables. The dish looks simple, but its taste is more special than any other ordinary rice dish.
The best thing is that Com Tam Sai Gon is suitable for all 3 meals of the day, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Xoi Sai Gon
- Price: 10.000 VND – 25.000 VND
- Where to eat: Ba Chieu market, Nguyen Huu Cau street, Nguyen Van Thuong street
Xoi is a particular version of rice, translated as sticky steamed rice. Saigon locals make this dish by mixing the steamed sticky rice with other fillings, including chicken, sausages, eggs, fried onions, polony, etc. There is also a special sauce to make this dish tastier. You can have Xoi Sai Gon for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Bac Siu – Saigon Style Coffee Milk
- Price: 35.00 VND – 55.000 VND
- Places to drink: Any coffee shop
When visiting Ho Chi Minh city, you should stop by a coffee shop and order a cup of Bac Siu, also known as Saigon-style coffee milk. The drink is quite sweet and not as strong as regular Nau coffee (Brown coffee) or Den coffee (black coffee).
Bac Siu contains a high amount of fresh milk, a little bit of condensed milk, and a splash of filter coffee (Ca Phe Phin). The amount of caffeine is not high, so you don’t worry about being sleepless. The great thing is that Bac Siu can be either a cold or hot drink.
Besides coffee shops, Saigon is also famous for street vendors selling coffee. Bac Siu tastes very good there as well!
Che – Sweet Soup
- Price: 10.000 VND – 30.000 VND
- Where to eat: Nguyen Dinh Chieu street, Chau Van Liem Street, Ben Thanh market
After trying some main dishes, you may want to have a cup of Vietnamese traditional sweet dessert called Che. There are plenty of types of Che in Vietnam, but they all have the same sweet taste. Don’t worry about health as ingredients for Che are very safe, such as beans, sweet potatoes, coconut milk, milk, and cane sugar.
It is not difficult to find an area that sells Che. You can see many vendors on almost every sidewalk. Also, Che is sold every time during the day. You can eat it before or after any meal. Like coffee, there are warm and cold versions of Che, suitable for different people with different tastes.
Conclusion
To summarize, there are 2 different seasons in Saigon. If you can stand high temperatures, start your Ho Chi Minh City travel in the dry season. Otherwise, you can enjoy the cool weather of the wet season.
This article has shown the top places to visit and food to try. But remember that those are only the most popular ones. If you need more, please subscribe to the website. We will update new posts about Vietnam, especially Ho Chi Minh city travel in the near future.
Stay tuned!
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