Private Tour Ho Chi Minh City

[Keith1010]

We have been to this city once before in 2008 on a cruise and did an organized tour though the ship.

 

We will be there again in 2012 and will have a private car and driver and would appreciate any suggestions/thoughts on what to see in the City and the surrounding areas.

 

Keith

[2Fltravelers]

We have been to this city once before in 2008 on a cruise and did an organized tour though the ship.

 

We will be there again in 2012 and will have a private car and driver and would appreciate any suggestions/thoughts on what to see in the City and the surrounding areas.

 

Keith

 

Hi Keith:

We were in HCMC in February and also had a private guide and driver. Since we had just disembraked a river cruise and had a day tour with them the first day, we opted for seeing some things we did not see with our group tour. So, we went to Giac Lam Pagoda, the oldest pagoda in Saigon. From there we went to Binh Tay Market in Chinatown,lunch at Pho 2000 where we enjoyed great pho and excellent spring rolls, then to a different lacquer workshop than we visited the previous day. We stopped outside the Reunification Palace where we had an interesting discussion, visited the War Remnants Museum, an over-the-top propaganda museum but worth the visit. We saw the Opera House, City Hall, went inside Notre Dame Cathedral and the Post Office and enjoyed a wonderful Vietnamese iced coffee drink atop the rooftop bar of the Rex Hotel with a wonderful view of the skyline, Opera, House and City Hall.

I hope this helps you plan your time.

[Keith1010]

2Fltravelers, thank you so very much for the suggestions.

 

Keith

[eh2zed]

Keith, we there last month for 2 days. First day our guide and drive took us to to Mekong Delta. Amazing tour including tour on river, sampan through Delta, horse drawn carriage ride, etc. Its an hour and half drive there and again back. Not sure how much time you have. Will take minimum 6 hours. Second day we did a city tour including the Rex hotel both the wholesale market and regular market, PHO 2000 for lunch, reunification palace, etc.

[Keith1010]

eH2zed, thank you for the excellent advice.

 

Keith

[EmsMom]

We were in HCMC in March and used Dung Zoom as our guide. Would strongly recommend using a guide as this is the most expedient way to see a lot in a short time. We did the Mekong Delta trip the first day----it gave a great view of the country way of life. The second day we did the city tour. One of my favorite things was the coffee on top of the Rex Hotel. It was an amazing experience. We enjoyed looking at the aircraft and tanks at the War Remnants Museum as one of the planes was like the one my husband crewed while he was in Vietnam during the war. Zoom warned us about the extensive propaganda inside the museum and he was so right. We could only stay for a short time as it was really hard to take.

[karenbeanpole]

Cu Chi Tunnels is an experience outside HCM City. Amazing to see how small the tunnels can be that they used during the war

[hoangsa]

Cu Chi Tunnels is an experience outside HCM City. Amazing to see how small the tunnels can be that they used during the war

Remember to stop at:

- Rubber plantation and rice-paper making family.

- Town of Phu Hoa Dong, former boundary between Day and Night and between VC and ARVN.

- Rice paddy

- A road junction and take quick photo of Dong Du base, former base of US Army 25th Infantry Division.

[John Bull]

Cu Chi Tunnels is an experience outside HCM City. Amazing to see how small the tunnels can be that they used during the war

 

 

Hi Keith,

 

I agree with the beanpole. And its a lot more than just tunnels. The clandestine buildings, man-traps etc, a lot of ingenuity. Well-guided (inclus), worthy of about 2 hours. About an hour to 90 mins north of Saigon.

 

We went there & back (from Saigon centre) by speedboat (hour & 20 mins e/w), beats the road hands-down and for the 8 of us sharing it worked out about $45 each - cheaper than ship's road trip. One of the best cruise days we've experienced. Made several stops on the way back, including Binh Quoi - called a tourist village but more like ornamental gardens, very popular for weddings, there were half-a-dozen when we were there. On the outskirts of the city, very accessible by car.

 

Especially if you're in Saigon in the evening, try a water puppet theatre

http://www.goldendragonwaterpuppet.com/HowIs.asp

 

Centre of Saigon - Reunification Hall, War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh Museum, Post Office, Ben Thanh covered market etc (did you not go to these places in '08?) is very easily covered on foot.

 

Where's your port? City port, or Phu My (90 mins SW) or Vung Tau (2hrs plus, at the mouth of the river)?

If not in the city & the ship overnites, well worth considering an overnite hotel - saves wasted time travelling & gives you a long evening in town.

 

JB :)

[hoangsa]

Remember to stop at:

- Rubber plantation and rice-paper making family.

- Town of Phu Hoa Dong, former boundary between Day and Night and between VC and ARVN.

- Rice paddy

- A road junction and take quick photo of Dong Du base, former base of US Army 25th Infantry Division.

From hotel, to do the City and Cuchi tour in one day is advisable.

Cuchi first.

Back to town for lunch. Pho 2000 ( Clinton's restaurant ) is likely a must. After lunch a stroll inside Ben Thanh market should be first in the city tour.

It could be 4 or 430P when you are about to end the day's tour. The sun is shining the back side of Notre Dame Cathedral. Don't miss the photo opportunity.

[Calisense]

Hi Keith:

 

We were in HCMC in February and also had a private guide and driver. Since we had just disembraked a river cruise and had a day tour with them the first day, we opted for seeing some things we did not see with our group tour. So, we went to Giac Lam Pagoda, the oldest pagoda in Saigon. From there we went to Binh Tay Market in Chinatown,lunch at Pho 2000 where we enjoyed great pho and excellent spring rolls, then to a different lacquer workshop than we visited the previous day. We stopped outside the Reunification Palace where we had an interesting discussion, visited the War Remnants Museum, an over-the-top propaganda museum but worth the visit. We saw the Opera House, City Hall, went inside Notre Dame Cathedral and the Post Office and enjoyed a wonderful Vietnamese iced coffee drink atop the rooftop bar of the Rex Hotel with a wonderful view of the skyline, Opera, House and City Hall.

 

I hope this helps you plan your time.

A City tour in Saigon should be including Giac Lam pagoda. It's the most ancient pagoda in Saigon.

[sandancer]

We were in HCMC in March and used Dung Zoom as our guide. Would strongly recommend using a guide as this is the most expedient way to see a lot in a short time. We did the Mekong Delta trip the first day----it gave a great view of the country way of life. The second day we did the city tour. One of my favorite things was the coffee on top of the Rex Hotel. It was an amazing experience. We enjoyed looking at the aircraft and tanks at the War Remnants Museum as one of the planes was like the one my husband crewed while he was in Vietnam during the war. Zoom warned us about the extensive propaganda inside the museum and he was so right. We could only stay for a short time as it was really hard to take.

Very happy to hear this review on Zoom as we have booked his company for February. We are doing things the other way round and taking a city tour on the 1st day and Mekong Delta on the 2nd. Unfortunately, because Zoom is so much in demand he cannot be with us for the full tour. He has managed to get us rooms at the Rex hotel for the overnight which is great as we will be there during Tet.

[aircsi]

Hi Keith,

 

I agree with the beanpole. And its a lot more than just tunnels. The clandestine buildings, man-traps etc, a lot of ingenuity. Well-guided (inclus), worthy of about 2 hours. About an hour to 90 mins north of Saigon.

 

We went there & back (from Saigon centre) by speedboat (hour & 20 mins e/w), beats the road hands-down and for the 8 of us sharing it worked out about $45 each - cheaper than ship's road trip. One of the best cruise days we've experienced. Made several stops on the way back, including Binh Quoi - called a tourist village but more like ornamental gardens, very popular for weddings, there were half-a-dozen when we were there. On the outskirts of the city, very accessible by car.

 

Especially if you're in Saigon in the evening, try a water puppet theatre

http://www.goldendragonwaterpuppet.com/HowIs.asp

 

Centre of Saigon - Reunification Hall, War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh Museum, Post Office, Ben Thanh covered market etc (did you not go to these places in '08?) is very easily covered on foot.

 

Where's your port? City port, or Phu My (90 mins SW) or Vung Tau (2hrs plus, at the mouth of the river)?

If not in the city & the ship overnites, well worth considering an overnite hotel - saves wasted time travelling & gives you a long evening in town.

 

JB :)

john, can you send me more information on the speed boat trip. We have six of us and that trip sounds great. Do you have a website for it and how did you find out about it. thanks and right now I envy you hoping to enjoy the same sxperiences.

[John Bull]

john, can you send me more information on the speed boat trip. We have six of us and that trip sounds great. Do you have a website for it and how did you find out about it. thanks and right now I envy you hoping to enjoy the same sxperiences.

 

Hi,

This was a couple of years ago.

On the 'net we found seat-in-boat offered by Blue Cruiser, but when we contacted them they'd ceased that service.

They put me onto a tour agent & he offered speedboat charter. We were only two, but decided that if we couldn't find sharers on the ship we'd still do it & the hell with the cost. But it was all pretty problematic because the guy had poor english & couldn't grasp that we needed to know how many we could get in a boat & what the cost was for different numbers. In the end I was assured the boat would seat 8 & we found sharers very very easily. When I double-checked with him by e-mail a couple of days out I'm convinced he'd not actually done anything. But it worked out in the end, the boat ould have held 12 - 14 but 8 was ideal cos we had 4 in the open in the bow & four in the open in the stern, & it was a great day. Total cost for the boat around $400. We were persuaded to also book a van from our ship's pier (in the city) to the boat pier - it was only about a mile, we could've easily walked but it was re-assuring to see the guy's van on the quayside. We paid nothing up-front & paid him in USD cash when we got back. The price was for the transport only, no food etc. The admission to Cu Chi is just a few dollars & everything in Vietnam is silly-cheap.

 

I don't have the guy's details (changed computer, lost e-mail records in the transfer) but I'd not have recommended him anyway, he was hard work.

 

Offerings & communications by Vietnamese agencies seem to have improved dramatically since then. Just google Cu Chi speedboat & you'll find a number of options.

 

The main offering seems to be

http://www.saigonriverexpress.com/en/node/38#

and they get good reviews on TripAdvisor

 

Well worth the grief in setting it up, a highlight of our best cruise ever.

 

JB :)

[Calisense]

Cu Chi Tunnels is an experience outside HCM City. Amazing to see how small the tunnels can be that they used during the war

A visit to Cuchi should be categorized into at least two layers. One for first timers and one for second timers & veterans. The latter should not miss a stop at Phu Hoa Dong. During the war, it was the border village with Cau Son bridge as the partitioning point.

[fatbear88]

You can take private car from Ho Chi Minh City to Mekong Delta then join in full day tour, sampan through many floating markets like: Cai Be Floating Market, Cai Rang Floating Market, etc.

It is feature of local peope life!!

[montrealmaria]

We were in HCMC in March and used Dung Zoom as our guide. Would strongly recommend using a guide as this is the most expedient way to see a lot in a short time. We did the Mekong Delta trip the first day----it gave a great view of the country way of life. The second day we did the city tour. One of my favorite things was the coffee on top of the Rex Hotel. It was an amazing experience. We enjoyed looking at the aircraft and tanks at the War Remnants Museum as one of the planes was like the one my husband crewed while he was in Vietnam during the war. Zoom warned us about the extensive propaganda inside the museum and he was so right. We could only stay for a short time as it was really hard to take.

Do you have the email or website that I can contact ZOOM??? greatly appreciate any help!

:):):):)

[montrealmaria]

We were in HCMC in March and used Dung Zoom as our guide. Would strongly recommend using a guide as this is the most expedient way to see a lot in a short time. We did the Mekong Delta trip the first day----it gave a great view of the country way of life. The second day we did the city tour. One of my favorite things was the coffee on top of the Rex Hotel. It was an amazing experience. We enjoyed looking at the aircraft and tanks at the War Remnants Museum as one of the planes was like the one my husband crewed while he was in Vietnam during the war. Zoom warned us about the extensive propaganda inside the museum and he was so right. We could only stay for a short time as it was really hard to take.

can I have an email to contact zoom or a web site! thanks

[Pean]

can I have an email to contact zoom or a web site! thanks

 

Website is http://saigonprivatetour.com/wp/?page_id=39

Email is dungzoom@gmail.com

Hope this helps

Carol

[montrealmaria]

Thanks... i emailed him, but he is already booked:(:(:(

He recommended a dutch friend.

He suggested though that I take the cruise bus to get me to the Rex Hotel and the guide will meet me there. and then take the cruise shuttle back to the port. I would only have the guide to take me around the city, not due the 2 hour travel to and from. What is your opinion on that, did you do that.

Thanks for your help.

maria

[Pean]

Thanks... i emailed him, but he is already booked:(:(:(

He recommended a dutch friend.

He suggested though that I take the cruise bus to get me to the Rex Hotel and the guide will meet me there. and then take the cruise shuttle back to the port. I would only have the guide to take me around the city, not due the 2 hour travel to and from. What is your opinion on that, did you do that.

Thanks for your help.

maria

 

Sorry, I had his details as we are using him in March but I am hoping on the drive he will be able to tell us about his country. I am not sure what info you will get on the cruise transfer.

[banditoo]

Keith, we there last month for 2 days. First day our guide and drive took us to to Mekong Delta. Amazing tour including tour on river, sampan through Delta, horse drawn carriage ride, etc. Its an hour and half drive there and again back. Not sure how much time you have. Will take minimum 6 hours. Second day we did a city tour including the Rex hotel both the wholesale market and regular market, PHO 2000 for lunch, reunification palace, etc.

 

eh2zed, We will be in Phu My port on Voyager of the Seas in October for 2 days (overnight). I like the two days you describe. Who did you book your tour with? Did you stay overnight in the city or go back to the ship?