Saigon

[waggie]

I am considering my options for a day in Saigon in February 2017:

1. Ship transport only and then diy sightseeing in the city

2. Joining a tour being planned on the roll call

 

Can anyone offer information on independent sightseeing?

I have read that hop-on buses - a usual favourite of mine, are not well organised in Saigon.

Has anyone experience or costings for a private tour or taxi for the day?

 

Thank you in anticipation,

Waggie

[tercar]

I am considering my options for a day in Saigon in February 2017:

 

1. Ship transport only and then diy sightseeing in the city

 

2. Joining a tour being planned on the roll call

 

 

 

Can anyone offer information on independent sightseeing?

 

I have read that hop-on buses - a usual favourite of mine, are not well organised in Saigon.

 

Has anyone experience or costings for a private tour or taxi for the day?

 

 

 

Thank you in anticipation,

 

Waggie

 

 

We have done Saigon before and just got taxi from the port they take you to the places of interest and it's not very expensive. We have done thrice twice now. Maybe just have a chillaxing day on the ship this time.

 

 

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[waggie]

Thanks Tercar,

How long was the taxi ride to the city?

I wonder if we can take the ship transport and then find a taxi in Saigon to show us around - any ideas?

 

Waggie

[ladylurkalot]

When we visited Saigon earlier this year we got the ships transfer into the city and went on a walking tour organised by Saigon Hotpots.

These are free tours as the guides are all students who want to practice their English. Our guide was a delightful young girl, and she took us to all the major sights including the Reunification Palace. We paid our own entry fees and her entry fee, which as a student wasn't much. We took her for lunch at the Rex Hotel, she had never been before (we had a local dish, she had a burger which she wanted to try!) I was so glad we were with her when it came to crossing the roads (Saigon traffic is mad!). At the end of the tour we tried to give her a tip but she said she wasn't allowed to take tips, we could however give a donation to her college! I can highly recommend them.

[mystic1963]

I am considering my options for a day in Saigon in February 2017:

1. Ship transport only and then diy sightseeing in the city

2. Joining a tour being planned on the roll call

 

Can anyone offer information on independent sightseeing?

I have read that hop-on buses - a usual favourite of mine, are not well organised in Saigon.

Has anyone experience or costings for a private tour or taxi for the day?

 

Thank you in anticipation,

Waggie

We stayed in Ho Chi Minh city a couple of years ago.

 

It will depend very much on what you want to do and what sort of cultural experience you want.

If you are interested in the American war then you should go to the Cu Chi tunnels and then come back to the city and visit the museums later in the day when they are not so busy. If you have time, there is a brilliant river trip to the tunnels which takes around 6 hours leaving from a dock near the Rennaissance Hotel in Saigon. You can book this independently but I know when we were there, cruise ships did bring passengers there at around lunch time as part of tours.

 

Its an amazing city. The traffic is completely mad and you need to be very confident in it to make the most of only one days touring on your own. If you have never coped with Vietnamese traffic and roads before, you should definitely book a tour.

The content is up to you.

Trail Finders in the UK are really good and have the best guides around, or so our experience has been anyway

I do not remember there being any HO HO buses but that may have changed and cant imagine them being super efficient as really you need small transport to travel around the city. The cyclos are a good way but you MUST negotiate in advance and then stick to your guns at the end, or they will try and take money from you that you havent agreed to. They will also try and get you into a restaurant, usually a relative, and get you to pay for their lunch. Just dont go in and they will give up!

Have an amazing trip

Edited November 16, 2016 by mystic1963

[waggie]

Thank you all for such helpful information.

I think that to do it justice we need to join a tour for that one day and then plan a land tour at a later date with more time to explore.

Waggie

[Bpos]

We stayed in Ho Chi Minh city a couple of years ago.

 

It will depend very much on what you want to do and what sort of cultural experience you want.

If you are interested in the American war then you should go to the Cu Chi tunnels and then come back to the city and visit the museums later in the day when they are not so busy. If you have time, there is a brilliant river trip to the tunnels which takes around 6 hours leaving from a dock near the Rennaissance Hotel in Saigon. You can book this independently but I know when we were there, cruise ships did bring passengers there at around lunch time as part of tours.

 

Its an amazing city. The traffic is completely mad and you need to be very confident in it to make the most of only one days touring on your own. If you have never coped with Vietnamese traffic and roads before, you should definitely book a tour.

The content is up to you.

Trail Finders in the UK are really good and have the best guides around, or so our experience has been anyway

I do not remember there being any HO HO buses but that may have changed and cant imagine them being super efficient as really you need small transport to travel around the city. The cyclos are a good way but you MUST negotiate in advance and then stick to your guns at the end, or they will try and take money from you that you havent agreed to. They will also try and get you into a restaurant, usually a relative, and get you to pay for their lunch. Just dont go in and they will give up!

Have an amazing trip

 

DO not use Cyclos anywhere in Vietnam, an particular in Saigon under any circumstances, unless the have been organised and paid for in pre arranged tours.

 

JUst go to trip advisor and see the bad experiences outlined there. EVen local expats will not use them.