0Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is one of Asia’s most eclectic and distinct cities. Encounter historic destinations such as the Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral and Thien Hau Temple, as well as the vibrant and bustling Ben Thanh Market. On top of the destinations, Ho Chi Minh City is also a great place to learn how to prepare Vietnamese cuisine with any number of signature cooking classes! Discover both an old world city and a fast-moving modern metropolis with an unforgettable visit to this distinct destination.
Highlights
4
Itinerary idea in detail
Includes international flights from a choice of UK airports, including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
-
1
Upon arrival into the port, our guide will be waiting upon your disembarkation to provide transport to Ho Chi Minh City. Alongside our professional local guide, discover just what makes Ho Chi Minh City such a unique, distinct Vietnamese destination. Housing everything from pagodas and temples to museums, open-air markets and world-class dining venues, the city formerly known as Saigon is easy to fall in love with.
Begin the tour at the Museum of Vietnamese History to get a solid foundation of the country’s roots and traditions. Follow this experience up with some more modern history with a visit to the Reunification Palace. The former home of the President of South Vietnam, it was here that the Viet Cong troops charged through the gate in 1975 which marked the fall of Saigon and the reunification of the country. Today you can walk through the building and grounds of this iconic destination to get a feel for some not-so-distant history. One of the palace’s most unique corners is the war command room, which still has campaign maps and old communication equipment on display.
The city tour continues onwards to the historic Notre Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office, two colonial visits that reflect the French roots of Ho Chi Minh City. The Cathedral stands tall as one of the most unique structures in the city, and the post office is anything but your average mailing grounds, appearing more like a grand European railway station.
After the visits, continue with a delicious local lunch at a nearby restaurant to get a taste for Southern Vietnamese cuisine. After lunch, transport will be provided over to District 5 for a quick visit to the Thien Hau Temple, temple reflecting the Chinese roots of the region. After the visit, head to the unique Museum of Traditional Vietnamese medicine for a glimpse into the region’s Chinese medicinal roots.
Wrap up the day with some time exploring the Ben Thanh Market to pick out some unique souvenirs to commemorate your time in Ho Chi Minh City.
Departures (local time)
8:00 AM (9 hrs)
9:00 AM (9 hrs)
Transfer / Meeting Instructions
No Taxi Required Specific pick up or taxi instructions will appear on your voucher after you purchase your trip.
Special Instructions
• Lunch is included in price except for drinks.
Restrictions
• Please note there is surcharge pricing for all National and New Year holidays. Contact us at sales@mywaytravel.com
Accommodation options
While the itinerary price reflects the suggested accommodation, Audley trips are 100% tailor-made, and a specialist can help you select the option best suited to your tastes and budget.
Booking Policy
Round trip transportation from the cruise ship pier
English-speaking driver/guide
History Museum
Reunification Palace (Former Presidential Palace)
Notre Dame Cathedral
Central Post Office
Thien Hau Temple
First Museum of Traditional Medicine
Shopping at Ben Thanh Market or Dong Khoi St.
Additional Languages Available
French($)
German($)
Mandarin($)
Spanish($)
*Possible to pay extra for languages denoted with ($) symbol.
Entry visas
International airport departure taxes
Any meals not listed in the itinerary
Drinks, other than water on activity days
Personal expenses (laundry, telephone, drinks, tip…)
Travel insurance
All other services not listed in ‘inclusive’
We'll help plan your trip based on you like and want to do. We know a lot about the place you're gomg. so we can give you good advice. WIIether you're into history, food, or culture, ue'll make sure your trip is just right for you. With us. your travel will be easy and fun!
We'll help plan your trip based on you like and want to do. We know a lot about the place you're gomg. so we can give you good advice. WIIether you're into history, food, or culture, ue'll make sure your trip is just right for you. With us. your travel will be easy and fun!
We'll help plan your trip based on you like and want to do. We know a lot about the place you're gomg. so we can give you good advice. WIIether you're into history, food, or culture, ue'll make sure your trip is just right for you. With us. your travel will be easy and fun!
It is easy to customize your Highlights of Vietnam tours with us
What our clients say about us
Heather
9 May 2024 ★★★★★Our 2-week trip to Thailand was fantastic! Chiang Mai felt completely magical and Koh Samui was beautiful. We managed to have fun even on the rainy days. Our guides were perfect, very knowledgeable and a lot of fun, with great insights into the local culture. I've been recommending Absolute Asia Tours to all my friends and I can't wait to travel with you guys again! The coordination of everything was very well done.
Gari
22 May 2024 ★★★★★Our recent trip to China and Mongolia was a great success. Overall we found Absolute Asia Tours services to be excellent throughout the two weeks we were in Asia. For us, Mongolia was definitely the highlight. We thoroughly enjoyed or local guides and drives and they were unfailingly knowledgeable, helpful and amusing. Their languages skills were excellent and we felt that we recieved real insight into this fascinating country. We were intinially drawn to the idea of this trip by the reports of the world class fihing and we were absolutely not disappointed. The fishing guide was first rate and we caught more fish than we could have hoped for - more than 25 each day - with the added bonus of being the only other people in sight for miles arround. AAT created a private ger camp for us on the Onon River and we enjoyed delicious food prepared by our chef in a beautiful unspoled atmosphere. They alo arranged for us to visit a nomadic family and spend time with them at home and organized a dinner with an anthropologist with expert knowledge of the region. AAT fullfilled their promise to tkae us to us to one of the world's best fishing destinations in comfort and style. We would be happy to travel with AAT again and will definitely recommend them to our friends.
Cherry
16 May 2024 ★★★★★We've had two "A+" experience with Absolute Asia Tours. It is a pleasure to work with an organization where I feel confident that what you say will happen, happens. This was true with our complicated China itinerary six years ago, and was true with our recent itinerary in Vietnam. your on the ground guides and logistics were top - notch, and I would recommend you to anyone to visit Asia.
James
17 January 2024 ★★★★★Absolute Asia tours gave us a wonderful tour of Southeast Asia (working with sister-agency My Way Travel based in Vietnam). For our Siem Reap/Angkor Wat journey, our party of two had a private driver and guide named Jak, who was a cheerful and knowledgeable companion, explaining the history, culture, architecture and religious significance of the sites while keeping it always fun. We moved efficiently from site to site, and finished with a boat tour of the fishing village on stilts at Kampong Pluk on the Tonle Sap Lake. During most of our trip we stayed at top-notch locally-owned hotels, but in Siem Reap we were at the excellent local Hyatt hotel. Absolute Asia and My Way Travel our outstanding local providers, less expensive than name-brand group tours, and customized to our interests and schedule.
Hope
2 January 2024 ★★★★★We had an awesome time on cycling tour with AAT! It was incredible, filled with good vibes, laughs & a fantastic way to explore Vietnam & Cambodia. Tony our guide made it special by introducing us to locals and showing us the real charm of these countries. The whole tour was well-organized & the way they took care of us awesome. It's an unforgettable trip and I'll definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to experience the beauty of Southeast Asia.
Nas
1 January 2024 ★★★★★My group of six completed a 30 day cycling tour in Asia with AAT. We traveled form Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket & Saigon to Siem Reap. Every day we pedaled through stunning countryside views, passing villages, fields & limestone karsts. Our guide Tony was fantastic-interesting, friendly & personable. This experience stood out as the highlight of our Asia trip.
