Merry Christmas, everyone!

How has everyone been on this holiday season?! How many people in the family that annoy me this time? 😛

Anyway, this Christmas marks the second year since I spent Christmas in Vietnam 2 years ago. I spent Christmas eve in the capital city Hanoi, but I had some memorable things in HCMC. From a sudden date in Saigon to randomly met a fellow cat lady at Chatime. So random, but damn I've made some long last friendship now that we still like each other's post on Facebook! 😛

This is why I was super excited when I got connected to Jackie and Justin from Life of Doing. Especially when they told me they would like to cover HCMC or Saigon for this $10 series. And it's such a sweet coincidence now that I get to schedule it to publish it a day after Christmas. Happy Boxing Day, everyone! 😀

Table of Content

Get Busy in the Hustle and Bustle Itinerary of Ho Chi Minh City

Ready to travel to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam?

Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon, is a great city to stop by during your vacation in Vietnam. With the hustle and bustle of a large city, rich culture, delicious foods, endless coffee shops, and the never-ending motorbikes, you'll get entranced with the offerings in this city!

We're here to share with you various ways to use $10 USD in the vibrant Ho Chi Minch City.

Enjoy Vietnamese Food from Street Vendors or in Restaurants

Eating street food or at local shops (quán in Vietnamese) is one of the best experiences you can have. Browse through the streets and alleyways to find vendors who serve fresh and flavorful Vietnamese food.

From hot bowls of noodle soup (phở, bún riêu), rice plates (cơm tấm) with soup, fresh spring rolls (gỏi cuốn), vegetarian/vegan food, it's an affordable way to eat through the city. This will set you back around 20,000-70,000 VND (around $0.90 to $3 USD).

Extra bonus if you get to sit on the tiny plastic chairs and enjoy a cold beer at 10,000 VND (around $0.40 USD) during your meal.

If you want a more sit-down dining experience, there are plenty of places to enjoy a meal for less than $10 USD. Check out Secret Garden Restaurant for Vietnamese food or Pizza 4P's for unique pizza toppings.

Another option is to head to Bui Vien Walking Street for cheap international food options. You can have a feast at these places!

Drink Vietnamese Coffee.

Coffee lovers will enjoy the strong Vietnamese coffee drinks.

There are plenty of cafes from your local coffee shops that served iced coffee with milk (cà phê sữa đá) at 10,000 VND (around $0.40 USD).

More established places, such as Trung Nguyên Legend has unique coffees, such as weasel coffee. You can find coffee shops everywhere and can even drink coffee at a street vendor at 3 AM!

Visit Museums and Local Attractions.

Interested in learning about Vietnam history? Check out the War Remnants Museum, Independence Palace (also referred to as the Reunification Palace), and other museums in the city.

Admission cost to the museums are between 15,000 to 40,000 VND (around $0.60 to $1.70 USD).

You can also see the aerial views of Ho Chi Minh City from the Saigon Skydeck at the Bitexco Financial Building. It is one of the tallest buildings in the city. Tickets are 200,000 VND (around $8.60 USD).

If you have a motorbike available, you can also explore outside of the main city of Ho Chi Minh City to see wild monkeys at Can Gio Island or learn about the tunnels used during the Vietnam War at Cu Chi Tunnels. Tickets are around 100,000 VND (around $4.30 USD).

Take Local Transportation or Rental Motorbike to Your Destinations.

It's recommended to stay centrally in Ho Chi Minh City in District 1 so you can walk around everywhere. Otherwise, you can take advantage of the cheap local transportation available.

Local buses go to other districts (or even cities) with the starting fare at 5,000 VND ($0.20 USD). Another option is to take a rideshare car or motorbike taxi via Grab, GoJek, or VATO. You can have a 20-minute motorbike ride in town for 20,000+ VND ($0.90++), depending on the distance.

Renting a motorbike is also reasonable and you can rent one for 100,000-150,000 VND ($4.30-$6.40 USD) per day.

As you can see, $10 can go far in Ho Chi Minh City and we hope you consider visiting this place in the future!

Contributor: Jackie and Justin of Life of Doing

Jackie and Justin are avid world-travelers, wanderers, and bloggers on Life of Doing. They love spending time outdoors either hiking, biking, or walking around town. Their blog focuses on affordable travels, travel itinerary, inspiration, and adventures around the world. It's about a “life of doing”!

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