Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam, 2026

Travel Dates: March 4th - March 8th

Ho Chi Min City is more of a "living city" than both Ha Noi or Da Nang. There are highlights such as visiting the many cafe apartments, aside from the most popular one. Walking through the shop-converted historic apartments is a fun morning/afternoon experience. We got coffee on the top floor and lunch on one of the mid-levels.

The largest market, Ben Thanh, is a must-experience market. We're not keen on the whole "fake designer goods" thing or haggling for souvenirs, but we appreciate the overall experience. I very much enjoyed getting a durian avocado smoothie. The thick & creamy avocado texture compliments the, rather flavorsome, durian. We also found the sometimes-elusive Bánh Mì Kẹp Kem (ice cream sandwich) vendor and got a vanilla/pineapple/durian ice cream sandwich. It was rather delightful.

Conclusion

Ho Chi Min City was definitely worth visiting, although, we could have reduced the number of days to 3 instead of 5. We weren't big on wanting to visit the war museums, and of the non-war museums, we found those in Hanoi to be of better quality. Our biggest oversight in planning, which would have made visiting the area better, is if we had planned a day trip or overnight to the Mekong Delta. Maybe it's enough of a reason to go back.