Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Best Dec – Mar Southern Vietnam Culture & Heritage 2 – 3 nights

Saigon never stops. Motorbikes swarm through a skyline of French colonial mansions and glass towers, rooftop bars light up at sunset, and the street food runs from dawn until well after midnight. It is Vietnam's most energetic city, and for a couple of nights at the start or end of a honeymoon, there is nothing else like it.

Check into the Park Hyatt on the Opera House square or The Reverie on Nguyen Hue Boulevard, arguably Vietnam's most opulent hotel. By day, the contrast between the red-brick Notre-Dame Cathedral and the war history across town is startling and moving. By night, Chill Skybar on the 26th floor and the historic Saigon Saigon bar at the Caravelle make the city feel like your own.

Why Honeymoon in Ho Chi Minh City?

Vietnam's largest city sits in the Mekong-fed south, a sprawling metropolis of 10 million that locals still call Saigon. Tan Son Nhat is Vietnam's busiest international airport, with direct flights from London, Paris, Sydney, Singapore and dozens of Asian hubs. The centre of District 1 is just 30 minutes away.

Start at Paris Commune Square, where the red-brick Notre-Dame Cathedral from 1880 stands beside the ornate Central Post Office designed in the 1880s by Marie-Alfred Foulhoux. The War Remnants Museum a few blocks away is a sombre and essential stop, documenting the conflict through photographs, artefacts and military hardware. Ben Thanh Market is the city's commercial heart, a chaotic indoor maze of lacquerware, silk, spices and coffee that spills into an open-air night market after dark.

What sets Saigon apart is the evening energy. Chill Skybar on the 26th floor of AB Tower has 360-degree views of the skyline. Saigon Saigon atop the Caravelle Hotel was a war-correspondent haunt in the 1960s and still serves some of the city's best sundowners. Down at street level, com tam, broken rice with a charcoal-grilled pork chop, is the local signature, and banh mi carts appear on every corner. The Nguyen Hue pedestrian boulevard lights up with fountains at night, and Bui Vien Walking Street is Southeast Asia at its most unfiltered.

Highlights of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Notre-Dame and Post Office

Red-brick cathedral from 1880 and the ornate French colonial post office, side by side on Paris Commune Square.

War Remnants Museum

Vietnams most visited museum documenting the war through photographs, artefacts and military hardware.

Rooftop Bars

Chill Skybar on the 26th floor, Saigon Saigon at the historic Caravelle, and sunset cocktails at The Social Club.

Ben Thanh Market

Saigons most iconic market for lacquerware, silk and coffee, transforming into a lively night market after dark.

Cu Chi Tunnels

A 250-kilometre underground network 90 minutes from the city, with crawl-through sections and wartime displays.

Mekong Delta Day Trip

Sampan rides through palm-lined canals, fruit orchards, coconut candy workshops and elephant-ear fish for lunch.

Best Time to Visit

December to March is the dry season with comfortable temperatures of 28 to 32 degrees and almost no rain. April is hot but still dry. May to November brings short afternoon downpours, though they rarely last more than an hour and the city functions normally.

Getting There

Tan Son Nhat International Airport is Vietnam's busiest hub, with direct flights from London, Paris, Sydney, Singapore, Bangkok and Seoul, plus domestic connections to every major city. The airport is 7 kilometres from District 1, about 30 minutes by car. We arrange private transfers for all our honeymoon packages.