Private Ho Chi Minh City Shore Excursion from Phu My Port or Any Cruise Port


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From $130.57

3 reviews   (5.00)

Price varies by group size

Lowest Price Guarantee

Pricing Info: Per Person

Duration:

Departs: vietnam, vietnam

Ticket Type: Mobile or paper ticket accepted

Free cancellation

Up to 24 hours in advance.

Learn more

Overview

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is the business and financial hub of Vietnam, with a prominent history going back hundreds of years. The French conquered Saigon, as it was then known, in 1859, and made it the capital of Cochin China in 1862, which resulted in numerous elegant architecture and broad boulevards that are still present to this day. At the peak of the Vietnam War in 1969, the city had 4.5 million inhabitants who were all evacuated when Saigon and the rest of the South fell to North Vietnam in 1975.
Today Ho Chi Minh City is a popular tourist destination due to its fascinating culture, classic French architecture, and sleek skyscrapers as well as ornate temples and pagodas. The city is also filled with rooftop bars that overlook Saigon and beyond, while fantastic restaurants offer a combination of French, Chinese and of course local Vietnamese cuisine.


What's Included

All Fees and Taxes

Bottled Water and Cold Tissue

Cruise Port pickup and drop-off

Enjoy Vietnamese Cuisine for Lunch

Private Tour, Flexible and Customized

Professional Tour Guide

What's Not Included

Personal expenses


Traveler Information

  • CHILD: Age: 3 - 11
  • ADULT: Age: 12 - 80

Additional Info

  • Face masks required for guides in public areas
  • Proof of COVID-19 vaccination required for travelers
  • Face masks required for guides in public areas
  • Proof of COVID-19 vaccination required for travelers

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

What To Expect

Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral
Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral, built in the late 1880s by French colonists, is one of the few remaining strongholds of Catholicism in the largely Buddhist Vietnam. Located in Paris Square, the name Notre Dame was given after the installation of the statue ‘Peaceful Notre Dame’ in 1959. In 1962, the Vatican conferred the Cathedral status as a basilica and gave it the official name of Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica. Measuring almost 60 metres in height, the cathedral’s distinctive neo-Romanesque features include the all-red brick façade (which were imported from Marseille), stained glass windows, two bell towers containing six bronze bells that still ring to this day, and a peaceful garden setting in the middle of downtown Ho Chi Minh City District 1.

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Central Post Office
The Central Post Office in Ho Chi Minh is a beautifully preserved remnant of French colonial times and perhaps the grandest post office in all of Southeast Asia. Located next door to Notre Dame Cathedral, the two cultural sites can be visited together and offers visitors a chance to imagine life in Vietnam during the times of the Indochinese Empire. The building was designed by Alfred Foulhoux and features arched windows and wooden shutters, just as it would have in its heyday in the late 19th Century.

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

The Independence Palace
Independence Palace was the base of Vietnamese General Ngo Dinh Diem until his death in 1963. It made its name in global history in 1975. A tank belonging to the North Vietnamese Army crashed through its main gate, ending the Vietnam War. Today, it's a must-visit for tourists in Ho Chi Minh City. The palace is like a time capsule frozen in 1975. You can see two of the original tanks used in the capture of the palace parked in the grounds. Independence Palace was the home and workplace of the French Governor of Cochin-China. It has lush gardens, secret rooms, antique furniture, and a command bunker. It's still in use to host important occasions in Ho Chi Minh, including APEC summits.

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

People's Committee Building
The People’s Committee Building Saigon in central Ho Chi Minh City features well-preserved French colonial architecture in a spacious garden landscape. Originally constructed as a hotel in 1898 by French architect Gardes, it now serves as a city hall and one of the city’s most iconic landmarks. Occupying the end of Nguyen Hue walking promenade, it has three buildings with embossed statues of animals and people, intricate bas-reliefs on the walls, as well as a statue of Ho Chi Minh in front of the main building. The best time to visit is in the evening, as these features are beautifully illuminated with LED lights.

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

War Remnants Museum
The War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City first opened to the public in 1975. Once known as the ‘Museum of American War Crimes’, it's a shocking reminder of the long and brutal Vietnam War. Graphic photographs and American military equipment are on display. There's a helicopter with rocket launchers, a tank, a fighter plane, a single-seater attack aircraft. You can also see a conventional bomb that weighs at 6,800kg. American troops had used these weapons against the Vietnamese between 1945 and 1975.

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Saigon Opera House (Ho Chi Minh Municipal Theater)
The Saigon Opera House in Ho Chi Minh is an elegant colonial building at the intersection of Le Loi and Dong Khoi Street in District 1, very close to the famous Notre Dame Cathedral and the classic Central Post Office. The restored three-storey 800-seat Opera House was built in 1897 and is used for staging not only opera but also a wide range of performing arts including ballet, musical concerts, Vietnamese traditional dance and plays. Performances are advertised around the building and information can be found in the state-operated tourist information centre close by.

• Admission Ticket Free

Chinatown (Cho Lon) - District 5
Ho Chi Minh City’s Cholon is Vietnam’s largest Chinatown with roots dating back to 1778; it’s also a place of great historical and cultural importance. Chinese minorities hid here from the Tay Son and subsequently had to rebuild the area twice following attack with as many as 70% estimated to have died trying to escape on boats. Those who survived settled and began selling a variety of Chinese products. During the Vietnam War Cholon was a thriving black market for US soldiers trading in American Army issue supplies. The area today is a popular site for those on the tourist trail and also attracts many Taiwanese and Chinese visitors. Cholon is an interesting place to see classical Chinese architecture reminiscent of years gone by with plenty of Chinese restaurants.

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Ben Thanh Market
Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 is a great place to buy local handicrafts, branded goods, Vietnamese art and other souvenirs. Here, you’ll find eating stalls inside the market where you can get a taste of hawker-style Vietnamese cuisine or simply cool off with a cold drink when the bargaining becomes too much. The market is big, difficult to navigate at times and certainly best avoided during the hottest part of the day but all the same its well worth a look. When night falls, restaurants around the perimeter of the market open their doors creating a vibrant street side scene filling the air with the scents of wok-fried noodles, barbecued fish and meats. One of Saigon’s oldest landmarks, Ben Thanh offers a great atmosphere that is absolutely authentically Vietnamese.

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free


Reviews

An Excellent Tour
paula, 05-02-2020
We had an excellent day with Trihn and our driver. Trihn was helpful, courteous, knowledgeable and went out of his way to make the day special for us. I would highly recommend Nha Trang Tours and Trihn as your guide for an excursion in Ho Chi Minh City.
A great choice for a special day
John_L, 22-10-2019
We had booked this tour for a number of reasons firstly it was our golden wedding anniversary, secondly we really like Ho Chi Minh City and finally we wanted a private tour as this was a day just for us. We were on a cruise and our driver and guide Vinh were waiting for us a the Phu My port gates exactly as promised. The car was very spacious and clean the driver (apologies I don't recall his name) excellent. Vinh was very informative on our way to Ho Chi Minh City but not intrusive and discussed with us what we wanted from the day. On arrival in Ho Chi Minh City we were taken to a number of different sites and also given time to ourselves but Vinh was never far away if needed. They would obviously would like to have taken us to more places but we were constrained by the time we had to be back on board the ship. However they did manage to take us to 52nd floor of the Bitexco Tower where the whole of Ho Chi Minh City was displayed at this point they gave my wife a large bunch of beautiful red roses what a great gesture. We were then taken back to Phu My where the driver made sure that we were safely on board the ship before he left. A great day and cannot recommend it too highly.
Saigon in a day
LoveTravel317801, 07-05-2019
We chose this over the day trip offered by the cruise line and it was very good. Our guide was flexibly to meet our schedule. We would recommend him




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