The Best Ways to Experience Saigon in 4 Nights

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Ho Chi Minh City (or otherwise known as Saigon) is located in Southern Vietnam and played an important role during the Vietnam War. It is known for its beautiful historical sites such as the Central Post Office, Jade Emperor Pagoda as well as its French colonial landmarks.

During February 2020, I traveled to Vietnam and Cambodia with a friend. We started our trip in Ho Chi Minh, where we got to experience Vietnam’s most bustling city that is filled with culture, high energy, great food, historical hot spots, authentic markets and stunning hotels such as the Park Hyatt Saigon! Ho Chi Minh is where you could experience the pulsating energy of one of Vietnam’s most important cities. Have fun meandering the streets that are filled with scooters; enjoy a peaceful experience at an incense-filled pagoda, go shopping at one of the many luxury shopping centers and immerse yourself in exciting Vietnamese culture.

Whether you are a history buff, foodie, shopper, city lover or overall luxury traveler, there are so many amazing activities for you to experience when you visit Ho Chi Minh City. In this blog post, read all about my experience in Saigon and discover everything you must experience during four nights in Ho Chi Minh.

***Please note that this blog post uses affiliate links meaning that if you make a purchase via my affiliate link, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only promote and talk about products and services that I have used and like. During my time in Ho Chi Minh, the Park Hyatt Saigon hosted me for one night.

Vietnam Visa:

Before you travel to Vietnam, you will need to apply for a visa from a local embassy. (I did mine online and it cost me $17 USD. Please note that the visa application fee could vary.) Click here to learn more! If you fill out the application correctly and there are no issues, you will receive your Visa Approval Letter within 72 hours via email. I was thankful I received mine in less than 24 hours.

Once you receive your Visa Approval Letter, please look through it thoroughly to ensure there are no mistakes or typos. You can be denied entry on arrival in Vietnam if your passport and visa do not align! After receiving your Visa Approval Letter and checking to see if everything is correct, make sure you star the email and print out the letter (all pages) before you depart for your trip. I had to show the printed letter to officials when I checked in at the airport at JFK here in New York.

When you land in Vietnam, you will need to present your Visa Approval Letter and passport (valid at least 6 months beyond date of arrival) to customs officials. They will also ask you for two photos and if you do not have them, they could take your photo for you for an additional $5 USD. Please note that payment is cash only in either USD or Vietnamese Dong (VND). There are ATMs available when you arrive. In addition, you will need to pay for your actual visa when you arrive and present your Visa Approval Letter. A 1 or 3-month single entry visa is $25 USD; a 1 or 3-month multiple entry visa is $50 USD and a 1-year multiple entry visa is $135 USD per applicant. This is extremely important to take note of, especially if you are looking to travel to another country and come back to Vietnam! Since we were traveling to Cambodia in the middle of our trip, we needed to get the multi-entry visa for $50 USD. If you accidentally get the single-entry visa and you leave the country, you will NOT be allowed back into Vietnam and in worse case scenario, you will have to spend $200 USD to get an approval letter sent to you right away. Please also have at least two full pages open in your passport for the Vietnamese visa and stamps. The visa is a sticker that will take up one entire passport page and the stamps will reside on the page next to it. Since most of my passport is filled up with stamps, I was forewarned to keep some pages opened for my Vietnamese visa.

Traveling to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam:

If you do your research and book at the right time, you could find affordable flights to Vietnam. (We traveled to Vietnam in February, which is off season for tourists.) Since we were starting in Ho Chi Minh and ending in Hanoi, we bought separate one-way flights to and from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. I will admit that it is cheaper to fly to and from New York to Ho Chi Minh than it is to fly to and from Hanoi. On our way to Vietnam, we flew from JFK to Ho Chi Minh Airport (Tan Son Nhat International Airport) with a layover in Taipei, Taiwan and then coming home, we flew from Hanoi Airport (Noi Bai International Airport) back to JFK with a layover in Doha, Qatar.

Getting from Ho Chi Minh City Airport to the Park Hyatt Saigon, where we stayed, required a taxi (you could also book a private car service through the hotel). Please note that Uber does not run in Vietnam, but they do have a similar service called Grab, where you could haul a taxi at an affordable cost through an app. In order for you to use Grab’s services, you will need to have a Vietnamese phone number or SIM card. Since I didn’t get a SIM card for this trip, I unfortunately couldn’t use Grab’s services, BUT the hotels we stayed at were able to organize affordable cab rides for us, which was amazing! It is also important to note that you should be aware of taxi scammers when you leave any airport in Vietnam. You should not pay more than 100 VND for every 10 miles. It is very easy for foreign travelers to be charged more when they travel from the airport to their hotel! Also, always make sure the meter is running when you enter a taxi. If there isn’t one, make sure to negotiate a price before you get into the cab.

Staying at the Park Hyatt Saigon:

During my time in Ho Chi Minh City, I stayed at the beautiful Park Hyatt Saigon in District 1, which is one of the most thriving areas of the city. Known as one of the most luxurious hotels in Ho Chi Minh, the Park Hyatt Saigon is absolutely glamorous and allowed me to feel like a princess in a palace. It offers a gorgeous pool area with lounge chairs and a bar, world-class restaurants, a tranquil spa, fitness center, lavish rooms, an enchanting interior and to top it off, the hotel is sustainability committed.

The Rooms at the Park Hyatt Saigon:

This lovely 5-star hotel is one of the leading accommodations in Saigon District 1 and it combines urban luxury with sophisticated design, handcrafted details and modern-day comforts. There are 245 newly renovated rooms that include 23 suites. My friend and I stayed in the twin-bedded Park Room City View room that included two comfortable beds; views of the city; a gorgeous en-suite bathroom with a walk-in rain shower and marble bath; a work desk; 48” LED TV; Bose Bluetooth speaker; in-room mini iPad; Nespresso coffee maker; Cochine bathroom amenities; in-room safe; minibar; iron and ironing board and more! We also were welcomed with fresh dragon fruit and dried mango, which were delicious! I will admit that traveling to and from Asia leaves me with some serious jet lag, so staying at the Park Hyatt Saigon allowed me to have an amazing night’s rest since the bed was like sleeping on a cloud.

In addition to the twin-bedded Park Room City View, there is also a king bed option. The same goes for the garden view rooms! There are also a king bed and two twin bed Deluxe rooms that offer a private terrace with direct access to the beautiful pool and tranquil garden. You could also stay in a featured suite at the Park Hyatt Saigon: there is the Park Suite that offers a spacious room with views of the vibrant city or the hotel’s garden; the Lam Son Suite allows you to enjoy panoramic views of Ho Chi Minh and it features tall bay windows and wooden flooring; the Park Executive Suite offers an additional living room, dining room as well as a well-equipped kitchen and lastly, the Presidential Suite presents a grand living area, dining room, kitchen, private study as well as a butler service.

Dining at the Park Hyatt Saigon:

When it comes to dining at the Park Hyatt Saigon, there are plenty of options available for everyone who enjoys great quality food! If you want an authentic Italian dinner (Who doesn’t love Italian right?), Opera is the perfect place to savor a delicious pasta dish with some great wine. They also have a Sunday brunch and Italian afternoon tea. Since there is a large French influence in Vietnam due to the colonization in the 17^th Century, you could find numerous French-style buildings, restaurants and architectural wonders throughout the country. Located in the hotel is Square One, which is a Franco-Vietnamese restaurant where you could enjoy delicious seafood, meat and vegetable dishes. The Park Hyatt Saigon also has 24-hour in-room dining services.

If you are looking for the best afternoon tea in Ho Chi Minh City, look no further than the Park Lounge at the Park Hyatt Saigon. Not only could you enjoy tea here, they also have breakfast and offer a great nightlife spot for sophisticated live entertainment during the evening hours. In addition, a great place to enjoy a snack or delicious dessert in the hotel is at The Pastry Boutique. Here, you could eat sumptuous cakes, pastries and other baked goods. They also offer a shop where you could take home goodies to your loved ones. It is known as the best cake and pastry shop in Saigon.

You also don’t even need to leave the hotel to enjoy a refreshing beverage in Ho Chi Minh City. There are several bars to hang out at throughout the Park Hyatt Saigon: Opera Bar is the perfect place to enjoy an aperitivo such as an Aperol spritz; Cellar Door, is considered the best wine bar in Saigon and it uses the Coravin wine preservation system so that guests could enjoy the best wines in the city; 2 Lam Son is a chic bar that offers international wines, premium spirits, local and imported beers as well as crafted cocktails and lastly, After 5 is a great Al Fresco bar that features a casual outdoor venue with refreshing cocktails and artisanal foods. No matter what, you are sure to have a blast at the Park Hyatt Saigon!

Events at the Park Hyatt Saigon:

The Park Hyatt Saigon is not only beautiful, elegant and stylish, it is also romantic and makes for the perfect place to get married or proposed to. If you are looking to have your wedding venue at the Park Hyatt Saigon, there are two wonderful event spaces – the Pool House or the stunning Ballroom.

In addition to weddings, the Park Hyatt Saigon also organizes corporate events, birthday parties and other big celebrations. They also offer other fun events for holidays such as New Year’s, Lunar New Year, Christmas and more.

Top Things to do in Ho Chi Minh City in 4 Nights:

Whether you want to relax and soak up Southern Vietnam’s sun, want to learn more about the Vietnam War, indulge in some amazing Vietnamese cuisine or find beautiful artisanal crafts to take back home with you, there is so much to see and do in Saigon. Discover my top recommendations below:

Enjoy a Pool and Spa Day:

During our time in Ho Chi Minh City, the weather was in the mid 90s (Fahrenheit), so it gets HOT there! One of the best things to do is enjoy a lovely day filled with R&R by the pool and spa at the Park Hyatt Saigon. The pool at the Park Hyatt Saigon is absolutely gorgeous! In addition to swimming, there are a variety of lounge and seating areas where you could grab a light refreshment and a snack while soaking up the sun!

The Park Hyatt Siagon also has a great spa called Xuan Spa that uses natural resources from the nearby Mekong Delta to deliver a relaxing and rejuvenating Southern Vietnamese spa experience! It is the perfect addition to a pool day and makes for the best experience after a day of sightseeing.

Explore the Mekong Delta by doing a Day Tour:

One of the most memorable day trips from Ho Chi Minh City is visiting the Mekong Delta, which consists of rivers, stilt houses and rice paddies. Some of the top things to see at the Mekong Delta is the Cai Rang Floating Market. The residents of Mekong Delta built their life around it and offer a market that opens early in the morning. You could purchase local crafts, fresh fruits and clothing items. I did a similar experience at the Damnoen Saduak floating markets outside of Bangkok, Thailand. Another great floating market on the Mekong Delta is Cai Be!

Other great places to visit on the Mekong Delta is the Vinh Trang Pagoda, which features Vietnamese, Chinese, Khmer (Cambodian) and European styles; Cai Be Fruit Orchard where you could find tropical fruits such as mango, grapefruit, guava, apple, jackfruit, dragon fruit, mangosteen, plums, durian, lychee and more; Tra Su Mangrove Forest where you could take a guided boat tour into a flooded forested area that features a fascinating ecosystem; Sam Mountain is the perfect place to hike in the area and you could enjoy the scenic views of local rice fields, stilt villages and breathtaking nature. When you reach the summit, you will find a small military outpost and a view of Cambodia on one side and Vietnam on the other; Tan Lap Village is an ecotourism site where you could visit locals and enjoy authentic foods while immersing yourself in traditional activities; Tram Chim National Park is the best place to go bird-watching, since it makes up a quarter of the bird population in Vietnam and lastly, My Tho is a place you cannot miss out on when you visit Mekong Delta. The most memorable experience is taking a sampan cruise in My Tho, which is a small rickety wooden rowboat where you paddle your way through small canals in the delta.  

Do a Day Trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels:

Located a little less than two hours away from the Park Hyatt Saigon are the Cu Chi Tunnels. As part of the Vietnam War memorial park, the Cu Chi Tunnels were used to combat better-supplied American and South Vietnamese forces during the war. Communist guerrilla troops, who were known as the Viet Cong, dug tens of thousands of miles of underground tunnels in the Cu Chi district of northwest Saigon all the way to the Cambodian border. Soldiers would use the underground tunnels to house troops, transport supplies, lay traps and mount surprise attacks.

Those who worked the underground tunnels were known as tunnel rats and in heavily bombed areas, people would spend a lot of their life underground and villages were shortly established and then factories, hospitals and bomb shelters were put into effect. In total, over 45,000 Vietnamese men and women died defending the Cu Chi Tunnels during the Vietnam War. It is now a preserved site and visitors can crawl through them and view the old command centers, traps and more.

Wander through Saigon:

Throughout the city of Ho Chi Minh, there are a plethora of things to do for everyone. Discover the top things to enjoy in Saigon:

• Notre Dame Basilica: Even though Buddhism is the largest practiced religion in Vietnam, there are many other practices of beliefs such as Catholicism, Taoism, Confucianism and Islam. The Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral was built in the later 19^th Century by French colonists and in 1962, the Vatican gave the cathedral status as a basilica. It features neo-Romanesque architecture with an all-red brick façade, stained glass windows, two bell towers and a peaceful garden.

• Saigon Central Post Office: One of the most iconic landmarks in Ho Chi Minh City is the Saigon Central Post Office. It is a beautiful building designed by a French architect that features colorful colonial architecture and breathtaking decorations. It is the perfect place to send a postcard home from Ho Chi Minh!

• Saigon Opera House: Another stunning colonial building in Ho Chi Minh is the Saigon Opera House. This beautiful opera house was built in the late 19^th Century for not only the opera, but also ballet, traditional Vietnamese shows and other musical concerts. It makes for a stunning photo opportunity and cannot be missed when visiting Saigon.

• Ho Chi Minh City Hall: Another beautiful building in Ho Chi Minh is the Saigon City Hall. Located around the corner from the Park Hyatt Saigon, this stunning city hall also features French colonial architecture and was called Hotel de Ville de Saigon in the early 20^th Century.

• War Remnants Museum: A place that you cannot miss during a trip to Saigon is the War Remnants Museum. Visited by over 500,000 people a year, the War Remnants Museum is a place where you could see military hardware from the Vietnam War. At this museum, you could see the F-5A fighter from the U.S. Air Force. There are also photos from the war, displays of protests, artillery pieces, bombs, infantry weapons and documentaries from those who were affected. The War Remnants Museum primarily focuses on the American War, but it also documents the French-colonial era and conflicts with neighboring China.

• Ben Thanh Market: One of the best parts about traveling to Southeast Asia is visiting the local markets. Also located in District 1, a few minutes away from the Park Hyatt Saigon, is Ben Thanh Market. This market is huge and reminded me of the souks in Marrakech because you could easily get lost, but it is absolutely amazing and you could find the best artisanal crafts, branded accessories, local art and great street food. When the sun goes down in Saigon, it turns into a bustling night market! Located around the corner from the market is Nha Hang Ngon, a beautiful Vietnamese restaurant where I savored a delicious seafood vermicelli stir fry dish with a fresh coconut to drink for lunch.

• Independence Palace: Also known as the Reunification Palace, this important building was the base of the Vietnamese General Ngo Dinh Diem until his death in the early 1960s. A tank belonging to the North Vietnamese Army crashed through its main gate, which ended the Vietnam War in 1975.

• Jade Emperor Pagoda: A dreamy place in Ho Chi Minh City that one must see is the Jade Emperor Pagoda. It is a bit of a walk to get to from District 1, but it is totally worth it because it features beautiful details such as woodcarvings and tile work that depict characters from both Taoist and Buddhist folklore, incense fills the air, the architecture is fascinating and there are gorgeous red lanterns that shine bright above you. This stunning pagoda honors the supreme Taoist god – the Jade Emperor or King of Heaven, Ngoc Hoang. You cannot miss out on visiting this gorgeous landmark in Saigon.

• Nguyen Hue Walking Street: If you are looking for a great place to walk around Saigon and also get your shopping fix in, I recommend strolling through Nguyen Hue Street. It is also located near the hotel and features a broad walking promenade with fountains, beautiful buildings and luxurious shopping centers.

• Bui Vien Street: Known as the backpackers’ area of Ho Chi Minh City is Bui Vien Street. It is in this area where you could experience Saigon’s amazing nightlife scene. Similar to what there is to offer in Bangkok, there are restaurants, massage parlors, hotels, hostels, pubs, go-go bars and more. It is an affordable area in Saigon and definitely a place to experience. During our first night in Ho Chi Minh City, we met up with Kathy Commisso, who is currently living in Saigon, as well as Marisa from This World Traveled, who has been traveling through Southeast Asia for the past year. We went to Rice Field – Homecooked Vietnamese Cuisine, which is considered a hidden gem in Saigon. It features a few stories of trendy vibes and there is also a rooftop seating area that offers a little rice paddy along with stringed lights and boho décor. I savored a delicious báhn xèo, which is a Vietnamese pancake stuffed with shrimp and veggies (it usually comes with pork too) with a passion fruit juice on the side. After we were finished with dinner, we walked around Bui Vien Street and got delicious bubble tea. It was a lot of fun!

I hope you all enjoyed reading about my time in Ho Chi Minh City and discovering the best things to see and do with 4 nights at the Park Hyatt Saigon. If you have any questions about my time in Ho Chi Minh or Vietnam in general, please email me at info@browneyedflowerchild.com.

Basic Facts of Vietnam:

Currency: Vietnamese Dong, Capital: Hanoi, Time Zone: Indochina Time

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