Ho Chi Minh City on a budget

Daily budget and trip cost

AMZBooking estimates per person in US dollars, excluding flights, reviewed October 2026. Accommodation is the biggest variable; prices rise in peak months.

Typical prices

Approximate prices in Ho Chi Minh City, October 2026. They change; use them for planning, not as quotes.

Money-saving tips

• Street food, cơm tấm and bánh mì stalls give excellent meals for a few dollars.
• Use ride-hailing apps for fixed fares and to avoid negotiating with drivers.
• Check banknotes carefully: 20,000 and 500,000 VND notes are easy to confuse.
• Bargain at Bến Thành Market and compare prices between stalls before buying.
• Rooftop bars often have happy hours in the early evening.
• Book day trips through reputable operators; very low-priced Mekong tours can mean crowded boats and long shopping stops.

Free things to do

• Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon — The twin-spired red-brick cathedral was built by the French between 1863 and 1880 with materials shipped from France, and a statue of the Virgin Mary stands in the square in front.
• Bến Thành Market — The covered market with its clock tower, opened in 1914, sells fabrics, coffee, lacquerware, dried fruit and souvenirs, with a food section of noodle and rice stalls.
• Saigon Central Post Office — Across the square from the cathedral, this working post office from the 1890s has a vaulted iron-framed hall, painted maps of colonial Saigon and Cochinchina, and a large portrait of Ho Chi Minh.
• Nguyễn Huệ walking street — A broad pedestrian boulevard running from the yellow colonial City Hall, with a Ho Chi Minh statue in front, down to the Saigon River.
• Jade Emperor Pagoda — Built in 1909 by the city's Cantonese community, this Taoist and Buddhist temple is dark with incense smoke and crowded with carved and painted figures of deities and the Jade Emperor himself.
• Chợ Lớn temples and Bình Tây Market — The Chinese quarter's highlights include the 18th-century Thiên Hậu Temple, dedicated to the goddess of the sea and hung with giant incense coils, several ornate clan assembly halls, and Bình Tây Market, a wholesale market built around a central courtyard.

All free things to do in Ho Chi Minh City.

Where to stay on a budget

Eating well for less

• Bánh mì — Street carts and famous bakeries across Districts 1 and 3; queues at the best-known ones move quickly.
• Southern phở — Long-running phở shops in Districts 1 and 3, busiest at breakfast.
• Fresh spring rolls — Street stalls, markets and family restaurants; vegetarian versions with tofu are common at vegetarian (chay) restaurants.
• Fried rice-flour cake — Evening griddle stalls in Chợ Lớn and around District 1 and District 3.

Getting around for less

District 1's main sights are walkable, but the city sprawls and heat makes long walks tiring. Ride-hailing cars and motorbike taxis are the standard way around, and Metro Line 1 runs from Bến Thành east to Thủ Đức and Suối Tiên.

Questions travellers ask