Travel Guide > Asia > Vietnam > Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh is still the economic heart of Vietnam and the streets bustle with activity, not to mention what seems like an endless stream of motorbikes. Vendors, markets, shops, stands and cafés crowd the busy streets and sidewalks adding to the vibe. Booming economically, chic bars and clubs have popped up around the city to be crowded by affluent Vietnamese and expatriates.
The main district that tourists visit in Ho Chi Minh is Saigon. This is the old town that the French built and has most of the sights and older buildings. After the war the district was named Saigon then the city the name was changed to Ho Chi Minh.
Visit the Tourist Information Centre (4G 4H Le Loi St, District 1. Tel (84-8) 822 6033) in the city centre to get ideas of what to see and do and to pick up a free map.
Weatherwise, the best time to visit Ho Chi Minh is in the dry season which runs from December to April. In the dry season the humidity is at a level which is easier to handle. As this is common knowledge it also means the crowds are bigger this time of year, so to avoid the crowds you'll need to tolerate the extra humidity. Temperatures average 31 degrees Celsius during the day year round, and drops to just a little below 25 degrees at night. Most of the rain falls from June to September.
Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) serves Ho Chi Minh City. It has numerous flights both domestically, including flights to Hanoi, as well as many airlines serving the city from neighbouring countries and further beyond. There are several flights every day to Bangkok.
Trains connect Ho Chi Minh City to cities north in Vietnam, including Hanoi.
Open Bus Ticket
Many different open bus ticket vendors start and end there operations in Ho Chi Minh. Almost all the travel agencies will sell open bus tickets. Remember to shop around and ask other travellers about the quality of the different ticket vendors. It is best to find people that are heading out of the country in order to hear a review of their entire trip across the country with a certain open bus ticket companies.
| Property | Address | Type | Popularity |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Kim Long | 43D/3 Ho Van Hue St., W9 Phu Nhuan Dist. | Hotel | 98 |
| A Quang Chau | 98A Ho Van Hue St., W9 Phu Nhuan District | Hostel | 69 |
| A Van Giao | 740B Nguyen Kiem, W4 Phu Nhuan Dist. | Hotel | 73 |
| A Van Phuong | 354 A Dao Duy Anh St, Ward 9 Phu Nhuan Dist. | Hostel | 89 |
| An An 2 Hotel | 216 De Tham Street District 1 | Hotel | 92 |
| An An Hotel | 40 Bui Vien Street Ho Chi Minh City | Hotel | 83 |
| Bach Dang hotel | 33 mac thi buoi street, D.I | Hotel | 83 |
| Bed and Breakfast Ho Van Hue | 133/7 Ho Van Hue St, Phu Nhuan Dist. | Guesthouse | 94 |
| Bi Saigon Hotel | 185/26, Pham Ngu Lao Street, District 1, | Hotel | 74 |
| Bich Duyen Hotel | 283/4 Pham Ngu Lao Street, 1st District | Hotel | 89 |
| Crystal Hotel | 70 Nguyen Trai St BenThanh Ward, Dist 1 | Hotel | 77 |
| Duc Vuong Hotel | 195 Bui Vien Str Dist 1 Ho Chi Minh | Hotel | 87 |
| Evergreen Hotel | 261-261B Hai Ba Trung Ward 6, District 3 | Hotel | 71 |
| First Hotel | 18 Hoang Viet Street, Ward 4, Tan Binh District | Hotel | - |
| Golden Ant Hotels | R4-60,61,62 Hung Gia 5 Tan Phong Ward, District 7 | Hotel | - |
| Hanh Hoa Hotel | 237 Pham Ngu Lao District 1 | Hotel | 72 |
| Hoang Phong | 219/8A Pham Ngu Lao st.,Pham Ngu Lao ward District 1 | Hotel | 83 |
| Honghan Guesthouse | 238 Bui Vien Street, District 1 | Guesthouse | 90 |
| Kim Hotel | 40-18 Bui Vien Street Quarter 1 | Hotel | 86 |
| Lacrapro Hotel | 12/14 Dao Duy Anh St., W. 9 Phu Nhuan Dist. | Hostel | 65 |
| Long Guesthouse | 219/7 Pham Ngu Lao | Guesthouse | 96 |
| Luan Vu Guesthouse | 35/2 bui vien street Dist. 1 | Guesthouse | 87 |
| Me Them House Bed & Breakfast | 203 Pham Ngu Lao St District 1 | Hotel | 79 |
| Metropole Hotel | 148 Tran Hung Dao Street | Hotel | - |
| My My Arthouse | 219/8 Pham Ngu Lao District 1 | Hotel | 87 |
| Ngoclinh Hotel | 283/21 Pham Ngu Lao St Dist.1 | Hotel | 83 |
| NgocThao GuestHouse | 241/4 Pham Ngu Lao.St, District 1 | Hostel | 89 |
| Nguyen Khang Hotel | 283/25 Pham Ngu Lao. District 1 | Hotel | 82 |
| Nhat Thao Guesthouse | 35/4 Bui Vien steet Dist 1 | Guesthouse | 85 |
| Nhat Tien Hotel | 260 Ly Tu Trong St. Ben Thanh Ward, District 1 | Hotel | 75 |
| Phan Lan 2 Guesthouse | 283/6 Pham Ngu Lao District 1 | Guesthouse | 84 |
| Phan Lan Guesthouse | 70 Bui Vien street dist. 1 | Guesthouse | 78 |
| Phoenix Hotel (HCMC) | 74 Bui Vien St, Dist 1 | Hotel | 68 |
| Que Huong - Liberty 1 Hotel | 167 Hai Ba Trung, District 3 | Hotel | - |
| Que Huong - Liberty 2 | 129-133 Ham Nghi Blvd, Dist. 1 | Hotel | 90 |
| Que Huong - Liberty 3 | 187 Pham Ngu Lao Street ,District 1, Ho Chi Minh C | Hotel | 78 |
| Que Huong-Liberty 4 hotel | 265. Pham Ngu Lao St., Dist.1, | Hotel | 93 |
| Redsun Hotel | 283/17 Pham Ngu Lao St, Dist 1. | Hotel | 84 |
| Saigon Mini Hotel | 102/1A Cong Quynh street District 1, | Hotel | 89 |
| Saigon Mini Hotel 2 | 102/34 Cong Quynh street District 1 | Hostel | 86 |
| SAIGON MINI HOTEL 5 | 196 BUI VIEN Street District 1 | Hostel | 86 |
| Thuan Duc Hotel | 219/26 Pham Ngu Lao, Dist 1 | Hotel | 79 |
| Vy Khanh Guesthouse | 241/11/6 Pham Ngu Lao street District 1 | Guesthouse | 96 |
| Yellow House Hotel | 31 Bui Vien Street - D.1 - HCMC | Hostel | 70 |
| Yellow House Hotel aka Nga Hoang | 269/19 De Tham Street District 1 - Hochiminh City | Hotel | 76 |
See also International Telephone Calls
The Ho Chi Minh General Post Office can be found at 2 Cong Xa Paris Square. It's an impressive building, designed by Gustave Eiffel and sets the standard for the city's colonial architecture.
This is version 26. Last edited at 4:37 on Oct 6, 09 by dr.pepper (-110). 12 articles link to this page.

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