2 Days in Saigon: The First-Timer Itinerary
Two days is enough to hit Saigon’s essential core, the war history sights, the market and a skyline sunset, without feeling rushed, as long as you don’t try to squeeze in a day trip. Got more time? Step up to the 3-day , 4-day , 5-day or 7-day version, all built on this same spine.
Book these before you go
- District 1 hotel: check current rates on Agoda
- A Landmark 81 or Bitexco Skydeck ticket for sunset: browse options on GetYourGuide
- An evening street food tour, worth it even on a short trip: check dates on GetYourGuide
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Arrival, War Remnants Museum, Reunification Palace, Ben Thanh Market |
| Day 2 | Notre-Dame exterior, Central Post Office, a skyline deck, Nguyen Hue at night |
Day 1: Arrival And The War-History Core
- Land at Tan Son Nhat (SGN), just 6-8km from District 1. Take Grab (roughly 110,000-250,000 VND, 25-45 minutes depending on traffic) rather than an unbranded car soliciting outside Arrivals
- Check in, then head to the War Remnants Museum (28 Vo Van Tan, District 3), 40,000 VND adult, open 7:30am-5:30pm. Budget a real 1.5-2 hours, the war photography and Agent Orange exhibits are heavy, not a quick walk-through
- Walk or short Grab to the Reunification Palace (135 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia), roughly 40,000 VND entry, ticket window closes 3:30pm. This is where the tank crashed through the gates on 30 April 1975
- Lunch on pho (45,000-70,000 VND) or banh mi (20,000-35,000 VND) from a street cart near District 1
- Evening at Ben Thanh Market, covered stalls until 6pm, then the surrounding streets turn into a street food and souvenir night market running to roughly 10pm. Try com tam or a bowl of pho, and finish with ca phe sua da, Saigon’s own iced coffee, not the egg coffee that’s actually a Hanoi specialty
Day 2: Notre-Dame, The Post Office And A Skyline Sunset
- Morning walk past Notre-Dame Cathedral, closed to tourist visits since 2017 mid-restoration, exterior photos only, then the free Central Post Office across the square, its ironwork is often wrongly credited to Gustave Eiffel, the real architect was Alfred Foulhoux
- Stroll Dong Khoi and Nguyen Hue walking street, District 1’s upscale shopping and pedestrian core
- Late afternoon at a skyline deck: Landmark 81’s SkyView (Vietnam’s tallest building, 300,000-500,000 VND) or Bitexco’s Saigon Skydeck (a flat 240,000 VND, with a genuinely strong rooftop bar for a sunset drink instead of a ticket-only view)
Is one skyline deck really enough, or should you do both? One is enough on a 2-day trip. Landmark 81 wins on height and newness, Bitexco wins on the rooftop bar experience, but doing both eats an entire evening you’d rather spend at Ben Thanh or Bui Vien. Pick based on whether you want the view or the drink.
- Dinner near Bui Vien, then a walk down the backpacker strip if you want the livelier evening scene, or back to Dong Khoi for something quieter
A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go
Grab, not Uber, is the ride-hailing app here, Uber sold its Southeast Asia business to Grab back in 2018. US, Canadian and Australian travelers need an e-visa before flying, apply through the official Vietnam e-visa portal , Vietnam is not visa-free for those passports. Cross the street slowly and steadily, never stop or bolt, the motorbike swarm flows around a moving target. Two days here is genuinely doable if you don’t overreach; the full Saigon guide and the ranked places guide both cover more ground for a longer trip.