4 Days in Saigon: The First-Timer Itinerary
Four days builds on the 3-day core, the war history sights, Ben Thanh, a skyline deck and Cholon, then adds a full day across the river for Metro Line 1, the Thu Duc side, and a water puppet show evening. Need a different pace? Try the 2-day , 3-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
- A water puppet show ticket, book ahead for evening shows: check dates on Viator
- An evening street food tour: 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 3 | Cholon: Binh Tay Market, Thien Hau Temple, a street food crawl |
| Day 4 | Metro Line 1, Landmark 81 side, Museum of Vietnamese History, water puppets |
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)
- Check in, then the War Remnants Museum (28 Vo Van Tan, District 3), 40,000 VND adult, open 7:30am-5:30pm, budget 1.5-2 hours
- The Reunification Palace (135 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia), roughly 40,000 VND entry, ticket window closes 3:30pm
- Evening at Ben Thanh Market, covered stalls until 6pm, then the street food night market outside running to roughly 10pm
Day 2: Notre-Dame, The Post Office And A Skyline Sunset
- Morning past Notre-Dame Cathedral (closed to tourist visits since 2017) and the free Central Post Office, its ironwork is often wrongly credited to Gustave Eiffel, the real architect was Alfred Foulhoux
- Stroll Dong Khoi and Nguyen Hue walking street
- Late afternoon at a skyline deck: Landmark 81’s SkyView (300,000-500,000 VND) or Bitexco’s Saigon Skydeck (240,000 VND flat, plus a strong rooftop bar)
Day 3: Cholon And A Proper Street Food Crawl
- Morning at Binh Tay Market and the Thien Hau Temple in Cholon, Vietnam’s largest Chinatown, spanning Districts 5, 6, 10 and 11
- Afternoon street food crawl: com tam, banh xeo (90,000-120,000 VND, shareable), fresh spring rolls
- Evening ca phe sua da, Saigon’s own iced coffee, not the Hanoi-born egg coffee
Day 4: Across The River And The Museum Of Vietnamese History
- Morning ride on Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien), 6,000-20,000 VND depending on distance, the city’s only line as of 2026, out toward the Thu Duc side where Landmark 81 stands
- Visit the Museum of Vietnamese History, a comprehensive overview of the country’s past that pairs well with the previous days’ war-era focus
- Afternoon coffee crawl in a local shop rather than a chain, this is the city where ca phe sua da, not egg coffee, is the everyday order
- Evening water puppet show, a traditional Vietnamese art form performed on water, book ahead, showtimes are limited and seats sell out on weekends
Does Metro Line 1 actually save you time getting around? Only on this one corridor. It’s genuinely useful between Ben Thanh and the Thu Duc/Landmark 81 side, cheap and air-conditioned, but it doesn’t reach the War Remnants Museum, Notre-Dame or the Reunification Palace, all still a walk or short Grab from District 1. Use it for this one crossing, not as your default transit for the whole trip.
A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go
Grab, not Uber, is the ride-hailing app here. US, Canadian and Australian travelers need an e-visa before flying, apply through the official Vietnam e-visa portal . Cross the street slowly and steadily, never stop or bolt. Four days lets you spread the city out at a genuinely comfortable pace; the full Saigon guide and the ranked places guide both cover more depth on any of these stops.