Looking for a bit of advice on an upcoming, very short, overnight layover in Ho Chi Minh city.

The setup: Arriving SGN on a September Sunday night at 7:45 PM on TG business class. VOA letter with priority assistance and car to hotel booked - Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon
First time in Vietnam. EARLY flight the next day - 5:30 AM.

My thoughts: In looking for something to do, I came across an entry for "Bui Vien Street", which I think is some type of open-air market / pedestrian street. Seems to be a good option: From Google maps, a walk of 25 minutes or so which gives me a chance to stretch legs and see some of the city. Grab a couple of beers and something to eat, hang out, and then walk back to the hotel for a nap before heading back to airport.

The questions:

Can anyone give some recent feedback on Bui Vien Street? Worth checking out? How late do things stay open there on a Sunday night? I am used to Thailand where most street places will be open until 2 or 3 AM. Same in Vietnam?

Any issues walking from hotel to Bui Vien Street, safety wise?

Any better option for my brief visit? I would prefer to be "out and about" rather then camping at a bar or restaurant.

Many thanks for opinions / suggestions.

Bui Vien Street is in the heart of the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker area (District #1). At night it comes alive with hundreds of hawkers and western backpackers looking to drink or just have some fun. It's a good place to have an inexpensive dinner (I like the Indian food at Baba's Kitchen).

You also have to watch your wallet in this area, and you will be approached by a gang for you to play cards (avoid at all cost, it's a scam to rob tourists) as well as numerous ladies of the evening!

Bui Vien is hardly typical of Vietnam, but there are many inexpensive hotels there that cater to the budget tourist. My own little hotel of choice is just a few blocks away. Honestly, Saigon is one of my least favorite places in this wonderful country (Hanoi being the favorite).

Yes, you can equate the Pham Ngu Lao with Bangkok's Khao San Road - it's open till the wee hours and it's worth seeing for the experience. Saigon also has some very upscale districts that would impress someone from Beverly Hills (Saigon has become very westernized of late).

Thanks Daawgon for your thoughts.

This absolutely wasn't my first choice for exposure to Vietnam and I am really limited by the brief Sunday night. (All due to finding upgrade space, of course LOL). It just doesn't feel right to be in a new country for a night and not venture out and see something, as brief as it will be. Some cheap goodeats () and beer sounds like a decent start.

I am a frequently in Thailand and sure I can handle the various scams and such (thank you for the warning about those). Is there any worry about just walking by myself from the Renaissance (by the river) over to Bui Vien?

Id rather be in coach and have a 1/2 day-full day to walk around and see something from the insides eg The Presidential Palace then to 1st hit the pavement late at night and not really see anything. Keep in mind although its apx a 15-20 min ride to the airport you're gonna have to be up real early which will probably knock you out at your next destination if you dont hit the sack when you 1st get in.

When you walk out of The Ren if you walk along the water in the direction your facing there are a few bars with loud music that I saw was full weekend nights, dont know about Sun, looked like a local upscale crowd

For a nice walk just head to the PO and then over to the Palace gates, you'll end up passing many French Colonial buildings, what you can see at night I dont recall but the PO and church across as well as the Palace should be lit up still

The area near The Ren is fats becoming like HKG new buildings with premium brand name stores, dont need to go to SGN to see that

Again if you can swing it go coach get in earlier and experience the city even by simply walking around, thats what I did my 1st time for my 1st day and it was great

btw I never had any problems @ 4am finding a cab parked on the left side of The Ren and its 1 of the 2 very trust worthy companys. The 1st time there was someone else leaving and we shared the cab.

Nothing to see along the River but its alot better then having a building right outside your window

Just reread a different post if you get in @ 7:45pm I would think 10pm youd be walking into the Ren, (maybe 9:30pm w/o bags). With a 5:30am next day flight youd want a 3:45am latest cab if not before that. If you are gonna keep to those flights why not simply ask your driver to give you a short quick tour of the major sites.I know its not walking but man if I had those flights I wouldnt be doing anything but hitting the sack

I was walking back to The Ren from a place close to the zoo (1/2 hr) when a motorbike pulled up and the guy started asking me all sorts of questions that his girl friend had who was on the bike but didnt speak English. We chatted for close to an hour, it was a Fri night the streets were packed apx 11pm and he told me to keep my eyes looking all around.That said every time Ive been to SGN Ive walked around late at night and never felt threatened in any way,shape or form.Except from the guys on the motor bikes wanting to show me around, theyre worse by day LoL.

Thanks for the great info, craz.

In regard to the flights, the only reason I get the one night in SGN was to position for the upgraded United flight back to the USA early in the morning. If it wasn't for that, I would have just stayed in Thailand another night and flown out of BKK directly.

I am not really concerned about sleeping much while in SGN. I typically stay up most of the nighttime/sleep in the daytime while in Thailand so I probably will not be tired. My only flight that day is the 1.5 hour flight from BKK. I will also have the LONG flight back to the USA in business class to catch up on sleep.

Good news about the taxis being available right outside the Ren. That should make the early trek back to the airport a bit easier. Also, thanks for the reassurance that walking the streets at 2AM is not necessarily a dangerous thing. I will obviously keep aware and such.

My thought on walking over to Bui Vien was similar to your idea about walking around the river area. Just get out for a glimpse and feel for the city. With the Bui Vien as a destination instead of just rambling aimlessly, I can also chill out with a late night beer and some food.

Oh, and what is the "PO" that you refer to? Is that something worth seeing at night?

Would you consider a hotel closer to the Pham Ngu Lao/Bui Vien St area? There are some decent hotels around that backpacker area. Since "time is the essence", you would be smack in the action zone once you check in.
If you chose the Renaissance Riverside because of free stay with points, then my suggestion would not work.

Sorry PO = Post Office a very nice building from both inside and out. French Colonial

If all you have is a 1 1/2 hr flight why not do as I suggested go in coach its no big deal if theres an earlier flight so that you can actually take in SGN

Yea thats my flight as well UA, did they change the timing, I thought we left later then 5:30am

you really wont get a feel for anything at that hour.I didnt hit Bui Vien by night only by day and it was empty.The mkt was packed. By day there are tons of folks on the streets and millions of motor bikes at late night not much of either as you will see when driving in with the cab,its like a ghost town.

Im not kidding grab a flight even in coach and get in as early as you can and walk walk walk and hit the PO,Pres Palace small fee to go in,the war museum, and take a cab to the mkt in Cholon that area is great although its also being built up with modern high rises. SGN is going the way HKG and PEK has, so see it before it disappears.i even walked the 1/2 hr from The Ren to the Golden Pagoda thats how much I love walking the streets there and by night you wont get to appreciate much if anything

I agree with craz on the timing of getting out of the airport and then back. With less than 6 hours to kill, seems like a low return on value to go to the Ren, at least to me, especially since you're coming in when everything is closed or closing.

Taxi-wise, stick with Vinasun taxis. They're always around, even late at night. Feel free to wake the driver up if he's dozing in his seat... they work 24-48 hour shifts, so they catch sleep when it's slow, but won't turn down a fare. Uber is a nice option as well.

I wouldn't be completely cavalier walking around... you'll probably be ok, but I always felt the need to be more vigilant on average than other major cities. In any case, I would also swing by the Opera House and maybe the Notre Dame cathedral (though it won't be lit up).

There's a Chinese restaurant just a bit past Pham Ngu Lao from the Ren that's open 24 hours, but the name escapes me. Decent fare.

There's a late night noodle soup shop I like at approximately 71 Thu Khoa Huan, just north of Ben Thanh Market. It's also just up the street from a Vinasun hub.

You'd also be there early enough to enjoy the last couple of business hours of some of the coffee shops in the area.

Good luck on your layover.

Vinasun is the cab company that works The Ren (I take them from the airport as well and even have waited till 1 was there , forget the name of the other company , the one with the green cars) Now I know why there was always a cab there , usually 3 any night.

Ben Thanh Mkt yep that was the name I couldnt think of it, but liked Cholon alot more, especially the area around it and walking wise for 20 mins in any direction. Again by day and Im there in Jan which is hot but not boiling like the summer. Agree the Opera house is nice to look at.

My 1st time in SGN the driver asked me if it was and gave me a mini tour as we headed to The Ren, not in order to get the meter higher as at times he pointed out what was down a street w/o going there but passed by the main spots . It was 2am and the city was a ghost town

The green cabs are MaiLinh, and those are my Plan B if for some reason Vinasun isn't available within 1-2 minutes. Nothing wrong with them, but I find the cars and drivers to be less quality on average.


At the airport to pick up a Vinasun cab, I walk all the way past the taxi stand, past the people, and essentially be one of the first people along the curb where the taxis pull up. As soon as I see a white taxi with green/red strips turn the corner, I flag them down. There's a Vinasun dispatcher there (green shirt red tie) but I've found self-help to always be faster.

You can also try to catch one upstairs at departures, right after one drops off pax. They're not supposed to pick up fares up there, but most will.

No problem, but you will be approached many times by xe om (motorcycle taxi) drivers as well as a few cyclo (cycle rickshaw) guys. You don't want to use a cyclo (yes, they do look interesting), but you'd be asking for trouble since the price they quote is not the price they will demand! If you get tired and want a cab, use Vinasun or Mai Linh only.

You can also walk to downtown to/from the airport. I've done it a few times takes about 90 minutes. I usually go via Nguyen Von Troi.

Thanks again to everyone for their thoughts and opinions. FlyterTalkers are the best! ^

craz: In regard to the schedule, I am not able to adjust my arrival time into SGN to an earlier flight. Nothing to do with Economy versus Business Class for that leg, just I am not able to leave BKK any earlier. When I mention the upgrade flight, I am referring to the SGN departure on Monday Morning. That United flight had confirm-able upgrade space all they way back to EWR. That is what prompted the whole overnight layover in SGN instead of taking the non-upgraded ANA flight out of BKK directly. My BKK->SGN leg is in paid J/C.

And I am pretty locked into the Renaissance as I have a VERY good rate (due to LNF claim) and a need for Marriott nights to renew Plat status.

Anyway, I am not looking at the trip as "Darn, I only get a brief visit". Instead, I am excited to see a new country (even briefly) and assume I will be back at some point to really do a visit to see much, much more. Glass half-full kind of thing.

I had researched a bit, so I was aware that Vinasun taxi is the safe option (along with MaiLihn if needed). I was glad to hear that Vinasun runs the taxi stand next to the Renaissance as it will be easy to grab a taxi to Bui Vien if it is raining. I would much prefer to walk though, to be able to see as much as possible. That was my rationale for choosing Bui Vien as a "destination" since it seems easily walk-able from the Renaissance. By the way, if anyone has a better / alternate "destination" for my late night wandering, I am open to suggestions. Just looking for someplace lively with beer/food available, with a preference for outside venues unique to Vietnam.

One last question, if I may...I assume that I should pull some minimal amount of cash (Dong) from an ATM to fund my beer and food purchases, as well as any needed taxi (including the taxi back to the airport).

Any suggestions for how much I would need? My inclination is $75 or so, which would include some extra for "emergency use"...or any knick-knack I happen to buy. Seem reasonable? I am not overly concerned about having some amount left over as I always assume I will be back and have the opportunity to use it on the next trip.

Thanks again. Cheers.

Awesome. Thanks for the reassurance.

I would opt for an even $100. Taxi from the airport to hotel will already be $15-20, so roundtrip is $30-40, leaving you with $60-70 to spend.

I forget how late it runs, but there's the night market outside of Ben Thanh you could go check out for late night eats, beer, and random gifts. It's virtually on the way to Bui Vien, where stuff is definitely open later.

I wouldn't walk on the way back, all you'll get to see are shuttered storefronts, not very attractive. A taxi from Bui Vien back to the Ren should be in the neighborhood of $1-2.

One more word of caution: There are counterfeit taxis out there that are colored like the big companies, so make sure the exact words "Vinasun" or "MaiLinh" are on the cab, as well as their respective phone numbers (Vinasun: 38 27 27 27; MaiLinh: 38 26 26 26).

Also, Vinasun only runs two types of vehicles: A Toyota Innova (7pax minivan) or Toyota Limo (5-pax compact car). Anything else is fake. MaiLinh runs the same two models plus a couple other different ones.

Finally, always make note of the cab number and/or driver's ID.