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Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) City Informations

Accommodation:

There are, as in every big City, literally thousands of Hotels + Guest Houses to choose from!

We have just a few which we know and can recommend.

VERY CHEAP Backpacker rooms available in the De Tham/Pham Ngu Lao area.
Please beware of Pick-Pockets in this area, especially after dark!

Close to the Airport, for an overnight stay?
Thanh Binh1 Hotel: via checkinvietnam.com

Quality City Centre Hotels?
Caravelle Hotel: via tripadvisor.com
Rex Hotel: via tripadvisor.com
Sheraton: via tripadvisor.com
New World Hotel: via tripadvisor.com

Quality D2 Hotel (Close to our Divecentre but very remote + quiet)
Thao Dien Village: via tripadvisor.com


Bars, Restaurants, Night-Life?
Again, too numerous to possibly list! We are of course happy to give personal recommendations on ‘Must-Do’ and ‘Must Not’. Just email and ask!

Just email and ask!

Please check out some of our favourites at www.drinkvietnam.com


Tourist Attractions:
•War Remnants Museum
•Reunification Palace
•Notre Dame Cathedral
•Cu Chi Tunnels
•Dong Khoi Street
•Ben Thanh Market
•Bitexco Tower


TAXIS
As in any big developing City, there are hundreds of Taxi scams.
We only use Mai Linh Taxi or Vinataxi and our experiences have been fine.
Write down the address to avoid confusion! Just ensure they always put the meter on!


Tourism
Today, the city's core is still adorned with wide elegant boulevards and historic French colonial buildings. The most prominent structures in the city center are Reunification Palace (Dinh Thống Nhất), City Hall (Ủy ban nhân dân Thành phố), the Municipal Theatre (Nhà hát thành phố, also known as the Opera House), City Post Office (Bưu điện thành phố), State Bank Office (Ngân hàng nhà nước), City People's Court (Tòa án nhân dân thành phố) and Notre-Dame Cathedral (Nhà thờ Đức Bà). Some of the historic hotels are the Hotel Majestic, dating from the French colonial era, and the Rex and Caravelle hotels are former hangouts for American officers and war correspondents in the 1960s/70s.
The city has various museums, such as the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, Museum of Vietnamese History, the Revolutionary Museum, the Museum of Southeastern Armed Forces, the War Remnants Museum, the Museum of Southern Women, the Museum of Fine Art, the Nha Rong Memorial House, and the Ben Duoc Relic of Underground Tunnels. The Củ Chi tunnels are northwest of the city in Củ Chi district. The Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens, in District 1, dates from 1865. Aside from the Municipal Theatre, there are other places of entertainment such as: the Bến Thành and Hòa Bình theatres and the Lan Anh Music Stage. The Đầm Sen Tourist and Cultural Park, Suối Tiên Amusement and Culture Park, and Cần Giờ's Eco beach resort are three recreational sites inside the city which are popular with tourists. Hồ Chí Minh City is home to hundreds of cinemas and theatres, with cinema and dramatic ticketing revenue accounting for 60–70% of Vietnam's total revenue in this industry.
Unlike other dramatic teams in Vietnam's provinces and municipalities, residents of Hồ Chí Minh City keep their theaters active without being subsidized by the Vietnamese government. The city is home to most of the private movie companies in Vietnam. Like many of Vietnam's smaller cities, the city boasts a multitude of restaurants serving typical Vietnamese dishes such as phở or rice vermicelli. Backpacking travelers most often frequent the "Western Quarter" on Phạm Ngũ Lão Street, District 1, Hồ Chí Minh City.

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Map to locate the Saigon Dive Centre with Google