Saigon in 3 Days on a Budget (With Daily Costs)

Three days covers Ho Chi Minh City’s core plus Cholon and one paid viewpoint, on a real budget. This extends the 2-day plan with a full day in District 5 rather than replacing it, the same spine longer versions of this itinerary keep building on.

Book these before you go:

Day Focus Est. daily spend
1 Arrival, War Remnants Museum, Ben Thanh Market, street food 350,000-450,000 VND
2 Reunification Palace, Notre-Dame exterior, Jade Emperor Pagoda, food crawl 450,000-850,000 VND
3 Cholon, Metro Line 1, one viewpoint decision 250,000-750,000 VND

Day 1: Arrival and District 1 Core

Fly into Tan Son Nhat (SGN) and Grab into District 1 for roughly 110,000-250,000 VND. Check into your hostel or hotel, then walk to the War Remnants Museum, 40,000 VND, open 7:30am-5:30pm, allow two to three hours. In the afternoon, wander Ben Thanh Market for orientation; it is priced for tourists, so treat it as sightseeing rather than shopping. Dinner is a street-food plate, com tam or banh mi, both under 65,000 VND.

Day 2: Reunification Palace and a Street-Food Crawl

Morning: the Reunification Palace, roughly 40,000 VND, or 65,000 VND combined with the exhibition, ticket window 8am-3:30pm, the former presidential palace preserved as it stood in 1975. Walk to Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office next door, both free to view from outside; Notre-Dame’s interior stays closed mid-restoration. Afternoon: the Jade Emperor Pagoda, free, donations welcome. Evening: a self-guided street-food crawl for under 150,000 VND, or the booked tour above.

Day 3: Cholon and One Viewpoint Decision

Head to District 5 for Cholon, Vietnam’s largest Chinatown: Binh Tay Market and Thien Hau Temple, both free, priced for locals rather than tourists. Ride Metro Line 1 back toward the Thu Duc/Landmark 81 side of the river, 6,000-20,000 VND depending on distance, the cheapest sightseeing ride in the city. Decide on one paid viewpoint here, not both: Bitexco Skydeck at roughly 240,000 VND or Landmark 81 SkyView at 300,000-500,000 VND. Skipping both for a rooftop bar drink instead is the cheaper option.

Is Cholon worth a half day when Ben Thanh Market already exists?

Yes, and it is the better market of the two if buying anything real matters to you. Binh Tay Market has served Cholon’s wholesale trade since the colonial era and prices goods for locals, not tour buses. Thien Hau Temple, a 19th-century Cantonese-built temple to the sea goddess Mazu, sits a short walk away and costs nothing to enter, making the whole afternoon effectively free once you are there.

Do I need to pick a viewpoint on Day 3, or can I skip it entirely?

You can skip it entirely and lose nothing essential. Landmark 81 SkyView, 300,000-500,000 VND, and Bitexco Skydeck, roughly 240,000 VND, both sell the same city-from-above photo. A rooftop bar drink costs less than either ticket and buys a view with somewhere to sit down. Pick a ticket only if the height itself, not the photo, is the point for you.

Four days and beyond add a deliberately cheap recovery day and deeper District 3 time; see the 4-day version of this same plan. The full guide covers the e-visa cost this itinerary assumes you already sorted before landing. Keep small dong notes on you through Day 3, Cholon’s stalls rarely break a large bill any more than District 1’s do.