Saigon in 4 Days on a Budget (With Daily Costs)

Four days lets the budget breathe. This extends the 3-day plan with a deliberately cheap fourth day rather than another paid sight, the one day in this itinerary designed to cost almost nothing.

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
4 Tao Dan Park, District 3 back streets, no paid tours 150,000-250,000 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. 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. 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, or skip both for a rooftop bar drink instead.

Day 4: The Deliberately Cheap Day

This is the lowest-spend day of the trip on purpose. Morning in Tao Dan Park, free, watching locals practice tai chi before the heat sets in. Spend the rest of the day in District 3’s back streets, local cafes and no-frills eateries away from the main tourist strip, where a full meal runs closer to 40,000-70,000 VND than District 1 prices. Skip paid tours entirely today.

Why build in a day with nothing paid on the itinerary?

Because three straight days of museums and viewpoints get expensive and tiring, and this city rewards slow walking as much as ticketed sights. A day of free parks, cheap local food and no fixed schedule resets both the budget and the traveler after Day 3’s viewpoint spend, and it costs roughly a sixth of Day 2.

Is District 3 worth exploring beyond the War Remnants Museum?

Yes. It sits immediately next to District 1 but reads quieter and more residential, with local cafes that charge local prices rather than tourist ones. A slow afternoon there on Day 4 shows a version of the city that Day 1’s museum-and-market pace does not have room for.

Five days and beyond add proper museum time and a slower District 3 exploration; see the 5-day version of this plan. The full guide has the transport and visa detail this itinerary assumes.