Tours/Ho Chi Minh City/PHU MY PORT: SAIGON SHORE EXCURSION-Old and New Parts of Saigon
Viator · Private tour

PHU MY PORT: SAIGON SHORE EXCURSION-Old and New Parts of Saigon

4.9(28)Ho Chi Minh City1 hour
VIATOR5.0(12)TRIPADVISOR4.8(16)

Description

We will take you on a tour of the city that will touch on some of the historical antecedents to modern Saigon as well as delving into some of the more everyday traditional lifestyle of the Saigonese. Our guide will introduce to you how they grow the rice, how they catch a fish but in Saigon city (This is unseen part of Saigon). Enjoy lunch at local restaurant with local specialty. After that we'll head to center and discover history and culture of Saigon with: • Local Wet Market • The Jade Emperor temple • City Hall • Opera House • Central Post Office • Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral • War Museum or Reunification Palace (Presidential Palace). • The CIA building in Saigon: Saigon Helicopter Photo + Our tour itinerary is flexible and changeable to make you have local most experiences. + All private tours are approximately 9-10 hours or longer depending on your time. At the end of the private tour, we will ensure that you return on-time to board the cruise ship

Tour Options

Private Hochiminh Shore Tour
  • Pickup included

Itinerary

40 min

This is one of Real Local Area for tourist who want to see local life. This place is very famous with local people for picnic and fishing at weekend. You will see how they grow the rice, how they catch a fish but in Saigon city (This is an unseen part of Saigon).

15 min

Ho Chi Minh City Hall is closed to the public as it’s an official Vietnam government building. It is beautiful French Colonial architecture and sunny cream-and-yellow hue, make it a tourist favorite and a symbol of Saigon, one of the city’s most iconic landmarks. The building stands at one end of Nguyen Hue Boulevard on Le Thanh Ton Street, a brisk walk away from Dong Khoi Street.

Admission included15 min

You will find this pagoda in District 1 one of the oldest pagoda in Saigon, which is roughly a ten minute drive from the city centre.

Admission included45 min

The palace is like a time capsule frozen in 1975. You can see two of the original tanks used in the capture of the palace parked in the grounds. Independence Palace was the home and workplace of the French Governor of Cochin-China. It has lush gardens, secret rooms, antique furniture, and a command bunker. It's still in use to host important occasions in Ho Chi Minh, including APEC summits.

30 min

Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 is a great place to buy local handicrafts, branded goods, Vietnamese art and other souvenirs. Here, you’ll find eating stalls inside the market where you can get a taste of hawker-style Vietnamese cuisine or simply cool off with a cold drink when the bargaining becomes too much. The market is big, difficult to navigate at times and certainly best avoided during the hottest part of the day but all the same its well worth a look.

20 min

A must see in Saigon: Originally constructed as a hotel in 1886 by French architect Gardes, it now serves as a city hall and one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.

10 min

Notre Dame Cathedral Saigon is one of the most unique architectures in Ho Chi Minh city, looking from the outside, you can see the bright red color of the refined brick wall, which has not been covered with moss for hundred years. These bricks were made in Guichard Carvin, Marseille St André France and were directly imported from France. There are 56 colored glass plates on the wall to portray characters and events in the Holy Bible. These glass plates reflect the light and create a magnificent beauty. There are 31 air holes on the wall in flower shape, looks like a carpet of flowers. There are 25 windows assembled by multi-color glasses.

10 min

Saigon Opera House or also known as the Municipal Theatre Saigon, is located in Lam Son Square at the beginning of Le Loi Street, a popular shopping street that runs from the park across the road through to Ben Thanh market. Standing magnificently at the heart of Ho Chi Minh City where it crosses out many important routes, the building is outstanding as one the impressive sight in Saigon both night and day

Admission included40 min

The War Remnants Museum, also known as the Museum of American War Crimes, until now, has stored more than 20,000 documents, exhibits and films, in which more than 1,500 documents, artifacts, films have been applied to introduce in eight thematic exhibition frequently. In 35 years, the War Museum Ho Chi Minh has welcomed over 15 million visitors at home and abroad.

Highlights

Private, Customized and Flexible Tour
Bottled drinking water on the car/bus and All entrance fees
Local English speaking tour guide
Lunch
Cruise Port Pickup and Drop-off with Private Transportation

What's included

Included
Private, Customized and Flexible Tour
Bottled drinking water on the car/bus and All entrance fees
Local English speaking tour guide
Lunch
Cruise Port Pickup and Drop-off with Private Transportation
Not included
-Personal expenses.
-Travel insurance.
-Drinks are not included with any meal

Pickup Locations & Times

7:30AM-8:00AM The driver and Our guide will pick you up at the main gate (7 to 10 minute walk or take shuttle bus from the ship) of cruise port to Saigon around 1. 5 hours by private mini-van.

Traveller Ratings

4.9
28 reviews
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26
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1
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Important Information

  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
  • Specialized infant seats are available
  • Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
  • Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

Reviews(28)

C
carriea609
March 12, 2026
Excellent full day tour with Lee

Along with 7 other fellow cruisers, we did this tour of Saigon with Lee. It was an excellent day. Lee and his driver met us at the port and took us to see many important sights around Saigon, including the eco village, a small walking tour of some of the central city buildings, lunch at a restaurant, the war museum, a buddhist temple and a quick stop at a market for some last minute shopping. Lee was a fantastic guide, with local history and knowledge, and a great sense of humour too. He was in contact with me many times in the lead up to the tour, answering all my questions. We were comfortable in the airconditioned bus, our driver was excellent so we felt very safe in the hectic traffic, and they got us back to the port in plenty of time. Would recommend Lee to anyone considering doing this tour!

1 people found this helpful
G
Getaway37839332917
January 31, 2026
Cam Rahn Port Tour

Group tour modify at the last minute the impossible stop at the port of Phu My.Visit the coastal town of Nah Trang and meal with a thoughtful and very competent guide... Thanks again for the speed and efficiency of the change of etinerary

M
Marsha_S
January 24, 2026
It was a great day! May...

It was a great day! May was.a very good guide, she was friendly and knowledgeable and made the day very enjoyable!

M
Mary_F
January 12, 2026
A lovely day with Penny and Duc

It felt like spending a day with a friend who wants to introduce you to her country, by. Sharing foods and information an history. Penny is an excellent guide.

K
KerryL_K
January 9, 2026
The best of Saigon private tour.

Excellent private tour. You will see the best of Saigon. Highly recommend this tour. Fabulous tour guide providing history and interesting commentary. Very good driver.

曦 潇
January 9, 2026
Bring hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, walking shoes and small bags

Our guide Tong Khanh Linh has been very friendly and helpful - her knowledge of the city and its tourist attractions is second to none. She also speaks perfect English, better than Trump’s😊 for sure. Her time management is very impressive and she provides us with lots of lovely local knowledge which helps us to navigate our understanding of the culture. Thank you Linh!

S
Svetlana S
December 16, 2025
The sights and sounds of Saigon

We were met at the gate by our wonderful guide Penny and our driver Son. We boarded our car and instantly became knowledgeable that Penny wasn’t just our guide, she was a God sent angel. Penny taught us about life in Vietnam , we learned so much about the people, how they lived and survived. We toured the city of Saigon with an expert in all matters. Son our driver was fantastic how anyone could master the streets of the city is beyond me, the ride was perfect. I developed knee pain while walking at the cathedral, Penny rented a scooter from a local vendor and drove me to the WC. What guide do you know cares so much about her clients to do that. My wife and I fell in love with Penny. We rate Penny and Son’s performance as 5 stars easy. If you are lucky enough to have her as your guide tell Lana and Rick say Aloha.

Operator response

Dear Mrs. Svetlana Skelaney, With many thanks for your choosing in our local shore tour services in Saigon. We are appreciate for your great review and share your own experience travel with our company. Please, introduce for some your friends who is going to Vietnam. Keep in this touch! See you in the next trip! Have a nice day! Linh-Penny @ Your tour guide!

L
Lynette G
November 25, 2025
Fantastic whirlwind day with May our tour guide expert

What a fantastic day doing this Shore Excursion from Phu My Port. Our tour guide was May and she was an absolute delight. Perfect communication about where to meet her outside the port gates where she was waiting with our car and driver. Headed into city which is a good 1 -/2-2hours away but it went quite quick.May first took us Bin Quoi Village to show how locals live and where they spend their down times on weekend and give us an insight into how they grow tic, catch fish etc in a typical village, was really lovely. We then visited the Jade Emperor Temple Central Post office , Notre Damn Cathedral to name a few finishing with a wonderful linch of beef Pho in a local restaurant. May is extremely knowledgeable and very proud of her country and was a delight to be with all day. Our driver Són was a master of getting around the traffic and despite loads of traffic at the end had us back to the port in ample time for our ships departure . I highly recommend May as a guide to see this beautiful place .

Operator response

Dear Ms. Lynette Garland and Mr. Peter Garland, With many thanks for your choosing in our local shore tour services in Saigon. We are appreciate for your nice feedback and share your own experience travel with our company. Please, introduce for some your friends who is going to Vietnam. Keep in this touch! See you in the next trip! Have a nice day. Nhung @ Your tour guide!

D
Dean C
November 16, 2025
Nice day in Saigon.

This is a great tour that will provide great insight into history that can only be experienced by taking the tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable and informative providing for a very enjoyable day.

Operator response

Dear Mr. Dean and Mrs. Tina Cooper, With many thanks for your choosing in our local shore tour services in Saigon. We are appreciate for your nice feedback and share your own experience travel with our company. Please, introduce for some your friends who is going to Vietnam. Keep in this touch! See you in the next trip! Have a nice day. James @ Your tour guide!

A
arthurthomastoura
May 15, 2025
“Excellent guide”

Me and my family had a few hours between our our cruise ship so we decided to spend those hours in Ho Chi Minh city from Phu My port. Lee Minh was an excellent guide as he was energetic and had detailed knowledge about the city, history as well as Vietnam in general He showed us around the interesting landmarks in the city as well as taking us to local food restaurants and market, local area. In all Lee was a great guide as he was prompt and had a clear interest in the city’s culture and history. Strongly recommend

Operator response

Dear Mr. Arthur, With many thanks for your choosing in our local tour in Saigon. Our itinerary is the best for the cruise ship tourist combine local area and city highlight. We are appreciate for your nice feedback and share your own experience travel with our company. Please, introduce for some your friends who is going to Vietnam. Keep in this touch! See you in the next trip! Have a nice day. Lee @ your tour guide!

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