i live in saigon right now and, if i were visiting, i would get a hotel in the backpacker area. and just walk all over district one. eat some pho and banh xeo. definitely get a ko phe sua da at highlands coffee at the top of the tax center and look out over the opera house and town hall. if you want some more authentic food then head to district 3 along the canal or on le van sy. if you need to escape the oppressive motorcycle noise then take a cab (mai linh or vinasun only!) to gloria jeans coffee along the river in phu my hung and watch the lover's lane along the river.

Hi i was last month there for 3 weeks, but we stayed only 2 nights at the beginning and 2 nights at the end of our trip there. Ho-Chii-Minh is a really big city, where you cant see any centrum. But a very popular street for backpackers and tourists with low budget ist the 'Pham Ngu Lao Street', there a many hostels, where you can sleep for less money (Like Cut Huy Hotel). From there is it not far away to the 'Ben Thanh Market' and the 'Hoi Truong Thong Nhat' (Reunification Palace). Its normal for the vietnamese to cheat europeans. So you should not habe the problem, to pay more as the vietnamese for the same things, but the different is not higher than 10cent, but they mean everytime that the europeans are all rich ;D. If you have the chance to travel trough the country, then do it !! During the trip we saw a couple of beautiful places, but the best places were Hoi An and Dalat (there you breath easily like in europe or amerika and its not so hot - 18C°). So thats enough for the beginning, so have fun in vietnam. I hope i could help you.

Ho Chi Minh is one of the cities that we would like to visit again. it's people, culture, food are so great. we had fun watching the people come and go during rush hour from our hotel room.

ho chi minh is also call sagion, is a place u must go. u can go to the town area to have a walk in the night and it is very beautiful if u take pic infront of the people committe building. The traffic is a bit crazy with hundred of motor bike and to cross the rd is a bit problem. The trick is cross the rd without any fear and do not hesitate and this is the most fun part of it. ho chi minh city is rather small a day or two u can complete, war remnants museum,history museum, reunification palace, main post office, notre dame cathedral and ben thanh market is a few place u must go. As for food u must go to pho 2000 to dry the beef noodle as it is very popular world wide as the former american president Bill Clinton have been there too. another food u must try is the broken rice, u can eat in the resturant call Quan An Ngon at Nam ky khoi nghia street, be there early in the evening coz it is alway full house. well since u are in hcmc u can go to the cu chi tunnel and the cao dai temple by booking throught the viator.com website and it is very well arranged and organise and dun worry i have bk through fr them too with my friend. we even also bk throught viator web site to travel to mekong delta fr hcmc.. if u have time travel to hanoi and than to ha long bay u will not regret and when go to ha long bay book through viator too as they provide the best service.. if u wan to see more on ha long bay view u can check on my face book account as i have pic on ho chi minh city to cu chi tunnel, cao dai temple, mekong delta, hanoi to ha long bay and to thailand all with 9 days

Ho Chi Minh is a great place, although the traffic is indeed a bit mad, but that's part of the fun! In town, worthwhile places to visit include the Jade Emperor Pagoda, the Benh Tan Market for great shopping, the War Remnants Museum. A meal at Temple Club is a must, followed by ice cream at Fanny's downstairs. Out of town, a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai Great Temple is recommended, best organized by one of the many budget agencies in town (we went with Sinh Cafe and it was great although rushed). A trip to the Mekong Delta is also rewarding and as Pasi said I highly recommend you go there by yourself and arrange things locally. That way you will get the best out of the Delta. Vinh Long is a great place to arrange boat trips and a homestay and Can Tho is the best place from where to arrange a trip to nearby floating markets. Cat Tien National Park is also great for hiking and you might be lucky to see some great wildlife. Have a great time!

Traffic is crazy, if you want to accross the street, just start walk over the street, never go backwards, always forward and they will give you space :) there's a lot of cheap tour operators, everything arranged and sometimes good to use those but if you want to go from city to another, their buses are extremely slow, better to use local transportations. maybe not as safe as tour operator buses but much faster. you can make easy daytrips to cu chi tunnels, cao dai temple and mekong delta. i think you will see more if you go to mekong delta by yourself and arrange trip there, that's the way i did. there's also straight cheap flights to phu quoc island, very beautiful beaches, good place to relax.