Ho Chi Minh City & Southern Vietnam

District 1 is the heart of Saigon — a fascinating mix of French colonial heritage, brutal war history, and Asian metropolis energy. Here, the main attractions are concentrated in a small area:

French Heritage

• Main Post Office (Bưu Điện Trung Tâm): Designed by Gustave Eiffel (yes, THAT Eiffel), opened in 1891. The vaulted ceiling, the old phone booths, and the huge Ho Chi Minh portrait are a surreal mix. It still functions as a post office today — you can send postcards home.
• Notre-Dame Basilica: Built in 1880 from bricks shipped from Marseille. Under restoration for years, but impressive from the outside. A piece of Paris in the tropics.
• City Hall (Ủy Ban Nhân Dân): Magnificent French colonial building from 1908, beautifully lit at night. Not accessible, but photogenic from the outside.
• Opera House (Nhà Hát Thành Phố): Built in 1897 in the style of the Paris Opera. Today, Vietnamese acrobatics shows are performed here.

Bến Thành Market

The Bến Thành Market is Saigon's most famous market — a covered labyrinth of stalls with clothing, souvenirs, spices, and street food. The prices are hopelessly overpriced (2–3× the normal price), so bargain hard or better buy elsewhere. Still, a visit is worthwhile for the atmosphere and the street food around it. In the evening, the area transforms into a night market with food stalls.

The War Remnants Museum is one of the most harrowing places in Vietnam — and a must-visit. The museum documents the Vietnam War (called the "American War" by the Vietnamese) from a Vietnamese perspective: Agent Orange, napalm, the Mỹ Lai massacre, the impact on the civilian population. The images and stories are disturbing and get under your skin.

In the outdoor area, there are American tanks, helicopters, and fighter planes. Inside: photographs, documents, reconstructed tiger cage prison cells (where political prisoners were held on Côn Đảo), and a harrowing exhibition on the long-term effects of Agent Orange — the defoliant that still causes deformities in newborns today.

The museum is clearly biased — it shows the Vietnamese side of the story. This does not diminish its impact: the facts, photos, and testimonies speak for themselves. Plan at least 2 hours and be emotionally prepared.

The Củ Chi Tunnels are a 250 km long network of underground passages that the Việt Cộng dug and used during the Vietnam War under the feet of the American army. Thousands of fighters lived, fought, cooked, and slept in these tunnels — sometimes for years, right under the American bases.

Today, two sections are open to visitors:

• Bến Dược: Less visited, more authentic. 70 km northwest of HCMC.
• Bến Đình: Closer to HCMC (60 km), more touristy, but better prepared.

The tour shows hidden entrances (so small that Western tourists can barely fit through), reconstructed living quarters, kitchens with sophisticated smoke ventilation, infirmaries, and traps. A section of the tunnel has been enlarged for tourists — yet it is oppressively narrow and dark. Those who are claustrophobic can exit at any time.

At the end, the facility offers the opportunity to shoot original war weapons (AK-47, M16) at a shooting range (from 60,000 VND per shot). Controversial, but popular.

Chợ Lớn (District 5) is Saigon's Chinatown — and with half a million inhabitants, the largest Chinese community in Southeast Asia outside of China. The name means "Big Market," and that's exactly what Chợ Lớn is: an endless maze of markets, temples, pharmacies, and street food stalls.

Highlights

• Bình Tây Market: The actual main market of Chợ Lớn — a huge, yellow-painted building full of wholesalers, spices, dried seafood, and Chinese medicine. Less touristy than Bến Thành, but more authentic.
• Thiên Hậu Pagoda: The most beautiful Chinese temple in Saigon, dedicated to the sea goddess. Huge incense spirals hang from the ceiling and spread a sweet scent.
• Street Food: Chinese-Vietnamese fusion cuisine: Dim Sum from 6 AM, Hủ Tiếu (rice noodle soup), Chè (sweet dessert soups). More authentic and cheaper than in District 1.

The Mekong Delta (Đồng Bằng Sông Cửu Long, "Plain of the Nine Dragons") is Vietnam's green heart — a sprawling network of rivers, canals, and islands that supplies a third of the country's rice production. Life here takes place on the water: floating markets, sampan rides through narrow canals under coconut palms, and fishing villages that seem like another world.

Floating Markets

• Cái Răng (near Cần Thơ): The most famous floating market — hundreds of boats loaded with fruits, vegetables, and flowers trade at sunrise. Best to be on the water by 5:30 AM when the morning light is golden and traders hang their goods on long bamboo poles (the boat's assortment). Touristy, but still impressive.
• Phong Điền: Smaller, more authentic, fewer tourists. 20 km from Cần Thơ. Locals shop here — not a souvenir stand in sight.

Other Experiences

• Sampan Rides: Glide through overgrown canals in narrow wooden boats — silence, birdsong, palms.
• Coconut Candy Factories: On Bến Tre Island, the coconut is processed in all forms — candies, oil, wine. Tasting included.
• Homestays: Stay with a Vietnamese family in the delta — cook together, fish, hammocks, rice wine.

Tours

Phú Quốc is Vietnam's largest island and the country's most popular beach destination — 574 km² of tropical paradise in the Gulf of Thailand, closer to Cambodia than to the Vietnamese mainland. The island has developed rapidly in recent years: luxury resorts, theme parks, and an international airport have transformed the once sleepy fishing village.

Highlights

• Long Beach (Bãi Dài): 20 km of fine sandy beach on the west coast — perfect for sunsets. The northern part is quieter.
• Sao Beach (Bãi Sao): The postcard beach — powdery white sand, turquoise water. Crowded on weekends.
• Snorkeling & Diving: At Cù Lao (An Thới Archipelago) in the south — clear water, colorful corals, affordable diving courses (PADI Open Water from 7,000,000 VND / 260 €).
• Night Market Dương Đông: The tourist center in the evening — grilled seafood straight from the grill (lobster from 300,000 VND / 11 €).
• Fish Sauce Factories: Phú Quốc produces Vietnam's best fish sauce (Nước Mắm). Factory tour (free) — the smell is... intense.

Getting There

Flight from HCMC (1 hour, from 600,000 VND / 22 €) or ferry from Hà Tiên/Rạch Giá (2.5 hours, 230,000 VND / 8.50 €).

Côn Đảo is Vietnam's best-kept island secret — an archipelago of 16 islands, 230 km off the southeast coast, with pristine beaches, coral reefs, and a dark history as a prison island.

From 1862 to 1975, first the French, then the Americans and South Vietnamese operated a notorious prison here. Over 20,000 political prisoners died in the Tiger Cages — tiny, open cells where inmates were exposed to the sun and rain. The prison museum is harrowing but historically indispensable.

Today, Côn Đảo is a natural paradise: sea turtles nest on the beaches (June–September), the diving and snorkeling spots are among the best in Vietnam, and the national park covers 80% of the main island. There is no mass tourism infrastructure — just a handful of hotels and restaurants. Just right.

Mũi Né is Vietnam's kitesurfing mecca and a surreal place: red and white sand dunes reminiscent of the Sahara, a Fairy Stream meandering through colorful sandstone formations, and the wind blows so consistently that international kite communities winter here.

Highlights

• White Sand Dunes (Bàu Trắng): 30 km north — real desert dunes with a lotus lake. Best at sunrise. Quad rides available (150,000 VND / 5.55 €).
• Red Sand Dunes: Right by Mũi Né — smaller, but spectacularly glowing red at sunset. Children rent out sandboards (30,000 VND).
• Fairy Stream: An ankle-deep stream through a gorge of red and white sandstone — wade through barefoot (30 min). Free and kitschy-beautiful.
• Kitesurfing: November–April are the best months. Courses from 1,500,000 VND (56 €) for 2 hours.