# How many days do you need in Ho Chi Minh City?

> Spend 2 to 3 days in Ho Chi Minh City: day one colonial Saigon and the War Remnants Museum, day two Cu Chi Tunnels and Cholon, day three the Mekong Delta.

- Source: https://clevertourists.com/resources/how-many-days-in-ho-chi-minh-city
- Authors: Evan & Clara, Clever Tourists (first-hand, from years of travel across 20 countries)
- Published: 2026-05-07

**Two to three days.** Two full days covers Ho Chi Minh City's essentials: the colonial core and the Reunification Palace on one day, the Cu Chi Tunnels and Cholon on the other. A third day adds the Mekong Delta, and if the delta is the point, two nights in Can Tho beat any day trip. Saigon was our base from **13 to 19 May 2023**, the last week of a north-to-south Vietnam route, with **two nights in Can Tho** in the middle and a **Cu Chi Tunnels day trip**, so roughly four days in the city itself. Four days was comfortable; fewer than two means choosing between the war history and the city.

## The short answer by trip length

• **1 day:** the central landmarks only: Ben Thanh Market, the Central Post Office, the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum, all within about a 20-minute walk of each other. You miss Cu Chi.

• **2 days:** the core. Day one in the old District 1, day two at the Cu Chi Tunnels in the morning and Cholon in the afternoon. This is the plan in our [Ho Chi Minh City guide](https://clevertourists.com/guides/ho-chi-minh-city).

• **3 days:** add a Mekong Delta day trip to My Tho or Ben Tre, about two hours south, or a slow day of cafes, the Saigon River and street food.

• **4 to 6 days:** what we had. Use Saigon as a base and spend two of the nights in [Can Tho](https://clevertourists.com/guides/can-tho) for the dawn floating market, as we did from 15 to 17 May.

Saigon is hot all year, so the real unit is half-days: outdoor sights before 11am, museums in the afternoon heat, food after dark. Plans that ignore this tend to fall apart by lunch.

## Day by day: 3 days in Ho Chi Minh City

**Day 1, colonial Saigon and the war museums.** Breakfast com tam at a sidewalk stall, then Ben Thanh Market as the stalls open. Walk ten minutes north to the Saigon Central Post Office (built 1886 to 1891, still selling stamps) and the red-brick Notre-Dame Cathedral across the square. Do the Reunification Palace in the morning: it has traditionally closed for a midday break, and the basement war rooms deserve most of your time there. Spend the afternoon at the **War Remnants Museum**, which opens at 7:30am daily, charges about 40,000 VND (≈ $1.6), and stops selling tickets around 5pm. Two hours is the minimum. Finish on Nguyen Hue walking street and the riverfront at dusk.

**Day 2, Cu Chi Tunnels and Cholon.** Leave by 7:30am. The tunnels are about 1.5 to 2 hours northwest by road; **Ben Dinh** is the closer, busier site and **Ben Duoc** the quieter one, and both let you crawl a section widened for visitors. Back by early afternoon, take a Grab west to Cholon for the incense coils of Thien Hau Temple and the wholesale lanes around Binh Tay Market. Dinner on **Vinh Khanh** food street in the old District 4, a long row of grilled-seafood and snail places.

**Day 3, the Mekong Delta or the slow city.** A day trip to My Tho and Ben Tre (about two hours each way) gives you canal boats and coconut workshops. If you would rather stay in town, ride Metro Line 1 from the underground station at Ben Thanh, browse the cafes in the old apartment blocks on Nguyen Hue, and go up the Bitexco tower or Landmark 81 for sunset.

Our [day trips from Ho Chi Minh City](https://clevertourists.com/resources/day-trips-from-ho-chi-minh-city) guide compares Cu Chi, the delta, Tay Ninh's Cao Dai Holy See (about 100 km northwest) and Vung Tau.

## Can Tho: why the delta is better as an overnight

The famous floating markets trade at dawn, which a day trip from Saigon cannot reach. Buses from Mien Tay station take about **3 to 3.5 hours** to Can Tho on the expressway, so stay at least one night, and two if you want a full day on the canals. That is what our route did: Ho Chi Minh City 13 to 15 May, Can Tho 15 to 17 May, then back to Saigon until 19 May.

If you only have three days in total, choose: either Cu Chi plus a My Tho day trip from Saigon, or Cu Chi plus one night in Can Tho. Our [Can Tho guide](https://clevertourists.com/guides/can-tho) covers the markets.

## Where it fits in a Vietnam route

Most north-to-south routes end here. On ours, Saigon came after **Da Lat (5 days)** and **Nha Trang (3 days)**, and from Saigon we went on to **Seminyak in Bali**. The full route, with every leg and its transport options, is in [our 4-week Vietnam itinerary](https://clevertourists.com/resources/vietnam-itinerary-our-4-week-route-north-to-south), and [Vietnam in 2 weeks](https://clevertourists.com/resources/vietnam-itinerary-2-weeks-hanoi-to-saigon) is the short cut.

Coming from the coast, overnight trains from Nha Trang take roughly 7 to 9 hours, or fly from Cam Ranh. From the highlands, see [how many days in Da Lat](https://clevertourists.com/resources/how-many-days-in-da-lat). Book an open-jaw ticket, into Hanoi and out of Saigon or the reverse, so you never backtrack the length of the country, and check the [Vietnam e-visa rules](https://clevertourists.com/resources/do-i-need-a-visa-to-visit-vietnam) before you fix the dates.

## When to go

• **December to February:** dry, the lowest humidity of the year, and highs around 31 to 32°C. The best weather. Tet, the Lunar New Year, falls in early February in 2027; Nguyen Hue turns into a flower street beforehand, but many family restaurants close for several days afterwards. See [Tet 2027 in Vietnam](https://clevertourists.com/resources/tet-2027-vietnam-dates-holiday-closures-travel-guide).

• **March and April:** still dry but the hottest stretch, with afternoons near 34 to 35°C.

• **May to November:** the rainy season, usually a heavy 30 to 60 minute downpour in the mid-to-late afternoon. Our May visit fell at its start. Mornings stay usable, and September and October are the wettest months.

## Common mistakes

• **Treating Cu Chi as a quick half-day.** With 1.5 to 2 hours each way in traffic, it takes the whole morning. Do not stack the War Remnants Museum on the same day.

• **Doing the Reunification Palace at noon.** Go in the morning and leave the museum, which stays open through lunch, for the afternoon.

• **Booking a bed on Bui Vien.** The backpacker strip is fun for one night out and loud every night. Stay in the old District 1 between Nguyen Hue and Ben Thanh Market for walking access to almost everything.

• **Hailing street taxis.** Use Grab, and cross the road at a slow, steady walk so the motorbikes can flow around you.

• **Day-tripping Can Tho.** You arrive after the floating market has finished.

Before you go, read [is tipping expected in Vietnam](https://clevertourists.com/resources/tipping-etiquette-vietnam) and [what's considered rude in Vietnam](https://clevertourists.com/resources/what-is-considered-rude-in-vietnam), and for the dishes, [what to eat in Vietnam](https://clevertourists.com/guides/food-vietnam).

## Frequently asked questions

### Is 2 days enough in Ho Chi Minh City?

Yes for the essentials: one day for Ben Thanh Market, the Post Office, the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum, and one for the Cu Chi Tunnels and Cholon. Add a third day for the Mekong Delta.

### Is 3 days in Saigon too much?

No. The third day goes to a Mekong Delta trip to My Tho and Ben Tre, about two hours each way, or to a slower day in the city. We had roughly four days in Saigon plus two nights in Can Tho.

### Can you do the Cu Chi Tunnels and the city in one day?

Only the tunnels plus an evening. Cu Chi is about 1.5 to 2 hours each way by road, so it fills the morning; leave the War Remnants Museum for another day.

### Should I visit Can Tho as a day trip from Ho Chi Minh City?

No. Buses take about 3 to 3.5 hours each way and the floating market trades at dawn, so stay at least one night. We spent two nights there in the middle of our Saigon stay.

### What is the best month to visit Ho Chi Minh City?

December to February, when it is dry and least humid. March and April are the hottest months, and the rainy season from May to November brings short afternoon downpours.