Arrive in Ho Chi Minh City 12:00 pm
Founded as a small fishing village, Ho Chi Minh City is now Vietnam’s largest city. Though still commonly called Saigon, locals are as likely to simplify the name of their hometown to HCMC. No matter what you call it, it is a seamless blend of history and modern youthful energy, where pagodas and French colonial grandeur mingle with bustling old-world marketplaces and modern skyscrapers, all against a constant buzz of motor scooters and trill of bicycle bells. From enduring, narrow alleyways to wide, Parisian-style boulevards, Ho Chi Minh City has an identity all its own.
5 hours tour of the Scenic Ho Chi Minh City
Witness Ho Chi Minh City’s rich blend of Vietnamese traditions, Chinese influence and French colonial architecture.
Join your guide and drive into the city, abuzz with scooters and bicycles. View the Reunification Palace, home to South Vietnam’s president during the Vietnam War. Continue past the soaring neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral, with its twin bell towers, and the elegant Central Post Office—a masterwork of Gothic, Renaissance and French styles. Stop for photos at the Municipal Theater, which was modeled after the Opéra Garnier in Paris. In Chinatown, travel through its red lantern-adorned courtyard to admire the exquisite woodwork and statuary of the incense-fragranced inner sanctum. Pass by Bình Tây Market, a colorful clothing marketplace, before stopping at a lacquer workshop. Here, witness artisans at work and browse their finely crafted wares before returning to your ship.