Anybody been to Ho Chi Minh City recently?

I'm thinking about having a one-week trip there around the start of June and would like to ask a few questions about what to do/see, and good places to stay, and nearby places of interest.

Sorry have only been throught he airport there. it is a very busy place though with lots of traffic.

We went to Hanoi and Hoi an would like to go to other places and would re visit Hoi an but not Hanoi.

Just a word of advice have your wit's about you in the city as they try to scam you from morning till night.

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Kiss
God laughs at people who make plans.

went there in September 2008 and it was brilliant but hectic , traffic .
other than traffic we found it a lot cleaner than Bangkok .
Scams , we did not find anybody , other than cyclo drivers asking stupid prices , that tried to scam us .
Taxis cheap , we found all were metered , ask someone to write name of where you want to go in Vietnamese as language skills not too good , saying that use taxis in London quite a lot and suprisingly their English is not too good .
Local a bit of an eye opener and if you want to buy haggle , haggle and haggle again , it works .
We went several nights to , think this is right , Ban Than night market , during day this is a wet market produce etc. , had some very good food , my wife was in her element bought several items of clothing and footwear at ridiculus prices , all of course original copies , even my savvy grandson still believes that they were original !!!!
A friend who travelled with us , a very fussy eater had no problems , first night we ate at a Mexican restaurant !!!!
All service we received from arrival to departure was great , like it used to be in Thailand .
Would we go back ? YES have just booked for this September 4 nights in Ho Chi Minh and then on to Phan Thiet , brilliant beach resort .

No plans to go beyond Ho Chi Min? There is a lot to see and to do around the country. All year round Vietnam is a wonderful destination. Midway between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh is the city of Hue, the former capital of the emperors of Vietnam, known for its beautiful imperial architecture. Explore the “Forbidden Purple City”, the city within a city with its tombs, pagodas and lakes covered by lotus flowers. Near Hue is Da Nang, city of China Beach, the Marble Mountains and the Cham Museum, which houses magnificent examples of the art of the Indianised Cham civilization. There is a lot to see in Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon). The colorful Emperor of Jade Pagoda is an excellent example of a Chinese temple. Northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh is an interesting destination as it is the home of the Caodai religion. You can also go to Dalat to visit the “Valley of Love.” Enjoy your trip!

Thanks for these tips - I will include them in our travel plans -

Could u tell me more abt ur favourite place such as moutain or beach,because VIetNam is big,and u said u would stay in VietNam just a week,that's really a short time for discover VietNam.i have some advise abt DaLat,i think it's beautiful city but don't come " Valley of love" because there is nothing special there.U could enjoy the other things in DaLat more interesting.

You can take a 1 to 3 day trip to the Mekong Delta, I highly recommend that. The backpacker area around Pham Ngu Lao has lots of guesthouses. In particular, there's a small alley only big enough for people and motorbikes that has guesthouse after guesthouse. The motorbike drivers are pretty tricky, so be wary of them. The traffic is scary, cross when the locals do. Also check out the war crimes museum, it's very enlightening.

to travelforum.org, Jasmine!

I can also second the Mekong Delta. Vietnam is really tour-oriented compared to Thailand; the government encourage it to be economical and convenient to take package tours rather than travel independently. But with a bit of asking around you can get on a bus from Saigon down to Ben Tre or My Tho where the tourist hassles of Vietnam plummet (as does the comprehension of English!). Brave the dodgy-looking spit'n'sawdust restaurants and enjoy a slice of authentic Vietnam

Steve,
I was stationed in Da Nang for part of the time during the Vietnam Conflict. We had a reunion in 2007 (40th reunion), but instead of holding it in the boring city of Da Nang, we held it in Hoi An.

If you haven't been there, I urge you go go. It is incredibly quaint, beautiful and cheap. And try the "fresh beer". It is oustanding.

I was in Ho Chi Minh City in Nov last year. I went to Hanoi in 2007 and I wasn't that keen to go to HCM but my friends who had not been to Vietnam before persuaded me to organize a trip. Surprisingly I had a great time and so did my friends. I had a Vietnamese travel agency, VietValue travel, to customize an itinerary for us and to book the hotel for us. I used them for my Hanoi trip earlier and found them to be honest and efficient. I would definitely recommend them if anyone is interested to plan a trip to Vietnam.

The traffic in both cities are the same - chaotic! Just crossing the street was such a scary experience. But shopping in HCM was fun and there were more places to shop there compared to Hanoi. The imitation handbags are of better quality than the ones in Shenzhen! There are lovely cheap embroidered 'silk' nighties and each of us bought a few sets back.

There weren't a lot of scenic places to see in HCM - we went to visit the War Museum, the History Museum and some temples. The Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh Province about an hour plus drive from HCM was quite interesting. Apparently, the Vietnamese are the only people in the world practising Cao Daiism.

The Mekong river delta is a 'must' for tourists. We even had a traditional meal on Phung Island - spring rolls with deep fried 'elephant fish' and lots of raw veg (herbs) prepared right at our table.

I enjoyed the food there. We had Chinese food - even had a roast suckling pig! (verdict: quite good) -, Vietnamese food in different locations, on a boat, in a village (owned by a former woman soldier!), on an island and we were even taken to a French restaurant for vietnamese food - there was a pianist at the restaurant who played songs like 'Roll Out the Barrel' while we ate and tried to sing along!

Going back there again? Maybe!