Ho Chi Minh City Shore Excursion: Private Tour from Cruise Port

French colonial landmarks, a war museum, Cholon's Chinese markets, and lunch with a private guide

A private shore excursion from Ho Chi Minh City's cruise port covering seven major sites (Notre Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office, Reunification Palace, War Remnants Museum, Saigon Opera House, Cholon and Ben Thanh Market) with a professional English-speaking guide, Vietnamese lunch and flexible routing. The tour runs 8 to 12 hours depending on your pace and interests, and pickup and drop-off at the cruise port are included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time at each

1. Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral15m
2. Saigon Central Post Office15m
3. Reunification Palace45m · entry included
4. War Remnants Museum45m · entry included
5. Saigon Opera Housepass by
6. Cholon30m
7. Ben Thanh Market30m

Explore Ho Chi Minh City landmarks

• Visit Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral
• Tour Central Post Office
• Explore Independence Palace
• See People’s Committee Building
• Visit War Remnants Museum
• Pass by Saigon Opera House
• Walk through Cholon Chinatown
• Shop at Ben Thanh Market

The experience

The tour starts at the cruise port and moves through downtown Ho Chi Minh City District 1, where the red-brick Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral (built in the late 1880s by French colonists and standing nearly 60 metres tall) sits next to the Central Post Office, a beautifully preserved colonial building designed by Alfred Foulhoux with arched windows and wooden shutters. Both stand as remnants of the Indochinese Empire, and the two are close enough to visit together. From there the route takes you to Reunification Palace, the former seat of the South Vietnamese government until 1975, when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its main gate: two of those original tanks remain parked in the palace grounds, and the building itself functions as a time capsule frozen in that moment, with secret rooms, antique furniture and a command bunker still visible.

The War Remnants Museum displays the hardware of the conflict: a helicopter with rocket launchers, a tank, a fighter plane, a single-seater attack aircraft, and a conventional bomb weighing 6,800kg. The Saigon Opera House, an 800-seat restored colonial building from 1897, sits nearby on Le Loi Street. Cholon, Vietnam's largest Chinatown with roots to 1778, offers classical Chinese architecture and restaurants, while Ben Thanh Market in District 1 is one of Saigon's oldest landmarks: a sprawling place to buy local handicrafts and Vietnamese art, with eating stalls inside and street-side restaurants opening at night around the perimeter.

Your guide speaks English and handles the routing. The tour is private, so the pace and stops adjust to what interests you. Lunch is Vietnamese cuisine, included in the price. You get bottled water and cold tissue throughout the day. The whole outing runs between 8 and 12 hours depending on how long you spend at each site, and the driver picks you up and drops you back at the cruise port, so you don't arrange transport yourself.

What’s included

• Private professional English-speaking guide.
• Vietnamese lunch.
• cruise port pickup and drop-off.
• bottled water and cold tissue.
• all fees and taxes.
• flexible routing so you can adjust the pace and stops to match your interests.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day9 departure times: the first at 07:30, the last at 13:00

AgesAdult (12 to 85 years) · Child (3 to 11 years) · Infant (under 3): free

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 9 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 7 days ago

Good to know

Easy physical level

Operated by Maximus Travel Vietnam

Is this one for you?Because this is a private tour, the guide adjusts the route and timing to what you want to see. If you want to linger at the War Remnants Museum or skip the Opera House, the day reshapes around your choice. That flexibility is what makes an 8-to-12-hour window work: you're not locked into a fixed schedule with a group.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (3 to 11 years); Infant (under 3): free.

What is the Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral like when you get there?

Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral is a neo-Romanesque basilica built in the late 1880s with an all-red brick façade imported from Marseille, stained glass windows, two bell towers containing six bronze bells that still ring, and a peaceful garden setting in the middle of downtown Ho Chi Minh City. It stands nearly 60 metres tall and was given basilica status by the Vatican in 1962.

Can you walk through Reunification Palace and see inside it?

Yes. Reunification Palace is open to visitors, and you can see the secret rooms, antique furniture, command bunker and the two original North Vietnamese Army tanks parked in the grounds from the 1975 capture. The palace is still used to host important state occasions.

What does the War Remnants Museum actually show?

The War Remnants Museum displays military equipment used during the Vietnam War, including a helicopter with rocket launchers, a tank, a fighter plane, a single-seater attack aircraft, and a conventional bomb weighing 6,800kg, along with graphic photographs documenting the conflict between 1945 and 1975.

Is there time to shop or eat at Ben Thanh Market?

Ben Thanh Market is included as a stop on the tour, and you can browse local handicrafts, Vietnamese art and souvenirs. Eating stalls inside the market serve hawker-style Vietnamese cuisine, and at night restaurants around the perimeter open with wok-fried noodles, barbecued fish and meats.

How does pickup from the cruise port work?

The driver picks you up at the cruise port at the start of the tour and drops you back there at the end, so you don't need to arrange separate transport. The tour runs 8 to 12 hours depending on your pace.