Ho Chi Minh City Walking Food Tour: 12+ Tastings

Eat like a local without the motorbike: four hours on foot through the real food stalls

This guided walking food tour in Ho Chi Minh City takes you through Districts 3 and 10 to taste 12 Vietnamese street foods at authentic stalls, markets and hidden spots where locals eat. Your English-speaking guide leads you through night markets, flower markets, ancient apartment blocks and alleyways, explaining the story behind each dish. The tour runs four hours and includes all tastings, drinks and dinner; you choose between a private tour with dedicated transportation or a group departure.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Saigon's street food and markets

• Meet guide at hotel
• Walk through hidden alleyways
• Taste shrimp and vegetable rice pancakes
• Sample grilled beef wrapped in betel leaves
• Enjoy Saigon baguette (Banh Mi)
• Visit Nguyen Thien Thuat apartments
• Explore musical instrument shops
• Discover Ho Thi Ky flower market
• Try grilled banana with coconut milk
• Visit night food market
• Sample ice cream, flan cake, caramel coffee

The Experience

Start at your hotel and walk into the parts of Ho Chi Minh City that don't show up in guidebooks. Your guide takes you through Districts 3 and 10 to the stalls and vendors where the city actually eats—not the tourist versions. You'll taste beef noodle soup, grilled oysters with pepper sauce, and grilled beef wrapped in betel leaf at the places locals queue for. The walk moves through night markets and the flower market, past the Nguyen Thien Thuat apartments (the oldest residential block in the city), and down alleyways where you can watch vendors work and see how the neighborhood moves through its day.

Twelve tastings come across the four hours: savory crispy pancakes with shrimp, a Saigon banh mi, fresh spring rolls, grilled banana in sticky rice and coconut milk, banana crackers, jasmine tea, Saigon beer, sugarcane juice with kumquat, and desserts—ice cream, flan cake and caramel coffee to close it out. Your guide explains what you're eating and why it matters to the city. Vegetarian and dietary-restricted options are available if you book ahead.

You can book this as a private tour with your own transportation, or join a group departure. Either way, the guide is English-speaking and the route stays the same: the hidden gems, the real stalls, the stories that make the food make sense. A minimum of two people is required per booking.

What’s included

• All 12 tastings and drinks (beef noodle soup, grilled oysters, grilled beef in betel leaf, banh mi, savory crispy pancake, grilled banana in coconut milk, banana crackers, jasmine tea, Saigon beer, fresh spring rolls, sugarcane juice, and desserts).
• dinner.
• an English-speaking guide.
• and hotel pickup.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Saigon Adventure

Is this one for you?Pick the private option if you need your own pace through the neighborhoods; join the group departure if you'd rather have someone else handle logistics while you focus on the food and people around you.

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Top questions

What exactly do I taste on this walking food tour in Ho Chi Minh City?

The tour includes 12 tastings: beef noodle soup, grilled oysters with pepper sauce, grilled beef in betel leaf, banh mi, savory crispy pancake with shrimp, grilled banana in sticky rice and coconut milk, banana crackers, jasmine tea, Saigon beer, fresh spring rolls, cold sugarcane juice with kumquat, and desserts (ice cream, flan cake, caramel coffee). All tastings and drinks are included in the price.

Do I have to walk the whole time, or do we stop and sit to eat?

You walk between stops in Districts 3 and 10, moving through alleyways, markets and local neighborhoods. At each food stall or vendor, you stop to taste and eat with your guide, who explains the dish and its place in Saigon's food culture.

What is the Nguyen Thien Thuat apartments, and why do we go there?

Nguyen Thien Thuat is the oldest residential apartment block in Ho Chi Minh City. The tour includes a visit so you can see how locals live in the historic heart of the city and understand the neighborhood context where the food stalls operate.

Can I book this as a private tour, or is it only group departures?

You can choose between a private tour with dedicated transportation or a group tour. Both include the same guide, route and 12 tastings; the private option gives you your own vehicle and timing flexibility.

Is this tour suitable if I'm vegetarian or have dietary restrictions?

Yes. Vegetarian and dietary-restricted options are available for the tastings. Let the operator know your needs when you book so they can arrange alternatives at each stop.

How long does the tour take, and what time does it start?

The tour runs four hours. Your guide picks you up at your hotel at the start time, and the route covers Districts 3 and 10 on foot between the food stops.