Phu My Shore Excursion: Ho Chi Minh City Private Tour with Guide

A tank still sits in the grounds of Independence Palace, frozen where it crashed through the gate in 1975.

A private guided tour of Ho Chi Minh City departing from Phu My port, visiting Cholon (Chinatown), Ben Thanh Market, Thien Hau Temple, Independence Palace, the War Remnants Museum and colonial landmarks including Notre Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office. The guide speaks English, picks you up at the port gate, and the tour includes Vietnamese lunch and coffee. Duration runs 8 to 12 hours depending on your pace and interests.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time at each

1. Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral15m
2. Reunification Palace45m · entry included
3. Saigon Central Post Office15m
4. War Remnants Museum30m · entry included
5. Saigon Opera House15m
6. Thien Hau Temple15m
7. Ben Thanh Market30m
8. Cholon30m

Explore Ho Chi Minh City highlights

• Meet guide at port gate
• Visit Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral
• See Independence Palace and tanks
• Tour Saigon Central Post Office
• View People’s Committee Building
• Explore War Remnants Museum
• Visit Saigon Opera House
• Tour Ba Thien Hau Temple in Chinatown
• Wander Cholon Chinatown streets
• Shop and eat at Ben Thanh Market

The experience

Your guide meets you at the port entrance with your name on hand and drives you into Ho Chi Minh City in a private vehicle sized for your group. The route takes in the city's French colonial core first: Notre Dame Cathedral, built in the late 1880s with red brick imported from Marseille, sits in Paris Square alongside the Central Post Office, a grand colonial building designed to evoke the Indochinese Empire. Both stand in District 1, the old downtown, and you can move between them on foot.

Independence Palace anchors the political history. The building served as the home and workplace of South Vietnam's president until 1963, then became a symbol of the war's end when a North Vietnamese tank crashed through its main gate in 1975: two of those original tanks remain parked in the grounds. Inside, the palace preserves 1975 as a time capsule: lush gardens, secret rooms, antique furniture and a command bunker. The War Remnants Museum, which opened in 1975, displays the weapons used in that conflict: a helicopter with rocket launchers, a fighter plane, a tank, and a conventional bomb weighing 6,800 kilograms. The exhibits are graphic and direct about the war's toll between 1945 and 1975.

Cholon, Vietnam's largest Chinatown with roots going back to 1778, occupies District 5 roughly twenty minutes from the city center. The narrow streets and classical Chinese architecture draw visitors for the atmosphere itself rather than shopping. The Binh Tay market at its heart is crowded and messy, selling all manner of goods. Thien Hau Temple, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the Chinese sea goddess Mazu, sits within Cholon and fills with incense. Ben Thanh Market in District 1 is where you eat: spicy beef noodles and hawker-style Vietnamese cuisine at the stalls inside, or wok-fried noodles and barbecued fish at the restaurants that open around the perimeter when night falls. The tour includes Vietnamese traditional lunch and your choice of coffee, egg coffee or smoothies.

What’s included

• Your tour includes a private English-speaking guide.
• pickup and drop-off at Phu My port in a private vehicle sized for your group.
• Vietnamese traditional lunch.
• coffee, egg coffee or smoothies.
• bottled water.
• and all fees and taxes.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day9 departure times: the first at 07:00, the last at 11:00

AgesAdult (12 to 90 years) · Child (4 to 11 years) · Infant (under 4): free

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 7 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?Book this if your ship docks at Phu My and you want a private guide and vehicle to move at your own pace through colonial landmarks, war history, and markets: the 8 to 12 hour window lets you linger where your interests take you rather than follow a fixed itinerary.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (4 to 11 years); Infant (under 4): free.

What is Independence Palace like inside?

Independence Palace preserves the moment of 1975. You walk through lush gardens, secret rooms, antique furniture and a command bunker, and two of the original tanks that ended the war sit parked in the grounds outside.

Can I eat at Ben Thanh Market during the tour?

Vietnamese traditional lunch is included in the tour, and Ben Thanh Market is one of the stops where you eat: hawker stalls inside serve spicy beef noodles and Vietnamese cuisine, or restaurants around the perimeter open in the evening.

How far is Cholon from downtown Ho Chi Minh City?

Cholon sits in District 5, roughly a twenty-minute drive from the city center, and the tour includes a stop there to walk the narrow streets and visit Thien Hau Temple.

What does the War Remnants Museum display?

The museum shows American military equipment used between 1945 and 1975: a helicopter with rocket launchers, a fighter plane, a tank, a single-seater attack aircraft, and a conventional bomb weighing 6,800 kilograms, along with graphic photographs.

Does the guide speak English?

Yes, your private guide speaks English and meets you at the port gate with your name on hand to begin the tour.