Saigon scooter tour with street food: Chinatown & District 3

Taste Saigon’s hidden eats and local corners without the scooter hassle

A 4-hour guided scooter tour through Saigon's unseen neighborhoods in Chinatown and District 3, with stops for seven street food tastings and drinks at local spots. The guide handles the bike and navigation. You taste rice noodle salad with beef, banh xeo, grilled banana with coconut milk, banh mi, sugar cane juice, Saigon beer and crispy banana crackers. Hotel pickup is included for District 1, 3 and 4. Vegetarian options are available with advance notice.

Step-by-step itinerary

Saigon sightseeing and street food tour

• Pickup from District 1, 3, or 4
• Visit unseen Chinatown areas
• Explore local spots in District 3, 5, and 10
• Taste rice noodles salad with BBQ beef
• Try grilled banana with coconut milk
• Eat savory crispy pancake with shrimp and pork
• Enjoy Banh Mi Saigon
• Drink cold sugar cane juice with kumquat
• Have a cold Saigon beer at local spot
• Snack on crispy banana cracker
• Drop off at original pickup location

The experience

You meet the guide at Nguyen Du Secondary School in District 1, and the scooter ride itself is the first lesson in how Saigon moves. The guide steers through the narrow streets of Chinatown and into the real local neighborhoods of District 3, 5 and 10: the places that don't sit on a postcard. You're not navigating traffic or worrying about a rental agreement. You're watching the city unfold from the passenger seat, stopping when something is worth tasting.

The food stops are the spine of the tour. Rice noodle salad with beef wrapped in betel leaf comes first, served with veggies and a dipping sauce that tastes nothing like what you'd make at home. Then banh xeo: the crispy savory pancake with shrimp and pork that arrives sizzling and gets wrapped in fresh herbs and lettuce before you eat it. Grilled banana with coconut milk is the one stop that surprises most travelers. It's the "hidden gem" the operator calls it, and it tastes like dessert in the middle of the afternoon. Banh mi Saigon, cold sugar cane juice with kumquat, and a Saigon beer at a local favorite spot round out the tasting menu. The tour ends with crispy banana crackers.

The guide speaks English and knows which stalls are worth stopping at and which ones aren't. The scooter comes with a high-quality helmet, fuel is included, and if rain comes, so is a poncho. Accident insurance is built in. If you have dietary restrictions, tell the operator when you book and they'll adjust the stops to match what you eat.

What’s included

• High-quality helmet and motorbike with fuel.
• seven street food tastings and drinks (rice noodle salad with beef, banh xeo, grilled banana with coconut milk, banh mi, sugar cane juice, Saigon beer, crispy banana crackers).
• English-speaking guide.
• accident insurance.
• rain poncho if needed.
• hotel pickup and drop-off in District 1, 3 or 4.

Options for this experience

2 options

Only sightseeingGuide in English · 08:00 and 13:00Includes pickup

Sightseeing and 7 tastings comboGuide in English · 08:00, 13:00, 13:30 and 18:00Lasts 4 hours. Food and drinks as described. Travel by motorbike or scooter with an English-speaking tour guide. Includes pickup.

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 08:00, 13:00, 13:30 and 18:00

Book up to4h before

AgesAdult (12 to 70 years) · Child (3 to 11 years) · Infant (under 3): free

GroupUp to 15

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

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

Prices and times updated 15 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Saigon Adventure

Is this one for you?Book with tastings to sample signature dishes like beef-wrapped betel leaf and BBQ rice noodles while riding through Chinatown and Districts 3, 5, and 10. Choose sightseeing-only if you want the neighborhoods and scooter experience without food stops.

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Top questions

Can children come?

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

Can I do this tour if I don't want to eat at every stop?

The tour offers two options at checkout: one includes the full tasting menu of seven items, and one is sightseeing only without the food stops. Choose the sightseeing option if you want to ride and see the neighborhoods without the tastings.

What neighborhoods does the scooter tour actually pass through?

The tour focuses on the unseen places in Chinatown and the real local areas of District 3, 5 and 10: the streets where locals live and eat, not the tourist zones.

Do I need to know how to ride a scooter?

No. You ride as a passenger on the back of the guide's scooter. The guide handles all the driving and navigation through Saigon's traffic.

Is hotel pickup included?

Free pickup and drop-off are included if your hotel is in District 1, 3 or 4. If you're staying elsewhere, you'll meet the guide at Nguyen Du Secondary School in District 1.

How long does the tour take?

The tour runs for 4 hours from start to finish, including all the food stops and the scooter ride through the neighborhoods.

What if I'm vegetarian?

Vegetarian options are available. Let the operator know your dietary requirements at the time of booking and they'll customize the food stops to match what you eat.