Cyclos & Markets

Highlights / General details

Heard of the slow food movement? Try the slow tour movement! Travel Ho Chi Minh City and minimise your carbon emissions on this city tour that trades in cars and tour buses for the humble cyclo. Marvel at colonial architecture at the Notre Dame Cathedral and General Post Office. Check out historic buildings like Reunification Palace, the Opera House, City Hall, and Continental Hotel. Relive the war at the War Remnants Museum. See Ho Chi Minh City from the seat of a cyclo, just like a local. Experience the atmospheric Ben Thanh and Tan Dinh Markets and nearby neighborhoods.

Inclusion

Local English speaking guide; Transportion; Entrance fees as indicated.

Exclusion

Items of a personal nature; Tips or gratuities for drivers or guides.

Hours of operation

Available: Daily; Start time at 8:00am.

Duration

Approximately 4-5 hours.

Location Meeting point: Pick up at front entrance of the Central Post Office - 2 Cong Xa Paris St, District 1 (next to Notre Dame Cathedral). Finish point: Ben Thanh Market.

Itinerary With a combination of foot power and pedal power, you'll see the classic sights and quintessential markets of HCMC like you've never seen them before! We'll start our Ho Chi Minh City tour at the General Post Office, an icon of Saigon, and Notre Dame Cathedral, built by the French during the colonial era. Both structures are fine examples of architecture from the colonial period. Our HCMC tour takes us past the Reunification Palace, previously referred to as the Presidential Palace, and the site of the official South Vietnamese surrender on April 30th, 1975. Although we won't go into the palace, your local guide will tell you all about it and give you the chance to take some photos. From here we continue our journey to the War Remnants Museum, which displays old military equipment and other related items from the Vietnam War. In the courtyard we will find some larger exhibits including a F5A fighter and a UH1-Huey helicopter. Now it's time for some fun! From the museum, we'll embark on a cyclo tour of Ho Chi Minh City, rolling around the city on a traditional three-wheeled bicycle with a carriage at the front for passengers. Drivers use pedal power to push us along, and gives us the opportunity to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of HCMC without the barrier of being trapped behind a car window (or the sound of a noisy engine!). The ride leads up Hai Ba Trung just past the pink church to Tan Dinh market. You’re not really here to buy souvenirs or clothes, but to experience a genuine suburban Saigon wet market. This is where the local housewives come to do their daily shop and stop for gossip with their neighbours, making it a real “Vietnamese” experience. Hop back on the cyclo and we'll ride toward Tao Dan Park before bidding our cyclos goodbye and enjoying a short walk to Saigon’s iconic and authentic Ben Thanh market, with its unmistakable clock tower, has long been a staple of the city and is not to be missed. At the end of your Ho Chi Minh City tour you are free to continue exploring Ben Thanh market, or your guide will assist you in getting a taxi back to your hotel or providing tips and suggestions for further exploration in the area.

Participant restrictions

This is a child-friendly tour. Children between the ages of 6 and 11 inclusively are permitted on this tour. Children younger than 6 are permitted at no extra cost, but please make sure you inform our guides of this before you take the tour.

Additional Information Dress standards are conservative throughout Asia, especially outside major cities. To respect this and for your own comfort, we strongly recommend modest clothing. This means clothing that covers your shoulders and knees. Loose, lightweight, long clothing is both respectful and cool in the predominantly hot Asian climate.

Itinerary

With a combination of foot power and pedal power, you'll see the classic sights and quintessential markets of HCMC like you've never seen them before! We'll start our Ho Chi Minh City tour at the General Post Office, an icon of Saigon, and Notre Dame Cathedral, built by the French during the colonial era. Both structures are fine examples of architecture from the colonial period. Our HCMC tour takes us past the Reunification Palace, previously referred to as the Presidential Palace, and the site of the official South Vietnamese surrender on April 30th, 1975. Although we won't go into the palace, your local guide will tell you all about it and give you the chance to take some photos. From here we continue our journey to the War Remnants Museum, which displays old military equipment and other related items from the Vietnam War. In the courtyard we will find some larger exhibits including a F5A fighter and a UH1-Huey helicopter. Now it's time for some fun! From the museum, we'll embark on a cyclo tour of Ho Chi Minh City, rolling around the city on a traditional three-wheeled bicycle with a carriage at the front for passengers. Drivers use pedal power to push us along, and gives us the opportunity to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of HCMC without the barrier of being trapped behind a car window (or the sound of a noisy engine!). The ride leads up Hai Ba Trung just past the pink church to Tan Dinh market. You’re not really here to buy souvenirs or clothes, but to experience a genuine suburban Saigon wet market. This is where the local housewives come to do their daily shop and stop for gossip with their neighbours, making it a real “Vietnamese” experience. Hop back on the cyclo and we'll ride toward Tao Dan Park before bidding our cyclos goodbye and enjoying a short walk to Saigon’s iconic and authentic Ben Thanh market, with its unmistakable clock tower, has long been a staple of the city and is not to be missed. At the end of your Ho Chi Minh City tour you are free to continue exploring Ben Thanh market, or your guide will assist you in getting a taxi back to your hotel or providing tips and suggestions for further exploration in the area.

Participant restrictions This is a child-friendly tour. Children between the ages of 6 and 11 inclusively are permitted on this tour. Children younger than 6 are permitted at no extra cost, but please make sure you inform our guides of this before you take the tour.

Location

Meeting point: Pick up at front entrance of the Central Post Office - 2 Cong Xa Paris St, District 1 (next to Notre Dame Cathedral). Finish point: Ben Thanh Market.

Itinerary With a combination of foot power and pedal power, you'll see the classic sights and quintessential markets of HCMC like you've never seen them before! We'll start our Ho Chi Minh City tour at the General Post Office, an icon of Saigon, and Notre Dame Cathedral, built by the French during the colonial era. Both structures are fine examples of architecture from the colonial period. Our HCMC tour takes us past the Reunification Palace, previously referred to as the Presidential Palace, and the site of the official South Vietnamese surrender on April 30th, 1975. Although we won't go into the palace, your local guide will tell you all about it and give you the chance to take some photos. From here we continue our journey to the War Remnants Museum, which displays old military equipment and other related items from the Vietnam War. In the courtyard we will find some larger exhibits including a F5A fighter and a UH1-Huey helicopter. Now it's time for some fun! From the museum, we'll embark on a cyclo tour of Ho Chi Minh City, rolling around the city on a traditional three-wheeled bicycle with a carriage at the front for passengers. Drivers use pedal power to push us along, and gives us the opportunity to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of HCMC without the barrier of being trapped behind a car window (or the sound of a noisy engine!). The ride leads up Hai Ba Trung just past the pink church to Tan Dinh market. You’re not really here to buy souvenirs or clothes, but to experience a genuine suburban Saigon wet market. This is where the local housewives come to do their daily shop and stop for gossip with their neighbours, making it a real “Vietnamese” experience. Hop back on the cyclo and we'll ride toward Tao Dan Park before bidding our cyclos goodbye and enjoying a short walk to Saigon’s iconic and authentic Ben Thanh market, with its unmistakable clock tower, has long been a staple of the city and is not to be missed. At the end of your Ho Chi Minh City tour you are free to continue exploring Ben Thanh market, or your guide will assist you in getting a taxi back to your hotel or providing tips and suggestions for further exploration in the area.

Participant restrictions This is a child-friendly tour. Children between the ages of 6 and 11 inclusively are permitted on this tour. Children younger than 6 are permitted at no extra cost, but please make sure you inform our guides of this before you take the tour.

Additional Information Dress standards are conservative throughout Asia, especially outside major cities. To respect this and for your own comfort, we strongly recommend modest clothing. This means clothing that covers your shoulders and knees. Loose, lightweight, long clothing is both respectful and cool in the predominantly hot Asian climate.

Policies This tour is offered on a "join-in" basis. Maximum group size is 12. If you have your voucher, your booking is confirmed. We'll see you at your hotel for pick up. Please check your hotel details are correct on the voucher. Complete information, including local telephone numbers at your destination, will be included on your Confirmation Voucher.

All information requested must be supplied or booking is subject to automatic cancellation