City Information                                               Ungdom resor boka online - Queensway Travel
Airport

Tan Son Nhat International Airport is 7km from the centre of Ho Chi Minh City. Flight time from London is 14-18 hrs, with a transit stop usually in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok or Hong Kong. The airport has recently undergone a substantial refit, giving rise to a more efficient immigration service, but customs remains chaotic.
Airport to City Centre
There are plenty of metered taxis outside the terminal. It’s around $4 for the 15-min trip into the city centre. Be sure to insist on a metered ride. Many of the larger hotels will arrange for a ‘greeter’ to pick you up.
Orientation
Vietnam’s largest city – officially 5 million, but more realistically 7 million, including illegal residents – covers an area of 1,200 sq km on the banks of the Saigon River. To the west, plains stretch 250km as far as Phnom Penh in Cambodia, and 80km to the east is the coast of the South China Sea. The great Mekong Delta lies to the south-west. The former capital of South Vietnam was called Saigon until 1975, when it fell to the communist North Vietnamese forces and was renamed, although many residents still refer to it by its pre-communist appellation. Built on the site of an ancient river city, Saigon became an important trading post in the late 1700s and the city prospered, becoming the capital of Indochina under the French colonists in 1859. The French filled in the ancient canals, built typically broad and straight new roads and boulevards, and soon the city developed the air of a French provincial town. Dong Khoi St, formerly Rue Catinat, was the hub of French colonial life. The city centre is referred to as District 1 (D1) and is the main business district and where most of the action takes place. All the main hotels, shops, restaurants and museums are here, plus the best historical sites. When booking a room or restaurant, make sure it is in D1, otherwise you could find yourself some distance out of the centre.
Excursions                                                                             - Flygbilejtt -    Queensway Travel
Vung Tau: This is Ho Chi Minh City’s most popular beach resort. You can reach it by renting a taxi through your hotel for the 2- or 3-hr drive, or taking the more leisurely and scenic 90-min trip by hydrofoil, which leaves from the Bach Dang Quay on the Saigon River at 0645, 1030 and 1445. Vung Tau is one of Vietnam’s most prosperous towns, with many attractive French colonial villas, including the former French governor’s summer residence, the White Villa, housing porcelain rescued from a 17c Chinese wreck. Head for Front Beach and enjoy a walk along the esplanade and some of the finest seafood restaurants in Vietnam. The best beaches for swimming are along Back Beach or at Bai Dau, although they are very popular with families on Sun. 
Cu Chi Tunnels: A network of tunnels stretching 250km, built by the Viet Minh in the 1940s during French rule to evade French sweeps of the area, and used again during the American war. The tunnels have been widened for the larger girth of Western tourists, but are still a fascinating testament to the ingenuity of the Vietnamese. The tunnels are about 50km west of HCMC and open daily. Guides are available at the tunnels and are highly recommended. Entrance fee is $4.
Getting Around
The best and safest form of transport is a taxi. All taxis are metered: flagfall starts at around VND12,000 and a journey from one end of D1 to the other should cost around VND30,000. You can generally get anywhere within D1 within 10 mins. During rush hour, journeys take longer and traffic jams do happen, mostly over bridges. If travelling then and your business keeps you within D1, the best way of getting around is on foot. Even outside rush hour, walking is not a bad way to get around the centre. The most basic form of public transport is the ‘cyclo’, 3-wheeler pedal bikes with room for a couple of paying passengers, which keep the entire city on the move. When you find one, hand the ‘driver’ your destination written in Vietnamese on a piece of paper. Expect to pay about VND5,000-10,000 for D1 trips, more at night or if it’s raining. For longer journeys, the back of a motorcycle is the best option. Rides can be picked up on most street corners in D1 and around-trip to, say, Cholon, should cost about VND30,000. Many of the drivers speak good English and will be glad to give you a city tour for about VND140,000. Keep a tight hand on your possessions whilst in a cyclo, as bag/camera snatching is common. It is not advisable to take cyclos at night. Cyclos are a good way of doing a city tour, but otherwise taxis are preferable. 
Otherwise you can rent a bike or moped, though this should perhaps be treated with caution unless you really know the city and are a very capable rider. The driving is electrifying: crash helmets are almost unheard of in Vietnam and accidents are frequent. Most hotels can however arrange rental. Expect to pay about $10 per day for a 70cc Honda, $1 for a bicycle. If you opt for the moped, check that the brakes work before setting off. Again, ask hotel reception for reputable companies. If it’s raining, you might want to hire a car with a driver. The best way, again, is through your hotel, though Saigontourist Travel Service has a car rental office on the corner of Dong Khoi and Le Thanh Ton Sts. Cars are air-conditioned and a trip to the airport will set you back about $7. They can also organise standard or tailor-made tours for individuals and groups; cruises; hotel reservations, flight reservations, guides and interpreters. Don’t bother with the buses – even the backpackers avoid them.
What to see
Botanical Gardens: These pleasant gardens are about the only decent area of greenery in the central district. Laid out by a French botanist, they were once considered the most spectacular in Asia. The adjoining zoo is not in the best of states and a visit is not recommended if you are an animal lover.
Cholon: Meaning ‘big market’, Ho Chi Minh City’s Chinatown is still predominantly inhabited by Vietnamese Chinese. There’s a huge garment district on Tran Hung Dao. Note also St Francis Xavier Church and the Ong Pagoda plus, of course, the market itself. 6km from downtown, a cyclo ride takes about 30 mins. 
Phu Tho Racetrack: On Sat and Sun nine races are listed on the card. Although betting is in theory illegal, it is in evidence. The track is a bit of a mess and the stands in desperate need of attention. But the racing is highly entertaining with under-aged boys pushing a motley collection of nags who are exercised on the street amid the traffic.
Reunification Palace (Hoi Truong Thong Nhat): The famous art deco building on the corner of Nguyen Du and Alexandre de Rhodes Sts became a landmark of Saigon after the North Vietnamese tanks rolled through the grounds on 29 April 1975.
War Remnants Museum: Highly recommended museum showing the effects of the American war on Vietnam and the Vietnamese people. The outside area has tanks, planes and even a helicopter on show, all relics from the conflict. Inside exhibits are a little gruesome and show a rather one-sided account of the war, but worth a look none the less. 
If you go shopping in any markets it is best to pay with Vietnam Dong (VND). You will get a poorer exchange rate if you use low-denomination notes (1s, 5s, 10s). Most tourist shops accept dollars.
Where to walk                                                                 - Flyg stol - Lediga flygstolar-  Queensway Travel
Start at the Majestic Hotel at 1 Dong Khoi St, home to Graham Greene during his stay that inspired the novel The Quiet American. Watch your pockets though, as pickpockets are particularly rife along the riverfront. Walk up Dong Khoi St, one of Indochina’s chiquest roads during the French colonial regime, with its fashionable cafés, boutiques and theatre. By the 1970s, this area had turned into a sleazy backwater of bars, prostitutes and degenerate soldiers. Its former elegance has been slowly reclaimed, although not all of the completed buildings have improved things. The eclectic mixture of shops and galleries hold many souvenir bargains, but many of the antiques and paintings are cleverly reproduced fakes. Continue along Dong Khoi St past the Continental Hotel – Greene’s haunt in the 1950s – to the French-built Notre Dame cathedral from the 
1880s. Next door is the General Post Office, whose interior has changed little since it was built, with lines of cubicles selling stamps, registering and collecting letters and huge maps of old Indochina printed on the walls. Walk on past the Cathedral to Le Duan Blvd, and turn left towards the Reunification Palace at the junction of Nam Ky Khoi Nghia St and Le Duan Blvd. Formerly known as the Presidential Palace, it was built by President Diem shortly before he was assassinated in 1963, and demonstrates well his egotistical nature. Around the corner on Vo Van Tan St is the War Remnants Museum, ironically the former US Information Services headquarters.
Weather and Climate
Ho Chi Minh City is fairly hot all year round (21oC-36oC) with heavy rains during the wet season from May-Oct. The dry season runs from Nov-Apr.