The bucket-list things to do — and who runs each one.
Here’s the bucket list for your day ashore: the most extraordinary thing to do at each stop, who runs it, and how to book it direct — so you can weigh it against your ship’s excursion and pick what suits you.
In port at Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), the bucket-list move is Cu Chi Tunnels: Private Expert-Led Underground Adventure. Cu Chi Tunnel runs it. Below: 5 bucket-list things to do on a Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) port day — worth weighing against whatever your ship offers.
How the day actually runs
The vast majority of ocean cruise ships calling Ho Chi Minh City berth at Phu My Port, an industrial container terminal roughly 80 km southeast of central Saigon. This is not a tender port, but it might as well be for independent travellers: you cannot simply walk out. Most lines provide a shuttle from the gangway to the port gate, adding 10-20 minutes before you even reach waiting taxis or pre-booked drivers. Expect a 90- to 120-minute drive each way into District 1, so a round-trip transfer eats three to four hours of your day.
AmaWaterways, Avalon, Princess and Seabourn all sail here in the coming months — 37 calls across the four lines. The first-timers’ trap is treating the port call like a downtown experience. The itinerary says “Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)” and passengers assume they will step off near Ben Thanh Market. Instead they lose half the daylight to highway travel. Check your specific ship’s docking information the night before; a handful of smaller vessels can reach the closer river piers, but plan on Phu My unless the cruise line tells you otherwise.
Descend into the legendary 250km Viet Cong tunnel network used during the Vietnam War. A private guide brings the claustrophobic history alive at the less-crowded Ben Duoc section — bucket-list, visceral, and profoundly moving.
Book itCu Chi Tunnels Guided Tour with AM/PM Departure$15 per person
Trade the city for the lush, labyrinthine waterways of the Mekong Delta. A private boat whisks you past floating markets, coconut candy workshops, and rice-paddy villages — a sensory world that feels a universe away from modern Saigon.
Book itMekong Delta Full Day Trip - My Tho & Ben Tre - VIP Private Tour$85 per person
Climb onto the back of a vintage Honda and tear through Saigon's neon-lit back alleys with a passionate local foodie guide. Bánh mì, bún bò Huế, bánh xèo, and craft bia hơi at hidden gems the tourist trail never finds — utterly unforgettable.
Book itSaigon After Dark Vespa Street Food Tour + Live Music 4 hours$92 per person
Walk the corridors of the palace where the Vietnam War ended — intact war rooms, rooftop helicopter pads, underground bunkers — then confront the war's human cost at the globally acclaimed War Remnants Museum with a private expert guide.
Book itHo Chi Minh City Private Half-Day Tour by U.S Army Jeep$71 per person
Three of Southeast Asia's most photogenic landmarks in one private-guided morning — French colonial Notre Dame Cathedral, the ornate Central Post Office designed by Gustave Eiffel's studio, and the incense-wreathed Jade Emperor Pagoda, still an active place of worship.
We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for
this one, so we are not quoting either.
Board a chartered traditional sampan at golden hour and drift along the Saigon River as the city's skyline — from colonial spires to the gleaming Landmark 81 tower — ignites in the sunset. Champagne, fresh spring rolls, and zero crowds: pure luxury.
Book itBen Thanh Princess: Luxury Dinner Cruise on Saigon River$71 per person
A couple booking direct can build a full Saigon day for surprisingly little. The Cu Chi Tunnels Guided Tour with AM/PM Departure costs $15 per person while the longer Cu Chi Tunnels & Mekong Delta with Coconut Village Tour starts at $32. Add the Saigon After Dark Vespa Street Food Tour + Live Music at $92 each and you are looking at roughly $278 total for two people mixing history, delta scenery and an evening food experience.
The ship’s equivalent full-day tour typically runs $180–$280 per person once you include the long transfer, guide, lunch and guaranteed return. For a couple that is $360–$560 — a clear markup. Yet the ship’s tour is sometimes the better buy. The Battle of Long Tan & Nui Dat Half-Day Tour at $94 per person is a tight call; the military history sites lie even farther from the port than central Saigon, the group size is small, and the ship guarantees you will not miss the sailing. The same logic applies if your sailing has a tight all-aboard time or if mobility or language comfort matters more than saving money.
If you have half a day
Assume an 8am all-aboard. Book the morning Cu Chi Tunnels Guided Tour with AM/PM Departure and aim to be back at the ship by 14:30. That means leaving the port gate no later than 10:00–10:30 at the latest; factor the 90–120 minute drive plus buffer. Skip anything in central Saigon — you will spend more time in the van than on the ground. The half-day Battle of Long Tan & Nui Dat is the other logical choice if Vietnam War history is your priority; its shorter duration fits the clock when transfers dominate the day.
Do not try to squeeze in the evening Vespa tour or the dinner cruise on the same half day. One solid experience with realistic travel times beats two rushed ones and a sprint back to the ship.
If you have the whole day
With a full port day, combine the morning Cu Chi Tunnels Guided Tour with AM/PM Departure (early slot) and follow it with the Saigon After Dark Vespa Street Food Tour + Live Music in the evening. You will need a reliable private driver or pre-booked transfer to cover the gap between the two excursions and still reach the ship on time. All-aboard is typically 20:00–22:00 on these calls; confirm the exact time.
If you prefer one seamless experience, the Cu Chi Tunnels & Mekong Delta with Coconut Village Tour uses the entire daylight hours and returns you in the late afternoon. The Ben Thanh Princess: Luxury Dinner Cruise on Saigon River works as a relaxed closer if you want to stay in town until after dark.
Given the long transfers that define this port, my single choice would be the Cu Chi Tunnels Guided Tour with AM/PM Departure in the morning followed by the Saigon After Dark Vespa Street Food Tour + Live Music. The tunnels deliver the one sight most people will still talk about years later, while the Vespa tour gives you the chaotic, delicious, neon-soaked Saigon that the ship tours rarely reach. At those direct prices the day still costs less than one person on a typical ship full-day excursion, and you will have stories the dinner table cannot match. Just leave generous buffers — Saigon traffic laughs at tight schedules. (682 words)
Your day in Ho Chi Minh CityNothing picked yet — tick what you fancy
$0for two, booked direct
Now plan the rest of it
You know what to do on the day. Here is the trip it belongs to —
each one opens as a whole plan, not a list: where to fly in, every port, what it runs.
