Diverse night tours
When the streets are lit, it is also the time for local and international visitors to explore the vibrant nightlife of Ho Chi Minh City.
A few days ago, Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens launched its first-ever night tour, offering visitors a unique opportunity to explore the nocturnal world of wild animals.
The tour takes place every Saturday evening in two sessions, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and from 8:15 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. Each tour will last for one hour, with a capacity of 10-20 visitors. The program requires visitors to comply with regulations aimed at ensuring the safety of the animals and preventing any disruption to their natural behaviors.
One of the tours that has recently attracted many domestic and foreign travelers is “The Colors of the Night” provided by the People’s Committee of District 1 in coordination with Vietluxtour under Fiditour Travel Company. The five-hour trip offered visitors a different experience to explore the charming beauty of the city at night, such as visiting District 1’s cultural and historical sites, museums, Nguyen Hue and Le Loi walking streets, Ben Thanh Market, and enjoying A O Show at the municipal Opera House and foot massage.
A full moon night tour in the revolutionary resistance base in Cu Chi District is also bustling with groups of visitors. The program depicts the daily life and nightly activities of the people in Cu Chi who lived in the liberated zone from 1961 to 1964. Visitors will have a chance to experience digging a network of tunnels, weaving baskets, grinding rice, exchanging poetic verses in the rice fields, market gathering under the moonlight, and the sounds of bombs, artillery, and enemy aircraft flying overhead.
There are also city sightseeing tours, food tours, a trip in a double-decker water bus operating along the Saigon River to enjoy panoramic views of the southern metropolis.
New highlights
Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu, communications director of Vietluxtour, said that the company always strives to create difference in each product to attract clients. The diversity of products, uniqueness, and novelty in each tour make customers spend more and have a complete experience during their stay in Vietnam.
According to Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, Le Truong Hien Hoa, during holidays on the upcoming Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1), the city will offer many attractive tours to domestic and international visitors, such as "50-year journey connecting cultural regions” exploring unique destinations and introducing Vietnamese dishes of the country’s regions; the "Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City Imprints, 50 years of memories from the past to the present" to visit the Biet Dong Saigon (Saigon Rangers) Museum; experiencing panoramic views of the city from the observatory deck on Landmark 81, Vietnam's tallest skyscraper; trips in a double-decker water bus operating along the Saigon River to enjoy a dinner and panoramic views of the southern metropolis; river cruise visiting Thieng Lieng community-based ecotourism in Can Gio District.
There are also tours visiting Rung Sac (Sac Forest) war base historical relic site, Monkey Island, and Rung Sac Martyrs Cemetery in Can Gio District, Cu Chi Tunnels in Cu Chi District, Reunification Palace and Nguyen Hue walking street in District 1.
Tourism product design expert Phan Yen Ly said that Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism industry is striving to connect travel businesses, offering products that cater to the tastes of visitors and gradually meeting their sightseeing and entertainment needs. However, in addition to serving domestic and international tourists, it needs also to focus on serving and tapping into residents who live and work in the city to stimulate day and night tours and make them even more vibrant.
According to the latest data from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, in the first three months of 2025, the city's tourism industry achieved revenue of VND56,662 billion (US$2.21 billion), presenting an increase of 26.7 percent compared to the same period last year when it reached VND44,710 billion (US$1.75 billion). Specifically, in March 2025, the tourism revenue is estimated to exceed VND19,000 billion (US$743 million).
