Guest Guide

Grab is the easiest option, priced up front with no negotiation. Taxi meters are fine too; stick to Vinasun or Mai Linh. Copy the Vietnamese address at the top of this page and show it to your driver.

The apartment may still be in cleaning before 4pm. Earlier access is possible at these rates:

• Before 10:00 am100% of one night
• 10:00 am to 12:00 pm50% of one night
• 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm500,000 VND
• 2:00 pm to 4:00 pmFree if cleaning is done

• 11:00 am to 1:00 pm300,000 VND
• 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm500,000 VND
• After 3:00 pmFull night's rate

A quick five minutes before you leave helps our team turn the apartment around for the next guests.

• Gather used towels Leave all used towels in the bathroom. Missing towel: 100,000 VND each Stained or damaged items: up to 100% of replacement cost
• Throw the rubbish away All garbage and food waste goes inside the bin room, not outside the apartment door. Fines apply for trash left in the corridor, or not placed inside the bin unless it's full
• Turn everything off Air conditioning, TV and all lights, to help us save energy.
• Return the keycards and lock up Leave all keycards on the dining table, pull the door shut firmly, and send us a photo of the cards on the table so housekeeping can get in. Lost keycard: 500,000 VND each
• Check for belongings Closets, drawers, bedside tables and chargers. Chargers are the number one thing guests leave behind.

• Mid stay cleaning, stays over 7 nightsComplimentary
• Mid stay clean, Studio / 1BR / 2BR300,000 VND
• Mid stay clean, 3BR500,000 VND
• Mid stay clean, 4BR750,000 VND
• Baby bed250,000 VND
• Baby chair250,000 VND
• Extra guest bedding set250,000 VND per guest

The bedding set is a queen sized air mattress with 2 pillows, a blanket, a bed sheet, 2 towels and 2 face towels. Message us to arrange any of these.

Reception is staffed 24 hours on the ground floor, with security guards and CCTV throughout the building. Your keycard is needed to call the lift to your floor; tap it on the reader inside the lift, then press your floor number.

• Motorbikes park inside on levels 1 to 4, via the on-ramp on the right side of the building. Roughly 4,000 VND per entry, or about 10,000 VND overnight.
• Cars cannot park in the building. There is a paid parking lot directly across the road from SOHO Residence.

There is a bin room on every floor. Please don't leave bags outside the apartment door; it attracts insects in the heat.

B3 floor, Vincom Center Đồng Khởi, 72 Lê Thánh Tôn. A full food court plus sit down restaurants and hotpot, all air conditioned in one building. The easy answer when nobody in the group can agree, or when it's raining. Open 10am to 10pm.

The official Ho Chi Minh City selection, from street stalls to fine dining. Use the price filter to set your budget; plenty of entries come in under 200,000đ a head.

Bitexco Tower, 49th floor. Not the city's tallest deck, but the best positioned: you look straight down onto Ben Thanh Market, the Saigon River bend and the old colonial quarter. Go around 5:30pm for sunset into city lights. Tickets around 240,000đ, or skip the fee entirely by having a drink at EON Heli Bar on floor 52.

The site where the war ended in 1975, tanks and all. 1960s architecture preserved almost untouched, including the underground command bunker. Ticket counter 8am to 3:30pm, palace closes 4:30 to 5pm. Around 40,000đ, or 65,000đ with the exhibition. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours and go in the morning to beat the heat.

French colonial post office from 1891, still a working post office rather than a museum piece. High vaulted hall, old hand painted maps on the walls, an easy 15 minute stop. Open 7:30am to 6pm, Sunday until 5pm. Buy a postcard at the counter and send it home; it genuinely still works. Early morning or just before closing avoids the tour groups.

Red brick French Gothic landmark from the 1880s, directly across from the Post Office. Under restoration until around 2027, so interior access is limited, but the square and exterior are fully open. Best light before 9am or after 4pm. Sunday 9:30am Mass is held in English.

28 Võ Văn Tần, District 3. Photographs, military hardware and personal artefacts documenting the Vietnam War from the Vietnamese side. Powerful and heavy, the Agent Orange exhibit especially, so it is not for everyone, but widely considered essential. Open 7:30am to 5:30pm, last entry 4pm, around 40,000đ. Budget 1.5 to 2 hours.

The city's oldest and most central market: souvenirs, clothing, produce and a food court with cheap, solid Vietnamese eating. Open 6am to 6pm, with street food stalls outside running late. Bargain hard, start at about half the asking price. Busiest and hottest 10am to 3pm.

97A Phó Đức Chính, one of the closest attractions to the apartment. A wealthy Chinese-Vietnamese family's 1929 mansion turned art museum, and the yellow and green colonial building is honestly the main event. Champa sculpture through to modern lacquer painting. No air conditioning, so go morning or late afternoon. Daily 8am to 5pm, around 30,000đ.

65 Lý Tự Trọng, the former Gia Long Palace. French neoclassical building covering the city's history from the colonial era through reunification, with a preserved wartime bunker underneath. Quieter and far less touristed than Independence Palace. Daily 8am to 5pm, around 30,000đ, about an hour.

7 Lam Sơn Square. French colonial theatre from 1900, built to echo the Petit Palais in Paris, and one of the city's most photographed buildings, especially lit up at night. No general public access; the interior is only seen by attending a performance. The AO Show, acrobatics set to Vietnamese village life, runs most evenings from around 800,000đ.

73 Mai Thị Lựu, Đa Kao. A 1909 Taoist temple thick with incense smoke, intricate carvings and a turtle pond out the back; a completely different atmosphere from the French colonial buildings elsewhere on this list. Open around 7am to 6pm, free, donations welcome. Dress modestly, shoulders and knees covered.

A network of Viet Cong wartime tunnels about 1.5 to 2 hours outside the city. Best done as a half day tour with hotel pickup, around $15 to $40 USD with entry included. Book through Klook, Viator or GetYourGuide rather than turning up independently. Pairs naturally with the War Remnants Museum, though that is a lot of heavy history for one day.

Nguyễn Trãi is the street to walk if you want local labels. About 8 minutes away, and best done end to end on foot. Prices are fixed in these boutiques, so no haggling needed. The pick of them:

Gold shops and dedicated exchange counters give noticeably better rates than the airport or hotels, and they are quick. Two we send guests to:

A reliable spot nearby for a massage after a day of walking. Book ahead in the evening; walk ins often wait.

• Grab is the default for taxis and food delivery. Download it before you arrive.
• Cash still rules at street stalls and markets. Cards work in malls, supermarkets and most restaurants.
• Tap water is not drinkable. Bottled water is cheap everywhere, and there is drinking water in the apartment.
• Crossing the road: walk slowly and predictably and the traffic flows around you. Don't stop or run.
• Keep your phone in your hand, not out over the road. Phone snatching from passing bikes is the one common street crime here.
• Emergency numbers: police 113, fire 114, ambulance 115.