Saigon Cycling: Top 5 Ho Chi Minh Biking Trails 2024

Saigon city centre is busy, especially during the rush hour, so cycling in the city centre is not easy. You will need to drive slowly and carefully to be safe. Moreover, you can get lost easily, waste your time moving from one place to another as famous tourist attractions are scattered around the city. Cycling in the city is still fun, exciting experience if you are able to choose a suitable trail at the appropriate time. So keep reading, and find the best one for you.

1. Ho Chi Minh City full day (30km cycling)

On this full-day city tour, you will be visiting most of the must-see places in Ho Chi Minh City. Start your trip to Chinatown where you can visit Cholon and Binh Tay markets to see local people buying and selling things. Then, we stop off at the Thien Hau temple, which was built in the early 19th Century in dedication to Thien Hau, the goddess of seafarers. After that, we can find a local café to enjoy this tasty drink or try Pho noodle soup for lunch and relax before you visit famous landmarks in the city.

Start your trip in the afternoon by visiting War Remnants Museum to see more about Vietnam history, especially in the American war. At the museum, you can see large exhibits including an F5A fighter and a UH1-Huey helicopter. Then, we cycle to the Reunification Palace, formerly known as the Presidential Palace, which was the sight of South Vietnam's surrender in April 1975, and  Notre Dame Cathedral,  General Post Office, and the Opera House, which are beautiful examples of architecture from the French colonial period.

That is a full-day tour with a lot of the history, culture, and daily life activities of the locals in Ho Chi Minh City. Cycling on this route, you need to be careful because of heavy traffic and consider the air quality.

Cycling visit Saigon city

2. Ho Chi Minh City center - Cu Chi Tunnels half-day (40km cycling)

The Cu Chi Tunnels are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels with a length of more than 200 kilometres that was built in the 1940s by local villagers. The tunnel is the shelter for Vietnamese soldiers and locals from the French air attacks during the Indochina conflict.

To visit this tunnel, you need to be transferred from the city center to Tan Phu Trung village by car or bus. From there, you will be cycling through rubber plantations, rural villages and see locals making rice paper and wine. Bear in mind that some roads on the way to Cu Chi can be dirty and you need a moderate level of fitness to this trail.

Upon arrival, we will watch a short documentary film about this tunnel tell you how about the histories and how fierce the war happened, walk around the historical battle site. You also can climb inside the tunnel to see where the Viet Cong built storage facilities, weapons factories, kitchens… or try to fire off an AK47 or M16 or machine guns at the nearby shooting range.

After a lot of sightseeing, you will have the chance to enjoy Viet Cong tapioca food and pandan tea there before getting on the bus to Ho Chi Minh city center.

Cycling from Saigon to Cu Chi Tunnel

3. Saigon countryside full day (30km cycling)

Riding your bicycle to the countryside is one of the best ways to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. This is a full-day tour, and you will travel out of the city, to the peaceful countryside. You will pass through scenic villages and local markets, have a chance to stop and talk with local people.

In the morning, you can travel out of the busy city to the starting point by car or bus, then start the cycling ride. The road from the starting point to the villages can sometimes be dirty, and quiet, but after that you can see the peaceful village, meet friendly local people.  We can stop occasionally for coffee, lunch so you can relax. The ride is only from 25 to 30 km, so it is not too hard.

Saigon countryside biking

4. Ho Chi Minh City - Mekong Delta full day

Mekong Delta is far away from Ho Chi Minh city centre, so you need to get on other kinds of transfer to Long An. From there, you can cycle to My Tho to catch the motorboat to visit the Mekong River. We would recommend to stop in Con Phung (Phoenix Island) and enjoy a Vietnamese lunch at a garden restaurant,

After lunch and relax at the restaurant, we can continue our boat trip to visit quiet villages in Ben Tre. We can stop at some orchards for tasting fresh fruits, natural honey wine, listening to traditional music. We can also visit the local coconut candy production process, and taste candy and coconut pulp.

Getting off the boat, we’ll cycle down a single-track path to Quoi An village, and get on another boat, travel along the narrow canal. After a long day visiting the delta, you can get on the bus to get back to Ho Chi Minh city.

There are a lot of places to visit in the Mekong Delta, so depending on your health condition, you can lengthen or shorten the trip by cutting out or visiting more places in this area.

Saigon cycling to Mekong Delta

5. Ho Chi Minh City - Vung Tau (50km cycling)

Vung Tau has long been considered an attractive tourist destination, because of its natural beauty. This city is a great choice for tourists who want to escape the busy Saigon and relax on the beach.

To start the trip, you can ride from the countryside of Ho Chi Minh City to Long Thanh via rubber plantations and tapioca farms, go over the biggest bridge in Ho Chi Minh City.

Upon arrival in Vung Tau, we can cycle to Nho Mountain and climb up to the top. The mountain is home to the second biggest Jesus statue in the world, where you can enjoy panoramic views of the coast. Then, you can ride to visit the White Palace, and Back and Front beaches.

You have a free afternoon for swimming and enjoying seafood. Then, we’ll begin cycling back to Ho Chi Minh City to end the trip.

Saigon cycling to Vung Tau

• You should avoid cycling during rush hours which are from 7:00 to 9:00 & from 17:00 to 19:00. They are the time when people travel to or back from work.
• Ho Chi Minh city has a high temperature so always wear sun-protective clothing to protect your skin
• Be careful when using the phone on the streets to record your cycling experience as you can get attention from the thefts here.
• You had better sign up for travel insurance before choosing to ride the bicycle to explore Ho Chi Minh city.
• It is not a good idea to use bicycles in Ho Chi Minh City on wet days. Ho Chi Minh city rains almost every day, but try to avoid cycling during heavy rain days.

Cycling is a great way to way to explore the city. Knowing the cycling trails, useful tips for the trip will help you to have unforgettable moments travelling here. Hope you have a great time in this city.

Jenny

Image source: Internet