Christmas in Saigon, Vietnam: Local Sightseeing!

Christmas can be truly magical in Vietnam (minus the lack of snow). It’s also one of the busiest times for tourism in Vietnam, as many people worldwide take advantage of the extended holiday time to travel. If you find yourself spending Christmas in Saigon, this article will give you some things to think about during your time here.

If you have limited time, it might be best to go straight to my article about spending 1 day in Ho Chi Minh City. If Christmas isn’t an important part of your stay, then jumping right to that trimmed-down itinerary can help you see what you need to see in a short amount of time.

Christmas Street in Saigon, District 8

There is only one place in Ho Chi Minh City that decorates for the holiday like you see in other countries around the world. Pham The Hien Street in Ho Chi Minh City was actually one of the first places I lived when I moved to Saigon. It’s an extremely local area with many churches along the street.

The houses along the street will have lights and decorations for the Christmas holiday, which will attract many local Vietnamese people to come and view the display. This creates a bit of chaos during Christmas on this two-lane road as locals from other areas of the city do a sightseeing drive-by from their motorbikes. Even though the traffic is hectic, it’s a pretty neat sight to see during Christmas in Saigon!

In the map above, I’ve given you the location for the start of Pham The Hien street in District 8. You can take a grab here and walk along the street to see the displays and the chaos. This is perfect for those who want to have an extremely local experience. If you are uncomfortable with congestion and noise, then I would not recommend this experience.

If you do decide to take this trip, be aware of your surroundings. Don’t wear jewelry like a gold necklace or something that can easily be snatched. Hold onto your phone tightly when taking photos. Vietnam is an extremely safe country, but this is a big city with some bad actors looking to take advantage of people and snatch something. As a foreigner, you will stick out like a sore thumb, and it’s possible that you get targeted by one of these characters.

But that’s just my due diligence warning. I wouldn’t recommend you do this if it wasn’t safe. Just don’t be a fool, and you’ll be perfectly fine! This area is quite far away, so you will need to take a taxi or order a grab!

You can check out our video on what Christmas is really like in Saigon! It’s an old video now, as of the time I’m updating this article in 2024, but it still applies. It will let you see what Pham The Hien Street looks like so you can decide if you want to make the trip!

Christmas Buffets In Saigon

The hotels in Saigon go all out during the holiday! Nearly every major hotel holds buffets serving delicious food, including holiday classics like Ham, Roast Beef, and Turkey! They will also serve fresh seafood, including some big-ticket items like Lobster!

Why would you come to Saigon for Christmas to eat Western food at a buffet? I personally hate when people on the internet get all judgmental over what people eat on their holidays. It’s your money and your vacation; eat whatever you want! And to answer this question, it’s because of the price!

In comparison to what you get for the price in other countries these hotel buffets are a pretty good deal. Not cheap for sure, but a good deal. You can look at a minimum of about 1,800,000 VND per person for one of these buffet options around town; it will be a bit more if you want to have free-flow drinks. Which why wouldn’t you, huh?

Here is a list of the few famous hotels that will have the Christmas Buffets in Saigon:

Sheraton
Caravelle
Park Hyatt
Novotel
Pullman
Intercontinental
Lotte Saigon

I can’t give specific prices at the moment as I’m updating this article in May 🙂 but as I said above, you’ll look at a minimum of about 1,800,000 VND, with some being quite a bit more than that. I recommend you book your reservation early! These buffets often do sell out on major holidays.

Christmas Meals at Restaurants in Saigon

Some restaurants will have a Christmas dinner, which will just be a plate of famous holiday foods like turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, etc.

If you are looking to reserve a table for Christmas dinner, Eddy’s Diner in Ho Chi Minh City is a good place to start. As I mentioned previously, this won’t be as pricey as going to a buffet. You can expect to spend about 600,000 VND per person if you choose this option.

Another place that had some Christmas fare during the holiday is Chanh Rooftop Bistro here is an example of their menu from last year:

Sightseeing in Ho Chi Minh City During Christmas

If you are just looking to stay in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City during the holiday but you want to see a bit of that Christmas spirit, then you need to head to some nearby malls or Nguyen Hue street! Vietnamese people love to come out and just be a part of the crowd during big holidays like Tet or Christmas so as a traveler, when in rome!

Nguyen Hue street will be decorated a bit for the holiday but it will definitely be filled with people just coming out to enjoy the holiday spirit. You can expect this walking street to be a bit busier than usual. Nguyen Hue is one of those free local areas that young people like to congregate around; if you want another place to experience this, check out my nighttime local experience in Ho Chi Minh City article for more insights on where you might want to visit.

Malls like Takashimaya or Diamond Plaza will be completely packed with people doing some holiday shopping. Most people will be there just to be seen and take photos around the Christmas trees on display. You’ll see lots of families from districts further outside of the center of the city come downtown just for the photo-taking experience with these big trees and decorations.

Honestly, for people like myself, the decorations are really just normal for us and maybe not even as elaborate or as beautiful as we would see back in our home country. It’s not about that, its about how excited everyone in Ho Chi Minh City is to have this experience with their family, you can really get a view into local life and family dynamics just by people watching during a holiday like this.

If you are interested in then be sure to check out our, if you are looking to check out a specific area of Ho Chi Minh City then ask about our private tours!