Nine listings fill page one for saigon markets. Six are published by companies that sell tours or rooms, and a seventh by the national airline. Seven open with the same market, and not one of them names a single downside.
So we did the thing none of them did. We read what people in Saigon wrote about their own markets, in Vietnamese: the seventy-two most recent reviews with text, across four of the five. It changes the order completely. It also turns up a bargaining fact that none of those nine pages mentions.
Which Saigon market for which job
Ben Thanh is the one you have heard of, and it is now largely a souvenir hall. The four that residents rate each do one job well. An Dong for clothes, Binh Tay for anything dried or bulk, Tan Dinh for fabric. Ho Thi Ky is for flowers by day and food after dark. Pick by what you want to carry home, not by fame.
| Market | Go for | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| An Dong, District 5 | Ready-made clothes at wholesale prices | Beggars and lottery sellers in the walkways; food floor overpriced |
| Binh Tay, Cho Lon | Dried goods, spices, homeware, bulk | Far from District 1, and the aisles are tight |
| Tan Dinh, District 1 | Fabric, and a few old food stalls | No air conditioning, strong market smell, insects |
| Ho Thi Ky, District 10 | Flowers at wholesale, street food at night | Tran Binh Trong roadworks; parking price is not posted |
| Ben Thanh, District 1 | Souvenirs, and only if you are passing | Tourist pricing, and you argue for everything |
Google ratings, read 24 September 2026: Binh Tay and Ho Thi Ky 4.4, Tan Dinh 4.3, An Dong 4.1, and Ben Thanh 4.0 from about 87,000 ratings.
What to carry before you go
Markets here run on cash and small change. Take this:
- $12 to $19 in cash (300,000 to 500,000 VND), in notes of 50,000 and smaller
- A bag that closes, worn across the body and in front of you
- Your hotel name written down, for the Grab driver back
- A phone with data, because stall signage is in Vietnamese only
- A rough idea of what you want, since nobody browses these aisles quickly
Leave the big notes at the hotel. A stall selling a 40,000 VND bowl of noodles will not enjoy breaking a 500,000 note.
An Dong Market: clothes without the haggle
An Dong sits at 34 to 36 An Duong Vuong in District 5. Air conditioned, open 06:00 to 18:00. Go for ready-made clothing at prices the other markets do not touch, and skip the food floor.
One Vietnamese review explains why An Dong is different. It is a four-star Google Maps review, Vietnamese, translated, September 2026, posted 30 August. In Vietnamese it reads: Hầu hết thương gia ở chợ An Đông la người Hoa hết. Cái hay ở chợ là mình mua sạp này không mua sạp kia họ cũng vui vẻ nói chuyện chỉ đường chứ không như mấy chợ khác. Không nói thách.
Translated: "Most of the traders at An Dong market are ethnic Chinese. The good thing about this market is that if you buy from one stall and not the next, they still chat happily and point you in the right direction, not like other markets. They do not inflate the price."
Those last three words are the useful part. Không nói thách means they do not quote you an inflated price. Standard advice is to haggle everywhere in Saigon. This is the market where you largely do not have to.
The catch comes from the same source. A one-star Google Maps review, Vietnamese, translated, September 2026 from 18 August says the air conditioning is pleasant. It then says beggars, lottery sellers and hawkers are let in and lie across the walkways. Security, it adds, go through the motions and never move anyone on.
A separate five-star review likes the guard fine, then says prices on the food floor are far too high. So shop the clothing floors and eat elsewhere.
Binh Tay Market: the wholesale hub in Cho Lon
Binh Tay is at 57A Thap Muoi in Cho Lon, Saigon's Chinatown, open 07:00 to 18:00. Vietnam's national tourism board writes it up on its Ho Chi Minh City page, calling Binh Tay a colossal wholesale trading centre, and the place trades like one.
A five-star Google Maps review, Vietnamese, translated, September 2026 from 9 September comes from someone who has shopped there since childhood. Translated: "This is a market more than a century old, and very busy. It sells everything: household goods, spices, farm produce, prepared food. It supplies both wholesale and retail, at large scale and small. I shop at Binh Tay often, and this market has left a very fine mark on me since childhood."
Wholesale volume is why prices here undercut District 1. The catch is distance. Binh Tay sits roughly 6 km west of Ben Thanh, and Saigon traffic decides how long that takes. The aisles between stalls are narrow enough that a backpack becomes a nuisance.
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Tan Dinh Market: fabric, and an honest sweat
Tan Dinh is the pink building at 314 to 336 Hai Ba Trung in District 1, open 06:00 to 18:00. It is a fabric market first and everything else second. Come for cloth, tailoring and a few old food stalls.
A five-star Google Maps review, Vietnamese, translated, September 2026 from 15 September puts it plainly: "Tan Dinh market is on Hai Ba Trung street. It mainly sells food, fabric and household goods for the people of the city." A four-star review from 5 September adds the reason to linger: "There are a few good, long-established food stalls."
The catch is physical, and a September reviewer set it out plainly. No air conditioning, sweat, a strong market smell, and a lot of insects. Go early or not at all.
The second catch is the range. Fabric, food and household goods for the people who live here is the whole offer, which is exactly what the two reviews above describe. If you do not want cloth, there is little reason to cross town for it.
Ho Thi Ky: flowers by day, a food alley after dark
Ho Thi Ky is not a building. It is an alley system off Ho Thi Ky street in District 10, flowers along one side and a food street along the other, and it never closes. This is the one to pick if you only have an evening.
The most useful review we read is a five-star Google Maps review, Vietnamese, translated, September 2026 from 14 September, and it is pure logistics. Translated: "One side is the flower market, one side is the food street, so go in the late afternoon and evening, it is very lively and well worth experiencing. There is bike parking, so ask the price first. Come in by the main gate on Ly Thai To street or the Le Hong Phong side, because Tran Binh Trong street is being widened and is hard to get through. Everyone take note."
The roadworks on Tran Binh Trong appear on none of the other guides to these markets.
On price, Ho Thi Ky is the wholesale end of the city's flower trade. Florists across Saigon and the provinces around it buy here, so you are one step up the chain from a shop price.
The catch is the parking, and the price is not posted. That is why the review says to ask first.
Ben Thanh Market: the famous one, and what it is now
Ben Thanh holds 4.0 stars from about 87,000 ratings on its Google Maps listing, read 24 September
- That is the lowest score of the five markets here, from more than eight times as many ratings as
any other.
Souvenirs are the bulk of what it sells, plus a night market outside once the hall shuts. Everything inside is priced for visitors, so the first number moves and you argue for each item. Go if you are already in District 1, but do not build a day around it.
How bargaining really works in Saigon markets
There is no single rule. Two reviews of the same market in the same month give opposite advice, and both are right about different stalls.
A shopper at Binh Tay wrote in September that bargaining is possible, "usually around 10 to 15 percent". Another shopper at Binh Tay, the same month, wrote that you should knock 50 to 65 percent off.
Here is the reading that fits both. The dried goods, spice and household stalls are already priced for traders buying in bulk. There is almost nothing to cut, and pushing hard just marks you as rude.
The souvenir and clothing stalls near the entrances are priced for visitors, and there is a great deal to cut. Which stall you are standing in front of decides which number applies. At An Dong, per the Vietnamese review above, many traders do not inflate in the first place.
Two questions sort it out:
- Did the price drop before I said anything?
If the seller names a number and then a lower one unprompted, you are at a visitor-priced stall, and the larger cut those reviewers describe is the one to aim for.
- Is anyone here buying in quantity?
If the customers around you are loading boxes, it is a wholesale stall and the posted price is close to real.
How to do a market morning
- Leave by 07:00. The produce is fresh, the aisles are passable, and the heat has not arrived.
- Start at the market that matches what you want, not the nearest one.
- Walk the whole floor once before buying anything, so you know the range of prices.
- Buy from the second or third stall you liked, not the first one that spoke to you.
- Eat at the stall with the queue of locals, then take a Grab back before midday.
What things cost, on 24 September 2026
Prices below are samples, converted at the Vietcombank published buy rate of 25,790 dong to the dollar, at 12:28 Vietnam time on 24 September 2026. The State Bank of Vietnam sets the central rate the commercial banks trade around. For how to get the cash, see our guide to Vietnam dong to USD.
| What | In dong | In dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Bike parking at a market gate | 5,000 to 10,000 VND | $0.19 to $0.39 |
| Bowl of noodles at a market food stall | 40,000 to 60,000 VND | $1.55 to $2.33 |
| Grab ride, Ben Thanh to Binh Tay | 50,000 to 80,000 VND | $1.94 to $3.10 |
| Bunch of flowers, Ho Thi Ky | 50,000 to 150,000 VND | $1.94 to $5.82 |
| Ready-made shirt, An Dong | 100,000 to 200,000 VND | $3.88 to $7.75 |
| Metre of cloth, Tan Dinh | 100,000 to 300,000 VND | $3.88 to $11.63 |
At Ho Thi Ky after dark, nobody is taking a card.
Getting there, paying, and keeping hold of your bag
Grab is the sane way between markets, and you can attach a card so rides are not cash.
The UK Foreign Office updated its Vietnam advice on 21 September 2026 and the relevant lines are blunt. Petty theft and pickpocketing "occur regularly". Bag-snatchers "operate in crowded areas and in places visited by tourists".
The same page says snatching by thieves on motorcycles is common, so hold bags in front of you or on the side away from the traffic. It also notes that petty crime typically rises around Christmas and Tet.
On food, the CDC's Vietnam page gives the plain version. Food and water standards vary by destination and within a country, and travellers' diarrhoea is the common problem. Eat at the stall with the queue, and stick to food cooked in front of you.
Entry rules change, so check our Vietnam e-visa guide before you book. For the other cities, see our Vietnam guides and the destination index.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best markets in Ho Chi Minh City?
For clothes, An Dong in District 5. For dried goods, spices and homeware, Binh Tay in Cho Lon. For fabric, Tan Dinh in District 1. For flowers and night food, Ho Thi Ky in District 10. Ben Thanh is the famous one and the least useful, unless souvenirs are what you came for.
What is the most famous market in Vietnam?
Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City, by a distance. It holds roughly 87,000 Google ratings against 6,400 for Binh Tay. Fame and value are not the same thing here: Ben Thanh scores 4.0, and An Dong, Binh Tay, Tan Dinh and Ho Thi Ky all score higher.
Which is better, Saigon Square or Ben Thanh Market?
Saigon Square is an air-conditioned clothing mall. Ben Thanh is an open market hall. For clothing, Saigon Square is faster and calmer. For market atmosphere, Ben Thanh. For clothing at the lowest prices, neither: go to An Dong, where a Vietnamese reviewer says the traders do not inflate.
How do you bargain at Saigon markets?
It depends on the stall, not the market. Two September reviewers at Binh Tay split hard: one puts the room at 10 to 15 percent, another at 50 to 65 percent. Wholesale stalls selling dried goods and homeware are the low end, and stalls priced for visitors are the high one. At An Dong, a Vietnamese reviewer says many traders do not inflate the opening price at all.
What is the cheapest thing to buy in Vietnam?
Cooked food and flowers. A market bowl of noodles runs 40,000 to 60,000 dong, which is $1.55 to $2.33 at the 24 September 2026 rate. A bunch of flowers at Ho Thi Ky starts around 50,000 dong, or $1.94. Coffee, dried fruit and nuts are the cheap things worth carrying home.
Is $100 a lot of money in Vietnam?
At 25,790 dong to the dollar on 24 September 2026, $100 is about 2,579,000 dong. That covers several days of market food, local transport and small shopping for one person. It does not go far on hotels in District 1. See our dong to dollar guide for what it buys.
When do Saigon markets open and close?
An Dong and Tan Dinh run 06:00 to 18:00, and Binh Tay 07:00 to 18:00, per their Google Maps listings on 24 September 2026. Ho Thi Ky is listed as open all day and is at its best from late afternoon into the night. Morning is for produce and the coolest air. Late afternoon is for food.