Private & tailor-made · 1–4 guests
A Private Vinh Khanh Food Tour: Saigon’s Snail Street and Ho Thi Ky
Two of Saigon’s liveliest places to eat after dark. First the Ho Thi Ky flower market and its food lanes, for crab soup and rice paper grilled over charcoal; then Vinh Khanh, the snail and seafood street Time Out ranked among the coolest streets in the world in 2025. Your own local guide chooses the stall, looks over the seafood in front of you and orders in Vietnamese. Every dish, and a drink at each stop, is paid before you set out.
A sample night at a glance
What changes when the night is yours
A private car for your group alone
Private, 1-4 guests, and nobody outside your party is added to it
Your own licensed local guide
A Saigon local, fluent in English, who knows which stall is cooking well tonight and which to walk past, orders in Vietnamese and explains how each dish is eaten — to your group alone, not twenty strangers
Collected at your own hotel
Anywhere in central Ho Chi Minh City. No meeting point to find on your own
Every dish already paid
Every dish at every stop and a drink at each are included. Nothing is collected from you at any stall
No shop stops, in writing
No detour to a souvenir shop or a stall that pays to have you delivered. We earn from the tour price alone
A menu rebuilt around you
Allergies, no chilli, no offal, vegetarian, Muslim-friendly or small children — tell us and the menu is reshaped before your tour
Duration
About 4 hours
Departure
5:30 pm hotel pickup
Pickup
Any hotel in central Ho Chi Minh City
from · $76 · / personCheck your price ›
Choose your group size · price is the total for the group
Solo traveller$195 BOOK →2 guests$235 BOOK →3 guests$270 BOOK →4 guests$305 BOOK →Free cancellation up to 3 days before · every tour tailored on request
The night, stop by stop
This is a sample night: add, skip or linger over any stop and we will adjust it — the menu too. The night starts with a 5:30 pm hotel pickup, so we reach Ho Thi Ky as its food lanes fill up and Vinh Khanh at its busiest, after about 7 pm. You are back at your hotel usually around 9:30 pm.
Start · 5:30 pm hotel pickup · anywhere in central Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Thi Ky flower market and food lanes
About 60 minutes · on foot and seated
What you’ll eat · sup cua · banh trang nuong
4 photos · tap to enlarge
A flower market that trades through the night in Vuon Lai ward, the former District 10, with lanes of food stalls that usually open from mid-afternoon until about 11 pm. The area grew up around Vietnamese families who came back from Cambodia in the 1970s, and Cambodian sweet soups and noodle stalls still sit among the flowers; your guide tells you that story. We stop for sup cua, a thick crab soup with ribbons of egg, and banh trang nuong: paper-thin rice paper grilled over charcoal with quail egg, spring onion and dried shrimp, folded and eaten hot.
Drive · about 15–25 minutes · across the city to Khanh Hoi
Vinh Khanh food street
About 90 minutes · seated
What you’ll eat · oc huong in garlic butter · scallops with scallion oil · crab claws roasted with salt and chilli
4 photos · tap to enlarge
Nearly a kilometre of snail and seafood stalls in Khanh Hoi ward, the former District 4: made an official food street in 2018, and tenth of the 31 streets on Time Out’s 2025 list of the world’s coolest. It is busiest after about 7 pm, with tables on the pavement and motorbikes still passing. Your guide picks the stall, checks the live seafood in front of you, orders in Vietnamese and shows you how to eat each dish: oc huong sea snails tossed in garlic butter, scallops grilled with scallion oil and peanuts, and crab claws roasted dry with salt and chilli, with a Saigon beer (18 and over) or a soft drink.
Walk · a few minutes along the street
Banh flan to finish
About 20 minutes · seated
What you’ll eat · banh flan with shaved ice and coffee
1 photo · tap to enlarge
Saigon’s take on caramel custard, served over shaved ice with a spoonful of strong black coffee poured on top. Then the car takes you back to your hotel.
Back at your hotel · About 4 hours after pickup · usually around 9:30 pm
A flower market, a seafood street, one table
No stops we did not tell you about, nothing to pay at any stall, and any part of it can be changed.
Group total · every dish included
Solo traveller$195 BOOK →2 guests$235 BOOK →3 guests$270 BOOK →4 guests$305 BOOK →Price is the total for the group · free cancellation up to 3 days before
WhatsApp · +84 368 938 081Want a different route, pace or group size? We will plan your night and send you an all-inclusive quote.What is in the price
Included
- Private car with driver for your group
- Private licensed local food guide, fluent in English
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in central Ho Chi Minh City
- Every dish at every stop
- One drink at each stop (local beer for guests 18 and over)
- Bottled water in the car
Not included
− Drinks beyond the one included at each stop
− Anything you choose to buy at the flower market
− A tip for your guide and driver — never expected, always welcome
− A transfer surcharge for pickups in Thao Dien, An Phu or Phu My Hung
− Travel insurance, which we recommend you carry
Is this the right tour for you?
A good fit if
You came to Saigon for seafood and want someone to choose and order it for you.
You like eating at pavement tables among locals, with the street going past.
You want Saigon’s liveliest food street at its busiest hour, without the guesswork.
You are happy to try snails, scallops and crab claws the way Saigon eats them.
Look elsewhere if
You are vegetarian — this is a seafood street and the menu cannot be made meat-free.
You want a quiet, sit-down restaurant. Vinh Khanh is loud, the stools are low and motorbikes pass close by.
You are one person on a tight budget — a shared group tour costs far less.
You want to ride between stops by motorbike, one bike and driver per guest; we travel as one group in one private car.
Vegetarian, or just not a seafood person? The Ben Thanh tour and the Saigon breakfast tour can both be made fully vegetarian. Or tell us what you want to see, and we will plan a night around it.
Questions before you book
About the night
How long is the tour and when does it start?
About 4 hours door to door, starting with a 5:30 pm hotel pickup and ending back at your hotel. Inside that time the pace is yours: stay longer where you are enjoying it, move on where you are not.
Where do you pick us up?
At your own hotel, anywhere in central Ho Chi Minh City — the former Districts 1, 3, 4, 5 and 10, Phu Nhuan and Binh Thanh. Staying in Thao Dien, An Phu or Phu My Hung? We collect you there too, for a transfer surcharge shown at checkout. Your guide waits in your hotel lobby for 20 minutes and messages you on WhatsApp; after that the booking counts as a no-show. A late pickup shortens the tour rather than extending it.
How much walking is there, and why a car rather than motorbikes?
Ho Thi Ky and Vinh Khanh are in different parts of the city, so the private car carries you between them and you walk a few hundred metres at each. Motorbike food tours are a very Saigon way to eat — they slip into alleys a car cannot — but each guest rides behind a separate driver. We keep your group together in one car, so you sit down to eat, stay dry if it rains, and can bring children or older parents along.
Can we change the route or the pace?
Yes. This is a sample night and every part of it can be adjusted: swap a dish, skip a stop, or spend longer on Vinh Khanh. Tell us before you book and we confirm the plan, the menu and an all-inclusive price in writing. If a stall is closed or a dish has sold out, your guide swaps in the nearest equivalent and tells you on the spot. We never quietly downgrade a tour.
Does the guide speak good English?
Yes. Your guide is a licensed local from Saigon who speaks fluent English, knows which stalls are worth it and which to skip, orders for you in Vietnamese and explains how each dish is eaten and why the city eats it. On this tour that means choosing the seafood with you, and the right sauce for each shell.
Can we do more than one tour?
Yes, and nothing repeats: our four tours have four menus and share no dish, so each one is a different night. Pair this one with the Ben Thanh night market tour, the Cholon Chinatown tour or the Saigon breakfast tour. Booking more than one? Message us on WhatsApp and we will plan them together.
Booking and practicalities
Is the price per person or for the whole group?
For the whole group, from one to four guests: four people pay less each than two, with the same car and the same guide. Children under 5 travel free and do not count towards the group size; from 5 a child counts as one guest. For five or more, message us for a quote.
How do I pay, and when?
Two ways: pay the full price online by card, or pay a 30% deposit online and the rest in cash on the day of the tour, in US dollars or Vietnamese dong. We can also send a secure payment link on WhatsApp. The booking is confirmed once the online payment goes through, and your pickup time and guide’s name arrive in writing.
Can I cancel or reschedule?
Yes - free cancellation up to 3 days before departure for a full refund, and free rescheduling subject to availability. Within 3 days of departure, 30% of the tour price is charged because the car and guide are already committed. Date changes are arranged over WhatsApp.
Can this tour be vegetarian, or work with a shellfish allergy?
Vegetarian: no. This is a seafood street and we would rather say so now — the Ben Thanh tour and the breakfast tour can both be fully vegetarian. Shellfish allergy: we rebuild the night around grilled fish and charcoal-grilled meat and leave out the crab soup, or you can choose another night. Muslim-friendly: seafood suits most Muslim guests; your guide asks for the scallion oil to be made with vegetable oil rather than pork fat and checks every sauce, but we cannot promise certified halal stalls. Allergies in general: Tell us about allergies when you book. Street kitchens share woks, grills and oil, so no dish can be guaranteed free of traces; guests with severe allergies should carry their own medication.
What should I bring, and do I need cash?
An appetite and clothes you do not mind getting a little butter on. You do not need cash for anything on the menu, since every dish and a drink at each stop are already paid; bring small notes for extra drinks or flowers, and if you chose to pay the balance in cash, bring it for your guide.
What happens if it rains?
Rain does not cancel a food tour: the private car carries you between stops and your guide moves to stalls with a roof, keeping the menu as close as possible, with no partial refund. If you would rather wait for a dry evening, move to another date free of charge. In a storm or under an official weather warning we move your tour to another date; if no date suits you, you get a 100% refund.
Book your snail street night
Private car and licensed local guide, hotel pickup, every dish and a drink at each stop already settled.
Group total · every dish included
Solo traveller$195 BOOK →2 guests$235 BOOK →3 guests$270 BOOK →4 guests$305 BOOK →Price is the total for the group · free cancellation up to 3 days before
WhatsApp · +84 368 938 081Want a different route, pace or group size? We will plan your night and send you an all-inclusive quote.