Ho Chi Minh City is a bustling and fun place… with plenty of things to do to keep you occupied for weeks, and even longer!
So, from immersing yourself in local markets, to understanding the tragic yet resilient history of Vietnam… through to marveling at the amazing architecture, there’s something for everyone.
So, Ho Chi Minh City was formerly Saigon. Yet, after the Vietnam War, in July 1976 it became Ho Chi Minh City. And, this brought about the reunification of the North and South of Vietnam.
Yet, many people still call Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon, and that’s mainly by the Southern Vietnamese.
But, whichever you decide to call it, Ho Chi Minh is a wonderful city to visit. So, being a city that has had influences from many cultures around the world… you’ll see a mix of modern western touches with the Vietnamese culture.
Now, when I was looking for things to do in Ho Chi Minh, I did a Google search.
And, lots of results came up so it was getting a bit overwhelming! Then, as I’d used Klook many times before… I had a look to see what was on their website for things to do in Saigon.
So, Klook is a company that provides travel services, activities with discounts, and more. I’ve now used it several times and highly recommend it.
Options For The Saigon Skydeck
So, then I found an activity, which was the Saigon Skydeck in the Bitexco Financial Tower in District 1.
And here, we could get 360-degree views of Ho Chi Minh City on level 49 of the Bitexco Tower. But, so you know, the observation deck is fully enclosed. So, if you were wanting to get photos from outside the building, then this can’t happen!
Yet, as far as I’m aware… there’s no time limit as to how long you can stay in the Saigon Skydeck for.
Thus, when I was looking into it on the Klook website… there were 4 ticket options that were on offer.
- Saigon Skydeck Admission Ticket
- Saigon Skydeck Admission and Photo Combo Ticket
- The Saigon Skydeck Admission and World Of Heineken Combo Ticket
- Saigon Skydeck Admission, World Of Heineken and Photo Combo Ticket
So, option 1 was 200,000 VND (about USD $8.65). Yet, for an extra 50,000 VND (about a measly USD $2.15) per person, we could go to The World of Heineken. And, this was over 10 floor higher than the Saigon observation deck.
Now, we could’ve got the photo option too. But, sometimes these photos are cheesy. So, we didn’t get the photo combo options.
Yet, for an extra couple of dollars for the World Of Heineken experience why not, right? Plus, we got beers in that price too. BONUS! Yet, there’s more. And, I’ll go into that soon.
What We Paid For The Saigon Skydeck Experiences
So, the cost per adult is normally 250,000 VND for the Saigon Skydeck and World Of Heineken combo ticket (about USD $10.80). Yet, on Klook they were offering a discount.
Plus, I had other credits to use from previous Klook bookings. And, I got further discounts from a cashback website called, Shopback.
So, in the end the ticket price was only 89,870 VND per person (about USD $3.90). Thus, that was a saving of over 60%. Bargain!
On Arrival At The Saigon Skydeck
We got to the Bitexco Financial Tower just before 4pm on a weekday. And, my plan was to go to the Saigon Skydeck first, then the World Of Heineken at 4:30pm. So you know, the World of Heineken opens at 3pm.
And, the Saigon Skydeck opening hours are from 9:30am to 9:30pm… with the last entry 45 minutes before closing time.
So, here’s a view of the Bitexco Financial Tower from the outside…
And, this is the entrance to the Saigon Skydeck…
So, once we went inside we were at the reception area. Then, I was showing the staff member our Klook mobile vouchers.
After that, the staff member gave us one of these discount vouchers each. And, we could redeem it for 20% off food and beverages.
Then, he put this Heineken bracelet on our wrists. So, we were entitled to 2 beers, a water and crisps.
Then he said that our Heineken tour would be at 5:30pm! OMG, an hour and a half away!
So, I asked if we could go to an earlier session. But, he told us that was our schedule and no, we couldn’t. So, while the process at reception was efficient… it felt like the staff member couldn’t care less.
Then, he was waving us in the direction of where to get the lifts to go up to the 49th floor viewing area.
Say Cheese!
So, when we were on our way to the lifts… a staff member wearing Heineken branded clothes stopped us in our tracks. Then, he told us to stand in front of a wall to take a photo of us.
So, we weren’t sure exactly what was going on and why, as it was all so quick!
But, after a couple of clicks of the camera, a different staff member was guiding us to the lift.
And, to get to the 49th floor, it was a smooth and quick ride up the lift.
Then, once we got out of the lift, another staff member was greeting us. She was looking at our tickets, and was reminding us to be back near the lifts 10 minutes before our Heineken tour.
So, we were then free to roam and check out Ho Chi Minh City from the Saigon Skydeck… for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or so!
Inside The Saigon Skydeck
Then, one of the first things we saw was that it was relatively quiet, which was great for us. So, we wouldn’t have to elbow our way through to get photos, or wait forever!
And, we saw that the windows were floor to ceiling with panels separating each window. Unfortunately many of the windows were dirty.
Plus, as you can from the photo, unfortunately we didn’t have a completely clear day. Yet, we did manage to still get some awesome happy snaps and witness beautiful Ho Chi Minh City from high up…
And, as we were walking around… we were veering to the right after the entrance and came across this cyclo…
And yes, you can sit in it and take photos if you like!
Then, as we were continuing our 360-degree walk around… there were binoculars like this every several meters or so…
So, they were a good addition to the Saigon Skydeck as we could zoom in and see more detail. And, when we were there we could use them for free.
Plus, there were these large interactive information screens… which would highlight certain landmarks around Ho Chi Minh City. So then, we knew what we were looking at, which was handy.
And, it would also provide more descriptive information, when we were to click on each one.
Disco Lights At The Saigon Skydeck
So, as we were walking around, we saw these lines of color along the floor…
And, they would often change colors…
So, it did give the ambience a more funky feeling. Yet, as were taking photos, we found that it was a bad idea to have the colored lines. And, this was because they would ruin some of our photos, like this…
Plus, as it got darker outside heading into night, the colored lines were more prominent as was the reflection. So, as we do our Saigon Skydeck review, we would recommend they not have the lights on the floor!
TIP:
Once you’ve taken your photos, make sure you check them… because you don’t wan’t those pesky colored lines ruining your pics!
Yet, we could still get some great photos with angles in mind!
And, there was also an Ao Dai exhibition area, which was quite small…
Plus, if you had a big desire in learning more about it, there was a small theater room showing a film…
So, in about 25 minutes or so, we took our photos, video footage and were done looking. But, if you were to look at everything in detail then it’d probably take about an hour or so.
A Long Wait…
So, we had about a 50-minute wait until the Heineken tour! Arghhhhh! Plus, it was surprising to us that there wasn’t free wifi at the Saigon Skydeck.
Also on the 49th floor they had a gift shop…
So, we were noticing many other people waiting around, some sitting on the floor. And, that’s because there are only 2 lounge type chairs on the whole floor.
It was looking like many of these people were waiting for their Heineken Tour slot.
Yet for us, it was a L-O-N-G wait until the World Of Heineken Tour.
Well on a more positive note, while we were waiting the sun was starting to set. So, we were able to get more happy snaps, of which were quite beautiful…
So, as it hit around 5pm it was getting real busy. Thus, we were glad we got here earlier. And, as we stood near the lifts waiting for our Heineken tour, a staff member was waving us over to look at a computer screen.
And, remember before we got to the lifts they took our photo?
Well, what they did was superimpose our photo over a few different backgrounds of Ho Chi Minh City.
And, even though the photo was only 110,000 VND (about USD $4.75), it did look cheesy and not that authentic. So, no sale from us!
The World Of Heineken Tour
So, the sun was setting as we were being taken to on our Heinken tour. And, this sucked as we were hoping to get better views on the 59th floor.
Plus, by the time we were able to have a look around ourselves, it was night-time and dark. Thus, no photo opportunities.
Yet, we then took the lift up to the 58th floor to begin our tour. And, in our group were 14 people including us.
And, here’s what we saw once stepping out of the lift…
Then, after the host was welcoming us… each of us had to go to one of the 4 computer terminals to type in details like email address. Plus, we had to type in a name that we wanted printed on a souvenir Heineken beer bottle… and we would take that away after the tour.
TIP:
If you’re planning to go and are thinking of names now, be aware that you can’t use swear words. We found that out when a few of the group members were typing them in!
So, here there was free WIFI, unlike at the Saigon Skydeck observation floor.
Then, after everyone had input their details in the computer… the World Of Heineken Tour began.
A Sneak Peek Into The World Of Heineken Tour
So, after going through the door to start the tour… the first section was a brief history.
And, while the host was energetic and was trying to engage the group by asking questions… his English pronunciation was a little difficult to understand for us.
So, after this we went to learn about the Heineken beer making process…
Then, after this we went through to another room, which had seats like this…
And, as we were soon to discover… this was a 4D experience to further learn about Heineken’s beer making process. It was an interesting “ride!”
So, after that we were taken into another room to learn how to pour a tap beer.
Then, after the barman did this, then it was our turn to have a go! And, after pouring our own beer, we could drink the fruits of our labor! Plus, the beer was ice cold.
So, we had to almost skull our beer because our main host was moving us on! Thus, after the bar we went into a mock DJ area and a gaming center…
And here, there were racing car terminals, fooz ball, and a football game…
So, after about 15 minutes or so, we then were told we had to move on again! And, this time we were walking up a flight of stairs to the 59th floor. Plus, if you have mobility issues the staff will assist you up the next floor via the lifts.
The Final Stop In The World Of Heineken Tour
Then, our final stop was the World Of Heineken Bar…
Now, this area was really cool and this was where we would redeem the tokens on our bracelets.
So, we had two super ice cold Heineken beers, a bowl of crisps, and a water each…
Unfortunately the view wasn’t so great, because it was difficult to see clearly due to the lighting inside.
Yet, the beers were going down marvelously.
And, we were going to use our 20% discount vouchers for some food and drinks. So, as we were asking staff they said that we couldn’t use it here. Plus, they didn’t know where we could redeem it, making it completely useless for us!
Then, we were wanting to stay to have more ice cold beers. Yet, the surprising thing for us, was that they don’t sell beers there! Now, that’s crazy because they could make a killing here!
So, afterwards we went to a local bar and drank ice cold Tiger beer… LOL!
Yet, before we left the Bitexco Tower Saigon, we had to get our bottle of Heineken beer with our name printed on it. And, to get this we had take the lifts down to the ground floor.
And here, a staff member was ready to hand out our personal bottle… packaged in a Heineken branded carry bag.
And So It Ends…
So, to end our Saigon Skydeck review, in summary for the price we paid it was worth it. We got to see lovely 360-degree views of Ho Chi Minh City. Plus, we got to have 3 ice cold Heineken beers, crisps and water in the price… as well as a bottle of beer to take home.
So, that is great value! Now, all up we were at the Bitexco Financial Tower for about 3.5 hours.
TIP:
Check if you can book in for a specific session of the World Of Heineken Tour. Then, you can plan your timings around that. And, that’s because for us, it was disappointing that we couldn’t see views of Ho Chi Minh on the higher floors.
PRO TIP:
If you can, go on a weekday during the day in the late afternoon… as it should be quieter. Plus, then you can get day, sunset and evening views of Ho Chi Minh City.
So a few of the other negatives for us were…
- The disco lights on the floor of the observation deck was off-putting for taking great photos
- And, we had to wait a long time between the Skydeck viewing, and the World Of Heineken tour
- Plus, we couldn’t choose which World Of Heineken tour session we would like to attend
- It was a little challenging to understand the Heineken tour guide, and
- They don’t sell beers at the Heineken bar, which is crazy for them!
Yet, overall it was a good, cheap experience and something to do in Ho Chi Minh City.
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Note: All of our reviews and comments are our opinions and no-one else’s. Even if we receive complimentary goods or services we share our opinions honestly.
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