Landing in Vietnam was overwhelming for a few reasons. To start with, this was my first new country in a very long time. Pre-COVID, actually. More importantly, the food, the language and the culture were all completely foreign to me. Having booked this trip only three days before we were due to leave, I was in desperate need of some local help to get to know this incredible and incredibly chaotic country.

A scooter food tour in Ho Chi Minh City turned out to be exactly what I needed.

This post covers what it is actually like to do a Saigon scooter food tour, what you eat, how safe it feels, what it costs, whether it suits vegetarians and vegans, and why I think it is one of the best things you can do on your first night in Vietnam.

Tips before you go

Book ahead, especially in busy travel periods.

Do the tour early in your Ho Chi Minh City stay. First night is ideal.

Come hungry. This is not a light tasting tour.

Tell the operator about dietary requirements when booking, not when you arrive.

Wear light, breathable clothing.

Closed shoes are a good idea for scooter riding.

Keep your phone secure while on the scooter.

Do not twist around for photos while riding.

Bring cash if you plan to pay on the day.

Do not book a big dinner afterwards.

Ask about group size if you care about photography or prefer a social group setting.

Is a scooter food tour in Ho Chi Minh City worth it?

Absolutely! In fact, this is the first thing I recommend you do when you first land in Ho Chi Minh City!

Heading to Hanoi first?

Try this tour instead!

A scooter food tour in Saigon will give you so much more than just an introduction to what to order (and where) in Ho Chi Minh City. You will get a much better understanding of how the city is laid out, where to go to see the best sights, as well as so much incredible local knowledge. I really enjoyed how personable our tour guides were, and how interested they were in our lives too!

We booked the Kiss Food Tour with Kiss Tours and paid around AUD $46 each. That included hotel pickup and drop-off, scooter transport, all food and drinks, helmets and insurance. For four hours of food, transport, local guidance and cultural conversation, it felt like excellent value!

Our guides, Tracy and Vivian, were warm, funny, safe, thoughtful and deeply generous with their knowledge. They helped turn what could have been an intimidating first night in Vietnam’s busiest city into one of the best experiences during our 4 weeks exploring Vietnam.

What is a Saigon scooter food tour?

A Saigon scooter food tour is pretty much what it sounds like. It is a guided food tour where you ride through Ho Chi Minh City as a passenger on the back of a scooter. If you have done food tours in other countries, it is essentially the same thing, but add in the fun of cruising around the city on the back of a scooter!

Each guest has their own driver, and the group moves between local food stops across different parts of the city.

The best part is, you are not driving yourself. You will ride pillion while your guide handles the traffic, route, and parking, as well as food ordering and great explanations of all the delicious treats you will be trying.

The tour takes around four hours and visits five districts in Ho Chi Minh City, including a mix of food stops and sightseeing (including the CBD and a beautiful flower market) with pickup and drop-off from your hotel.

It is a good option if you want to try Vietnamese food but feel unsure about where to start. It is also a good way to get beyond the most obvious tourist areas without needing to navigate the city by yourself!

Why we booked it for our first night

We arrived in Vietnam in late April 2026 with very little time to prepare. The trip had come together quickly, and while that is exciting in theory, it left me absolutely no time to do my type-A research to learn about the foods I wanted to try, and how to order them!

Booking a food tour for our first evening solved all of that.

We were interested in trying as many different foods as possible, and learning their names, and what to ask for at restaurants. This knowledge was so valuable to learn on the first day, making picking restaurants for the remainder of our trip such a breeze!

What riding through Ho Chi Minh City traffic feels like

The traffic in Ho Chi Minh City looks terrifying at first, but it doesn’t take long to understand it. After spending a month here, I personally think the traffic in Bali is more terrifying!

If you are feeling a little bit nervous about the traffic, crossing streets, or even renting a motorbike to explore Vietnam on your own, it is well worth using this as an opportunity to jump on the back of a scooter with an experienced local to learn all about how this incredible organised chaos works.

There weren't any moments on this tour where I was worried, frightened or scared, but there were a few times that made me nervous. Every now and again another bike likes to try to squeeze between you and another car/bus/motorbike/street food vendor/whatever. Just keep your knees and elbows tucked in and you will be fine!

The main thing you need to do as a passenger is stay still. Do not twist around for a selfie. Do not lean out to film something. Remember to keep your weight centred, relax your arms and let the driver control the scooter.

Our guides, Tracy and Vivian

We were paired with Tracy and Vivian, and they live in my mind as two of the nicest, kindest, and funniest people I met in all of Vietnam - a country famous for its lovely and kind people!

They were both so open and wanted to share what their life is like living in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as getting to know what our lives were like in Australia.

Tracy was studying Tourism. Vivian was studying Law. Both were working evenings as guides, partly to fund their studies and partly because they loved meeting people and working on their English (which was already so impressive!) with guests. They were friendly, answered our questions, asked plenty of their own, joked and laughed, and explained things carefully - they were a joy to spend 4 hours with.

This part of the tour was something I did not expect, but loved a lot!

What food do you eat on the tour?

Pretty much everything. So much so, that I could barely fit any more food in after the second stop!

The tour includes several food stops across different districts, and the amount of food was more generous than I expected. The exact dishes may vary, and dietary requirements will change what you are served, but this is what we ate as vegetarians.

Bánh xèo chay

The standout meal of the night was bánh xèo at Bánh Xèo Ngọc Sơn.

Bánh xèo is a thin, sizzling savoury crepe made with rice flour and turmeric. The standard version often includes pork and prawns, but we had bánh xèo chay, which is the vegetarian version.

We were taught how to eat this dish the proper Vietnamese way, which included rolling the ‘crepe’ with herbs, greens and rice paper, before dipping it in a delicious sauce.

Tasting the greens and herbs was half the fun. We all sat together upstairs in the restaurant and Vivian and Tracy gave us a quiz and a taste test to see if we could work out what each green/herb was.

Look out for fish mint, or diếp cá, because the name is extremely accurate.

Bánh mì trứng

We also stopped for bánh mì trứng, a Vietnamese egg baguette, and my first introduction to egg in a bánh mì!

Bánh mì trứng quickly became my go-to snack in Vietnam and a great option for breakfast, even though this dish isn’t a common breakfast item for the locals. The bread was light and crisp, the filling was so tasty and fresh, and they averaged about A$2! Such a bargain.

Night market snacks

The later part of the tour moved into snack territory, which honestly is my favourite way to eat dinner!

We tried bánh tráng nướng, often described as Vietnamese pizza. It is made with a thin rice paper base grilled over charcoal and topped with egg, spring onion and sauces. This snack is easy to find throughout Vietnam, and extremely cheap as well!

We also tried a crispy dried banana crepe, crispy cheese sweet potato balls, nước me and avocado and durian ice cream.

Nước me is a sweet tamarind drink with a sour edge, and it was so delicious, but not something I was able to find again on my travels through Vietnam! The avocado ice cream was smooth, and so much better than I expected! It became a staple dessert for me. I also tried durian ice cream, but I am yet to be able to eat durian without feeling physically unwell.

Is the tour good for vegetarians and vegans?

Yes, with the usual Vietnam caveat that you need to be clear about what you do and do not eat.

I am vegetarian, but Chris is not. To keep it simple we both had vegetarian options at all the food stops.

If you are a vegetarian, you must get to know the word ‘chay’. It generally means vegetarian or vegan in Vietnamese food contexts, and you will see it on menus throughout the country. It is one of the most useful words to recognise if you do not eat meat.

Chay vs. Thuần chay

In Vietnam, chay (pronounced: ch-eye) broadly means “vegetarian” or “meat-free”, but in many contexts it can also imply “Buddhist vegetarian” or “vegan-ish”. The problem is that it does not map perfectly onto Western vegetarian and vegan categories.

If you are vegan, it is best to use “thuần chay” (pronounced: t-wun ch-eye), or use a translator app on your phone to be sure you are not served any animal products.

Private tour or small group?

We expected to join a small group. Instead, we ended up on a private tour with just the four of us (guides included).

This was not a bad thing, and Tracy and Vivian were wonderful company, and the private format made the evening feel personal. We could ask questions easily, move at our own pace and have proper conversations rather than competing with a group.

That said, I usually prefer slightly larger group tours. I like meeting other travellers, and I also like having the option to hang back, take photos and absorb the experience without being part of the conversation every second. In a group of four, the chat is constant, lovely, but constant!

However, despite my lack of photos I loved getting to be fully absorbed into the experience, and Tracy and Vivian were snapping photos and taking plenty of selfies with us, which they kindly sent to us at the end of the tour - this was such a nice touch!

Who this tour is best for

This tour is best for first-time visitors to Ho Chi Minh City who want a confident introduction to the city.

It is especially good if you are interested in food but feel unsure about ordering, finding local places, or knowing what to try first. It also suits travellers who want conversation and cultural context, not just a list of dishes.

It worked beautifully for us as a first-night activity because it took away the hard decisions. We did not need to choose dinner, navigate traffic, or understand the city immediately. We just had to show up hungry and hold on.

It would also suit solo travellers, couples, first-time Vietnam visitors, food-focused travellers and anyone who wants to see more of the city than the area around their hotel.

Who might not enjoy it

If you are very anxious on scooters, you may spend too much of the evening bracing yourself to enjoy the food. If you have mobility issues, getting on and off the scooter repeatedly may be difficult. If you prefer quiet meals, independent wandering, or slow evenings without much conversation, this may feel like too much.

It may also be less ideal if your main goal is photography. You will see plenty of interesting scenes, but you are moving often, eating often and talking often. This is not a slow photo walk through the city.

Final verdict

A Saigon scooter food tour is one of the best first-night experiences you can book in Ho Chi Minh City.

For us, it was not just about the food, but rather getting to know the city, and being introduced to Vietnam by actual locals who were patient, kind, and caring. The food was excellent, the scooter riding was far more fun than scary, and the conversations with our guides gave us a better understanding of the country we had just arrived in.

If you are landing in Ho Chi Minh City and want a practical, memorable and confidence-building way to begin your trip, I would put this very high on the list!

And what about the rest of your stay in Ho Chi Minh City? Check out this post to see everything we did in Saigon, and whether I would recommend it!

If you book using my link I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend experiences I love and think are useful.