No official source says District 1 is a better base than District 3, or the reverse. For a first visit, choose by address: the hotel with the shortest walk or ride to the three or four places you will actually visit. The names have also changed. Since 1 July 2025 the old District 1 area has been covered by four wards and the old District 3 area by three (Resolution 1685). Many listings and traveller searches still use the old labels, so read the street address and the map pin, not the district name.
What "District 1" and "District 3" mean on a 2026 booking
Resolution No. 1685/NQ-UBTVQH15 was adopted by the National Assembly Standing Committee on 16 June 2025 and published in full on chinhphu.vn on 20 June 2025. It reorganised Ho Chi Minh City's commune-level units, including the wards (phường) in the two areas discussed here. Under Article 2, the new ward governments started operating on 1 July 2025.
The resolution covers commune-level units only, so this guide does not say anything about other administrative levels. What you can see is that the old names are still in use: an undated Vietnam Tourism page on the city still writes "Around District 1". Treat that as a reason to check the address, nothing more.
Here is how the old wards in the two areas were combined, as the resolution states it:
| New ward | What it was made from |
|---|---|
| Sai Gon | All of the former Ben Nghe ward, plus parts of Da Kao and Nguyen Thai Binh |
| Tan Dinh | The former Tan Dinh ward (District 1), plus the rest of Da Kao |
| Ben Thanh | The former Ben Thanh and Pham Ngu Lao wards, plus parts of Cau Ong Lanh and the rest of Nguyen Thai Binh |
| Cau Ong Lanh | The former Nguyen Cu Trinh, Cau Kho and Co Giang wards, plus the rest of Cau Ong Lanh |
| Ban Co | The former Wards 1, 2, 3 and 5, plus part of Ward 4 |
| Xuan Hoa | The former Vo Thi Sau ward, plus the rest of Ward 4 |
| Nhieu Loc | The former Wards 9, 11, 12 and 14 |
The first four rows are the old District 1 area; the last three are the old District 3 area.
How to use this when you read a hotel address:
- An old ward that went into one new ward is easy. "Ben Nghe" is now Sai Gon. "Pham Ngu Lao" is now Ben Thanh. "Ward 5, District 3" is now Ban Co. Note that Sai Gon is now also the name of a single ward, not just the informal name of the whole city.
- Four old wards were split between two new ones: Da Kao (Sai Gon or Tan Dinh), Nguyen Thai Binh (Sai Gon or Ben Thanh), Cau Ong Lanh (Ben Thanh or Cau Ong Lanh) and Ward 4 (Ban Co or Xuan Hoa). For these, the resolution lists only ward names, not streets, so it cannot tell you which side a given street falls on. Use the pin on a current map.
- A current address will show the new ward. The HCMC Portal, for example, gives its own office as 86 Le Thanh Ton, Sai Gon Ward.
Which area has the better hotels, restaurants and nightlife?
No official page in this research ranks the two areas for hotels, food, nightlife, quiet or safety. Any claim of that kind that you read elsewhere is an opinion, not something the official pages back up. The same goes for price: none of the official pages give hotel rates for either area, so "District 3 is cheaper" has no official basis here.
What you can do is compare the way a booking works. Hotel rates depend on the dates, the room and the rate terms. When you compare two hotels in different areas:
- Open both for the same dates and the same room and bed type.
- Compare the final total with taxes and fees, and note whether breakfast is included.
- Compare the cancellation deadline and whether you pay now or at the property.
- Check the ward and the pin, and look at the walking route to the places you care about.
For what to see, the official Vietnam Tourism city page lists Notre Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office, the Saigon Opera House, Ben Thanh Market and the Jade Emperor Pagoda among the top landmarks. It does not assign them to current wards, so look each one up on a map and measure from your hotel. If you want food ideas, the Tourism Promotion Center lists a heritage guide called "150 Delicious Eateries for Saigon Food Enthusiasts" among its publications.
How far apart are District 1 and District 3, and how do you get between them?
The official pages give no distance or travel time between the two old areas, and this guide does not either. A single figure would hide the real variable: the distance depends on which two addresses you mean. Work it out for your own trip:
- Walking: put your hotel's pin and your first destination on a map and read the walking route. Do it for the return leg too.
- Taxi or ride-hailing: Vietnam Tourism says taxis are everywhere. Ride-hailing apps such as Grab work if you have a Vietnamese SIM card. Use the live estimate in the app shortly before you leave; the official pages give no fares or times for this.
- Metro Line 1: it starts at Ben Thanh station. The next section covers what the official pages say about it.
Getting from Tan Son Nhat airport to your hotel
The only official airport source here is Vietnam Tourism's traveller's guide to Vietnam's airports, and it is undated. It says Tan Son Nhat is about 8 kilometres from the city centre, and the trip to the airport can take 50 minutes or more depending on traffic. That is one figure for the centre as a whole. Nothing there says one of the two areas is faster to reach.
The options it lists:
- Taxis: Vinasun and Mai Linh, from the taxi bay.
- Ride-hailing apps: Grab, Be and Go Viet. You need a Vietnamese SIM card.
- Buses: two bright yellow bus routes run between the airport and the city. One ends in the backpacker district and the other at Ben Thanh Station.
The guide's fares have no date, so they are left out here. It also lists no metro link to the airport. The HCMC Portal (4 March 2026) says a Metro Line 6 section from Tan Son Nhat to Phu Huu is only at the stage where the city plans to prioritise first-phase investment in 2026–2030; it is not running. Confirm which options are current at the arrivals hall or on the airport's own site before you decide.
Is Metro Line 1 useful for your base, and what does it cost?
Metro Line 1 runs from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien. The HCMC Portal, on 24 November 2024, said all 17 trains had passed safety certification and that commercial operation was expected to start on 22 December 2024. The official pages here name only one station, Ben Thanh, the western end of the line. They do not list the other stations, and they do not say which hotels are within walking distance of a station. So you cannot judge a hotel's metro access from its district label. Look at the operator's station map and measure the walk from your exact address.
These are the fares announced on 21 November 2024:
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Single trip, cash | VND 7,000–20,000, by distance |
| Single trip, non-cash | VND 6,000–19,000 |
| One-day pass | VND 40,000 |
| Three-day pass | VND 90,000 |
| Monthly pass | VND 300,000 (VND 150,000 for students) |
The announcement says all tickets include passenger insurance. It also says that from 1 January 2025, some groups travel free, including people with disabilities, senior citizens over 60, and children under six when accompanied by an adult. These are 2024 announcements, and no opening hours or train frequency appear in the pages available. Check current fares and hours with the operator, HURC1, at the station or on its website.
Metro Line 2 (Ben Thanh–Tham Luong) broke ground on 15 January 2026, with completion scheduled for 2026–2030 (HCMC Portal, 4 March 2026). It is not running, so do not plan around it.
Which should you choose?
Pick the row that matches your trip. If more than one applies, put fixed commitments first (a tour pickup, a meeting, the airport bus) and price second.
| Your situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| First visit, no fixed plan | Write down three or four places you will visit. Choose the hotel with the shortest walking route to most of them on a map. Do not choose by district label. |
| Your booking only says "District 1" or "District 3" | Find the street address, then use the table above to find the ward. If the old ward was split, check the pin. |
| You want the official visitor centre close | Look at addresses in Ben Thanh Ward, where the centre sits (details in the section on help below). This is not a ranking of Ben Thanh Ward as a base. |
| You plan to use Metro Line 1 often | Pick a hotel with a short walk to a station you have checked on the operator's map. The line starts at Ben Thanh. |
| You will take the airport bus | The guide's two routes end in the backpacker district and at Ben Thanh Station, so a hotel near one of those stops shortens the last leg. The guide is undated. |
| Price is the main factor | Compare the same room and the same cancellation terms across listings. No official source says one area is cheaper. |
| Comfort, noise or food matter | No official page covers these. Read recent guest reviews for the exact property and look at the street on the map. |
Before you book: visa and who to call
Visa. The Vietnam e-visa site says the e-visa is valid for a maximum of 90 days, for single or multiple entry. The fee is USD 25 for single entry or USD 50 for multiple entry, and it is non-refundable if the visa is refused. E-visa holders must enter through the international border gates designated by the Government; Vietnam Tourism's e-visa page (dated as from 15 August 2023) lists Tan Son Nhat among the airports. Vietnam Tourism's home page says 45-day unilateral visa-free entry applies to travellers from 24 nations but the page text does not list them. The e-visa site's entry conditions say a traveller entering under unilateral visa exemption needs a passport valid for at least 6 months and must have been outside Vietnam for at least 30 days since the last departure. Confirm your own case with your government's travel advice and Vietnam's official pages.
At the hotel. The e-visa site says foreigners must present their passports to accommodation establishments so the temporary-residence declaration can be made. Carry your passport when you check in. It also recommends completing the online pre-arrival form before entering Vietnam.
Who to call. The Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center lists a visitor support hotline: 1022, extension 8. The Tourist Information and Support Center is at 2-9 Park, corner of Pham Ngu Lao and De Tham streets, Ben Thanh Ward. Its listed services include multilingual maps and guides, help with tours and tickets, accommodation information, and help with tourism-safety issues. Call the hotline before making a special trip. The official pages also name two other tourism offices by ward: the HCMC Department of Tourism at 201 Vo Thi Sau Street, Xuan Hoa Ward, and the Tourism Promotion Center at 292 Dien Bien Phu Street, Xuan Hoa Ward.
Need flights or a hotel quote?
If you already have your dates, you can contact us with them and ask for a quote on flights or a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.