Haggle for bargains in Ben Thanh market

Ben Thanh market is one of the more exciting places to visit in Ho Chi Minh City. It’s a chance to truly get stuck in with the locals and test your bargaining skills. It’s a very different experience if you get used to fixed priced items that the idea of bargaining never comes to mind but after visiting a few markets, you almost start to limber up at the prospect of haggling your way through amazing bargains. 

 

Ben Thanh market, located in District 1 across from the bus station, is probably the best known. It is especially popular in the evening and at night, when food vendors set up stalls and locals and tourists alike gather to eat and shop.

Ben Thanh is possibly more regulated, so you may have to worry less about knock-offs or price gouging. That said, you should always be wary of knock-offs and gouging.

Shopping inside the market will require you to practise the art of bargaining and, as they commonly deal with unsuspecting tourists, the vendors at Ben Thanh are pros. A common practice is to inflate prices to double or triple their actual value, meaning you must work the price down to get a reasonable deal. A quick tip in bargaining at Ben Thanh is to cruise the outer ring of the market, where all stalls are fixed priced and most items are actually marked with a price tag. This will give you a good idea of what a moderate price will be when you go inside to haggle.



Bartering is the way to shop here, so jump right in, offer a price that you think is fair, and have fun. Be extra careful if prices are absent or not clearly marked – that goes for everything, everywhere, every time.

See more

  • Take a Cooking Class

    I’m a big believer that one of the best souvenirs you can take home from your travels is a new skill. Being able to cook some of your favourite dishes when you get home...

  • a Sapa homestay

    When travelling to Sapa you’ll be faced with an array of treks to choose from and one decision you’ll need to make is whether to do a trek that includes a...

  • Learn How Women Do It All at the Women’s Museum

    Let’s just say that the Vietnamese Women’s Museum blew my mind. What I didn’t realize going into it was how drastically different many of the minority...

  • Visit a French Cafe

    The best part of the French influence has survived in Hanoi… the food. I love that in Hanoi you can walk around one corner and eat a bowl of Pho, but also treat...

  • Experience Hanoi Weekend Night Market

    Spending the day time to explore and admire the stunning and beautiful landscapes and cultural and historical heritage sites in Hanoi , taking your night time to take part...

  • A tale of two day treks in Sapa

    Trekking is one of the main activities to do around Sapa. But which one is the right one for you to do? We checked out two different day treks to narrow down your options.

  • Cat Cat Village & Falls

    There's no real consensus on what to call the falls; some call them the Cat Cat Falls (Cat Cat is just the Vietnamese transliteration of the word cascade) while others...

  • Visiting Ba Be national park

    Visiting Ba Be national park is one of the most things that you should do when traveling to Bac Kan province. Ba Be national park has a diversification of flora and fauna so...

  • Peddle Boat the West Lake like a … swan?

    The West Lake is a little less packed with tourists than Hoam Kiem Lake, I assume based purely on the distance from the Old Quarter. One of the neat things about West Lake is...

  • Bike tour to countryside

    Bicycles can be hired all around Hoi An but if you want to have a safe and active Hoi An cycling tour then you will need to be guided by an local expert. This is the best...

Most popular tours

Business info

  • Vietnam Local Guide

  • Address: 18th Floor, VTC Online Tower, 18 Tam Trinh Str.,Hai Ba Trung Dist., Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Email: info@vietnamguider.com
  • Phone: (+84) 0904989890
  • Hotline: (+84) 0904989890