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
-
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...
-
.jpg)
Dining in a cave
Coming to Halong Bay, you should never miss a unique activity, dining in a cave. There are few cruises offering this feature on their trips. The crew members will prepare a...
-
Mekong Delta by Vespa!
When most people hear Vespa, they think about Italy. Not in Saigon! Vespa Adventures can take you out on tour to the lush Mekong Delta, or if you’d rather stay in the...
-
Make Up Your Own Mind About the Hanoi Hilton
Hoa Lo Prison, better known to Westerners as the Hanoi Hilton, is definitely a polarizing and confusing place. All the signage and displays point to the prison having been a...
-
Explore the Mosaic Wall
We discovered the mosaic wall from our taxi, zipping along the Yen Phu major roadway. It was a patchwork quilt of ceramic tiles creating little scenes, both from history and...
-
Sapa Museum
The museum is housed in an attractive stilt house with a static exhibit upstairs which runs uninspiringly through the history of the Sapa region before moving on to some...
-
.jpg)
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...
-
.jpg)
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.
-
Slide sand dunes
Sand Dunes in Phan Thiet are very famous not only with domestic tourists but also foreign tourist. And on the sand dunes, the most exciting thing to do is taking a sand...
-
Visiting Coi Nguon Museum
Traveling to Phu Quoc , you not only enjoy the outdoor activities on the beach but also you can visit many historical relics. And Coi Nguon museum is a private famous museum...
Destinations
Most popular tours
-
Sapa Adventure
Price from: 355 US$
-
Vietnam Family Adventure
Price from: 1.320 US$
-
Discovery North of Viet Nam
Price from: 460 US$
-
Charm of Vietnam
Price from: 900 US$
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