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

  • 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...

    Read more

  • Puku 24 Hour Cafe

    If you’re venturing out to Sapa , chances are you’ll be arriving back from an overnight train at the godawful hour of 4:30 in the morning. You can’t check...

    Read more

  • 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...

    Read more

  • Spend one night at Hang En

    Hang En is one of the most three largest caves in the world, only after Son Doong and Deer. Hang En was discovered in 1994 and rapidly became an impressive attraction in the...

    Read more

  • Sip a Cocktail and Enjoy the View at Saigon Skydeck

    It’s hard to get a true appreciation for the scale of HCMC without seeing it from up above. You could just pay to go up to the tourist deck, or… you could skip...

    Read more

  • Trekking Cuc Phuong National Park

    Cuc Phuong National Park is Vietnam’s largest national park and one of the most important sites for biodiversity in the country. Trekking Cuc Phuong National Park is a...

    Read more

  • Exploring Thoi Long craft village

    Each region has unique culture, lifestyle, tradition and craft that express the characteristic of local people. Thoi Long craft village is one of the most famous craft...

    Read more

  • 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...

    Read more

  • 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...

    Read more

  • Top 10 things to do in Hanoi

    We recommend the 10 things you should do before leaving Hanoi.

    Read more

Destinations

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