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...

  • Markets

    These aren't town and city markets with meat and veggies for sale — these are genuine country markets, with livestock trading and myriad handcrafted homewares and...

  • 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...

  • Fishing along with fisherman

    For those who want to experience to be a fisherman, go on a fishing day on Danang sea, it’s interesting experience both you have a quiet day blending into the nature of...

  • Exploring Bac Lieu salt fields

    The salt fields in Bac Lieu have existed for a long time and provide a huge of salt for the Mekong Delta . The salt fields are divided into squares and rows with full...

  • Take a leisure walk

    Come to Hoi An, home back to the last century. The town was used for two hundred years as one of Vietnam’s most important trading ports. It had been occupied by the...

  • Discovery Mekong Delta by boat

    The best way to discovery Mekong Delta is taking a boat and go around to see the local life and daily activities in the river and canals. Moreover, you can also enjoy the...

  • Buy a Souvenir That Will Last a Lifetime – Art!

    I won’t lie… we were sucked in. In the Old Quarter you will see many galleries packed to the brim with stacks of paintings. For the  most part, they are all...

  • Go Fishing in Ba Be Lake

    Go fishing in Ba Be lake is an interesting and relax activities in Ba Be lake. You can enjoy this outdoor activity with local people on Doc Moc boat which is a unique boat...

  • Try fresh fruits in local garden

    Mekong Delta is famous with laden fruit orchard along the river. So, visiting some local garden and try some fresh and sweet fruits become one of the most popular thing that...

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