You have questions? We've got answers!

We offer adventure tours led by women on the back of motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh City.

1. The Sights of Saigon: a fun sightseeing tour of both old and new Saigon, offering a good mixture of major attractions and lesser-known sites.
2. Saigon by Night: this exhilarating scooter tour is one of the most fun things to do in Saigon at night, combining delicious street food with a tour through 4 unique districts.
3. The XO Foodie: a gastronomic adventure that will both excite you and fill up your belly! You will be able to eat and drink without limitation (yes, unlimited servings of food and beer!). This is our most popular tour of Saigon food and the most acclaimed Saigon food tour in Vietnam!
4. Saigon Through the Lens: a photography tour of the city’s hidden corners with our resident photography expert [confirm: one part of the current site says three tours are offered, another lists four].

Because we believe that Vietnamese women are the safest drivers in the country! Not only that, we feel that the women in Vietnam are some of the hardest working but yet most underappreciated in the world!

Most of the street vendors in Vietnam are women and many of these women work from 4 am until midnight every single day! Women are involved in all aspects of Vietnamese life, from doing the daily shopping at the markets, to running the household and even the family business! They are also responsible for serving up most of the delicious Vietnamese food found in the country!

In our opinion, the best way to learn about Vietnamese life is to talk to a Vietnamese woman!

X.O. is short for “xe om”, which are motorbike taxis in Vietnam. The difference with our xe om is that all our drivers are women, fluent in English, and wearing the traditional Vietnamese dress, the áo dài.

The áo dài is a beautiful dress unique to Vietnam. When many people think of Vietnamese women, the image of the elegant áo dài often comes to mind. This traditional dress is just another small way we hope to share the beauty of Vietnamese culture with our guests.

No. We currently only offer our tours in Ho Chi Minh City. Beware of tour companies in other cities claiming to be XO Tours. These tour companies are very poorly managed and are not safe. The only place to book a legitimate XO tour is on our official website, xotours.vn.

1. XO Tours focus on Vietnamese people, the culture and the amazing Vietnamese food! Each of our tours is designed to offer you a peek into the living, working and eating habits of locals. These are meant to be immersive, so not only will you get to see parts of the city most tourists do not get to see, you will often find yourselves sitting among the locals and eating where only locals do!

2. We care about your safety! Of the many tours in Saigon, we are the only one to include accident insurance with all our tours! When you book with us, you are automatically covered for up to $10,000 per person, per tour, for any injuries that you sustain while riding on our motorbikes.

3. Our employees are highly trained. All our employees work full time and are fully focused on providing the best service. Unlike other tour operators, we do not hire student drivers. To us, it is not worth risking your safety to save a few dollars. Our guides also have the ability to communicate fluently in English, can explain how to make all the dishes you eat, and have a high understanding of Vietnamese food!

4. We go the extra distance to make your tours memorable! We take pictures of the entire journey and email them to you later for no extra cost! For a small additional fee, we also offer high definition video cameras which we can use to film and edit a fun memento of your adventure in Vietnam!

1. XO Tours is 100% legal. Many tour companies in Vietnam operate illegally. All tour operators are required by law to be licensed by VNAT (the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism) and to employ guides with international tour guide licences. Unlicensed operators place their guests at risk, because no insurance claim is likely to hold if there is an accident.

2. Insurance and safety. We provide no-fault accident insurance and hire support and security staff to ensure your safety. If you are injured you can go straight to an international hospital without preapproval or the risk of prepayment. Most cheap operators lack proper coverage.

3. Professional guides. At XO Tours we are staffed by professional, licensed tour guides, NOT students. Each of our guides must go through a rigorous interview and training course, and they work exclusively for XO Tours with no freelance arrangements.

4. Exclusivity. Our tours are exclusive. The only way to book our tours is through our website or by contacting us directly, which is how we keep quality consistent on every single tour. The difference between our tours and the cheap copycats is like night and day.

There really are no similar tours in Vietnam. That is why XO Tours is the ONLY tour operator that has been voted:

• One of the top 9 food tours in the world by Forbes
• One of the top 10 city tours in the world by USA Today
• The best food tour in Vietnam by Food & Wine
• One of the best things to do in Ho Chi Minh City by the NY Times

Our culture tour (Saigon by Night) and food tour (The XO Foodie) have completely unique itineraries and do not visit the same places the copycat tours go to. Many other motorbike tour companies will copy our tour names like “Saigon by Night” to make it sound like it is the same tour, but there is no comparison. Many guests that have joined other scooter tours say that the quality of the stops, food and professionalism at XO Tours is like night and day in comparison.

At XO Tours we do not compete on price and do not discount our tours. Our prices are fixed because our expenses are much higher than most other tour operators. Our goal is to offer the best, safest and most unique experience on motorbikes that you can get in Vietnam, and in order to achieve such a high standard we have to hire and train the best guides, offer a curated menu that you will not find anywhere else, and be able to provide unique insights about Vietnam’s culture and history that you will not find on other tours.

Do not be fooled by the copycats. They operate illegally, hire poorly trained students that they take advantage of, and are dishonest about having accident insurance. It is impossible to provide the level of quality that XO Tours provides for a cheap price without cutting corners.

1. If you are looking for a typical food tour. Unlike other food tours in Vietnam, we are not looking to serve you common Vietnamese dishes that you can find on every street corner. The XO Foodie focuses on the favourite dishes of our local staff, so it requires an openness to unfamiliar dishes. If that is not for you, XO Tours is probably not the tour for you.

2. If you are not interested in Vietnamese history. The Sights of Saigon tour emphasises historical context and how the places connect, rather than superficial sightseeing. If you find history boring, then you probably should not book this tour.

3. If you want the cheapest option. For guests that just want to drive around on a motorbike for the lowest possible price, there are many other options in Saigon to choose from. We prioritise quality over budget pricing.

NO. Our tours are exclusive and cannot be booked on any other website. Although OTAs make booking tours and activities easy for customers by offering a wide selection all on one site, they are horrible for small businesses. OTAs charge commissions of up to 35%, which forces businesses to either make almost no profit, raise their prices, or cut corners on quality. OTAs prioritise cheap experiences over quality, and our principles are the complete opposite to this. The only way to book our tours is through our website or by contacting us directly.

Yes, we offer a car/bus option if you book a private tour (minimum of 2 adults). There is a $60 USD surcharge to book a car for 2 to 4 people and an additional $5 USD per person for groups over 4 people ($60 for 4 pax, $65 for 5 pax, $70 for 6 pax, etc.). The surcharge is to cover the cost of the car/bus rental (with driver). Please keep in mind that the car/bus option is only available for private tours, and we cannot mix different transport methods (car + motorbikes), so everyone in the same group will have to use the same transport option. We also require at least 24 hours notice if you wish to join one of our tours by car/bus.

We do not offer a car/bus option for the group tours, since travelling by car/bus is much slower than by motorbike, and out of consideration for our other guests we cannot delay the tour for any single party.

Our group sizes vary depending on the tour:

1. The maximum group size for the Sights of Saigon tour is 8 people
2. The maximum group size for the Saigon by Night tour is 8 people
3. The maximum group size for the XO Foodie tour is 16 people
4. The maximum group size for the Saigon Through the Lens tour is 4 people

We do make exceptions for single large parties or corporate (MICE) groups, so please contact us if you want to book a group larger than the sizes listed above.

We welcome bookings for solo travellers on all our tours except for private tours, which require a minimum of 2 people to book. Please keep in mind that our regular tours are offered on a join-in basis, so there will usually be multiple guests going together on any given tour. See also our safety tips for solo female travellers in Vietnam.

All our tours are by default offered in ENGLISH, however we also provide an option to book a Chinese (Mandarin) OR Korean translator on our evening tours (for an additional fee). A minimum of 4 guests is required to book a translator on a group tour, or 2 guests on a private tour, and we require at least 48 hours notice.

Although we welcome last minute bookings (subject to availability), we recommend that you book your tour(s) at least 2 weeks ahead of your desired tour date, as our tours often fill up quickly.

If you are booking the Sights of Saigon tour, the booking cutoff time is 9 pm the night before the tour date. If you are booking our Saigon by Night or The XO Foodie tour, the booking cutoff time is 3 pm on the day of the tour. For last minute booking requests, please message us on WhatsApp or iMessage at +84 93308 3727.

Parties of 4 people or less that have a confirmed hotel reservation do not have to put down a deposit to book a tour. For groups of 5 guests and up, private tours, guests that book the video option, and guests that are not staying at a hotel, we require a 20% deposit in order to reserve a booking.

If you break up a larger group in order to avoid paying the deposit, we will not be able to guarantee that everyone in your party will be put in the same tour group.

We currently only accept cash payment in either Vietnamese Dong or US Dollars on the day of the tour. Bills must be in good condition without tears or markings. If you want to prepay for your tour(s) by credit card and you did not choose the online payment option at the time of booking, you can request a Onepay or PayPal invoice from us. Payment using this method can only be accepted if payment is received at least 1 day before your tour date.

Our conversion rate is 1 USD = 26,000 VND, which is favourable to guests versus the official rate. Current prices per person:

1. The Sights of Saigon: $58 or 1,508,000 VND
2. Saigon by Night: $58 or 1,508,000 VND
3. The XO Foodie: $82 or 2,132,000 VND
4. Saigon Through the Lens: $75 or 1,890,000 VND

For parties of 1 to 10 people: there is no penalty for cancelling your tour if you provide us with at least 5 days notice. Cancellations made between 1 and 4 days of your tour date will be charged a 20% cancellation fee. If you cancel on the day of your tour, there will be a 50% late cancellation charge.

For groups over 10 people: there is no penalty for cancelling your tour if you provide us with at least 2 weeks notice. Cancellations made between 8 and 13 days of your tour date will be charged a 20% cancellation fee. There will be a 50% late cancellation charge for any cancellations made within 7 days of the tour date.

No shows on the day of the tour due to flight delays, flight cancellations, or late arrival from other tours will also incur a 50% late cancellation charge.

If we cancel a tour due to bad weather and you have already paid for the tour in full or placed a tour deposit, we will refund your payment in full.

Please keep in mind that PayPal refunds exclude PayPal’s transaction fee, which varies by country and can be up to 4.5% in Vietnam. Any PayPal refunds made 6 months after a payment will also incur a $4.99 service charge, because PayPal does not allow us to issue refunds directly to a payment beyond that time.

Want to be the star of your own personal music video? We can make it happen! Our video option is a great way to capture your adventure in Vietnam with XO Tours! We film your tour and then create a fun 8 minute video with music of your choosing.

Two of our employees will follow behind you on a separate motorbike and film your entire tour. We will then choose the best parts from the video and edit it with some fun music and effects. We will email you a link to download your video (in about 2 weeks) once it is done.

You only need to book 1 video per party. Please also note that we only offer 2 videos per day, and once they are booked, the option will no longer be available. The video option requires a 20% deposit. Add 50 USD or 1,300,000 VND.

We reply to all emails and booking requests within 10 hours. Our emails are often mistakenly reported as SPAM, however, so if you have not heard back from us within 24 hours, please check your SPAM folder before sending us another email.

No. All of our guests ride pillion behind one of our driver/tour guides. Our liability insurance does not permit a guest to drive themselves. Riding pillion is a great way to relax and to safely see the city. All our female guides are fully licensed and have terrific driving records!

Driving a motorbike in Vietnam is not as dangerous as it looks. The driving speeds in the city are pretty low and most motorbike drivers are very good at avoiding each other. The most important quality we look for when we hire our employees is driving ability, so all our XO Girls are very safe drivers with excellent driving records.

Every guide is licensed, helmets are provided for every guest, and every guest is covered by XO Tours Accident Insurance.

We have made a short video showing first-time riders exactly how to sit and hold on safely as a passenger on our motorbikes. Your guide will also walk you through it before you set off. [confirm: link to the passenger safety video]

We will not argue that our female drivers are stronger than men, however it is our opinion that Vietnamese women are much more cautious, safe, and conscientious drivers in comparison to the Vietnamese men. They generally drive slower, and do not swerve in and out of traffic nor run red lights as often as you see the men do. Over 90% of the motorbike accidents we have seen involve men, not women.

All our motorbikes are late model Honda and Yamaha scooters. The engines are rated at 125cc or below, so all major travel insurance policies should cover you if you ride as a pillion passenger.

Yes, absolutely! Our girls are placed through a rigorous driving test before they are hired to ensure they are confident and capable of carrying foreigners on their motorbike. Our cutoff weight is around 130 kg or 280 lbs.

Absolutely! We take vegans and vegetarians on our tours almost daily, and prior guests love the variety and quality of the dishes we provide! Our vegan and vegetarian guests will be provided just as much food or more than other guests on the tour. Please keep in mind that our group tours mix dietary preferences, so guests that are not vegan or vegetarian will be served dishes containing meat.

If given prior notice, we can adjust the dishes on our tours to accommodate almost any food restriction, including gluten, nut and shellfish allergies. If you are allergic to fish however, we do not recommend booking our food tour, as most dishes in Vietnam are marinated with generous amounts of fish sauce. We also do not recommend booking a tour if you are allergic to MSG, as most Vietnamese dishes will contain MSG (including vegetarian dishes).

Read more in our guide to eating gluten free and other food restrictions in Vietnam.

As with food in any country, we cannot guarantee that you will not get sick while eating street food in Vietnam, but we do not believe that the risk is any greater than eating at a restaurant. At least with street food you can see how the food is prepared in front of you, whereas in a restaurant you never know the sanitary conditions in the back kitchen.

At XO Tours, we choose our food venues very carefully and make sure that they adhere to strict sanitary standards. Gratefully, very very few of our guests have ever told us they have had any ill effects after going on our tours. Read more in our post on street food culture in Saigon.

The XO Foodie Tour, as you can tell by the name, is a food tour. On this tour you will get to try 10 to 12 unique dishes that most other tours in Vietnam do not offer. We also include a couple of unique sightseeing stops on the tour.

And although you do get dinner and dessert on the Saigon by Night tour, it is NOT A FOOD TOUR. This tour focuses on Vietnamese culture. The highlight of the Saigon by Night tour is an opportunity to visit a local home, which will give you a better understanding of how the locals live, work and eat.

The itineraries for both the XO Foodie and Saigon by Night tours are unique and do not overlap.

Over 95% of the scooter tour operators in Vietnam run their tours illegally. XO Tours is fully licensed, our guides are trained professionals, the dishes we serve are curated and not found on other tours, and we have a team of support staff that follow every tour to manage traffic and keep our guests safe. Guests that have gone on other Vietnam food tours and The XO Foodie Tour always tell us that the difference is like night and day!

Not at all. Our day and night tours offer completely different experiences. The Sights of Saigon tour mainly takes place in Districts 1 and 3, where most of the popular tourist attractions are located. Our XO Foodie Tour takes you to 5 other districts that most tourists do not often get a chance to see, while the XO Saigon by Night Tour covers 4 districts! For a comprehensive overview of Ho Chi Minh City, we recommend booking a combination of tours.

The Central Post Office, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Reunification Palace (outside only), the Secret CIA Building, Tan Dinh Market, the Burning Monk Memorial, Ho Thi Ky Flower Market, the Hidden Weapons Arsenal and the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda.

Yes! We design our tours to be suitable for guests of all ages, and take children on our tours regularly. Parents trust XO Tours to offer the safest possible experience for their children because our drivers are the best in the business! We are also the first motorbike tour company to provide accident insurance for all our guests!

Children 7 years and younger are allowed to share a single motorbike with one of our drivers and another adult. Children 8 years and older must sit on a separate motorbike with their own driver, as required by Vietnamese law.

We only charge $30 for children sharing a motorbike, however children 8 years and older are charged the same rate as other guests.

In our experience children enjoy our evening tours much more than our morning city tour, because the weather in the evening is much cooler, and the evening tours focus more on culture and food, which is much more interesting to most children than history.

We love children and they love XO Tours! Watch the video to see how much fun kids have on our tours.

We run our tours rain or shine and only cancel if the road conditions are too dangerous to continue. If it is raining heavily before the tour starts, we may delay the start time by 30 to 60 minutes and will notify your hotel. We provide free high quality rain ponchos for all our guests.

If it starts to rain heavily during the tour and we have to cancel, then we will flag down a taxi to get you back to your hotel safely. You will only be charged for the time you spent on the tour.

The rainy season runs roughly from June to November, when there are typically daily afternoon showers. Most guests enjoy their tours despite the rain. If you do not want to go on a tour in rainy conditions, we would recommend not booking a motorbike tour in Vietnam.

You should wear comfortable clothes because Saigon is usually hot, however women should not wear skirts or dresses. As a precaution, please leave necklaces, dangly earrings and other easily stolen jewellery at your hotel. It is also recommended that you do not use your camera while riding on the motorbike. Our guides will stop for photos.

We only offer pickup service in Districts 1, 3, 4 and 5 (some exclusions apply). For guests staying outside of our pickup area, we kindly request that you meet us at the Saigon Opera House in District 1 for the start of your tour(s).

We also do not currently offer airport pickup or drop-off service.

The only ship port that we offer pickup and drop-off service at is Nha Rong Port in District 4. If your ship docks at any other port (including Phu My Port, which is about 2 hours away), then we kindly request that you meet us at the Saigon Opera House in District 1 for the start of your tour(s).

Many travellers come to Vietnam not knowing they need a visa and are then denied entry at the airport, which can be extremely stressful and end up costing a lot of money. MOST TRAVELLERS WILL NEED A VISA TO ENTER VIETNAM. There are only 25 countries that have a visa exemption agreement with Vietnam, and many exemptions only allow a stay of 45 days. The day you arrive and the day you leave both count, so a 45 day exemption allows 44 nights.

For citizens of countries not on the visa exemption list, you will need to obtain a visa before travelling to Vietnam. Most travellers to Vietnam can get an E-Visa, which is valid for a maximum of 90 days and costs $25 USD. We recommend applying at least 1 week before your travel date because it takes at least 3 business days to process. There is only one official site to get the E-Visa: https://evisa.gov.vn/. Third-party sites charge extra fees.

Read our comprehensive guide to Vietnam visas.