The Hai Ba Trung street bars in Ho Chi Minh City offer the easiest access to sexy women in the area, but customers will pay. The bars staff numerous women who are up for spending time with guys for money. But they don’t go cheap.
Hai Ba Trung is a main road that stretches through the middle of Ho Chi Minh City. It is interspersed with a number of bars staffed with six to twenty-four women, most of whom are extremely attractive and well dressed. They are petite as you would expect, but many have amazing racks to go along with their pretty faces. And most of them are pretty sweet and equally good in the sack, which is further complimented by their ages which usually range from nineteen to twenty five.
Hostess bars on Hai Ba Trung
The bars are easy to find, hidden in plain sight as it were. The names match the location. So “91” is located at 91 Hai Ba Trung, “51” is at 51 Hai Ba Trung, etc. Not too difficult, right? You can reach any of these bars by taxi, motortaxi, or on foot. The street numbering in Vietnam is ordered and rational, which can’t always be said for other countries in Asia. Hai Ba Trung is big, open, and relatively safe too.
The bars all work on the same general principle. You walk in, pick a hostess or two to talk to, buy her a drink or two, then either get busy on location or head out for either short time or long time off premises.
These bars are nothing like the bear bars in Thailand, and are only a little like the hostess bars in Cambodia. Here the girls are often more inexperienced and there are fewer customers. At least that it is how it appears in general.
Inside the hostess bars
Some of the more unattractive women and hustlers in the bar have a reputation for milking money out of guys. If they spot a mark they are quick to rush over. They do things like rubbing crotch through pants. This gets blood pumping and guys are soon buying dozens of overpriced lady drinks, paying $10 USD for a bowl of bar peanuts, and maybe even heading to a back room to bang a girl who isn’t even hot, if they bang at all.
But guys who walk in with a level head usually get much better treatment. They know not to spend much time on women they aren’t interest in. Instead they order a drink and ask for a lineup of the available women. Almost every bar will provide this. The lights will usually be turned up and the girls face the bar. You can then pick the one you’d like to sit with. Of course they expect lady drinks for their time.
Your drinks should be about 30,000 Dong ($1.45 USD). A lady drink should be about 50,000. Usually this will all be rounded up into the barfine of around 300,000 dong ($14.50 USD) anyway. Kissing, groping and roaming is all permitted and common inside of these bars. But the women usually take the lead. Because there are women who aren’t interested.
Bowls of snacks can be put out but they can cost upwards of five dollars. Sometimes the ladies will offer to play pool with you too. If they win you give them 10 dollars. If you win, they show you their tits.
Barfines and costs
They women usually say yes when asked to barfine. The Vietnamese are known for their custom of negotiation. Expect girls to start high. The normal short time session price at these bars is $50-100 US not counting the barfine. Long time of course costs more than short time. When prices are given in Vietnamese Dong they usually come out lower than the US Dollar quotes.
After you pick a girl and pay your fee to the bar, your lady will slip a very plain cover over her dress and then head out to a taxi. They know hotels to visit where local women can join foreign guys. These usually run $25-30. Not only is prostitution against the law in Vietnam, it’s also against the law for a Vietnamese national to be in a hotel room with a foreigner unless they are married. This is actually sometimes enforced, and most hotels follow suit. There are exceptions in the form of the a href=”http://www.rockitrecommends.com/guest-friendly-hotels-in-ho-chi-minh-city/a-rundown-of-guest-friendly-hotels-in-ho-chi-minh-city/” target=”_blank”>guest friendly hotels in Ho Chi Minh City.
Bars are located at 91, 51, 49, 37 and 35 Hai Ba Trung. There are also a few more on nearby streets. Saigon NY is at the corner of Dong Du and Hai Ba Trung. Thien Loc is at the corner of Hai Ba Truong and Mac Thi Buoi.
Bar 29 at 29 Dong Khoi street often offers oral action right on premises. Though the women who work there tend to be a little less beautiful. Hot Toc shops like Ben Ny’s charge a lot less and specialize in similar services.
Bar 91 is the biggest of all and is often said to have the best selection of girls. I don’t think that’s necessarily true. Besides they are the worst at service and they like to hustle. I prefer other bars for that reason.
Getting laid in Ho Chi Minh City can be a little bit of a task even for those willing to pay for it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a difficult quest. But it takes a little more doing than in nearby cities like Bangkok and Phnom Penh.
Sure there are hot tocs, massage parlors, and even clubs filled with freelancers who charge more than the bar girls while looking a lot less attractive. But there are obstacles.
Since the Hai Ba Trung bars are so easy and upfront, they can be rather stress free, especially for new visitors. I would guess that most punters who are attentive and able to keep their wits about them would normally have a good time, even if they have to spend a little extra than they might elsewhere.
Note: Most of the bars mentioned here closed. I published an updated report on the Ho Chi Minh City hostess bars in 2014.
Great report. I plan to head to HCM City this new year. Thanks for the heads up as I have learned it can be alot of work filled with scams to hook up with girls there. Take care and great site.
This report was written a while ago and there have been some changes. Be sure to read my other reports on Vietnam, like the recent one on the major crackdown that occurred. Cheers.
Hey, are these bars still operating?
Most seem to be back in operation. Cheers.
Dear Rockit,
I read one of your article which mentioned a list of “guest friendly” hotel in Ho Chi Minh city. Can you kindly let me know the list again. I plan to visit the city very soon.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks,
Tony
Hi Tony. Thanks for the comment. To answer your question, check out the short list here: http://www.rockitrecommends.com/guest-friendly-hotels-in-ho-chi-minh-city/a-rundown-of-guest-friendly-hotels-in-ho-chi-minh-city/
Only #91 is open now on hai ba trung…all the rest closed. Two sisters is still open as is Thien Loc.
Where can I find updated info I will be there early December 2014…ty
Back in August I made a new report on Ho Chi Minh City hostess bars. Cheers.
Update on the hbt bars. First, really appreciate the info. Prices are up slightly, but not that bad, however everyone’s asking for tips beyond whats negotiated. I went twice. First time was great; spent around 110 inclusive of bar fees, tips, losing a game of billards (im pretty good at it and i still got hustled), and tipping the doorman at my hotel. Girl was charming, stayed an hour. I should mention that the madams and staff are not that friendly.
Second time was outright bad. I told the madam I’m looking for take out, she nodded and i picked from the lineup. 20 mins and some drinks later, the girl i was with told me she doesnt do take out, and in fact nobody in the bar does. But i think what really happened was that most of the girls already had business for the night, and some girls legitimately are only sit-in; but they lied to me to get me to spend money. Anyway i left, but not before she demanded high tips. They tried to charge me 30,000 for drinks, or the takeout fee, and i refused and made them take it down to what it should be, after a bitter argument with the bartender. Definitely boycotting this place from now on.
I dont think these people understand that they get so much more from repeat business rather than a few quick bucks pulling a fast one.
Pains me to be the bearer of bad news but there it is. I found a much better place wandering around later with honest people and good service and girls on the same/better quality as hbt, but like OP shall keep quiet on it so it doesnt end up like hbt.
Hbt 91*
Would you share the place you found to me? And any other spots where we can hook up girls? prices as well,would apreciate taht effort,mate!
Thanks for the info. Will take everything with a grain of salt since things can change so quickly. Looking forward to a mind-blowing time!
Hey man, thank to your great website.
Do you know where i can get a oil or soapy massage in HCMC?
Thank you very much, I will really appreciate it.
Thanks for the comment. There are no soapy facilities that I know of. There are a lot of options for happy ending and even full service around town but there is an unfortunate climate about that limits their abilities to publicize themselves. Cheers!
Too bad :(
I’m aware of the happy ending place, and it seems that your favorite is Ben Ny’s so I ill take a look.
Do you have any best place for full service?
Thanks again!
Ben Ny’s isn’t my favorite but it’s one of the most well known. I haven’t posted any specific info since the crackdown last year that I reported on this site. I hope you can understand. Cheers.
Of course I understand.
Thanks man!
so in a nutshell, is there any sure way of p4p in Vietnam, im planning to go next month but so much so im planning to tag on my last two days in Thailand and make sure I get some. how do escorts in Vietnam work, ive searched but found very little so far.
Hi. I plan to do an updated report on the hostess bars and a general report on the city sometime soon. There are many Vietnamese escort services advertising online but they come and go and few have any reliable reviews. There is definitely action around but it can be difficult for visitors to find. The main haunts of foreigners seem to be full service massage parlors near the airport, hostess bars and areas of freelancer activity like Apocalypse Now and Crazy Buffalo. There are also numerous spas around town offering happy endings and many babershops offering special services. See the “Sex in Ho Chi Minh City” category of this site for all the info currently available. Cheers.
I just thought I’d relate my experience in Hai Ba Trung a few night’s ago. Let me just say from the off that I don’t go round looking for bargains and regularly tip ladies and I usually dislike most punter sites for that reason. So if you’re easily offended by somebody who likes pay extra for great services then don’t read on.
I went there without knowing that these bars are mostly hidden. At least that it what it looked like to me. So I went there not knowing the numbers quoted here – 91, 51, 49, 37 and 35 or whatever – off the top of my head so I therefore can’t say whether those establishments are still there or not, all I can say is that I didn’t see them.
The only two places that visibly contained ladies were Thiên Loe on the corner of Hai Ba Trung and Mac Thi Buoi one block up from the roundabout as well as the other one on the next block up Saigon NY at the corner of Dong Du and Hai Ba Trung that’s mentioned above.
I went to Thiên Loe (you can see it on Google Street View) spent a bit but it was totally worth it.
As soon as I sat down one lady asked to sit with me. I asked for a line-up but she didn’t know or pretended to not know what I was talking about.
I had 2 beers and I may have bought 5 lady drinks. We had one game of pool. No tits or $10. Bill was I think around 300,000D. I was told to tip her (I think another 300,000D) and did a session in the toilet which consisted of oral sex, etc., but I wasn’t really into it.
She said she couldn’t go with me until 1am when the bar closed. I told her I didn’t want to hang around. So she took my number and said she’d come round to my hotel. She was 21. No problems getting her in the hotel. She left her card in reception.
Very good long time service. 2,500,000D.
First time in Vietnam. So happy I came. But scant info online.
Thanks for the report. This post was made in 2013. I made a newer post on the hostess bars in 2014 after many were closed in a crackdown that I also reported on. In the comments of the newer post on hostess bars someone mentioned Thien Loc. Cheers.
Comments have been closed on this post because an updated report was published for 2014 at https://rockitreports.com/the-hostess-bars-of-ho-chi-minh-city/