Gay Guide to Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam has never criminalised same-sex relationships. In 2015 it lifted its ban on same-sex wedding ceremonies, although the state still does not recognise those marriages, and in 2022 the Ministry of Health told medical workers that being LGBTQ+ is not an illness and cannot be "cured".
Ho Chi Minh City, still widely called Saigon, has the country's biggest scene, centred in District 1 around Đề Thám and Bùi Viện, the streets of the backpacker quarter. Thi Bar at 224 Đề Thám, run by a French-Vietnamese couple since 2010, is the fixture, with live music most nights. Frolic, further along the same street, does drag and themed party nights, and ChinChin on Hồ Tùng Mậu pulls a young crowd for pop, EDM and drag.
The city's saunas and men's spas are spread out. Sauna69 in Tân Định and De.soi9, set around a garden off Đinh Tiên Hoàng, are run by the same team, while NaDam, out on the northern edge of the city in Thủ Đức, is known for its wooden walkways over a koi pond. 3 Some Spa is closer in, on Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm in District 1.
Parties come and go quickly here. Full Disclosure throws a monthly night of drag, live music and DJs in Thảo Điền, the expat neighbourhood across the Saigon River.
VietPride began in 2012 and grew into parades in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, but in September 2025 organisers cancelled the Saigon parade on Nguyễn Huệ walking street two days before it was due, citing external reasons. Check the organisers' own channels before planning a trip around it.