Photos: Ho Chi Minh City by trungydang, CC BY 3.0, cropped; Plovdiv by Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
Ho Chi Minh City or Plovdiv?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Ho Chi Minh City for
- food and drink
- nightlife
- shopping
What lies behind each score is written up on Ho Chi Minh City’s own page.
Choose Plovdiv for
- nature and the outdoors
- getting around
- day trips
What lies behind each score is written up on Plovdiv’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Ho Chi Minh City and Plovdiv.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on food and drink and nightlife with your weighting.
Wins on nature and the outdoors and getting around with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Ho Chi Minh City in July
Plovdiv in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Ho Chi Minh City has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Plovdiv has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Plovdiv's sunshine is measured 75 km from the centre, at Kurdjali.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Ho Chi Minh City: 1991-2020 normals, Ho Chi Minh (6 km from centre). Plovdiv: 1997-2020 (sunshine 1991-2020, rainfall 1991-2020) normals, Plovdiv (1.2 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Ho Chi Minh City | Plovdiv |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Vietnamese | Bulgarian |
| Currency | Dong (VND) | Euro (EUR) |
| Sockets | ACFG220 V, 50 Hz | CF230 V, 50 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC+7 | UTC+2, UTC+3 in summer |
| Emergency number | Police 113, ambulance 115, fire 114 | 112 |
| Elevation | 13 m | 172 m |
| Main airport | Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN)7 km from centre90 non-stop destinations | Plovdiv International Airport (PDV)12 km from centre8 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | - | 15 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Ho Chi Minh City | Plovdiv |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 14,002,598 | 333,994 |
| People per km² | 2,068 | 3,274 |
| Museums within 10 km | 9 | 18 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 0 | 0 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 12 months | - |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Ho Chi Minh City or Plovdiv somewhere new.