Ultimate Review: Vung Tau Ho May Park – Is It Worth It?
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Wonder whether to spend a day in Vung Tau for this signature amusement park? You are in the right place.
For most of the HCMC second-time traveller like me, Vung Tau is the best place to further extend your itinerary after the main attractions in the city and the Cu Chi tunnel.
This is the ultimate Vung Tau Ho May Park review to go through the amusements, cultural exhibitions, ecological park, and multiple sessions of the theme park based on first-hand experience.
Ho May Park is the city’s signature theme park. It is a 100-hectare park located on the top of Nui Lon’s peak, connected by cable cars. However, unlike the Vinwonders chain in Vietnam, it is quite underrated, with limited information online. So, most tourists are not aware of this attraction.
Because of that, my friends and I were basically the only group of tourists during our last visit. In case you wonder whether the park is worth going to, as I did. This blog post is for you to plan your visit there.
The Park Built On The Hill
Ho May Park is the largest theme park in Vung Tau built on a hill. It offers thrill rides, animal encounters, cultural experiences and multiple live performances. It also offers accommodation package, although I would recommend you to stay in the city instead.
What Is Ho May Park?
Ho May Park is a hybrid local park, similar to Suoi Tien’s theme park in Ho Chi Minh City. In short, you can enjoy thrill rides, water parks, cultural exhibitions, and wildlife encounters there. Unlike Suoi Tien or most of the other theme parks in Asia, like Bangkok Safari World, HK Ocean Park, or even HK Disneyland, the park offers accommodation inside the park area.
On top of the park’s supreme location of being on the hill, it offers you a very special local park experience.
Opening Times:
In general, the park opening hours are as below,
- Weekdays (Sunday – Thursday): 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM
- Weekends (Friday – Saturday) and Holidays: 8:00 AM – 10:00 PM
- Entertainment Game Area: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Although the opening hours are extremely long (over 12 hours even for weekdays, you probably need far less time for the park. For example, I arrived at the Park around 930 am during my last visit and left before 5 pm last time.
With the high average temperature in Vung Tau, it could be challenging to spend 12 hours in the theme park. Also, as I visited during weekdays last time, the park is relatively empty (where there are more staff than visitors), and there is no queue at every ride. This saved me a lot of time and offered me lots of fun.
Additionally, the night show with live music only performs on Saturday, so there is not much reason to stay in the park after ~ 6 pm.
Entrance Ticket
From the official website, there are 5 types available, including.
- Package 1: Cable Car ticket + Breakfast + Royal Garden at ~ 150k VND (~ 6 USD)
- Package 2: Ho May Park Entertainment Package at ~ 500k VND (~ 20 USD)
- Package 3: Ho May 2 Days 1 Night Vacation and Entertainment at ~ 900k VND (~ 36 USD)
- Package 4: Hotel Resort and Sightseeing Combo at ~ 700k VND ( ~ 28 USD)
- Package 5: Saturday Live Performance Ticket (entrance after 7:30 pm) at ( ~ 8 USD)
For first-time visitors, I recommend buying the package would be sufficient. First, the ticket already includes all the entertainment in the park, including the cable car ride and the night show (if it is Saturday). Second, I wouldn’t want to stay in the park overnight, as I would rather spend more time on other attractions in Vung Tau city.
Most of the tourists would stay in Vung Tau for 3 days. Instead of taking the hassle to move around, I would just book the same hotel in the city. So packages 3 or 4 are more fun for those who are taking a short escape from Ho Chi Minh City, rather than first-time visitors like us.
Package 1 and 5 doesn’t really make sense for just taking the cable car, enjoying breakfast and back or going there just for the live show. The best part of the park is its attractions and variety, which I will deep dive below.
Booking The Ticket In Advance
To skip the line for ticket purchase, there are multiple platforms, including Trip.com, Klook, and Viator offer booking of tickets in advance. For Trip.com and Klook, it even offers the option to purchase the night show only.
Buying the ticket in advance, not only allow you to skip the queue on the day of visit. The ticket price also tends to be 5 to 10% cheaper than the official price. For example, at the time of writing, the full day entertainment package if ~ 20 USD on the official website, while it is only ~ 17 USD of Trip.com.
I prebooked the ticket via Trip.com during my last visit and just needed to show the QR code at the ticket entrance.
Skip The Line With Lower Price
The best ticket option for Ho May Park is the full day ticket with access to all attractions and a live show. The official price is ~ 20 USD, where it is cheaper and faster to book via an online travel agency.
The Park Map
From the park map above, there are over 60 points of attraction in the Park. For easy navigation, the activities are grouped into 5 categories namely “amusement”, “ecological-entertainment”, “cultural”, “accommodation-conference” and “restaurants”.
For travelers like us, only the first 3 categories matter. So I will run this through with your one by one.
“Amusement”: The Top 10 Rides In Ho May Park
In terms of technology level, Ho May Park is far below most of the theme parks around the world or even Vietnam. For example, there is no automatic roller coaster, dragon boat or tall drop tower in the park. Instead, it offers more “manual” thrilling experiences that you wouldn’t have in other theme parks. The below are the top 10 rides, we recommend.
- Alpine Coaster: A mountain-hugging coaster that’s equal parts scenic and exhilarating. You can control the speed of your coaster with the crank. Although it looks slow, you will feel a great deal of gravity when you crank it to the max.
- Ultimate Slide: A high-speed dry tube slide on an artificial slope.
- Zipline Coaster: Taking the zipline from one end to the other end with gears provided.
- Drift King: F1 karting with no additional charge, noting that in other places it will take you more than 20 USD for a ride.
- Bumper Car: Classic fun where I had a blast crashing into friends. The bumping is surprisingly strong.
- Curve Zipline: Similar to the Zipline coaster, instead of going straight the path will be curved from top to bottom.
- Tarzan Game: This one is probably the most unique one I have ever seen in a theme park. You will be equipped with safety gears and locks. Then you will need to go through a set of maze on top. I took me more than 30 minutes to solve the first level and it is physically demanding.
- Paintball: Free paintball games with gun, bullets, and clothes included. This game alone would cost you more than 20 USD outside. Unfortunately, it was closed during my last visit.
- 7D Cinema: A small 4D cinema that offers an short 4D movie in air-conditioned room
- Drop Tower: A small but still existing drop tower.
Don’t Forget The Water Park
Other than the top 10 rides, the ticket also included water park facility. However, this is probably the smallest water park I have ever seen. To give you an idea ranking from largest to smallest, it would be Dubai Aquaventure > HK Ocean Park > Nha Trang Vinwonders Water Park > Suoi Tien HCMC Theme Park > Ho May Water Park.
The park only includes 3 water slides, 2 Jacuzzi pools, and one leisure pool. Despite so, it is still good to have a beer nearby (cheap at ~ 40k VND only (less than 2 USD). Also, the waterslides were surprisingly thrilling.
The Amusements Alone Would Be Worth The Ticket
Not counting, there are more attractions in the park. The amusement alone would be worth more than the 500k VND (~ 20 USD) ticket price. For example, a ride of Drift King or Zipline could already be over 20 USD. Not to mention, you can take those rides unlimited times.
Value Far Beyond The Price
The park’s entrance ticket is ~ 20 USD, where you have access to all the amusement items with unlimited times. It is the best valued theme park because a standalone item, for example paintball or Go-kart, could already cost more than 20 USD in other places.
Ethical Ecological Park
The ecological park is surprisingly the most ethical one I have ever seen in South East Asia, as compared to Bangkok Safari World, Saigon Zoo, and the mini zoo in Suoi Tien Theme Park. It is a 50-hectare forest with sufficient space for each type of animal. During my last visit, there will be sheeps wondering freely and poking me. Meanwhile, I would see small boars, birds, and deer wandering around in a fenceless environment. Not to mention, the ducks also swim freely in the lake.
Other than that, I also got a chance to feed the ostriches which I have never done before. Even the area with ring fence, the animals like camels there all seem to be having a good time. It is a great animal encounter experience I have in South East Asia so far.
Cultural Exhibition
The cultural side of Ho May Park is a deep dive into Vietnamese heritage. This is part of the park initiatives to introduce cultural experience to the customer. To me, it was great to have multiple IG photos points.
Key attractions include:
- Happy Buddha Statue: A massive Maitreya statue symbolizing peace, it’s a must-see for photos. It is also the signature backdrop for the park.
- Ho May Temple: A tranquil spot for reflection, steeped in spiritual significance.
- Buddha History Cave: Offers insights into Buddhist teachings with vivid displays.
- Love Garden: Showcases local love stories, adding a romantic touch.
- Flag Tower: The best spot for panoramic views of Vung Tau’s coastline and mountains.
Other Shows
Other than the live music performance every Saturday night, the parks also have below shows. However, they were not impressive in my opinion,
- Water Show: A water show featuring lights, music, and water jets. It is only on Saturday, per my last visit.
- Magic Show: Daily at 11:30 AM on the central stage, perfect for kids.
- Circus Show: At 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM daily, featuring trained dogs performing multiple tasks.
Other Park Facilities
Navigating Ho May Park is a breeze thanks to its thoughtful facilities:
- Cable Car Services: For you to enter the park from the ferry station of Vung Tau and exit the park. On the way you can enjoy the landscape of the city.
- Train Service: Runs from the cable car station to the 7D Fulldome Theatre, saving your legs.
- Tourist Kart Service: Included in the ticket, this kart zips you around the park’s key areas.
- Restaurants: Affordable dining with beer at ~40,000 VND and meals under 50,000 VND. Try local dishes for a true Vung Tau places to eat experience.
- Food and Water Policy: No free water is provided, so bring your own. The park doesn’t check for outside food or drinks, which is a budget-saver.
It Is Worth Your Visit
With all the attractions and unique experiences, it only costs you less than 20 USD. It is one of the most worth visiting parks in the world and is a hidden gem in Vietnam, given its low popularity (meaning less crowded). Book now for your visit !.
Is Ho May Park Worth Visiting?
Vung Tau Ho May Park is not an advanced park like Vinwonders and Disneyland. It is more like a local park as one of the escapes from the Vietnamese. Despite its scale, it offers a set of very unique amusements where a standalone item could have a market value that outweighs the whole ticket price at ~ 20 USD. The ethical eco-park provides additional value on top of that. Together with the affordable beer & food and other facilities, the park is surely worth its price.
During my last visit, I would rather spend half or full day on the park than going to the local beaches which most of them are relatively polluted. I would recommend you to do the same, if you choose to visit Vung Tau.
