Gyms in Saigon / Gyms in Ho Chi Minh

Welcome to my page on Gyms in Ho Chi Minh. I hope you’re enjoying the chaos here – I got high from crossing roads when I first arrived and started doing it for the adrenaline buzz! Hope you’ll enjoy the same experience as you make your way to and from your workouts at the gyms here.

Here I’ll do a brief description of each gym in Saigon I visited, compare them and make some recommendations to you, depending on your budget, location and training preferences.

Feel free to click on each gym for a full description of its facilities, images, details of opening times and location, as well as a full review.

Here are all the Saigon gyms I visited here, in price order, with the most expensive daily rate first. All of these are in district 1, with the exception of MMA Gym, which is is just outside it, in district 3. I visited a total of ten gyms, which varied widely in cost and facilities.

At the time of writing, the exchange rates are as follows.

US$1 = VND 23 094,   €1 = VND 25 784,   AU$1 = VND 16 065,   £1 = VND 30 295

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High-End Gyms in Ho Chi Minh

1. California Centuryon District 1 – VND 400k.

As its price tag suggests, this is an elite gym and it’s part of a larger chain. If you value fancy decor, top of the range, modern machinery, well-functioning aircon (who doesn’t?), a good studio timetable, spacious workout areas and even a boxing section in the gym, you’ll feel at home here. You can even rent a bright white towel for an extra VND 15k. But before you get too excited, think how congested the streets are in Saigon, and transfer that into a gym. Admittedly I went at busy time (late afternoon), but I just found there were far too many people here! Easy to see why it’s popular, but battling to get on equipment isn’t my idea of a fun workout. By all means go, but choose your time carefully.

2. Elite Fitness Dong Khoi

Another top chain in Vietnam, Elite Fitness wins over California Fitness for me. The staff are friendlier and more accommodating  – resulting in me joining this club in Danang. Elite Fitness Dong Khoi is a superb club, well-located in Vincom Center. Here you’ll find top of the range modern gym equipment, 3 studios including a yoga and Spinning studio and a jam-packed timetable. You’ll also get 2 free towels upon check in, each visit. The facilities are all on one floor and the aircon works well – this club is a pleasure to use.

3. Jetts Vietnam HCMC – VND 300k a day, 699k for the first month (usually 999k)

Yay, it’s Jetts! The Aussie chain has made it to Vietnam! Its facilities are up to standard too – everything is modern, the gym is fully airconditioned and you’ll recognise all the branding if you’re familiar with Jetts’ clubs. This Ho Chi Minh gym ticks all the boxes for me – it doesn’t have the luxury element of California Fitness / Elite Fitness clubs, but it’s got everything you’d expect in a modern gym including functioning AC. The most notable difference between this club and others I’ve used is that it’s split over six floors, with each comprising a medium sized room.

In addition to all the usual gym equipment, you’ll find a floor dedicated to functional training and another floor hosting around 40 studio classes a week.

The most appealing thing for me was being able to pay a fair monthly rate without committing to a year (you’ll need to give your credit card details though). The location was the most convenient for me too, 5 minutes walk from September 23rd Park – woohoo! I trained here for 2 months.

4. Advance Fitness & Gym – VND 200k.

This gym is super modern and attractive, yet only half the price of California Fitness above. Granted, the decor won’t remind you of a five-star hotel, but it’s a large facility which includes a separate stretching area, boxing ring and several studios. It was also far quieter (although not quite a fair comparison as I trained earlier in the day) yet there was a fair number of people to create a good training atmosphere. If you’re not on a tight budget, this might be well worth splashing out on. It’s well air-conditioned too and looked new with modern equipment.

5. CitiGym (Le Loi) – intro rate – 399k a month

I had a quick tour of this attractive gym, split over 2 floors. A separate area is currently under construction and the two floors comprise cardio + functional equipment on the lower floor, and weights on higher floor. The gym is modern and well airconditioned, albeit dungeon-like in appearance. Staff were friendly too. I didn’t join as the class timetable was a bit limited for me and I fancied splashing out on a gym where I could enjoy classes. However, you’ll find yoga classes every morning and a more varied timetable in the evenings here. The location is also convenient – a few hundred metres from both Vincom Center and Independence Palace.

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Budget Gyms in Ho Chi Minh

6. CLB Gym T & V Fitness – VND 80k.

This gym is a real bargain, around 10-15 mins walk from Bui Vien, located close to Mach’s Gym below. It’s at least a couple of times bigger than Mach’s Gym, with the extra space being predominantly used for weight training equipment. Note that CLB Gym T & V fitness has a daily rate and a monthly rate, but nothing in between – whereas Mach’s Gym offers a weekly rate. Its range of cardio and functional training equipment is meagre considering the size of this gym, but there’s some of each. If you want to weight-train on a budget it’s awesome though!

7. Mach’s Gym Saigon – VND 80k.

I loved this gym – it’s both a little bigger and a little cheaper than Luna Gym above and also considerably more modern. The free weights go up higher too, so it’s more suitable for heavy lifters. You’ll find everything in one open-plan room, so it won’t take you long to work out what’s where. You’ll need to take a towel as they aren’t provided. If you want to do cardio, you’ll like the familiar machines here and best of all, the aircon. This place is an all-round winner.

 

8. Luna Gym and Yoga – VND 75k. Closed down

Luna Gym was the closest gym to my accommodation here and the first gym I used in Vietnam. The price is very reasonable for what you get, which includes a good range of weights (free and resistance), cardio equipment and functional training equipment. The facility is much smaller than the above two gyms, but still medium-sized. Although it’s a little warm, both aircon and fans were operational. You’ll even get a free towel thrown in! Although it’s not especially modern, everything is in good condition and in good working order. I’d go back.

9. MMA Gym Fitness Center – VND 50k.

MMA Gym is the cheapest gym I used in Saigon. You’ll find it in district 3, although it’s less than 1km away from Advance Gym. I walked from my accommodation in Ben Thanh – a good warm up. Don’t be put off by its name – this large facility is spread over five floors and you’ll find a generous amount of generic gym equipment, in addition to boxing stuff. There’s plenty here for weight trainers, cardio enthusiasts and you’ll find a tonne of floor space, although not so many functional gym toys. There’s not aircon here, but plenty of windows. I attended on a warm rainy day, but didn’t find the temperature too troublesome.

10. CLB The Hinh Tran Hung Dao – VND 50k

This no-frills Ho Chi Minh gym is the same price as MMA, but inside district 1. I personally would favour MMA as it’s bigger with better quality equipment. However if you’re staying near this place and looking to weight train, there’s plenty of equipment here for you. Bear in mind that dumbbells are neither clearly labelled or neatly stacked, so it’ll take a bit of getting used to, to find what you want!

The cardio section is limited and there’s nothing that comes to find in terms of functional training equipment.

10. California Fitness Queen Ann (closed down) 

Although this Saigon gym has shut down since I used it, check out its sister gym close by – it’s number (1) above. I’ve visited several of these clubs now and always found the facilities to be of a high standard.

 

 

My Recommendations – Gyms in Ho Chi Minh

As ever, choosing a gym is a personal choice and will depend on your budget, location and what sort of facilities you look for. I’ll give you my recommendations based on my preferences, but do click on the individual gyms to see more detail before deciding.

High-End Gyms

Of the high-end gyms, I recommend Elite Fitness and Jetts. I liked all the clubs and California Fitness had most luxurious decor for sure. But, this isn’t something I value highly enough to warrant paying double the price, especially when the club was rammed with people and it was hard to get on equipment. If price wasn’t an issue I’d go for Elite Fitness as the club is spacious, has an excellent class timetable is well airconditioned throughout.  Jetts is a step down in terms of luxury, but it has a great balance of quality, modern facilities without the frills, for a reasonable price. Advance Fitness and Gym fell down on cardio equipment, offering only treadmills and bikes.

Jetts was best all-round for me as it was 5 minutes walk from my accommodation and offered a sufficient variety of classes, in addition to great gym facilities. Being here during covid, I was happy to base myself in Ho Chi Minh for a few months and enjoyed their very reasonable monthly rate. I’ll admit I prefer the gym layout and variety of classes at Elite Fitness though.

Budget Gyms

I’d happily train in any of these gyms in Saigon again, and as I’m not a fan of walking around hot cities for very long, I’d probably just go to the one closest to my accommodation. Location aside, aircon is certainly a big factor when training in tropical heat, and on that count, both Mach’s Gym and CLB Gym T & V Fitness come up trumps. The latter is a weight trainer’s paradise as there’s such a vast amount of equipment – but take gloves as the handles are generally not padded and quite unpleasant to grip if you have sensitive hands! I personally preferred Mach’s for this, although it’s a much smaller gym.

Additionally, note that Luna Gym and Mach’s Gym are around a 20 minute walk apart, and Luna also has some aircon in operation. MMA Gym was notably hotter, but still a bargain at VND 50k!

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Summary – Gyms in Saigon 

Choosing a gym always come down to personal preference and what your priorities are when training. I hope you’ve found the above info helpful in weighing up where to train, and I wish you a lovely time in Vietnam. Please consider buying me coffee if you like what I do – this helps to fund my workouts and enable me to keep travelling and blogging. Thanks for your support.

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