Tattoo Parlours in Ho Chi Minh City (2026)

Saigon has a serious tattoo scene — studios that have been running since 2008, artists who lecture on the subject, and prices a fraction of what the same work costs in London or Sydney. It also has a lot of places that will put a needle in you for very little money, which is a different proposition entirely.

These are six studios worth walking into, all checked as trading in September 2026, with addresses, what each is actually good at, and what you should expect to pay. One of them gives Saigon Scene members 10% off.

1. Phoenix Studio Tattoo

81 Bui Vien, District 1

On Bui Vien, which is not where you would expect to find a studio that takes hygiene seriously, and that contrast is rather the point. Phoenix does custom design work and, importantly, cover-ups — the thing most studios in a backpacker district would rather not take on.

Go with an idea rather than a printout. The work here is drawn for you, and the consultation is where the piece actually gets made.

Best for: custom designs, and fixing something you regret.

Saigon Scene members get 10% off at Phoenix Studio Tattoo.

2. Saigon Ink

26 Tran Hung Dao, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1 (also 37 Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien)

Opened in 2008 by Danis Nguyen and still the city’s best-known studio. The reason to come here is the roster — around ten resident artists, each with a distinct specialism, so you pick the artist rather than the shop.

Ans Pham does black and grey and old-school line work. BonBon covers neo-traditional and watercolour. Phuc Dang does mandalas and geometric. Jerry handles Japanese-style sleeves and large body pieces. Look at portfolios before you book, not after.

Best for: matching a specific style to a specific artist.

3. Tiệm Xăm Bánh Donut

12C/3 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Da Kao, District 1

The fine line and minimalist studio, and one of the highest-rated tattoo businesses in the city by review volume. Delicate, small-scale, single-needle work, done playfully rather than solemnly.

This is where to go for a first tattoo you want to be able to hide, or a small piece that has to be exactly right.

Best for: fine line, minimalist and first tattoos.

4. Saigon Tattoo Club

5/6 Tran Cao Van, Ward 12, Phu Nhuan

Running since 2009 under Bo Toee, a member of the Cheyenne Tattoo Team who also lectures in the tattoo department at the Central Medical School. That last detail is worth more than it sounds: it means the hygiene and technique standards here are taught, not improvised.

Out in Phu Nhuan rather than the tourist districts, which keeps the walk-in trade down and the custom work up.

Best for: serious custom pieces where you want the technical side beyond question.

5. Tadashi Tattoo

96/6 Le Thi Rieng, District 1

Trung Tadashi trained at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Fine Arts and has been tattooing since 2009. The specialism is Asian-style work — dragons, phoenixes, samurai — at a scale most studios won’t attempt.

If you want a full sleeve or a back piece in a Japanese or Vietnamese idiom, this is the first place to ask. Expect a consultation, a deposit and multiple sessions.

Best for: large-scale Asian-style work.

6. Tattoonista Studio

331a Tran Hung Dao, Co Giang Ward, District 1 · open seven days

A generalist studio in the good sense — blackwork, realism, lettering, colour, with artists who each take a different lane. Open every day, which makes it the practical choice if you’re in Saigon on a short trip and your dates are fixed.

Best for: blackwork, and getting seen at short notice.

What a tattoo costs in Ho Chi Minh City

A small, simple piece typically starts around 1,000,000₫ — that base rate covers setup, sterile equipment and the ink. Detailed medium work runs into several million. Sleeves, back pieces and anything requiring multiple sessions are quoted per session and reach into the tens of millions.

Ho Chi Minh City is the most expensive tattoo market in Vietnam, roughly 15–25% above the national average, and still far cheaper than the equivalent work in Western cities. That gap is the reason people plan trips around it.

Be suspicious of the very bottom of the market. A price well below these bands usually means shared equipment, unbranded ink or an artist practising on you.

Prices checked September 2026.

How to choose a studio, and what to check

• Look at portfolios, not shopfronts. Every studio here has artists with distinct styles. Pick the artist whose healed work — not fresh photos — looks like what you want.
• Watch the setup. Fresh needles opened in front of you, single-use ink caps, wrapped machines and gloves changed between stages. Any studio worth the money expects you to check.
• Ask what ink they use. Reputable studios import from known suppliers and will tell you the brand without hesitating.
• Book ahead. Walk-ins get taken at some studios, but the artist you actually want will have a waiting list.
• Time it around your trip. No swimming, no sun and no sea for two weeks afterwards — so get inked at the end of the holiday, not the start.
• Bring a reference, not a demand. Come with the idea and let the artist draw it. That is what you’re paying for.

How we picked these

Saigon Scene is based in Ho Chi Minh City. Every studio here was checked as trading in September 2026 and each address was verified rather than carried over — several widely shared Saigon tattoo lists still give Tadashi’s old Pham Ngu Lao address.

Saigon Scene partner studios are listed first and identified as such. A studio only makes the list if the work and the standards justify it.