In short: Thảo Điền and An Phú (the old District 2, now An Khánh and Bình Trưng wards) are home to many of Ho Chi Minh City’s best-known international schools, from the British International School and ISHCMC to EIS, AIS, TAS, the International German School and the French school Saint Ange. It is also a lovely place to build a family life: leafy streets, the river at the end of quiet lanes, and cafés around almost every corner. You chose a great school, and a great neighbourhood to raise a family. This guide brings together the schools, walks and weekend spots we genuinely enjoy, then suggests one more investment worth making: an hour of real rest for you, just a few minutes from the school gate, at Ōmni Space on Quốc Hương street.
If your children go to school in Thảo Điền or An Phú, you have already made one of the biggest choices a parent gets to make. You compared curricula, toured campuses, read the inspection reports and chose a school that will help shape how your children see the world. You also chose to live here, where the morning school run passes beneath tall trees, breakfast is often a short walk away, and the Saigon River never feels far. Both were good choices. This guide is for the parents who quietly make all of that work, and for the grandparents who fly in to be part of it.
Walk-ins welcome until 18:00. Ōmni Space is at 16C Quốc Hương, Thảo Điền, a few minutes’ walk from Thảo Điền Metro station. Open 9:00–21:00 daily; the last float starts at 20:00. Open in Google Maps
International schools in Thảo Điền and An Phú
There are few neighbourhoods in Southeast Asia with this many international schools packed into such a small area. Within a few kilometres, you will find British, American, Australian, German, French, European and Montessori schools, with several campuses sharing the same streets. We checked every campus below on the school’s own website in October 2026.
A note on addresses: since 1 July 2025, the wards of Thảo Điền and An Phú have been reorganised into An Khánh ward and Bình Trưng ward. School websites, Google Maps and Grab now show the new names, although in everyday conversation almost everyone still says Thảo Điền and An Phú.
| School | Curriculum | Campus and area |
|---|---|---|
| British International School HCMC (BIS, Nord Anglia) | English National Curriculum, followed by IGCSE and the IB Diploma | Three campuses in Thảo Điền: Early Years and Infant (101 Thảo Điền street), Junior (225 Nguyễn Văn Hưởng) and Secondary (246 Nguyễn Văn Hưởng) |
| International School Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC) | Full IB continuum: PYP, MYP and Diploma | Primary (28 Võ Trường Toản) and Secondary (01 Xuân Thủy), Thảo Điền–An Phú |
| ISHCMC – American Academy (ISHCMC-AA) | American curriculum with Advanced Placement (AP) | 16 Võ Trường Toản, Thảo Điền–An Phú |
| European International School HCMC (EIS) | IB continuum, ages 2 to 18 | 730F-G-K Lê Văn Miến, Thảo Điền |
| Australian International School (AIS) | IB PYP; Cambridge Lower Secondary and IGCSE; IB Diploma | Thảo Điền campus, Kindergarten to Year 6 (APSC, 36 Thảo Điền street); Thủ Thiêm campus, Kindergarten to Year 13 (264 Mai Chí Thọ, An Phú side) |
| The American School (TAS) | American curriculum, Pre-Nursery to Grade 12, with AP | 06 Song Hành road, beside the Long Thành highway, An Phú side |
| International German School HCMC (IGS) | German school abroad, bilingual German–English; IB / GIB in Grades 11–12 | New campus since September 2025 at 253/11 Lương Định Của, An Phú side |
| Saint Ange French International School | French curriculum: crèche, maternelle and élémentaire, plus an English section | Two campuses facing each other on Nguyễn Văn Hưởng (189A1), Thảo Điền |
| The Montessori International School of Vietnam (MIS) | Montessori, babies to age 6, taught in English | Thảo Điền campus (42/1 Ngô Quang Huy), River House (177/8 Nguyễn Văn Hưởng) and Bình An campus (No. 5, Street 10) |
There are also many smaller international preschools and bilingual schools across the area. Curricula, age ranges and campuses can change from year to year, so it is always worth confirming the latest details directly with the school’s admissions team.
A neighbourhood made for walking
Ho Chi Minh City is not exactly famous for its pavements, which is part of what makes Thảo Điền feel different. The lanes are shaded, the traffic is gentler than across the river, and much of what a family needs is close enough to reach on foot. Our team works on Quốc Hương street every day, so these are places we know rather than places we found on a list. For many more addresses, see our Thảo Điền guide.
Walks to the river
One of the loveliest walks in the neighbourhood takes you through Làng Báo Chí, a quiet, green villa area entered around 89–91 Thảo Điền street. Follow the road to the end and a public path leads to the bank of the Saigon River, where sunset is especially beautiful. It is a residential area, so keep voices low, and give it a miss during heavy rain or high tides. Another easy sunset spot is the riverbank near Thảo Điền market, where a stroll can be paired with a look around the morning produce stalls.
Cafés, breakfasts and a little shopping
Once the school run is done, Xuân Thủy and Nguyễn Ư Dĩ are easy streets to wander without much of a plan. Hue Cafe Roastery (67B Xuân Thủy) serves Huế-style salt coffee from pavement seats beneath the trees; Phê La (89A Xuân Thủy) is a good stop for oolong tea; and Maison Marou (90 Xuân Thủy) has a cool upstairs room and hot chocolate that children love. For a proper breakfast, our team’s favourite is the chicken phở and bún thang at Phở Gà Phố Cổ (12 Đường số 10). Tea Time Books (19 Trần Ngọc Diện) is a small, cosy English-language bookshop, while The Deck Saigon (38 Nguyễn Ư Dĩ) has been serving dinner by the water since 2008, for those evenings when you want the day to feel a little more special.
Weekend ideas for the whole family
- Saigon Riverside Park, Thủ Thiêm: a long riverside park facing the District 1 skyline, opened in December 2023, with a Creative Park section added in January 2025. Wide paths, lawns and evening lights make it an easy choice for late afternoon.
- Kites in Thủ Thiêm: on breezy afternoons, families gather to fly kites over the open land of the Thủ Thiêm new urban area, with the river skyline behind them.
- Quang San Art Museum (189B/3 Nguyễn Văn Hưởng): a private museum with more than 1,600 works, spanning the Indochina period to today, in a setting overlooking the river. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00–16:30.
- Thảo Điền market (Nguyễn Văn Hưởng): go early with the children for a glimpse of everyday local life and a chance to taste tropical fruit.
- Rainy-day malls: Vincom Mega Mall Thảo Điền (159 Xa lộ Hà Nội) and Thiso Mall Sala (10 Mai Chí Thọ, Thủ Thiêm) are air-conditioned, easy and close by.
Grandparents visiting? Our guide to things to do with your parents in Ho Chi Minh City maps out a gentle weekday in Thảo Điền for them, with the heat and jet lag in mind.
You’ve chosen a great education. Now do the same for health.
Think about how carefully you chose your children’s school. You looked for depth rather than shortcuts, something proven rather than simply fashionable, and an experience that might stay with them for life. Now ask yourself how much of that same care goes into your own rest. For many international-school parents, the answer is probably: not enough. There are early starts, school runs, demanding jobs, after-school clubs and the work of building family life far from home. Rest gets pushed to whatever remains at the end of the day: a phone in bed, a series, a few broken hours of sleep.
Your family’s health deserves the same thoughtfulness you bring to their education. Sleep, movement and food are part of that, of course. So is genuine recovery: time when the body is fully supported and the mind is not being asked to solve one more thing. Children notice the difference too. A rested parent often has a little more patience, warmth and space to give at the school gate.
Float therapy: the deepest rest in the neighbourhood
Of all the ways to rest in Saigon, float therapy is the one many of our guests describe as feeling the most complete. At Ōmni Space, you lie back in about 25 cm of water holding around 500 kg of dense, mineral-rich Epsom salt, warmed to 33–34 °C, close to skin temperature. The water supports your weight, giving your back, neck and shoulders room to soften and let go. Inside a private room that can be made completely dark and quiet, the usual stream of light, sound and touch gradually falls away. For an hour, there is nothing to organise, nobody to reply to, and nowhere else you need to be. New to it? Start with what float therapy is.
What the research says
Float therapy is still an active field of research, but studies looking at stress have generally pointed in the same direction. A 2005 meta-analysis of 27 float studies found positive effects on stress-related body measures and on well-being. In a Swedish randomised pilot trial, 65 working adults who floated 12 times over seven weeks reported less stress, anxiety and depression, and better sleep, than a waiting group. At the Laureate Institute for Brain Research in the United States, 50 people living with anxiety and stress-related conditions floated for one hour, with anxiety dropping sharply straight afterwards; because this was an open-label study without a control group, it is a promising finding rather than proof. And in a 2021 trial of 99 people with chronic pain, published in JAMA Network Open, pain eased right after each session, although the effect had not lasted 12 to 24 weeks later, one reason regular floaters tend to return. Many people also report sleeping better on the night after a float.
Ōmni Evidence Scale: Strong evidence, for float and stress. We rate it Strong because, alongside these trials, user experience is overwhelmingly positive: in a 2025 survey of regular floaters, 92% reported relaxation and 77% less stress, a pattern echoed across thousands of reviews, Reddit threads and forums, and by athletes and public figures who float. See how we rate evidence on the Ōmni Evidence Scale.
Ōmni Evidence Scale: Promising, for float and pain in the short term. A trial found pain easing right after each session, but the relief did not last for months without further sessions.
Float together
Some of our favourite guests are parents who choose to float side by side. The couple room has one large square pool for two and two showers, one for each of you, so a Friday afternoon after school drop-off, or an evening once the children are in bed, can turn into an hour of genuine quiet together. The second person adds only 700,000 VND.
Minutes from the school gate
If you live or work in Thảo Điền or An Phú, Ōmni is only minutes away. We are at 16C Quốc Hương, a few minutes’ walk from Thảo Điền Metro station and close to many of the campuses above. A few simple ways to make a float fit naturally into family life:
- After the morning drop-off: float at 9:00 and still be back at your desk, or at the school gate, with time to spare.
- Between pick-ups and dinner: walk-ins are welcome until 18:00, and the last float starts at 20:00.
- Exam season: IGCSE and IB years can be demanding for the whole household. Our exam stress gift ideas share a few thoughtful ways to give a stressed-out family member some real rest.
- When the grandparents visit: a couple float can be a lovely welcome after a long-haul flight.
A 60-minute float is 1,500,000 VND and a 90-minute float is 2,000,000 VND. In the couple room, the second person adds 700,000 VND. Every room has its own private shower, with towels, shampoo, shower gel and a hairdryer. Allow about 30 minutes beyond your float time for a short welcome and an unhurried shower. International cards can be swiped at the front desk; online payment doesn’t take international cards yet. If you have any health questions, our team can talk them through with you on site. See all options on our price page.
A gift for the end of term
For the Christmas and Tết season, Ōmni’s gifts come in a gift envelope: a thank-you for a partner, a visiting grandparent or a friend from the school community.
- Gift card for one float: 1,500,000 VND (60 minutes) or 2,000,000 VND (90 minutes), valid for 12 months. Cards bought in November also give the recipient an infrared sauna session on arrival.
- Double gift card: a 90-minute float for two in the couple room, 2,700,000 VND, plus an infrared sauna session for both if bought in November.
International cards can be swiped at our front desk; online payment does not take international cards yet.
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Float PlanRunning on empty?Take the one-minute Float Plan quiz: tell us how you feel and what you need, and get a simple plan for your first session.Make my Float PlanFAQ
Which international schools are in Thảo Điền and An Phú?
The area includes the British International School (BIS), ISHCMC and ISHCMC–American Academy, the European International School (EIS), the Australian International School (AIS), The American School (TAS), the International German School (IGS), Saint Ange French International School and the Montessori International School of Vietnam, as well as many smaller preschools.
Is Thảo Điền a good area for families?
Yes. It is leafy, walkable and close to the river, with cafés, a local market, parks in nearby Thủ Thiêm and a Metro station into the city centre. Since July 2025 it has officially been part of An Khánh ward.
How far is Ōmni Space from the schools?
Only minutes away. Ōmni is at 16C Quốc Hương, a few minutes’ walk from Thảo Điền Metro station and a short ride from most of the campuses in Thảo Điền and An Phú.
What does the research say about float therapy?
Trials and a meta-analysis point towards less stress and anxiety, a single session lowered anxiety in an open-label study, and a 2021 trial found pain eased right after each session. We rate float Strong evidence for stress on the Ōmni Evidence Scale.
Can two parents float together?
Yes. The couple room has one large pool for two and two showers, one for each of you. The second person adds 700,000 VND to the single-float price.
Written by the team at Ōmni Space – Float Saigon in Thảo Điền. General information, not medical advice; schools, places and prices checked on 30 October 2026.
Sources
- British International School Ho Chi Minh City: campuses.
- International School Ho Chi Minh City: contact and campuses.
- International School Ho Chi Minh City – American Academy.
- European International School Ho Chi Minh City.
- Australian International School: campuses.
- The American School (TAS).
- International German School Ho Chi Minh City (IGS).
- Saint Ange French International School.
- The Montessori International School of Vietnam.
- van Dierendonck D, te Nijenhuis J (2005). Flotation restricted environmental stimulation therapy (REST) as a stress-management tool: a meta-analysis. Psychology & Health 20(3): 405–412.
- Kjellgren A, Westman J (2014). Beneficial effects of treatment with sensory isolation in flotation-tank as a preventive health-care intervention: a randomized controlled pilot trial. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 14: 417.
- Feinstein JS, Khalsa SS, Yeh HW, et al. (2018). Examining the short-term anxiolytic and antidepressant effect of Floatation-REST. PLoS One 13(2): e0190292.
- Loose LF, Manuel J, Karst M, Schmidt LK, Beissner F (2021). Flotation restricted environmental stimulation therapy for chronic pain: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open 4(5): e219627.
- Hilpert K, Chis Ster I (2025). Experiences and perceptions of regular floatation-REST users: results from an online survey. Journal of Clinical Images and Medical Case Reports 6(5): 3600.