Exotic and Historical Southern Vietnam

Touch down in Vietnam’s biggest cosmopolitan city, Ho Chi Minh City. Our driver will meet you at the airport to take you the short distance into the city centre, where we will find your hotel and you will be able to check in from any time after 14:00.

You will have some free time to enjoy the city, so perhaps you would like to delve into the historical side at the Independence Palace or the War Remnants Museum next to it. Both offer an excellent look at the most important moments in Vietnam’s modern history.

There are no meals included on the first day. Please make your own arrangements for dinner and stay overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

In the morning

08.00- 08.30 AM: Take breakfast in your hotel and proceed to the lobby to meet the bus driver, who will arrive at a pre-specified time. We take the drive southwards to My Tho after this, one of the main cities in the fabulous Mekong Delta.

At My Tho, we board a boat and head through the Bao Dinh canal. The fertile banks of the river provide us with views of tropical fruit orchards and trees bearing the brightest of delicious produce along the way. We stop at My Tho Market on the shore to look for some great deals before returning to the water and visiting Tortoise Island. Here we have lunch with tropical vegetation surrounding us.

We cruise into Ben Tre province to the south, visiting the ethereal Tan Thach canal and its lush tunnel of water created by overhanging nipa palm and coconut trees. After this, we dock at Thoi Son Island to enjoy a farming experience and a short trek through luxuriant jungle. We end with a transfer back to My Tho and the drive to Can Tho, the largest city in the Mekong Delta.

Please make your own arrangements for dinner and stay overnight in Can Tho.

Enjoy an early breakfast today before we take the trip to Cai Rang floating market, one of the Mekong Delta’s fantastic markets operating directly atop the waters of the Mekong River. We cruise through Cai Rang on a small boat, keeping an eye out for clothes, electronics, souvenirs or food on display across the wooden boats of vendors.

After this, we head through another lush canal and stop at a village that specialises in making rice noodles, one of the staples of the Vietnamese diet. Our more adventurous guests can try crossing the Monkey Bridge, a simple bamboo bridge connecting the two sides of the canal with a very thin walkway. We take a brief tour of another floating market and have lunch either here or in Can Tho city.

We take the drive back to Hoi Chi Minh City after this, arriving around the mid-afternoon, giving you a chance to enjoy some free time. Maybe you could spend this in Cholon, the Chinese district of Ho Chi Minh City with beautiful and vivid architecture abounding.

Please make your own arrangements for dinner and stay overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

After breakfast, at 08.00- 08.15 AM the bus/car  will pick you up and take you northwest of Ho Chi Minh City to the Cu Chi Tunnels, where the Viet Cong hid and plotted the fall of South Vietnam just 50km away from its capital. We will arrive to a video explaining the role of the Cu Chi Tunnels during the American War, as well as what life was like for thousands of soldiers below the jungle floor.

After this, we will be able to explore some of the incredible 220km system of snaking tunnels, seeing examples of medical rooms, weapons storages, command centres and even basic living quarters. Emerging to the surface, we have a look at some of the booby traps left by the Viet Cong for American and Viet Minh troops.

We take the drive back to Ho Chi Minh City after this, where you can enjoy more free time in the former capital of South Vietnam. You could finish your last evening in Ho Chi Minh City with a visit to the Notre Dame Cathedral and Central Saigon Post Office, both great examples of French colonial architecture.

Please make your own arrangements for lunch and dinner and stay overnight in Ho Chi Minh City

Take your final breakfast and use the last of your free time to relax with a Vietnamese coffee. The driver will arrive 3 hours prior to your flight to transfer you to Tan Son Nhat International airport for your onwards or return travel.

This will be the end of Exotic and Historical Southern Vietnam 5-Day Tour with Incredible Asia Journeys. We are very grateful for your time with us and we hope that you have a safe onwards trip!