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Saigon and Mekong DeltaOur Mekong Delta tour combines a stay in cosmopolitan and historic Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) with a laid back trip through the emerald Mekong Delta. There's plenty of time to wander around Ho Chi Minh City, admiring the French-style architecture, wide avenues, large markets and colourful restaurants. You'll stay in a comfortable hotel in the lively quarter of Ho Chi Minh City, full of energy, street stalls, and backpackers. From Ho Chi Minh City, you'll take trips to the fascinating Cu Chi Tunnels, an eerie labyrinth of underground passages built by the Viet Cong, and take a shimmering Mekong Delta tour. Here, you'll leave urban life behind and experience life on the water in South Vietnam.You can also choose to take this Mekong Delta tour as a private trip. You'll then be taken by chauffeur-driven car to the Cu Chi Tunnels and travel by private boat with guide through the Mekong Delta. Feel free to ask our travel specialists if you are interested in taking a private trip. |
| Duration |
5 days / 4 nights Departs Monday, Thursday and Saturday from Ho Chi Minh City |
Accommodation |
3 nights in a central Ho Chi Minh City hotel (Comfort Level 3) and 1 night in a simple hotel in Cantho during the Mekong Delta tour (Comfort Level 2). See accommodation for comfort levels. |
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Price |
£208 per person - based on 2 people sharing |
Included |
Transport, accommodation with breakfast, trips as described in text, guide, entrance fees for the Chi Chi Tunnels. |
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Transport |
Air-conditioned minibus and (speed) boat |
Excluded |
All other meals and drinks, breakfast in the Mekong Delta. |
Day 1: Arrival in Ho Chi Minh CityIf you're arriving from North Vietnam to begin our Mekong Delta tour, you'll probably arrive in Ho Chi Minh City by sleeper train or internal flight. From here, you'll need to organise a taxi to your hotel, located in District 1. This couldn't be easier as, you'll quickly learn, taxis and tuk-tuks are never in short supply in Vietnam. You'll stay in a luxury room complete with air-conditioning for 3 nights. The hotel is located near Tham Street, Ho Chi Minh City's backpacker/market area. The area is crammed with dozens of cosy little restaurants and small souvenir shops. |
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Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City - Cu Chi tunnels - Ho Chi Minh CityToday your Mekong Delta tour will take you to the Cu Chi Tunnels, located 30km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City. You'll travel by minibus, passing peaceful paddy fields and watching delta life, you'll also have a chance to see an unusual floating temple.The Viet Cong dug the haunting network of the Cu Chi tunnels during the Vietnam War to hide from American forces. The underground labyrinth covers an incredible 250km and enabled the Vietcong to carry out covert attacks. The tunnels were built to live in; they include sleeping quarters, kitchens, ammunition stores, and command centres. You'll be given the opportunity to climb into the tunnels and experience their eerie atmosphere first hand. Many of them have been enlarged especially for tourists, making them far less hair-raising for visitors. The guide will explain the history and the precise uses of the tunnels. You'll return to Ho Chi Minh City in the afternoon and for the rest of the day you can relax. Try a visit to the Reunification Palace, the American War Museum, and a few of the majestic pagodas dotted around the city. Equally, you could hire a cycle rickshaw for some sightseeing or simply stroll around Ho Chi Minh city, soaking up its atmosphere before your Mekong Delta tour tomorrow. |
Day 3: Ho Chi Minh City - Mekong Delta tourThe next two days are dedicated to our Mekong Delta tour. The Mekong River, with its vast fertile delta, is the backbone of the economy in the south. It produces one of Vietnam's most important exports - rice. At around 7:30am, the minibus will pick you up from your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City and take you to Cai Be. From here, you'll hop onto a boat and sail in a small group during your Mekong Delta tour. In Cai Be you'll sail past colourful floating markets, where vendors will offer their wares from their boats jammed with produce, dangling their goods in the air from a long pole.You'll also sail through canals inhabited by the people of the Mekong Delta. As your Mekong Delta tour continues, you'll quickly understand why the people of the south are renowned for their friendliness, as they smile and wave from their houses when you pass by. While sailing through the maze of canals, you'll visit one of the many islands on the Mekong - Vinh Long Island. After a lunch of local specialities, you can also cycle through one of the villages on a river island, catching an even closer glimpse of daily life. During the afternoon you'll sail to Can Tho, where you'll arrive in time for sunset. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, for instance low water levels, this entire portion of our Mekong Delta tour will be conducted by mini bus. The boat will then take you to a simple but charming hotel in Cantho on the banks of the Mekong, where you can relax in the evening with a cool drink and watch the delta sunset. |
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Day 4: Mekong Delta tour - Ho Chi Minh CityToday you'll leave your hotel at 7.30 sharp and the local boat will take you to the floating market of Cai Rang, which is the largest, most important, and probably the noisiest floating market in the Mekong Delta. In order to get close to all of the excitement of the floating market, you'll transfer into a bamboo rowboat. You'll sail amidst all of the boats peddling their wares. Naturally you yourself won't have to row during this journey and therefore you'll have plenty of time to negotiate and purchase goods, such as a pineapple for 50 cents. In the village on the banks of the river, you'll drop in on a factory where rice is ‘puffed’ and transformed into Vietnamese rice cakes. You will also visit a small rice noodle factory, (if it's open on that day!)At the end of our Mekong Delta tour you'll have a pretty good impression of life on this important river. Eventually you'll take the comfortable air-conditioned coach back to Ho Chi Minh, and after a quick stop at Can Tho market, you'll arrive back in Ho Chi Minh City at around 3-5pm. |
Day 5: Ho Chi Minh City - End of Mekong Delta tour
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