SAIGON & MEKONG DELTA DISCOVERY

SAIGON & MEKONG DELTA DISCOVERY

BRIEFING AND TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

DETAILED TOUR ITINERARY 

Day 1
SAIGON ARRIVAL

You will meet your guide on arrival Saigon airport, be transferred and check-in to your hotel. During the drive your guide will provide an introduction to Saigon, answer any questions you have. Enjoy free time for the remainder of the first day.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in southern Vietnam is a sprawling metropolis of more than ten million people. Formally renamed Ho Chi Minh City in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam-American war, locals still refer to Saigon. With thousands of motorbikes zipping past luxury cars, French colonial buildings dwarfed by modern skyscrapers and traditionally dressed school girls riding bicycles past trendy city workers, Saigon is an exciting city of contrasts.

Saigon is a city that never sleeps and offers a plethora of great restaurants and bars catering to all tastes, from street food vendors to the rooftop bar at the Rex Hotel, where international correspondents covered the Vietnam War and where the U.S. military attaché’s press briefing was held daily and dubbed the “Five O’clock Follies”. Whatever your interests, be sure to ask your guide for personal recommendations.

Included meals: None
Accommodation in SAIGON

Day 2
SAIGON CITY VISIT

Breakfast at hotel.

Your tour to the landmark Reunification Hall, formerly known as the Presidential Palace – the headquarters of the Saigon Government during the American war.

Head out of the city centre on a short 15 minutes drive to District 5. Ride through the vibrant streets in a Cyclo, a three wheeled bicycle, to have chances to watch the real local life of the city.

Visit Thien Hau temple, built by the Cantonese congregation in the early 19th century to honour the Goddess of the Sea. The temple’s ornate interior courtyard is always full of life as worshippers from the local Chinese community come to offer their prayers. Take time to make a wish, write it on a small card and attach it to one of the incense coils in the local custom.

Enjoy an included lunch at a nice local restaurant.

Next visit the War Remnants Museum which was formerly known as the Exhibition House of American War Crimes.

Transfer to Dong Khoi street, or Rue Catinat as it was known in the time of the French occupation, to discover some of the beautiful French colonial buildings built in the late 19th and early 20th century. Appreciate the splendidly restored exteriors of the Opera House and the former Hotel de Ville which are still two of the finest buildings in Saigon. Wander up to the Notre Dame Cathedral, a red brick edifice with twin spires based on the original construction from Paris. (It is only possible to visit inside when no service is being performed) Then head across the square to the Central Post Office, designed by the French architect, Gustav Eiffel, before he had risen to fame for the Eiffel Tower.

Transfer or walk back to hotel and rest of the evening is free at leisure.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation in SAIGON

Day 3
SAIGON – CU CHI TUNNELS EXCURSION

The Cu Chi Tunnels are an immense network of interconnected tunnels near Saigon that are part of a much larger network lying below much of the country. A guided visit to these tunnels provides a better understanding of their history, the hardship of life underground and the resilience of the Vietnamese during combat.

The tunnels were built and used initially by the Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots to protect them from the French air and ground sweeps. They later served as communication routes, storage facilities, hospitals and living quarters for the guerrilla fighters throughout the Vietnam-American war.

You’re invited to enter a section of the tunnels to witness the secrets of the tunnels firsthand. Your guide will also show you various mantraps employed from this period, the remains of an American tank and numerous B52 bomb craters. There is also the opportunity to fire an M60, M16 or AK47 rifle at the range next to the tunnel complex.

In the afternoon, return to Saigon and enjoy free time to continue your exploration of the city.

Included meals: Breakfast
Accommodation in SAIGON

Day 4
SAIGON – BEN TRE – CAI BE (MEKONG DELTA)

Breakfast at hotel

Depart your hotel this morning for a 2 hour drive heading south Ben Tre where referred locally as one of the biggest coconut tree orchards in Vietnam. Take in the lush surroundings of rice paddies and fruit farms alongside the highway as you leave behind the busy city.

Arrive at the waterfront pier and embark on an enjoyable motor boat excursion, take a glimpse at the Delta scenery, houses built on stilts. Have a chance passing by the local fish farm to learn about the producing procedure as well as the agriculture business of the Delta.

Cruising among river and the small canals and arroyos lined with palm and coconut trees. Take some time enjoy a leisurely walking & Cycling or moto cart (Xe Loi/ Xe Lam) through the village observing tropical gardens along the way; discovering how Vietnamese farmers work their rice fields and observe daily life of the villagers in the Mekong Delta.

Have a chance visit some local home factories, observe lively activities of coconut processing and trading as well as enjoy tropical fruit & coconut juice.

Lunch will be served at a local family, taste some local delicacies before getting back to pier and continue driving south about 1.5 hours to Cai Be.

Check in the rest on arrival and enjoy the rest afternoon at leisure.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation in CAI BE

Day 5
CAI BE – DRIVE TO CHAU DOC

Breakfast at resort and enjoy the peaceful morning.

Leave Cai Be for Chau Doc. The drive is about 160 kms and takes aprox. 05 hours on good road.

Visit the 130-years-old ancient house of Huynh Thuy Le, forever immortalized as the home of the protagonist in French writer Marguerite Duras’s novel “The Lover”. The house faces the biggest fruit wholesale market in the area- a great chance to buy some seasonal fruit for your trip.

Close to Chau Doc, you will visit the flooded forest of Tra Su Bird Sanctuary. Take a rowboat between the narrow green canals for a remarkable atmosphere and spot an array of birdlife along the way. If time allows, you can climb up onto the fire observation stand from where you have an incredible panorama view of the forest. Arrive in Chau Doc in the afternoon, check in to your hotel and overnight.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation in CHAU DOC

Day 6
CHAU DOC – CAN THO

Early breakfast at hotel and then visit the local market, which overlooks the confluence of three rivers, and later take a boat to Chau Giang District where a tiny mosque serves the local Cham community. The Chams also practice silk weaving and you may have the opportunity to see them at work. The architecture here is rather distinctive. You’ll visit a beautiful Khmer temple, and later visit the floating houses that double as catfish farms, now a huge industry for the country.

Then leave Chau Doc for Can Tho. You will have chance to make some stops along the way visiting the local life activities of the Mekong local people; The bamboo basket-making hamlet of Long Thanh; A crocodile farm & a village where they make incense…

Arrive Can Tho, check in the hotel and rest of the day is free at leiure.

Included meals: Breakfast
Accommodation in CAN THO

Day 7
CAN THO VISIT – SAIGON

Can Tho is a university town on the confluence of three rivers in the heart of the delta. The Mekong Delta was once part of the Khmer Kingdom, and today many ethnic Khmers still live here.

You make an early start this morning to visit the floating markets of Cai Rang which are in full swing at 07:00am. You’ll take a small boat and explore the waterways, which are packed with people who have come from the surrounding rural areas to sell all manner of fruits and vegetables. It’s a lively and colorful scene. The tour also includes visit of some local workshops, walking on the countryside….

Leave Can Tho for Saigon. Stop en-route for lunch time (own expense). And on arrival Saigon transfer to hotel.

Included meals: Breakfast
Accommodation in SAIGON

Day 8
SAIGON DEPARTURE

Breakfast at hotel. Free at leisure.
You will be transferred to the Saigon airport for your departure flight.

Included meals: Breakfast

TOUR PRICE(S):

Standard 3*:     from US $ 691
Superior 4*:      from US $ 873

* Prices are based on twin/ double share for group of at least 02 passengers travelling together and depend on availability and season.

All our itineraries can be customised. For questions or further information, Enquire Now!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION