Saigon Ho Chi Minh City and Cu Chi Tunnels Tour

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City and Cu Chi Tunnels Tour

This inspiring and evocative full-day tour in Ho Chi Minh City will show life during the Vietnam War from a local perspective. In addition, there are numerous fascinating sights to explore, from grand Buddhist temples to lively hectic street markets. Includes transportation from your District 1 accommodation and an English-speaking guide.

Begin the tour at 8:30am with pickup from your hotel in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City. Travel in the comfort of an air-conditioned bus through Southern Vietnam's Countryside to reach the underground complex of the Cu Chi Tunnels, built by local fighters during the Indochina conflict as a strategic base from which the Viet Cong could operate close to Saigon. Located at the end of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail, the complex encompassed 125 miles (200 km) of tunnels by 1965, including hospitals, schools, meeting rooms, kitchens and sleeping quarters.

As you venture into the Cu Chi Tunnels – 46 miles (75 km) of them preserved and widened with low-powered lights as a memorial park – your guide will tell you about the difficult living conditions and the ingenuity required to maintain life underground. You have a chance to wander past huge bomb craters, discover hidden entrances, see tiny chimneys that dispersed smoke from underground kitchens and even sample some of the simple cuisine that local fighters would have consumed.

Next, your guide will return you to Ho Chi Minh City. Spend the afternoon touring Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, the largest and busiest city in Vietnam with a population of 7 million people. You will have a chance to discover that the daily life takes place on the streets, which are lined with shops, stalls and vendors with their wares spread out on the footpath and the bustling Ben Thanh Market - a fantastic place to practice bargaining skills.

Next, we continue to visit the War Remnants Museum, which has a wealth of images from the wars, and is dedicated to Vietnamese and foreign journalists and photographers who perished during the French and American conflicts. Take yourself back to war period with vivid illustrations such as The Reunification Palace , Notre Dame Cathedral. The next place is Central Post Office, another fine example of French architecture and Vietnam's largest post office. Return to Vietnam's most modern city with numerous shopping malls, cinemas, discotheques and a bewildering number of bars. Your tour will conclude with drop-off at your hotel at approximately 5pm.