Day 1 :Ho Chi Minh city and arrival
Arrive at Tan San Nhat airport where you will be met by your local guide and driver. Transfer to your hotel. Take an orientation tour in the afternoon (if time permits). Enjoy a welcome dinner. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 2 : Ho Chi MInh city tour
Breakfast at the hotel. Begin your sightseeing tour by visiting the Reunification Palace, which was the former residence of the President of South Vietnam until the end of the war in April 1975. Experience the French colonial structures including Notre Dame Cathedral and the Old Central Post Office. Lunch at the local restaurant. Tour of town and Thien Hau and Quan Am pagodas. After seeing the Emperor Jade Pagoda and the War Remnants Museum, we end the city tour with a visit to Ben Thanh market where you will have a chance to experience the local markets buzzing life. Dinner on guest‘s account. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in .Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 3 : Ho Chi Minh city – Tay Ninh – Cu Chi tunnels
Following breakfast at your hotel, you will drive west towards Tay Ninh, the center of Cao dai’ism. The Cao Dai religion is a symbol of the curious combination of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. On arrival attend the fantastic mid-day temple service when the followers fill the temple wearing colored robes. Lunch at the local restaurant. On the way back, stop to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, an underground network of tunnels constructed by Vietnamese fighters during the struggle for independence. The tunnels contained hospitals, accommodation, etc. and were used as a military base for the Vietcong during the American war. Drive back to Ho Chi Minh City. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Ho Chi Minh city.
Day 4 : Ho Chi Minh City – My Tho – Ben Tre – Can Tho
Breakfast at your hotel. Depart towards My Tho. Take a leisurely boat ride along Bao Dinh natural canal which is bordered by rows of traditional stilt houses and fruit plantations. Visit My Tho wholesale fruit market. Proceed to Tortoise Island where lunch is served in the heart of an orchard. Enjoy a boat ride through Tan Thach natural canal in Ben Tre, cruising under the shadows of the water coconut trees. Visit a family business which epitomizes an idyllic rural lifestyle. After strolling through a fruit plantation on Thoi Son Island, enjoy a rowing boat ride along the canals before returning to My Tho by motor boat. Proceed to Can Tho. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Can Tho city. (Family home stay can be arranged on request.)
Day 5 :Floating market – Ho Chi Minh City
After breakfast, take a morning boat trip to visit Phong Dien floating market. Experience the sights, sounds and smells of this thriving traditional market. Keep cruising through small canal systems and visit a village where rice noodles are made. Experience “Monkey bridge” in the Mekong Delta. Visit another floating market in Cai Rang. After lunch at the local restaurant, return to Ho Chi Minh City. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Ho Chi Minh city.
Day 6 :Ho Chi Minh city – Departure
Breakfast is served at the hotel. Free time until your transfer to the airport for departure. End of Southern Vietnam with Mekong Delta tour.
We were travelling with kids so opted for a private vehicle and guide for our 6 day South Vietnam tour as it allowed for stops to placate the children. Our guide and driver were both very good at their jobs and also as travelling companions. We cruised on the water, explored a floating market, and visited a crocodile farm near Chau Doc. The guide explained everything to us as well as entertaining the children, then after a night back in Ho Chi Minh City we went to see Cao Dai Temple then the underground tunnel system at Cu Chi. The family loved the tour and we know we made the right decision to travel privately.