Homestay
1 Day
Bicycle
Boat
Car
Tour guide
 

Overview

See the best of Ho Chi Minh City outskirts in one day! Our unique, authentic experience Cu Chi Tunnel and Mekong Delta is for those who are on the rush but still wish to immerse the tension Vietnam War life and hospitality and peace of Mekong people. Be worry-free, leave the city early and make your time as memorable as you can with us.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Visit Cu Chi Tunnels, an almost exclusively local-only place.
  • Get an up-close and personal history lesson on guerilla warfare.
  • Gain insight into the tenacity and resourcefulness of the Vietnamese
  • Enjoy tropical fruits and delicious home-prepared food at the local homes
  • A visit to the local farmers’ home, their place of worship, and workshop where they make their living.
  • A motorized boat trip and hand-rowed sampan trip through the peaceful canals (Venice’s canals will look like a small city block after ours :).

SCHEDULE DETAILS

DURATION

1 day

TOUR TYPE/SIZE

Private

MEETING/ENDING POINT

Your hotel. Please note that we only offer free hotel pickup and drop off in District 1, 3 (some exclusions apply)

DEPARTURE/ENDING TIME

7:00 AM - 06:00 PM

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Itinerary

7:00 AM

We leave the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City behind and take a 1.5- hour journey to the now-peaceful rural district of Cu Chi.

8:30 AM

Upon arriving at the tunnels, you will view a short documentary film that explains the tunnels’ history and the war from the Vietnamese point of view.

After that, your guide will take you on a tour through the actual tunnels where you’ll learn more about the living conditions and the hardships the tunnel’s residents faced, and the ingenuity utilized to maintain life in the tunnels, which included weapon workshops and booby traps. You will have an opportunity to navigate an authentic Viet Cong tunnel, visit bunkers designed as kitchens, meeting rooms, weapon areas, give your best shot at a firing range, and much more.

For a snack, you can try the local specialty – cassava, a starchy root – that sustained Viet Cong fighters for years. And then, we will continue to Mekong Delta.

13:30 PM

For lunch, we will serve up wonderful “home-cooked dishes of the delicious Vietnamese food”.

After lunch, we will switch to Xe lôi (a motorized cart, a form of local transportation that is more comfortable than the traditional ox-pulled cart) and continue our exploration through the village to see what local live, what locals do and enjoy a variety of tropical fresh fruits at a local home, and then switch to a hand-rowed sampan to go through the smaller canals (the equivalent of a back street in the city), lined with lovely local palm trees to board a cruise going down the Mekong River, enjoy the fresh atmosphere there.

05:30 PM – 06:00 PM

This tour ends when you arrive back at your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.

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Prices & Offers

  • Rates are in USD per person.
  • 30% surcharge applies for: Jan 21-29, Apr 30 & May 1;   Sep 2;   Dec 31, 2023 &  Jan 1, 2024

FEATURES & INCLUSIONS

Included:

  • Free hotel pickup and drop off in District 1,3  (some exclusions apply),
  • Transportation: Minivan, boat, rowing boat, xe lôi,
  • The first canned of Beer or soft drink,
  • 2 small bottles of water/ passenger,
  • Meal at homestay (cater to vegetarian, food allergies, etc): lunch,
  • English speaking guide,
  • Fresh tropical fruits,
  • Entrance fee.

Excluded:

  • Beverage (Except the first one),
  • Personal expenses,
  • Tips and Gratuities for tour guide & driver,
  • Travel insurance.
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Important Notes

CONFIRMATION OF BOOKING

When you submit your booking, it does NOT mean your tour is booked. You will receive a confirmation email from our booking staff shortly. 

If you don't hear back from us within 24 hours of your booking request, please check your SPAM or JUNK mail folder or contact us again via [email protected] or call us at (+84) 834391331. Thank you!

ESSENTIAL TRIP INFORMATION

1. We only offer free hotel pickup and drop off as long as your hotel is located in District 1,3 (some exclusions apply). Pickup/drop-off outside of this area and airport transfers are subject to extra charges

2. The trip concludes at around 5:00 PM in downtown. Please take this into account when making onward travel arrangements.

3. Although children under five are free of charge. 50% of the adult price will be charged for the second child (if there are more than 1).

ITINERARY DISCLAIMER

Please note that while we operate successful trips in this region throughout the year, some changes may occur in our itineraries due to inclement weather and common seasonal changes to timetables and transport routes. This can happen with little notice so please be prepared for modifications to the route.

Occasionally our itineraries are updated during the year to incorporate improvements stemming from past travelers' comments and our own research.

The order and timing of included activities in each location may also vary from time to time.

TOUR FAQs

What to prepare for the trip?

Bring?

  • Hat
  • Sunscreen
  • A small backpack
  • Sandals or similar
  • Mosquito repellent

Wear?

We do not have a dress code for our tours however, dress standards are conservative throughout Asia, especially outside major cities. To respect this and for your own comfort, we strongly recommend modest clothing. This means clothing that covers your shoulders and knees. Loose, lightweight, long clothing is both respectful and cool in the predominantly hot Asian climate.

Is cycling safe and children-friendly?

Yes! Our tour is kid-friendly. We design the tour to be entertained and suitable for guests from 4 years and older.

However, for safety reasons, we do not provide small bikes for young children who are under 12 years of age, as local traffics behavior is quite different from that from the West or developed countries. Children are under 12 are REQUIRED to sit on the back of the bike, baby seat for a bicycle is provided for children from 4-5 years.

What is the riding like?

We cycle mostly on flat concrete paths and small paved, rural roads. Anyone who can reasonably ride a bike can do this ride.

Please note that our tour includes a short cycling trip (around 40 minutes) as a sightseeing activity. It is NOT a cycling type of tour, therefore the bikes which provided on the tour are typical Vietnamese student bikes.

I can not/ do not like riding a bicycle. Do you provide an alternative option?

If you join a small group tour we cannot change the activities out of consideration for our other guests. Therefore, you can instead relax on the hammock or walk around the village while others are on a bike trip.

Otherwise, you will have to take a PRIVATE tour and we will provide a 4o-minute boat trip as an alternative.

Is tipping customary in Vietnam?

Although our trips are inclusive of all costs and we ensure our guides and local staff are paid fairly, if you're happy with the services provided a tip - though NOT compulsory - is appropriate. While it may not be customary to you, it's of great significance to the people who will take care of you during your travels and inspires excellent service. Although can be difficult to source we advise you to carry small notes of local currency each day to make tipping easier.

The following amounts are per person suggestions based on local considerations and feedback from our past travelers:

  • Restaurants: Local markets and basic restaurants - round your bill up to the nearest US$1. More up-market restaurants we suggest 10% to 15% of your bill.
  • Drivers: You may have a range of drivers on your trip. Some may be with you for a short journey while others may be with you for a few days. We would suggest a higher tip for those more involved with the group, however, we suggest US$1-US$2 per day for drivers.
  • Your Tour Guide: We suggest US$3-US$5 per day for your tour guide for outstanding service throughout your trip.

Of course, you are free to tip more or less as you see fit, depending on your perception of service quality and the length of your trip. Remember, a tip is NOT compulsory and should only be given when you receive excellent service. However, please DO NOT tip with coins, very small denomination notes, or dirty and ripped notes. This is regarded as culturally as an insult.

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Review


P
Patrícia B
10:21, 23/01/2024
Unforgetable experience! We did the Cu Chi tunnels + Mekong river day tour with amazing guide San and driver Mr. Han. We had a lovely time learning about vietnamise culture and history. The Cu Chi tunnels tour was great because San took us through a much less crowded entrance. We were basically the only ones there. After that we drove to Mekong river and had a boat ride, visited Ben Tre’s coconut production and small village. We also had an unforgetable lunch at a homestay with great views and food. Truly an amazing experience! Thank you so much San and Mr. Han :)

J
Jenny (Florida, USA)
10:31, 18/10/2023
In Ho Chi Minh, we had the great pleasure of booking a one day tour to the Mekong Delta and the Cu Chi Tunnels with Innoviet Travel. Our tour guide San was great, as was our driver... both were timely, patient, and courteous. They were accommodating to plans and made sure we got to our destinations safely. San made sure we had some pictures of our time and experiences, as well as going beyond to make a small video of our time, so we could have as a memory! On our tour, we were able to learn about the history of this beautiful country, as well as get a glimpse of the hardships they faced during the war era... the people’s attitudes of positivity to the upcoming future, while remembering the past, is a testament to their enduring character, pride, and strength as a people. We had a relaxing day cruising in the Mekong and even met a local family, where we ate a great home cooked meal. We hope to return again! Thank you.

J
Jenny
10:30, 18/10/2023
We did the 1-day Mekong delta small group tour from Saigon and really enjoyed it. We ended up being the only two people on the tour which was great. Our guide Tung was great, he was very friendly, chatty and knowledgeable, happy to answer all of our questions. The best bit about the tour was that it truly felt less touristy - we didn't see another tourist all day. The places we visited were interesting, lunch was nice and the organisation was really smooth. Even though this trip was quite a bit more expensive than some of the others, I'd definitely recommend it, and we were sad we couldn't do a longer tour. The only negative was that breakfast wasn't included. Given that we were picked up at 7am, it felt inappropriate to not provide some breakfast, even if this had just been a pastry and coffee to eat in the car.

D
Dadtravel13
10:25, 18/10/2023
Innoviet are a great company, hugely helpful and reliable. We are a UK family of 4 - with teenagers whose interest in history is variable at best - but our guide Hai did a fantastic job in holding everyone's interest throughout the trip! Knowledge, enthusiastic and friendly, Hai brought everything to life in an easy to understand way. And special shout out too to Trung in the office, who was so kind and helpful!! Ben Duoc is fascinating. We virtually had the place to ourselves. Some of us went into the tunnels, one or two didn't fancy it, all very easy either way. We got a real sense of the 'The American War', all in all a great trip! Highly recommended.

h
hywe hywe
11:25, 14/10/2023
1 Day Mekong Delta Tour and Cu Chi Tunnels Tour We booked this tour after reading all the amazing reviews on this company. We definitely weren't disappointed!! After only booking a couple of days before, we were lucky enough to have a private tour as no one else had booked on that day. This made our experience even better as everything was really personal. Probably the best thing about our tour was the guide, Huy. He was so knowledgeable about the Mekong Delta and Vietnam in general, and we had such a nice day chatting to him and getting to know about his life. He felt more like a friend than a guide! The agenda of the tour itself was also great. It started off with a trip to the beautiful local market, which was amazing to see. There were no other tourists there at all, so it felt really authentic. After cruising down the Mekong River, we boarded a smaller boat to go through smaller canals and this was an amazing sight to see. We then arrived at a locals house where we had the most amazing and fresh fruit, grown herself. After a lovely bike road through the local area (where everyone was super friendly) we sat down with our guide and had an AMAZING lunch. All the food tasted amazing and was so fresh - was definitely one of the best meals we had after a whole month in Vietnam. This tour was really one of our favourites, not only because of our great guide, but also because we felt like we were really experiencing rural Vietnam. The company itself is great because they employ locals to help with the tour unlike the bigger tour companies so we got to meet so many great people along the way. As people who really hate travelling in massive groups, feeling like you are herded everywhere, this tour was perfect. Thank you Innoviet and especially you, Huy!! Cu Chi Tunnels Tour: Visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels in Ho Chi Minh was high up on our list to do because we both love learning about history and culture. We booked with innoviet again because we wanted to be in a smaller group. Huy was our guide again and was unbelievably knowledgeable about the area and was able to answer all of our questions. We definitely recommend going in a small group to this area because it makes climbing through all the tunnels a lot easier and the area is much nicer to see when there aren't hoards of tourists about! All in all, we are so glad to have booked our tours with Innoviet. Both tours really were highlights of our trip in Vietnam and it is so nice to go with a company who wants to involve and give a fair price to the locals. We only had one guide, Huy, for both tours but he was absolutely incredible and so I'm sure all the other guides were. What an amazing way to end our trip. THANKS HUY x

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Graham
11:07, 10/04/2023
Private full day tour This was truly a brilliantly organised private tour for our family of five adults. We had a full day tour with a trip to the cu chi tunnels and the Mekong delta trip. It was a long day 7 am collection and drop off at 1830 hrs … but so worth it. Our guide was brilliant … very knowledgeable. We wanted something non contrived and non touristy and we def got what we wanted. Am amazing day truly a great memory.

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Laurence E
14:03, 02/03/2023
3 lives in one relaxed day. A performance! We did the 1-day Mekong tour with history teacher Tung. A very balanced tour with historical activities, moments of relaxation on the Mekong, and a romantic lunch break I recommend you!