6 best day trips from Ho Chi Minh City

Day trips compared

The day trips

70 km · About 1.5–2 hours each way by road

1.Củ Chi Tunnels

A network of tunnels used by Việt Cộng fighters, with sections widened for visitors to crawl through, booby-trap displays and reconstructed bunkers. Bến Đình is the site most tours visit; Bến Dược is larger and usually quieter.

Getting there

Tour bus, car with driver or river boat

Best for

First-timers, Culture, Families

75 km · About 2 hours each way by road

2.Mekong Delta (Mỹ Tho and Bến Tre)

Small boats thread through coconut-palm canals, with stops at coconut-candy workshops, fruit orchards and river islands. A day trip gives a taste; an overnight stay lets you see a floating market at dawn.

Getting there

Tour bus or car with driver

Best for

First-timers, Families, Food lovers

170 km · About 3.5–4 hours each way by road

3.Cần Thơ and Cái Răng floating market

The Mekong Delta's largest city is the base for Cái Răng, a wholesale floating market where boats sell produce from poles at dawn. Because the market is busiest at sunrise, stay the night before.

Getting there

Bus, car with driver or tour; best as an overnight trip

Best for

Culture, Food lovers

100 km · About 2.5–3 hours each way by road

4.Tây Ninh Cao Đài Holy See

The colourful headquarters temple of Caodaism, a Vietnamese religion that blends Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity and Confucianism, where visitors can watch the midday ceremony from the gallery.

Getting there

Tour or car with driver, often combined with Củ Chi

Best for

Culture

95 km · About 2 hours by hydrofoil or road

5.Vũng Tàu

A seaside city on a peninsula with long beaches, seafood restaurants and a large statue of Christ on Small Mountain, reached by several hundred steps, with views along the coast.

Getting there

Hydrofoil from Bạch Đằng pier, or bus

Best for

Beach, Families, Food lovers

50 km · About 1.5–2 hours by road and ferry

6.Cần Giờ mangrove forest

A protected mangrove biosphere reserve on the river mouths south of the city, with boat trips through the channels, a reconstructed wartime base and a monkey park.

Getting there

Car with driver or tour

Best for

Families, Quiet stays

Day-trip tips

• Leave early: most trips are more relaxed with a morning departure and a return before dinner.
• City buses are inexpensive but slow and signed mainly in Vietnamese; the airport bus routes are the most useful for visitors.
• For trips over about 150 km, an overnight stay or an organised tour saves a lot of travelling.

Questions travellers ask