Tour Vietnam 4 days: TP.HCM

Itinerary — Tour Vietnam 4 days: TP.HCM

DAY 1: Ho Chi Minh City – Street food by night

1. 17:00 – Your driver-guide meets you in the hotel lobby for a safety briefing and helmet fitting; each guest rides on the back of a motorbike with their own driver.
2. Ride through the colonial quarter around the Opera House, the Central Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral in the early evening.
3. Eat phở at a neighbourhood street stall popular with locals.
4. Weave through the back lanes around Bến Thành and stop for bánh xèo wrapped in mustard leaves and lettuce.
5. Visit Hồ Thị Kỳ flower market (District 10), one of the largest wholesale flower markets in the south and liveliest at night.
6. Finish the evening with chè and bánh mì.
7. Around 21:00 – Arrive back at your hotel.
8. Note: long trousers and closed-toe shoes are required; pickup from hotels in District 1 (except Đa Kao and Tân Định wards); minimum age 12.

DAY 2: Ho Chi Minh City – Củ Chi Tunnels (Bến Dược) – Ho Chi Minh City

1. 07:30–08:00 or 12:30–13:00 – Hotel pickup (the morning session returns by early afternoon, the afternoon session in the evening; both follow the same itinerary).
2. Arrive at the Bến Dược section of the Củ Chi Tunnels, a hand-dug network of over 200 km reaching 10 m deep, and watch a wartime documentary.
3. Walk past hidden trapdoor entrances, air vents disguised as termite mounds, a weapons workshop, a smoke-dispersing field kitchen, B-52 bomb craters, an M-41 tank and an anti-aircraft gun.
4. Optionally crawl through a 100-metre section of the original tunnel, slightly widened for visitors.
5. Taste cassava with jasmine tea, the staple food of those who lived underground.
6. Try the shooting range if you wish (at your own expense).
7. Note: closed-toe shoes are required; sandals are not suitable for the jungle paths.

DAY 3: Ho Chi Minh City – Mỹ Tho – Bến Tre – Ho Chi Minh City

1. 07:00–08:00 – Hotel pickup and drive to Mỹ Tho (Tiền Giang), about 70 km from Ho Chi Minh City.
2. Visit Vĩnh Tràng Pagoda, a 19th-century pagoda blending Vietnamese, Chinese, Khmer and French architecture.
3. Cruise the Mekong River by motorboat past the four islets of Long, Lân, Quy and Phụng.
4. Go ashore to visit a coconut candy workshop, a honey bee farm and a tropical fruit orchard with tasting.
5. Listen to đờn ca tài tử, UNESCO-recognised folk music played on instruments such as the đàn bầu and đàn kìm.
6. Lunch at a riverside restaurant with local dishes.
7. Ride a hand-rowed sampan along about 2 km of palm-shaded canals, then cycle around Tân Thạch Village (or walk or rest in a hammock instead).
8. Around 17:30 – Arrive back at your hotel.

DAY 4: Ho Chi Minh City – Free day

1. A free day with no guide and no fixed schedule; here are some suggestions.
2. History and culture: the War Remnants Museum (about half a day), Independence Palace (free audio guide) and the quiet Jade Emperor Pagoda, off the usual tourist trail.
3. Stroll through Bến Thành Market for the atmosphere, though not for bargains.
4. Shopping: Saigon Square, Diamond Plaza, Vincom Center (with a food court) and Tân Định Market, where locals actually shop.
5. Evening: lively Bùi Viện Walking Street.
6. Slow day: rooftop coffee at Cộng Cà Phê or The Workshop on Lê Lợi Street, and a morning walk along Nguyễn Huệ Boulevard before the heat builds.
7. A foot massage at a reputable spa (at your own expense).