7-Day Best of South Vietnam Essential Tour & Vacation

Upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Sonasia’s guide & driver will pick you up and transfer directly to the hotel in the center of Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is Vietnam at its most dizzying: a high-octane city of commerce and culture that has driven the country forward with its pulsating energy. A chaotic whirl, the city breathes life and vitality into all who settle here, and visitors cannot help but be hauled along for the ride.

Free to stroll around the town for your own exploration.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Depart the hotel for a full day Ho Chi Minh City tour. Head to Cholon, the Chinatown district, to discover the area’s markets, shops, and the Cantonese Thien Hau Pagoda - dedicated to the goddess of the Sea.

Visit Vietnam's first traditional medicine museum, the FITO Museum, with an amazing collection of 3,000 items relevant to the development of traditional Vietnamese medicine. Implements used to prepare indigenous herbs, and objects commonly found in traditional pharmacies can be seen in the galleries as well as ancient books and documents on traditional Vietnamese medicine.

Head back to the city center to visit Ben Thanh Market where an incredible display of fresh produce is offered. Simply stroll through the market exploring the variety of goods for sale.

This afternoon visit the War Remnants Museum,  History Museum (closed Mondays) or the former Presidential Palace, Stroll to the major sights of colonial Ho Chi Minh City: the Old Saigon Post Office, Dong Khoi Street (formerly Rue Catinat), Continental Hotel, Opera House and City Hall (a vehicle will be waiting at all times). At the end of the afternoon head back to the hotel.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Today’s tour will begin at 07:30. It is an early start today on this day trip from Ho Chi Minh City, departing by 07:30 to make the most of this adventure in the countryside. Relax on the drive to Tay Ninh, watching the landscapes change from concrete buildings to rice paddies and villages dotted with wooden houses.

At Tay Ninh visit the Cao Dai Great Temple, with architecture that could have come straight from a Walt Disney fantasy. Admire the whimsical statues and colorful paintings covering this remote temple building. Learn about the origins and beliefs of this unusual religion, which blends the world’s major faiths into a unique mosaic.

Following a lunch break, drive further through the countryside to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Spend the afternoon exploring this incredible network of 200 km underground tunnels. Learn how the Vietnamese resistance fighters constructed the tunnels during the French and American wars. Crawl underground and get a better sense for what life was like living and fighting in the labyrinth of caves and tunnels. Hear remarkable stories of the residents’ resilience and see relics of the wartime weapons.

This insightful day in the countryside concludes in the late afternoon with a drive back to the city.

After breakfast, departure for My Tho, where you will enjoy a boat cruise as well as rowing sampans (rowboats) up the river.

After lunch, we will leave My Tho for Chau Doc. 

Along the way we will stop for a visit at the Crocodile Farm where we will have the chance learn about crocodile incubation and other interesting facts about crocodiles and their hatchlings. We will then check into a hotel before visiting Sam Mountain and the Cave Pagoda. 

We will stay overnight in Chau Doc. 

We will begin with a morning boat trip to visit the Floating Fish Farm, the Floating Village and the Cham Weaving Village. After experiencing the floating village and floating fish farm, we will leave Chau Doc for Can Tho. There, we will check-in at a hotel before having dinner at a nice restaurant. We will spend the night in Can Tho. 

05:00 AM, our guide & car driver will pick you up from your hotel & transfer to the boat for embarking.

Arrive to Cai Rang floating market – a must-see in Can Tho. Your guide will explain things about the history of the market, the local river life. Enjoy the tour with the freshest pineapple on the floating boat and say GOOD MORNING VIETNAM! GOOD MORNING MEKONG!

Explore small canals and your guide will share a lot of information about the region and local life.
Visit the friendly family’s traditional noodle house. You will be impressed by the colorful noodles, and how fascinating the noodles are made by local. The family will serve you the yummy noodle pizza made by the owner’s wife…

The 2,800-hectare forest is an ideal destination for nature lovers. Explore and weave in the untouched wetland of Mekong delta by boat gives the best experience the wildlife and nature.
Arrive to the forest & wetland conservation. The tour guide then helps you with boat ticket.

Take an amazing light trekking in the nature for watching native birds. Enjoy the wonderful boat trip in the nature, see and pose a lot of native birds (seasonal), beautiful wild canals along the boat trip. Then, get to the 25-meter observation tower to enjoy the fascinating view over the wetland forest and the stunning rice fields. (about one hour in the forest).

Visit a famous old giant ficus microcarpa tree - a great place for VC to camouflage and hide means of warfare and trained guerrilla. Your guide will absolutely explain more interesting war sides in Mekong region.

After that, transfer to Ben Tre, which is about 3 hours away.

Arrive there around the sunset, transfer to your hotel.

Free for your own exploration or relax by the hotel pool.

Overnight in Ben Tre

Enjoy breakfast while breathing in the fresh air of rural surroundings.

Then, transfer by ferry to take a short cycle around the small village to experience a tailor-made countryside loop to Oc Islet.

Travel along quiet roads and rural laneways, passing fields and farms with lush green coconut forest in the backdrop. Stop often for photos or to observe scenes of daily life.

During the ride, visit small local handicraft village where guests learn all about coconut specialty. Watch as skilled workers make coconut stemmed baskets and coconut coated buttons.

Have the chance to interact with a workshop owner on different braiding techniques. Stop at a fish farm, to learn more about two species of catfish raised in freshwater ponds. These catfish are the two main species of fish production in Vietnam.

Return to Ho Chi Minh City and transfer directly to the airport to take the departure flight.