Saigon – Cu Chi – Mekong

Meal provided: No meal, Optional for Buffet Dinner at local restaurant

Welcome to Vietnam. Upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport, obtain your Vietnam visa and then clear Immigration and Customs. After collecting your baggage, exit the airport to meet outside a local driver and guide (FAST TRACK AT THE AIRPORT)

Transfer to visit Reunification Palace formerly known as Independence Palace, built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, is a landmark in Hochiminh City.

Our next stop is the War Remnants Museum. Operated by the Vietnamese government, an incipient form of museum opened on September 4, 1975, as the "Exhibition House for US and Puppet Crimes, located in the premises of the former United States Information Agency building. Stop to visit City Hall, Ho Chi Minh Monument and Central Post Office which was constructed when Vietnam was part of French Indochina in the early 20th century. Right nearby, you can see Notre Dame Cathedral, a magnificent building located in the heart of the city and was established by French colonists. This cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).

Stay overnight in Saigon

Meal provided: Breakfast, Optional for Buffet Dinner at local restaurant

Drive through typical southern Vietnamese countryside to Tay Ninh Province in the west of Vietnam. At Tay Ninh visit the Cao Dai Great Temple which was begun in 1933 in a unique architectural style that reflects its blended traditions. The three principal colors of Cao Dai are yellow (for Buddhism), blue (for Taoism), and red (for Christianity), and these appear in worshippers' robes as well as the temple. The most important symbol is the Divine Eye, representing God, which also appears in followers' homes. It is a left eye, because God is Yang, and Yang is the left side. There are four ceremonies with chanting each day: 6:00 am, noon, 6:00 pm, and midnight. An orchestra of 10 musicians and a choir of 20 youths lead the service in prayer and hymns. The hymns sound western, but the accompanying music is traditional Vietnamese.

Transfer to visit the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, an incredible underground tunnel network constructed by Vietnamese resistance fighters during the long struggle for independence. The Cu Chi Tunnel system had been created long time back, from 1948 to assist Viet Minh in the combat with French. And it was continuing built over 25 years later. It was an underground city with living areas, kitchens, storage, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centers. In places, it was housed up to 10,000 people who virtually lived underground for years.... getting married, giving birth. During the American War the entire area of Cu Chi was designated a free fire zone and was heavily bombarded. From 1988, two sections of tunnels have been open for visitors.

Stay overnight in Saigon.

Meal provided: Breakfast, Optional for Set menu Dinner at local restaurant

In the morning, meet your private guide and car. We leave Saigon behind and head to Vietnam's rice basket of Mekong Delta. We will pass through idyllic, rural scenes until we arrive at My Tho, a peaceful town on the bank of the Mekong River, where we will visit the Vinh Trang Pagoda.

Take a leisurely boat ride along the river, and view the stilt houses, fruit plantations and fishing villages along the river bank. Proceed to Tortoise islet and then enjoy a boat ride to An Khanh – a less touristy attraction in Ben Tre, enjoy cruising on a hand-rowed sampan under the shadow of the water coconut trees along natural canals, then enjoy seasonal fruit & honey tea to the sound of “Southern Vietnamese folk music“, performed by locals.

Visit a family business which epitomizes the idyllic rural lifestyle, taste the delicious coconut candy & observe the pastoral life as you roam through the fruit plantation and village

Keep driving to Can Tho. the fifth largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city in the Mekong Delta. It is noted for its floating market, rice paper-making village and picturesque rural canals.

Check in hotel. Stay overnight in Can Tho

Meal provided: Breakfast, Optional for Set menu Dinner at local restaurant

Early morning, take a boat trip to visit Cai Rang floating market which is one of the three biggest in the Mekong Delta. The shops and stalls at the market are boat of different sizes. Cai Rang Floating Market is open all day but it is busiest from sunrise to about 9am. The main items sold there are farm products and specialties of Cai Rang Town, Chau Thanh District and neighboring areas. Every boat has a long upright pole at its bow on which samples of the goods for sale are hung. During the early morning market hours, larger sized boats anchor and create lanes that smaller boats weave in and out of. The waterway becomes a maze of hundreds of boats packed with mango, bananas, papaya, pineapple, and even smuggled goods like cigarettes. Sellers do not have to cry out about their goods because their goods can be seen in a distance and their cries would not be heard in the vastness of the river and the noise of boat engines. Small boats that sell beer, wine and soft drinks go among the other boats to serve market-goers and visitors.

Heading to Chau Doc. On the way, pay a visit to Tra Su cajuput forest, which is renowned for not only its almost-untouched natural beauty but also its sanctuary of flora and fauna. Take a boat trip into the forest, you will immediately feel like you are harmonizing with nature because of all of the impressive pictures of cajuputs, the fragrance of the flowers and the music-like noise of birds, insects and animals making people relaxed and comfortable. From the observation post, you can overlook the forest with an area of nearly 900 ha, home of many birds and animals, including some rare ones.

Check in hotel.  Stay overnight in Chau Doc

Meal provided: Breakfast, Optional for Buffet Dinner at local restaurant

A highlight of a visit to Chau Doc is to take a boat trip on one of the small paddle boats that collect near the western end of the park. They'll paddle you around the many floating raft houses and fish farms. Doing this at dawn can be very photogenic and rewarding.

Heading back to Saigon.

Transfer to the Saigon Opera House for AO show or My Villagw show.

After the show, drop off at the hotel. Stay overnight in Saigon

Meal provided: Breakfast

Enjoy your free time till being transferred by private car to the airport for flight back to home.

End service.