Trip overview
Two stops carry the whole trip. Ho Chi Minh City fills the first three nights — the tunnel network at Cu Chi, a walk through what was once the French quarter, and a day spent on the water southwest of the city — and a short domestic flight then hands the rest of the week to Phu Quoc, where there is nothing on the plan but Sao Beach, a reef day and the streets of Duong Dong.
It should be said plainly that Phu Quoc lies out in the Gulf of Thailand, apart from the river system our regular routes are built on, so think of this as a beach extension to that side of our business rather than one of our Mekong departures — those keep running through Can Tho, Chau Doc and the delta towns further west. Island status changed on 1 July 2025 as well: Phu Quoc no longer sits under Kien Giang as a city, but answers directly to the new An Giang province as its own special zone, something a lot of older travel writing hasn't caught up with yet.
Trip highlights
- A morning below ground at the Cu Chi Tunnels, paired with an afternoon in the old colonial streets
- A full day on the canals southwest of Saigon, switching between a larger boat and a narrow paddled sampan
- Sao Beach and the streets of Duong Dong on the afternoon you land in Phu Quoc
- A full day snorkeling three separate island stops in the Gulf of Thailand
- Two uninterrupted beach nights, nothing further to pack for or plan around
Your day-by-day itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Ho Chi Minh City (about a 30-minute, 10 km transfer from the airport)
Locals mostly still say Saigon, and the city carries the name well: motorbikes crowd every junction well past midnight and glass towers now stand behind blocks the French built more than a century ago. Nothing formal is planned for your first evening beyond checking in, though the streets around most hotels reward a loose first walk before dinner.
Day 2: Cu Chi Tunnels and half-day Ho Chi Minh City tour (about 1½ hours / 70 km one way)
Resistance fighters dug and lived inside the Cu Chi tunnel network for years during the war, and today's visit combines original narrow stretches with sections widened for guests, alongside wartime photographs and equipment on display. Nobody is required to crawl underground who would rather stay above it — most of the ground covered on the visit is flat, open-air walking.
Back in the city after lunch, the walk takes in the former Presidential Palace, the Old Saigon Post Office, Dong Khoi Street, the Continental Hotel, the Opera House, City Hall and Notre Dame Cathedral. The cathedral is still worth a look even though scaffolding has covered parts of its towers since major repairs began in 2017 — the parish itself has now confirmed the work won't be finished by the original 2027 target.
Day 3: Mekong Delta tour (about 2 hours / 80 km one way)
Rice paddy and orchard replace the city once you clear the southwestern suburbs, and the day's plan runs on water more than road: a larger boat takes you out along a canal to a river islet, where flat paths shaded by coconut palms connect a string of small family workshops.
Stops along the way usually include a hand-run coconut candy operation, hives kept for honey and tea, and, toward the end, a change onto a slim, hand-paddled sampan for a stretch through the narrower channels — traditional Southern folk music sometimes plays in a garden nearby before the drive returns you to the city.
Day 4: Fly to Phu Quoc, Sao Beach and Duong Dong town
A flight of under an hour from Tan Son Nhat Airport takes you to what is now officially Phu Quoc Special Zone, run directly by An Giang province since the mid-2025 restructuring rather than sitting under Kien Giang as a city, which is how many older guides still describe it. The afternoon starts on Sao Beach's pale sand and shallow water before moving to the wartime exhibits at Phu Quoc Prison.
Heading back toward Duong Dong, there's a stop at Ho Quoc Pagoda up on its hillside, then Dinh Cau Temple perched on the rock at the harbour mouth. Sunset works well from Truong Beach or the Sunset Sanato Beach Club, and once dark falls the Dinh Cau night market takes over for seafood and street food.
Day 5: Three-island snorkeling tour
A full day out by boat runs south to three stops in the Gulf of Thailand — Finger Island, Dam Ngang Island and May Rut Island — leaving the rest of the schedule clear for hours over the reef instead of further sightseeing. Sea conditions are calmest and the water clearest between November and April; the trip still runs through the rainier stretch from May to October, though visibility and departure times can be less predictable then.
Day 6: Departure from Phu Quoc
Nothing is booked for the last morning before the transfer out to Phu Quoc International Airport, bringing to an end a short trip that spent its opening half underground and downtown, its second stretched out on sand.
What’s included
- Hotels in the class you choose, twin or double occupancy, with breakfast each morning, or an equivalent property if the one named is full.
- All meals written into the day-by-day programme below.
- A private air-conditioned vehicle for every transfer and excursion in the programme.
- An English-speaking local guide at each stop on the route.
- Every boat trip, river crossing and cruise named in the itinerary.
- Entrance fees for the sites listed in the programme.
- Drinking water in the vehicle and on boat days.
- Government tax and service charge.
Not included
- International and domestic flights, and rail tickets.
- Visas, and any fee collected at a border post.
- Travel insurance.
- Meals and drinks that are not written into the programme.
- Personal spending such as laundry, phone calls, minibar, souvenirs and watersports.
- Early check-in, late check-out and room upgrades.
- Anything added on the day at your request outside the printed programme.
- Gratuities for your guide and driver.
- Costs arising from weather, flooding, road closures or other events beyond our control.
- Bank transfer charges.
Booking this trip
- Days
- 6 days / 5 nights
Sending this does not charge you. We hold the space and confirm within 24 hours.
Full details on visas, payments and what happens once you land are gathered on the [Vietnam travel information page](vietnam/travel-information).
Let us know when you’d like to go and how large your group is, and we’ll check space and come back with a plan and a price by email.