Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Southern Vietnam: Saigon, the Mekong Delta and Phu Quoc
7 days in the south: three nights in Saigon with the Cu Chi Tunnels, two in the Mekong Delta with Cai Rang at dawn, and a last night on Phu Quoc.
7 days · Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc · up to 12 guests
Sunset over the Gulf of Thailand from Phu Quoc's west coast. Photo: Elmschrat, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1_Phu_Quoc_sunset.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 7 days, 6 nights
- Start and end
- Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Easy
Mostly easy walking in Ho Chi Minh City, about 3 to 5 km a day, with two early starts, Cu Chi at 7 am and the Cai Rang boat at about 5:30 am. The tunnel section at Cu Chi is a short, low crawl of a few minutes and is optional. Two bicycle rides of about 5 to 8 km on flat, shaded lanes, each with the option to stay off the bike. It is hot and humid all year, so the middle of most days is kept for rest.
- Meals included
- 6 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 315 (estimated price)
- Season
- Best December to April
Highlights
Why this trip
- The Cu Chi Tunnels early in the morning, before the midday heat and the busiest hour
- The War Remnants Museum with your guide in the galleries, not waiting outside
- A street food evening in District 4 and Cholon, at the hour the stalls are busiest
- A sampan on the narrow canals of An Binh island and a lunch in a family garden
- Two nights at a riverside homestay near Can Tho, with dinner cooked alongside our hosts
- The Cai Rang floating market from a small boat at first light
- The fast ferry to Phu Quoc and a sunset over the Gulf of Thailand
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 315 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Saigon
Tan Son Nhat International Airport to District 1, then an evening walk
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Ho Chi Minh City
Your trip starts at Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN), where we meet you and drive you about 8 km to your hotel in District 1, the old centre of Ho Chi Minh City. Most people who live here still call it Saigon.
Afternoon
Rest after the flight: the afternoon heat is the time to sleep, not to sightsee.
Evening
In the early evening, as the city cools, you meet your guide and the group for a short walk along the Nguyen Hue walking street to the old City Hall, built by the French as the Hôtel de Ville in the early 1900s and now the seat of the city's People's Committee, seen from outside, and on to the Opera House. Your guide shows you how to cross a road full of scooters calmly, the most useful skill for the next three days. Then a welcome dinner together of southern dishes, which are sweeter and richer in fresh herbs than those of the north. If your flight lands late, we meet at breakfast instead.
Included
- Pick-up at Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN)
- Evening walk on Nguyen Hue past the old City Hall and the Opera House
- Welcome dinner with your guide
Free time: Afternoon free to rest before the welcome walk
The Cu Chi Tunnels and the War Remnants Museum
Ho Chi Minh City to the Cu Chi Tunnels at Ben Duoc and back, then the War Remnants Museum
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Ho Chi Minh City
- Drive about 3.5 h
Afternoon
We leave at 7 am to reach the Cu Chi Tunnels at Ben Duoc, about 70 km north-west of the city, early in the morning, before the midday heat and the busiest hour; the early start buys that cooler hour and a free afternoon. The tunnels were dug by hand under the farmland from the late 1940s, during the war against the French, and extended in the war with the Americans into a network of well over 100 km, with kitchens, meeting rooms, field hospitals and air vents hidden in termite mounds. Your guide stays with you the whole way, explaining how people lived underground for weeks at a time. You can climb down into a short section widened for visitors, or stay above ground and see the entrances, traps and shelters. Back in the city for lunch together, then a free afternoon. At about 4 pm we visit the War Remnants Museum, and your guide stays in the galleries with you. Its photographs of the war, and of the effects of Agent Orange, are hard viewing, and you can step out at any time.
Evening
The evening is free.
Included
- Cu Chi Tunnels at Ben Duoc in the early morning, with entry and a local site guide
- Lunch in Ho Chi Minh City
- War Remnants Museum with your guide, with entry
Easier option: Stay above ground at Cu Chi and see the entrances and shelters, or skip the museum and rest at the hotel.
More active option: Crawl a second, narrower tunnel section with the site guide, where it is open.
Free time: Early afternoon and evening free
Activity: The tunnel section is low, warm and a few minutes long; it is not for anyone uneasy in tight spaces.
Old Saigon and a street food evening
The Independence Palace, the Central Post Office and Ben Thanh Market, then District 4 and Cholon after dark
- Breakfast and dinner
- Stay in Ho Chi Minh City
Morning
A morning on foot and by van through the old centre, starting at the Independence Palace as it opens. This was the home and office of the president of South Vietnam, and on 30 April 1975 a tank broke through its gates and the war ended; the 1960s reception rooms, the command bunker in the basement and the helipad on the roof are kept as they were. We walk on to the Central Post Office, built under the French at the end of the 19th century and still working under its vaulted iron roof, and the red-brick Notre-Dame Cathedral beside it, whose long restoration is now largely complete.
Afternoon
Late morning, Ben Thanh Market: your guide shows you the food stalls, and lunch is yours to choose there. The afternoon is free for a swim, a rest or a coffee.
Evening
In the evening we go out by van and on foot to District 4 and the old Chinese quarter of Cholon for a street food dinner of grilled seafood, broken rice and sweet soups, at the hour the stalls are busiest.
Included
- Independence Palace at opening time, with entry
- Central Post Office and Notre-Dame Cathedral
- Ben Thanh Market with your guide
- Street food evening in District 4 and Cholon
Optional experiences
- A O Show at the Saigon Opera House. From about VND 800,000; on evenings when it plays, instead of part of the street food evening.
Free time: Lunch on your own at Ben Thanh Market, afternoon free
Activity: Notre-Dame Cathedral's restoration is largely complete, with some conservation work reported into 2027; whether we go inside depends on access on the day.
Into the Mekong Delta
Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh Long and An Binh island, then Can Tho
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Can Tho
- Drive about 3.5 h
We leave Saigon at about 8 am and drive south on the expressway into the Mekong Delta, crossing the Tien River, the northern branch of the Mekong, at My Thuan. At Vinh Long a short boat takes us across the Co Chien to An Binh, an island of orchards, small farms and canals. A local rows you along a narrow canal in a sampan, the quietest hour of the day, then we cycle the shaded lanes with your guide at an easy pace, past fruit gardens, village shrines and houses on stilts over the water.
Afternoon
Lunch is in a family's garden, with Mekong dishes such as elephant ear fish rolled at the table with herbs and rice paper. In the afternoon we drive on to Can Tho, the largest city of the delta, crossing the Hau River, which the French called the Bassac, on the long Can Tho Bridge. Check in at our riverside homestay, a family-run place with private rooms and bathrooms, and rest.
Evening
Dinner tonight is cooked by our hosts.
Included
- Transport from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho with your guide
- Boat across the Co Chien to An Binh island
- Sampan ride on the small canals
- Bicycle ride through the orchards and villages
- Lunch in a family garden
- Dinner at the homestay
Easier option: Ride in the vehicle or walk a shorter loop instead of cycling.
Free time: Late afternoon free at the homestay
Activity: The bicycle ride is about 5 to 8 km on flat lanes, with stops.
Cai Rang floating market at dawn
Can Tho by boat to Cai Rang and back through the small canals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Can Tho
- By boat
The early start is the point of the day. We board a small boat on the Can Tho waterfront at about 5:30 am, while it is still cool, and reach the Cai Rang floating market as trading begins. Wholesale boats hang a sample of what they sell from a tall pole, a pineapple, a pumpkin or a bunch of onions, and smaller boats come alongside to buy.
Morning
The market is smaller than it once was, as roads take over from the river, but at first light it is still busy and noisy. Breakfast is a bowl of noodle soup bought from a boat. On the way back we take the narrow canals and stop at a family kitchen where rice noodles are made by hand, to watch and taste, not to shop.
Afternoon
Back at the homestay by about 10 am to rest, then lunch together and a free afternoon in the hammock or by the river. Late in the day, cycle the canal paths with your guide.
Evening
For dinner our hosts make banh xeo, crisp rice pancakes, with you.
Included
- Boat to the Cai Rang floating market at dawn
- The small canals and a rice noodle kitchen
- Lunch in Can Tho
- Late afternoon bicycle ride on the canal paths (optional)
- Cooking dinner with our hosts
Easier option: Skip the bicycle ride and rest at the homestay; the boat morning is seated throughout.
More active option: A longer late afternoon ride with your guide to the smaller Phong Dien market area and back.
Free time: Late morning and early afternoon free
Activity: If the market is quiet on the day, the boat continues to the smaller Phong Dien floating market.
Across to Phu Quoc
Can Tho to Rach Gia, then the fast ferry to Phu Quoc
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Phu Quoc
- Drive about 3.5 h
A travel day, planned so no part of it is long. We leave Can Tho at about 8 am and drive west across the rice country of the lower delta to Rach Gia on the Gulf of Thailand, about 2.5 hours.
Afternoon
Lunch together near the port, then the early afternoon fast ferry to Phu Quoc, which takes about 2.5 hours to the island's east coast. The ferry is air-conditioned with assigned seats, and in the dry season the sea is usually calm.
Evening
From the port we drive about 45 minutes across the island to our hotel on the west coast, the side that faces the sunset. Phu Quoc is Vietnam's largest island, about 50 km from north to south, with a national park covering much of its forested north. There is just time to swim before the sun goes down over the sea. The farewell dinner tonight is seafood by the water, the last evening of the trip together.
Included
- Transport from Can Tho to Rach Gia with your guide
- Lunch in Rach Gia
- Fast ferry from Rach Gia to Phu Quoc
- Transfer to your hotel on the west coast
- Farewell dinner
Free time: Late afternoon free for a swim before sunset
Activity: If strong wind cancels the ferry, we drive back towards Ho Chi Minh City or Can Tho and fly to Phu Quoc instead; your guide arranges it on the day.
A free morning, then fly from Phu Quoc
The west coast beach, then Phu Quoc International Airport
- Breakfast
Morning
The last morning is yours, with no early start. Breakfast at the hotel, then swim, walk the beach or sit in the shade with a last iced coffee. If you want one more outing, your guide can take you into Duong Dong, the island's main town, to see a fish sauce house, where the anchovy sauce Phu Quoc is known for ferments for months in tall wooden vats, and the small fishing harbour at the river mouth. We drive you to Phu Quoc International Airport (PQC), about 15 to 20 minutes from the west coast hotels, at the time that suits your flight. Most guests fly home through Ho Chi Minh City, about an hour in the air, so book a flight from Phu Quoc after about noon, or tell us your times and we plan the transfer around them. If you would like more beach time, we can add nights on the island at the end of the trip.
Included
- Drop-off at Phu Quoc International Airport (PQC)
Free time: Morning free
- Ho Chi Minh City3 nights
- Can Tho2 nights
- Phu Quoc1 night
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: December to April is the dry season in the south: sunny, humid days of about 30 to 35 degrees C, with April the hottest month and December and January a little fresher in the mornings. On Phu Quoc this is the calm season on the west coast, with clear sunsets. From May to November afternoon storms are common, the Phu Quoc ferry can be rough or cancelled in strong wind, and the delta floods from about September to November.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers with a week who want the south of Vietnam done slowly rather than the whole country in a rush
- Anyone who wants to stay in the Mekong Delta rather than see it on a day trip
- Food lovers: a street food evening, a garden lunch and two dinners cooked with a Mekong family
- Guests adding a southern week to a trip in the north or centre of Vietnam, or to Cambodia
Not for you if you want
- Travellers who want a beach holiday: there is one night on Phu Quoc, though nights can be added
- Anyone uneasy with simple rural lodging, insect noise and early starts
- Those who want Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue or Hoi An, which this route does not reach
- Anyone who finds heat and humidity hard, especially in April
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
6 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Ho Chi Minh City3 nights
- Can Tho2 nights
- Phu Quoc1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 6 nights: 3 in Ho Chi Minh City, 2 near Can Tho in the Mekong Delta and 1 on Phu Quoc
- Central hotels of a 3-star-plus standard in Ho Chi Minh City and on Phu Quoc's west coast, with air-conditioning and private bathrooms
- A family-run riverside homestay near Can Tho of a 3-star-plus comfort standard, with private rooms, their own bathrooms and air-conditioning
- We name each hotel and the homestay when we confirm your dates
Transport
- Pick-up at Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) and drop-off at Phu Quoc International Airport (PQC)
- Our own vehicle and driver for the group on the mainland, and a vehicle on Phu Quoc
- The fast ferry from Rach Gia to Phu Quoc
- The boat to An Binh island, the sampan on the canals and the boat to the Cai Rang floating market
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group from day 1 to day 7, including inside the museums and on the ferry
- Local site guides where a site requires them, such as at the Cu Chi Tunnels
Activities
- Ho Chi Minh City: evening walk on Nguyen Hue, the Independence Palace, the Central Post Office, Ben Thanh Market and the War Remnants Museum
- The Cu Chi Tunnels at Ben Duoc
- Street food evening in District 4 and Cholon
- Vinh Long: boat to An Binh island, a sampan ride and a bicycle ride
- Can Tho: the Cai Rang floating market at dawn by boat, the small canals and a rice noodle kitchen
- Cooking dinner with our hosts in the Mekong Delta
- All entrance fees for included sights
Meals
- 6 breakfasts
- 4 lunches, including a garden lunch in the Mekong Delta
- 5 dinners: a welcome dinner, the street food evening, two dinners with our Mekong hosts and a seafood farewell dinner on Phu Quoc
Not included
- International flights to Ho Chi Minh City and home from Phu Quoc, including any domestic connection
- Vietnam visa
- Travel insurance
- Meals not listed above
- Drinks
- Tips for guides, drivers, boat crews and hosts
- Optional activities, such as the A O Show
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 315 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the Saigon, Mekong Delta and Phu Quoc trip include?
Six nights in central 3-star-plus hotels and a riverside homestay near Can Tho, airport transfers, our own vehicle and driver, the ferry to Phu Quoc, a See Sight Tours guide throughout, the Cu Chi Tunnels, the War Remnants Museum, the Independence Palace, the Mekong boats and bicycles, Cai Rang at dawn, all entrance fees, 6 breakfasts, 4 lunches and 5 dinners.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests, never more. That is smaller than the 16 to 18 that many Vietnam group trips allow, so everyone fits in one small boat at Cai Rang, hears the guide in the museums and gets in and out of the vehicle quickly.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from the airport in Ho Chi Minh City to the airport on Phu Quoc, every day, including inside the War Remnants Museum and on the boats. Local site guides join where a site requires them. We make no commission stops at candy, lacquer or souvenir workshops.
How fit do I need to be?
This is an easy trip. Most days are walking in town, about 3 to 5 km at a relaxed pace, with a few early starts. The tunnel crawl at Cu Chi is optional, and both bicycle rides are short and flat, with a vehicle or a rest instead. Heat is the main challenge, so the middle of most days is free.
I am travelling solo. What is the single supplement?
A room of your own is from CAD 315 more, about 17 percent of the small-group price, shown before you book with no surprise at checkout. Solo travellers join the same group, meals and activities as everyone else, and at the homestay you have your own private room and bathroom.
When is the best time to visit southern Vietnam and Phu Quoc?
December to April, the dry season in the south. Days are sunny and humid, April is the hottest month and Phu Quoc's west coast is calm with clear sunsets. May to November brings afternoon storms, rougher ferry crossings and, from September, floods in the delta. We avoid the week of Tet.
Is the Cai Rang floating market still worth the early start?
Yes, at first light. The market is smaller than it was, because roads now carry much of the trade, but between about 5:30 and 7:30 am the wholesale boats are still busy. Staying near Can Tho makes it a short boat ride rather than a 4 am drive from Saigon.
How do we get to Phu Quoc, and where do I fly home from?
We drive from Can Tho to Rach Gia and take the fast ferry, about 2.5 hours. If strong wind cancels the sailing, we fly you to Phu Quoc instead. You fly home from Phu Quoc International Airport (PQC) on day 7, usually through Ho Chi Minh City; book a flight after about noon. We can add extra nights on the island if you want more beach time.
Can I combine this trip with Hanoi, Ha Long Bay or Hoi An?
Yes. This week pairs well with our Central Vietnam trip to Hue and Hoi An, with a short flight to Ho Chi Minh City in between. Our 12-day Vietnam: Hanoi to Saigon trip already ends in Saigon with a Mekong day, so choose this one if you want more time in the south.
Do I need a visa for Vietnam?
Most visitors do, Canadians included. Vietnam issues e-visas online before you travel, through the official government portal. Rules and fees change, so check the current requirements for your passport before you book flights, and make sure your passport is valid for at least six months after you arrive.
How does booking work?
Choose your start date and style, small group or private, and send a request to book. We confirm your trip, with the hotels named, within 24 hours. No payment is taken when you send the request, and nothing is charged until we have confirmed everything with you.
Can I travel privately or on my own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip runs as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, from CAD 3,355 per person. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same hotels, boats and guided days for you.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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