Top 6 Day Trips from Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) You Should Not Miss

These are some interesting day trips just outside of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) waiting for you to come and add on to your amazing Vietnam experience. Take your pack and spend a day at these top 6 day trips from Ho Chi Minh City ranging from the beach to a day hike and a tunnel discovery, you could be in for a memorable time.

Top 6 Day Trips from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

1) VUNG TAU

The iconic Jesus Statue in Vung Tau

Vung Tau, a coastal city, is one of the most familiar destinations for a weekend vacation for most people from Saigon and the neighboring areas. Just a 2-hour journey and you will arrive at Vung Tau beach, go swim, and enjoy different types of seafood with your friends and family. Breathe in the ocean breeze, and all of your worries and stress will be washed away. This coastal city is great for a day trip from Ho Chi Minh City.

Vung Tau is about 100 kilometers to the Northeast of Saigon. There are many ways to get there like the bus, the high-speed boat, or even the motorbike. Each way will give you a different journey experience, but using the motorbike is one of the most common ways to get there for locals. Plus you can stop anytime you want to take in the beautiful scenery along the road. And the motorbike trip usually takes 3 hours, a bit longer than a car ride.

Get your ticket to travel from Ho Chi Minh to Vung Tau

For more details and the best time to visit Vung Tau, check our Vung Tau Travel Guide

2) CU CHI TUNNELS

At the Cu Chi Tunnels, you will get the chance to explore the passageways hidden underground used during the Vietnam War. There are two tunnels open for visitation: Ben Duoc Tunnels and Ben Dinh Tunnels. Ben Duoc is 2 hours away from Ho Chi Minh City and Ben Dinh is 1.5 hours away. The difference between these two tunnels is that Ben Duoc offers more original sights. To learn more about the Ben Duoc Tunnels with our team, check out the Ben Duoc Cu Chi Tunnels Tour.

Ben Duoc Tunnels were used during the entire Vietnam war with many underground cellars for meetings, surgery, and taking shelter during the bombing. You will also get to see the Hoang Cam stove, a stove with the pipes underground to hide and diffuse the smoke to prevent being spotted by the enemy. Ben Duoc Memorial Temple is another place you could visit to pay your respects to the soldiers who sacrificed themselves during the war. On the other hand, Ben Dinh Tunnels were only used from 1968 to 1975. At here, you can find a recovered tank body of the US Army that stepped on a landmine. Regardless, both tunnels will give you a glimpse of what the soldiers went through fighting in the Vietnam War.

Cu Chi Entrance fee: VND 90,000 (US $4.5)

How to get there:

By bus:

• To Ben Duoc Tunnels: You will have to take 2 buses:
From the Ben Thanh station, take route 13 (Ben Thanh – Cu Chi) to the Cu Chi station, then from the Cu Chi station take route 79 (Cu Chi – Dau Tieng) to the Ben Duoc Tunnels.

• To Ben Dinh Tunnels: You will need to take 3 buses:
From the Ben Thanh station, take route 13 (Ben Thanh – Cu Chi) to An Suong station, then from An Suong station take route 122 (An Suong – Crossroads Tan Quy) to Tan Quy station, finally from Tan Quy station, take route 70 (Tan Quy – Ben Suc) to Ben Dinh Tunnels.

By motorbike or car:

• Ben Duoc Tunnels: About a 2-hour drive from Saigon city center (57km) 
• Ben Dinh Tunnels: About a 1.5-hour drive from Saigon city center (45 km)

By boat:

Depart from Bach Dang Wharf in Ho Chi Minh City. There a few agencies that provide this service by boat to Cu Chi, one of them is Les Rives.

3) BLACK VIRGIN MOUNTAIN and CAO DAI TEMPLE

Dau Tieng Lake makes a lovely camping spot

Black Virgin Mountain or Nui Ba Den with a height of 986 meters is an attractive destination for a hiking trip in Vietnam for those wanting to escape the busy Saigon. Located near the Black Virgin Mountain, you can also visit the Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh. Note that you should visit Cao Dai before noon, preferably around 11 AM, so that you don’t miss the mass service. And you should remove your shoes before entering. Some local delicacies to try here are Trang Bang grilled rice paper or Tay Ninh hot ground shrimp salt.

Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh is the center of Caodaism in Vietnam

How to get there:

By bus:

• You will need to take 2 buses and another ride (taxi or motorbike taxi) from Tay Ninh station to the Black Virgin Mountain because there is no bus going straight there.
• From Ben Thanh station, take route 13 (Ben Thanh – Cu Chi) to Cu Chi station. Then, from Cu Chi station, take route 603 (Cu Chi – Tay Ninh) to Tay Ninh station.

By motorbike or car:

Located about 100km from the city center in District 1, it takes about 2.5 – 3 hours to get to the Black Virgin Mountain. 

Entrance fees:

• Black Virgin Mountain: VND 16,000/adult ($1.5), VND 6,000/child ($0.3)
• Cao Dai Temple: free

4) MEKONG DELTA

Mekong Delta is known as the “rice bowl” of Vietnam for its rice fields and agricultural production. In Vietnam, the Mekong River runs through nine provinces including Can Tho City, Dong Thap, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Vinh Long, Bac Lieu, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, and Long An, etc. With the different types of transportations in Vietnam, you can use motorboats or sampans to travel along the river and get closer to the country-life, different from the noises and crowdedness of Ho Chi Minh City. You can also get a chance to see the making of many products from coconuts in Ben Tre like candy, oil, and baskets. Other produce from the Mekong are flowers and tropical fruits that are transported to other cities in the South of Vietnam.

You can travel to the Mekong Delta by bus, car, or motorbike. If you have limited time, visit the closer provinces like Ben Tre or My Tho for the countryside experiences. From Ho Chi Minh City, it will take about 1.5 – 2 hours to get to Ben Tre by car via Trung Luong Highway (90km).

CAI BE FLOATING MARKET IN THE MEKONG DELTA

Cai Be floating market is a special meeting and trading place for the Mekong locals in the morning. They transport fruits and produce to the market to trade from other regions. An abundance of fruits hung on the poles of a boat, sellers and buyers navigating their boats and doing trades right on the water is a scene you shouldn’t miss when in Vietnam. Going to this region of the Mekong takes a 2.5-hour car ride. Check out the Mekong Delta Tour here. This is a full-day trip from Ho Chi Minh City.

If you like the excitement of a crowded place, you should visit the floating market early in the morning. At this hour you can witness and buy a lot of local produce and fruits. The market dismisses at around 8 AM, and the surrounding becomes still. To catch the floating market at its busiest time, some people even choose to stay overnight at a local homestay. Besides the Cai Be floating market, one of the biggest floating markets in the Mekong is in Can Tho, which is about a 3 – 4-hour car ride from Ho Chi Minh City (170km). 

5) CAN GIO MONKEY ISLAND and CAN GIO BEACH

Can Gio is considered to be “the second Vung Tau” by people from Saigon. Here you can also find fresh seafood, coastal view, and cool breezes from the sea just like Vung Tau – although the beach is not as clean and beautiful as Vung Tau – but on the weekends, many tourists still choose Can Gio as their weekend destination for a vacation. This is a full-day trip from Saigon. Can Gio Monkey Island is 70km away from Saigon and Can Gio beach is 76km away from Saigon.

How to get there:

By bus: 

• You will need to take 2 buses and cross the ferry to get there. From Ben Thanh station, take route 20 to Binh Khanh ferry (VND 5,000). After taking the ferry (VND 1,000 ticket fee), take bus route 90 (VND 6,000) to get to the Can Gio.

By motorbike or car:

• From Ho Chi Minh City’s center, it takes a 1.5 – 2-hour ride to Can Gio.

Entrance fees:

• Adults and children over 11 years old: VND 35,000 ($1.5). For additional services and pricing, check out Vam Sat Ecological Tourist Center

6) NAM CAT TIEN NATIONAL PARK

Cat Tien National Park is located in the border area of Dong Nai, Lam Dong, and Binh Phuoc provinces with a total area of 720 square kilometers. It is rich in natural resources and is one of the largest national parks in Vietnam.

UNESCO has recognized Cat Tien as the International Biosphere Reserve Zone, and Bau Sau Wetlands and Seasonal Floodplains in Cat Tien National Park have been recognized as Wetlands of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention Secretariat.

How to get there:

By bus:

• From Mien Dong bus station, you can buy tickets at counter number 5 to go straight to Nam Cat Tien gate with the price of about VND 80,000/person (USD $4)

By motorbike or car:

• This is a full-day trip from Ho Chi Minh City; it is a 4-hour trip with a distance of 160km 

Entrance fees:

• VND 60,000/adult ($3), VND 10,000/child ($.5)

Summary on The Top 6 Day Trips from Ho Chi Minh (Saigon)

Whether it is sunbathing at the beach, crawling underground, riding a sampan down the Mekong or hiking up a mountain, you will get to enjoy the beauty of Vietnam’s scenic places, delicious food, and great recreational activities. There are different ways for you to get to these places like the bus, the boat or riding the motorbike for those who want to be more adventurous, but the best option is to go with locals who know best. These day trips from Ho Chi Minh City will be a different experience from the busy and lively metropolitan. Check out more exciting Ho Chi Minh City itineraries, or our featured tours and contact us to customize your adventure today.

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