How this trip is put together
Nothing here is flown, which is the whole point. Longer days in the vehicle buy you the landscape shifting as you go — city traffic gives way to the near-desert behind Mui Ne, the road climbs into pine forest around Da Lat, then drops back to the sea. Four or five hours in a car on transfer days has to suit you, but so does the feeling of having actually crossed the ground.
Three nights at the start go on the Cu Chi Tunnels, the Mekong Delta and the colonial centre. After that the stops get shorter and the scenery does the work: jeeps out to the white and red dunes, one cooler night among the waterfalls and flower gardens of Da Lat, and two closing nights at Nha Trang for the beach and Vinpearl Land. Roads are at their most dependable in the dry months, roughly February to August.
Trip highlights
- The Cu Chi Tunnels, plus a whole day by boat through delta villages
- Open-air jeeps out to the white and red dunes, arriving for sunset
- Da Lat's Langbiang, Datanla Waterfall and Flower Park
- Overland transfers throughout — no domestic flights on this routing
- Ponagar Champa Temple, the Nha Trang Aquarium and Vinpearl Land
- Two closing nights on the sand at Nha Trang
Day by day
Day 1: Arrival in Ho Chi Minh City (about a 30-minute, 10 km transfer from the airport)
Saigon, as it is still widely called, is the country's biggest city and its commercial engine — colonial-era landmarks packed in among new towers, and pavements that stay busy well after dark. Arrival days are deliberately light, with an optional walk through the central districts to take the measure of the place.
Day 2: Cu Chi Tunnels and Ho Chi Minh City half-day tour (about 1½ hours / 70 km one way)
Mornings go to the Cu Chi Tunnels, the vast underground system dug by resistance fighters through the long fight for independence. The afternoon is spent on foot downtown: the former Presidential Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Saigon Post Office, Dong Khoi Street, the Continental Hotel, the Opera House and City Hall.
Day 3: Mekong Delta tour (about 2 hours / 80 km one way)
Two hours of driving southwest and you are in the delta, where a boat along the Vam Xep canal reaches a small islet and a walk leads past orchards and homes. Honey tea and fruit at a bee farm, a workshop turning out coconut candy and a row-boat trip down a narrow channel fill the day, and a motorised boat brings you back via My Tho.
Day 4: Ho Chi Minh City to Mui Ne (about 5 hours / 220 km one way)
A coach carries you up the coast to Mui Ne, a fishing town on the south-central shore known for its dunes and its long run of beachfront. After check-in the day is free — walk the sand, or simply settle in before tomorrow's excursion.
Day 5: Mui Ne city tour
The morning is yours. At 2pm a jeep leaves for Suoi Tien, better known as the Fairy Stream, then a fishing village and the White and Red Sand Dunes, arranged so the dunes come last, in the evening light.
Day 6: Mui Ne to Da Lat (about 4 hours / 170 km one way)
The road leaves the coastal desert behind and climbs into cooler highland air; at the bus station you are met and driven to your hotel. Once checked in, the afternoon takes in Langbiang mountain, Datanla Waterfall and the flower gardens.
Day 7: Da Lat to Nha Trang (about 3½ hours / 140 km one way)
Another coach brings you back down to sea level at Nha Trang, the best-known beach city on the central coast. Pine forest gives way to coastal plain along the way, and you arrive with time to settle in for two nights.
Day 8: Nha Trang city tour
Ponagar Champa Temple fills the morning — Hindu-influenced towers put up between the 7th and 12th centuries — followed by the Nha Trang Aquarium and Vinpearl Land, the amusement complex on its island offshore, reached by cable car.
Day 9: Nha Trang to Cam Ranh Airport, departure (about 1 hour / 50 km one way)
One last transfer takes you to Cam Ranh International Airport, ending a trip that never once left the road until the flight home.
What's included
- Accommodation with twin/ double/ triple sharing room basis with daily breakfast in the category chosen or similar (subject to availability).
- Meals as mentioned in the Tour Itinerary.
- Sightseeing & Transfers according to the above Tour Itinerary Details only.
- Transportation by vehicle with A/C
- Local English-speaking guide’s assistance.
- All Entrance fees for attractions included in the program
- All activities and cruises clearly mentioned in the program
- Government taxes & service charge
- Air Fare / Train fare.
- Personal Expenses such as Laundry, telephone calls, tips & gratuity, mineral water, soft & hard drinks, porterage, water sports.
- Early check-in, late check-out
- Additional sightseeing or extra usage of vehicle, other than mentioned in the itinerary.
- Room Up gradation Charges.
- Any cost arising due to natural calamities like, landslides, road blockage, political disturbances (strikes), etc (to be borne by the client, which is directly payable on the spot).
- Travel Insurance.
- Bank Charges
- Tip to Driver & Guide (Compulsory)
- Airport Taxes
- Visa and Visa arrangement
- Anything which is not included in the inclusion.
Not included
- Air Fare / Train fare.
- Personal Expenses such as Laundry, telephone calls, tips & gratuity, mineral water, soft & hard drinks, porterage, water sports.
- Early check-in, late check-out
- Additional sightseeing or extra usage of vehicle, other than mentioned in the itinerary.
- Room Up gradation Charges.
- Any cost arising due to natural calamities like, landslides, road blockage, political disturbances (strikes), etc (to be borne by the client, which is directly payable on the spot).
- Travel Insurance.
- Bank Charges
- Tip to Driver & Guide (Compulsory)
- Airport Taxes
- Visa and Visa arrangement
- Anything which is not included in the inclusion.
Book this trip
- Days
- 8 nights / 9 days
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