15 Best Day Trips From Ho Chi Minh City
Make the most of your time in southern Vietnam with this các mục of the best day trips from Ho đưa ra Minh City!
With a population of over 8 million, Ho đưa ra Minh đô thị is a hectic và busy city.
There are heaps of things to do within the over-touristed District 1 alone.
But it’s when you take time khổng lồ escape the city center that you truly start khổng lồ experience Vietnam.
Bạn đang xem: 15 best day trips from ho chi minh city
READ MORE: Plan your trip with our comprehensive guide khổng lồ spending 3 days in Ho bỏ ra Minh City.
Table of Contents
The Best Day Trips from Ho chi Minh City1) Mekong Delta2) Cai Be Floating Market3) Cu chi Tunnels4) Can Gio Biosphere Reserve5) Vung Tau6) Cao dai Temple7) Ben Tre8) ba Den Mountain (Black Virgin Mountain)The Best Day Trips from Ho đưa ra Minh City
From untouched natural beauty to lớn cultural experiences and solemn, historical sites, we’ll run you through our list of the đứng đầu day trips from Ho chi Minh City.
You won’t want khổng lồ miss these, so keep reading!
BONUS – Booking ahead of time ensures you won’t miss out on the tour, & get the best price too! và just for maritimehotel.com.vn readers, if you use the Klook discount code “NOMADS10” on the website when checking out, you’ll get $10 off your first booking!
1) Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is among the most popular day trips from Ho chi Minh City.
When you visit Ho bỏ ra Minh City, a day (or two) in the Mekong Delta should definitely be on your itinerary.
Within a short, 4-hour bus ride you can escape the city, reaching local villages, homes, & floating markets.
Book your tour for this here, & use the code “NOMADS10” lớn get $10 off.
The Mekong River itself runs through 7 countries, including China, Myanmar, Tibet, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, và Cambodia.
The Mekong Delta is the mouth of the river, where it splits into hundreds of smaller channels that connect with the ocean.
This area is colloquially called the ‘rice bowl’ of the country, thanks mainly lớn its incredibly fertile soils.
You will get the opportunity to lớn observe and participate in the local way of life here as you float along the interconnecting rivers and walk through the forest.
You can take a boat ride through the rivers where you’ll get khổng lồ purchase locally-made products, fresh fruit, & souvenirs.
Stopping to lớn make coconut candy at the factory in Ben Tre is a fun way lớn immerse yourself in the local culture.
Book a One-Day Tour Today
How lớn Get lớn the Mekong Delta
The easiest way by far is to book a tour. A good tour is great as it will include the bus ride to the Mekong Delta, as well as take you to lớn the sites along the way.
If you’re confident on a motorbike, then renting a scooter is another convenient option – just be conscious that you may want to lớn take a boat ride along the rivers.
Obviously, this would mean leaving your bike behind.
The cheapest way is khổng lồ take a public bus for about 120,000 VND. If you’re a brave, budget-conscious backpacker, then this would be the right choice for you.
Bear in mind, I’ve heard from other travellers that these buses can be terrifying so it’s not for the faint of heart.
2) Cai Be Floating Market
Cai Rang in Can Tho is the most popular floating market.
However, if time doesn’t allow you the opportunity to visit Cai Rang, Cai Be in Tien Giang province is another equally impressive floating market in Southern Vietnam.
Although smaller, you can still take a boat along the canals to lớn explore the floating markets of Cai Be.
Visit stalls selling local wares, souvenirs, and food, such as fresh fruit & typical South Vietnamese cuisine.
It can also be enjoyable to people watch as our boat floats on by, watching the locals operate their floating shops & sell their products.
Aside from the floating markets, consider exploring the village, either by kayak, boat, or bicycle.
This is also a great place to lớn take a cooking class & taste the local dishes.
How to lớn Get to Cai Be Floating MarketFor budget-travellers, you can take a 2.5-hour bus ride to Cai Be from Ho chi Minh city center.Once there, it is easy enough to lớn find your own way around.
Alternatively, a tour is another great option (use the code “NOMAD10” to get $10 off) and a good way to lớn see all the sights in just one day.
As with the Mekong Delta (and any other tours in Vietnam), vì chưng your research & choose the right tour for your day trip.
Book a Tour on Klook
3) Cu chi Tunnels
Another of the popular day trips from Ho chi Minh thành phố is to lớn visit the Cu bỏ ra Tunnels.
These are an elaborate network of tunnels that interconnects points all over North and South Vietnam.
These tunnels were used by the Communist, Viet Cong soldiers during the Vietnam War.
The tunnels are tiny, designed lớn barely fit the small-statured Vietnamese soldiers – & not the larger, American ones.
These tunnels were instrumental in the North’s pushback against the US & the South, making them a very important part of the history of the Vietnam War.
The Cu chi Tunnels, in particular, are a small section of the tunnels found throughout the Ho bỏ ra Minh đô thị region.
You can easily take a half-day or full-day outing to the Cu đưa ra Tunnels.
On your day trip, you will get the opportunity lớn crawl through some of the tunnels – these tunnels have been intentionally widened for tourists to lớn actually fit.
You’ll get khổng lồ envision, khổng lồ a small extent, what it was lượt thích for the Viet Cong soldiers who had to live và fight from within these tunnels.
They have also mix up exhibits displaying some of the lethal traps built by the Vietnamese to maim và kill the American soldiers.
These traps were particularly brutal as they were mostly designed lớn mortally injure – rather than quickly kill – those who were caught. This was part of a fear tactic that also contributed to lớn their victory.
Interestingly, these traps contributed to 11% of all American deaths during the war.
Finally, you will also have the option lớn shoot some guns, including AK-47s và guns used during the war. We didn’t feel the need to vày this when we were there, but we heard the cost to vị so was exorbitant.
How to lớn Get to lớn the Cu đưa ra Tunnels
The cheapest way is by public bus lớn Ben Duoc. This will take about 3 hours in total but will cost just a few dollars.
Taxi or GRAB are options for those short on time và with funds to spend but will cost you about $50-60 USD.
Again, if you have a scooter & are confident riding in Vietnam then you will have no problem driving yourself khổng lồ the Cu bỏ ra Tunnels!
Book a Cu bỏ ra Tunnels Tour
Xem thêm: Ks Duy Tân Huế - Khách Sạn Duy Tân
4) Can Gio Biosphere Reserve
A UNESCO-recognised site, Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve is a large ecological conservation reserve for mangrove forests.
Here you will get lớn see a wide variety of mangroves & animal species.
Sure, it sounds a bit weird, but we can’t recommend spending a day here enough.
Obviously, it’s your chance to check out Vietnam’s nature up close from just outside Ho chi Minh thành phố – but on đứng đầu of this, there are also a bunch of cool things to vày here.
The nearby Tang Bong Tower is a 25-meter high tower that you can climb khổng lồ find panoramic views over the entire forest.
Visit Giant Bat Lagoon on a rowboat & feed crocodiles at a crocodile reserve.
Monkey Island (40,000 VND) in Can Gio is also a great place khổng lồ visit, but keep an eye on your belongings as the monkeys here run rampant and they’ll certainly take what they can.
Rung Sac Guerilla Base (35,000 VND + canoe ride) is also located here & is a great spot lớn visit to learn more about Vietnam’s history & their clever war strategies.
How lớn Get khổng lồ Can Gio Biosphere ReserveYou won’t need khổng lồ take a tour here. Either book a xe taxi or take a public bus from Ben Thanh Market lớn Binh Kanh Ferry Station.
Then take the 90 bus khổng lồ Can Thanh and get off at Lam Vien Can Gio.
READ MORE: Enjoy 33 of the best things to vì in Vietnam!
5) Vung Tau
Vung Tau is a fun beach destination with just a 2-hour ferry ride, and thus one of the shorter day trips from Ho chi Minh City.
It is known amongst locals as one of the popular weekend trips from Ho chi Minh City. But we’d recommend tourists take the trip on a weekday khổng lồ avoid some of the local crowds.
If you’re wanting lớn escape the busy city & soak up some of the tropical sun, then Vung Tau is the place for you.
Bãi Sau is the nicest beach here, so consider making your way here khổng lồ avoid some of the crowds and to get away from the buildings.
Aside from relaxing on the beaches, there is a 105-ft statue of Jesus and a lighthouse on đứng đầu of Núi bé dại mountain that is well worth visiting if you’re into photography.
Other impressive landmarks also include the White Palace, Whale Temple, and Buddhist Pagodas.
How to Get lớn Vung TauTake a 2-hour ferry or a 2.5-hour bus ride. The bus is just 80,000 VND making it a very affordable day out.
6) Cao dai Temple
Caodaism is a religion that fuses together beliefs from Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, và Islam.
It is a monotheistic religion founded in South Vietnam in 1926, making it relatively young.
The Cao dai Temple was built in 1955 & incorporates both French and Chinese-influenced architecture.
The layout is based on a Christian cathedral with aisles và altars.
However, statues of Mohammad, Julius Caesar, Jesus Christ, và Buddha can all be found at Cao dẻo Temple.
The allure of this temple is, particularly, its uniqueness.
Although spectacular in its own way, you won’t find a temple lượt thích this anywhere else in the world, which is why you should definitely make a trip to lớn Cao dẻo Temple!
How to Get to Cao dẻo TempleTake the 702 bus from Ho đưa ra Minh đô thị to Tây Ninh.This will take just 1.5-hours.
Alternatively, there are tours to lớn the Cu chi Tunnels which include this temple or consider taking a GRAB.
7) Ben Tre
Ben Tre, located in the Mekong Delta, is famous for its coconuts.
As a result, the locals here mostly work in the coconut industry, creating coconut products including coconut candy.
In fact, many of the local women work in small factories where they boil và stir cauldrons of sticky coconut candy, before pouring it out and slicing it into delicious treats.
You will definitely want to make a visit khổng lồ one of these factories when in Ben Tre.
You have two options when visiting Ben Tre.
Firstly, if you have time và you are visiting the Mekong Delta on one of many day trips from Ho chi Minh City, consider adding a stop in Ben Tre to experience the local culture, picturesque village, & try the coconut candy.
Otherwise, Ben Tre makes a great destination for a day trip from Ho bỏ ra Minh City.
It is a great spot khổng lồ book boat rides through the Mekong Delta và to stroll around.
This village hasn’t quite been hit with tourism lượt thích the other My Tho và Tra Vinh.
How khổng lồ Get lớn Ben TreBuses run frequently from Ho đưa ra Minh city to Ben Tre. The bus takes roughly 2 hours each way, making it quite a convenient day trip.
If you don’t wish to bus, you could take a xe taxi (which would be pretty expensive), hire a motorbike, or book a tour.
8) bố Den Mountain (Black Virgin Mountain)
Ba Den, or the black Virgin Mountain is a volcano located in Tay Ninh province, a 3-hour drive from Ho bỏ ra Minh City.
Ba Den Mountain, famous for its beautiful scenery and mythological tales, is the tallest peak in Southern Vietnam.
Despite its title, it isn’t actually that tall – just shy of 1,000m.
This is good news for day-hikers, as you can summit the top and return within a day – or about 5-hours to lớn be precise.
If you’re an experienced hiker, you’ll be able to complete the entire black Virgin Mountain trek in a day.
Bear in mind, it involves climbing through lush forests, with often steep và rocky sections.
Less experienced hikers can opt to lớn take the gondola up to tía Den Temple about a third of the way up.
The views at both the temple and the đứng đầu are well worth the effort. Thanks to lớn its difficulty, you are unlikely to lớn encounter many tourists here, so if you’re tired of bumping into tourists then this could be your respite.
How to lớn Get to tía Den MountainDriving or riding a scooter is the best way to lớn get to bố Den Mountain. You’ll get khổng lồ ride through farmer’s fields & pass friendly locals in small towns.
Getting there via public transport will be a bit more difficult. You’ll need to lớn get a bus from Ben Thanh lớn An Suong bus station, then catch a minibus to Tay Ninh station.
From here, you’ll need to find a taxi lớn take you to cha Den Mountain. With few tourists venturing here, finding one may be difficult.
Some tour companies in Ho bỏ ra Minh city offer tours to ba Den, this would be your most reliable option aside from riding a scooter.
Xem thêm: Thông Tin Về Trung Tâm Dịch Vụ Visa Trung Quốc Tại Tphcm, Thủ Tục Xin Visa Trung Quốc Tại Tphcm
Those are our 8 favorite day trip from Ho chi Minh City, Vietnam!
Of course, there are other awesome day trips you can take if you have the time.
Cat Tien National Park is another popular one. It is about 150km north of the city. Here at the vast nature reserve of mèo Tien National Park, you can explore the tropical lowland forest, visit botanical gardens, và see ancient trees.
Another popular day trip is tan Lap Floating Village. This eco-tourism site is located in a dense forest that you can explore by foot or by boat.
Tan Lap Floating Village is about 2.5 hours from Ho chi Minh City, so it’s not as easily accessible as the other floating markets we mentioned earlier.
But either way, there are so many awesome things to lớn see in this area of Vietnam & we hope this article inspired you to see them all!
DISCLAIMER: Some of the link in this article are tiếp thị liên kết links, which means if you book accommodation, tours or buy a product, we will receive a small commission at no extra cost to lớn you. These commissions help us keep creating more free travel content to help people plan their holidays & adventures. We only recommend the best accommodations, tours & products, and regularly reviews these. Thanks for your support, kind friend!
