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13 days

South Vietnam & Beach Holiday in Mui Ne

Marked contrasts await you in southern Vietnam, with shiny façades and French colonial style in the metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City, a boat trip on the Mekong Delta, a safari in the jungle and rounding off with a beach holiday in Mui Ne.

South Vietnam & Beach Holiday in Mui Ne
South Vietnam & Beach Holiday in Mui Ne
13 days

South Vietnam & Beach Holiday in Mui Ne

Marked contrasts await you in southern Vietnam, with shiny façades and French colonial style in the metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City, a boat trip on the Mekong Delta, a safari in the jungle and rounding off with a beach holiday in Mui Ne.

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What is included in the price?
This package includes the following
  • Return flight from the UK to Ho Chi Minh City
  • 10 nights at 3 and 4-star hotels
  • 10 x breakfast (days 3–12)
  • 4 x lunch (days 5, 6, 7 and 8)
  • 2 x dinner (days 6 and 7)
  • Local English-speaking guide on transfers and excursions
  • Transport by car or minibus with air conditioning
  • All mentioned transfers and excursions take place within international groups of 1 – 14 people and with TourCompass’ own guests only
  • Departure guarantee – the tour will take place regardless of the number of participants
  • Opportunity to extend the beach holiday in Mui Ne
  • ATOL certificate included
  • Emergency hotline staffed 24/7 throughout your trip

Comprehensive package of excursions:

  • Guided tour of Ho Chi Minh City including the War Remnants Museum, Reunification Palace, the Old Post Office, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Opera and a sunset drink at a rooftop bar
  • Full-day excursion to the Mekong delta including a boat ride and visit to small, local cottage industries.
  • Safari in Nam Cat Tien National Park
  • Admission and fees for the sights and attractions mentioned

THE TOUR IN SHORT

South Vietnam is an area of contrasts. From Ho Chi Minh City to Nam Cat Tien National Park, from the Mekong Delta to the beaches of Mui Ne. Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s dynamic metropolis, which buzzes with life around the clock. From the hectic life of the metropolis, you head out to the fantastic lushness of the Mekong Delta, where fields and villages are criss-crossed by waterways. In the undiscovered Nam Cat Tien National Park, you get right up close to South Vietnam’s lush nature and diversity on a different nature experience, where you might be lucky enough to experience some of the national park’s rare animals, such as the gaur and the hornbill. Before heading home again, you’ll enjoy a few days at Mui Ne’s fabulous beaches.

Why choose this tour

  • In the lush and charming Mekong Delta, you sail through narrow channels surrounded by tall coconut palms and experience the local life of Cai Be
  • On a hiking safari in the jungle, you experience the unique animal and plant life in Vietnam’s largest connected national park – Nam Cat Tien
  • Ho Chi Minh City fascinates with truly wonderful buildings in the French colonial style, which are reflected in the shining façades of the modern and hectic metropolis
  • You round off with a beach holiday at some of Vietnam’s best sandy beaches in Mui Ne

Our prices always include

  • All international and domestic flights
  • All destination transfers
  • All specified excursions and activities
  • All accommodations
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Flight to Ho Chi Minh City

Departure day, where you will fly to Ho Chi Minh City with connecting flights along the way.

 

 

Day 2: Arrival in Ho Chi Minh City

You arrive at Ho Chi Minh City Airport, where you go through immigration and then pick up your luggage. Your guide will be waiting for you in the arrivals hall, holding up a TourCompass sign, and you’ll be driven to your hotel where you will spend the coming nights. After check-in, there’s time to unwind after your flight, and the rest of the day is yours to do as you please.

Day 3: Guided tour of Ho Chi Minh City

With more than 10 million inhabitants, Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s largest city. It is a hectic metropolis full of contrasts, from street stalls to glittering skyscrapers.

Surprisingly, the city is only around 300 years old, and for half of that time, it was strongly influenced by the French colonial power, which left Vietnam in the mid-1950s. This influence can be seen in the architecture of the Notre Dame Cathedral and the famous Central Post Office.  Other nations have also left their mark on the city; Cholon is Ho Chi Minh City’s Chinatown and features a plethora of temples and pagodas.

Today, your guide will meet you at the hotel. The guided tour starts with a visit to the War Remnants Museum, where most people will be moved by the exhibits such as the thought-provoking pictures taken by American photographers during the Vietnam War. You will also visit the Reunification Palace, where the Vietnam War – or the American War, as the Vietnamese call it – ended on 30 April 1975. You will see the Central Post Office, the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral, the famous Dong Khoi shopping street and the Opera, which has an interesting story to tell.

You head from here to the narrow alleyway 287 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, where you will visit house number 70. Politician Tran Van Lai, who was also a secret agent for the Viet Cong, bought the house in 1966. He secretly built a secret weapons cellar under the house, where he hid and stored weapons. Today, the house serves as a museum, outlining the history of the cellar along with various artefacts from the war. You will also learn how weapons were secretly transported around the city during the American occupation.

The guided tour ends at a rooftop bar where you can enjoy the sunset with a refreshing drink.

The evening is then yours to do as you please.

Day 4: Ho Chi Minh City on your own

The day is yours to explore the city on your own, check out the various markets or eat your way through the delectable street kitchens.

Day 5: Day tour to the Mekong Delta

You will be picked up from your hotel and driven towards the Mekong Delta, south of Ho Chi Minh City. The Mekong River itself runs 4,500 km through 6 countries from its source to the delta south of Ho Chi Minh City. The delta is known as Vietnam’s pantry and is, as the nickname suggests, an extremely fertile place. The delta covers an area of almost 40,000 km², but the area covered by water depends on the amount of rainfall and the season.

You won’t get far from Ho Chi Minh City before you start seeing beautiful green rice fields. The climate here allows farmers to plant and harvest three crops a year.

Arriving in the small charming town of Cai Be, you board a boat that takes you around the lush Mekong Delta. Here, you can experience the locals with their boats filled with watermelons, coconuts, and pineapples, or patiently waiting for another fish to bite. The area was formerly known for its floating markets, but today, goods are sold on land.

Then, you visit a family that produces and sells various products made from water hyacinths. The tour also passes by a small home factory that produces “pop rice,” a local specialty in the Mekong Delta.

You now board a sampan, a traditional boat, and sail through the labyrinth of narrow channels in the charming delta before enjoying a late lunch in a beautiful old local house. Here, you will also be shown how to make the traditional Vietnamese pancakes, banh xeo.

Afterward, you are sailed back to Cai Be and from there, driven back to Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 6: Ho Chi Minh City – Nam Cat Tien National Park

Nam Cat Tien National Park is located about 150 km north of Ho Chi Minh City. The park is only 72,000 hectares and consists of lowland forest, swamp areas, lakes, and a river. The park is an extremely important area for the conservation of many Asian animal species. It is the largest contiguous jungle in Vietnam, and here exists a completely unique animal and plant life. If we were to mention some less threatened animal species, monkeys, sambar deer, gaur, muntjac deer, wild boar, and many bird species, including the beautiful rhinoceros birds and the endemic Saigon woodcock, live here. The majority of the park is dense jungle, and it is considered a special bonus if you spot mammals.

After arrival and check-in at the lodge, lunch is served, followed by a foot safari with a knowledgeable ranger who knows Nam Cat Tien’s flora and fauna inside out. The hike takes about 2 hours and is about 6 km long. We recommend wearing good hiking boots and leech socks or leech spray, as leeches are very common in Vietnam’s tropical forests, especially during the rainy season from May to November.

Back at the lodge, you can relax and enjoy a delightful dinner. Then, it’s time for a night safari in a jeep to spot the nocturnal animals. The number of animals varies from day to day and also depends on the season. Usually, you see the most animals in the dry season from December to April.

Accommodation:
Day 7: Fantastic nature experiences in Nam Cat Tien National Park

Today, you wake up to the sounds of the forest.

After breakfast, you embark on an exciting hiking tour. First, a beautiful 30-minute drive through the jungle takes you to the starting point of the hike. You trek 5 km through the jungle towards Crocodile Lake, home to the endangered Siamese crocodile. Along the way, you make several stops to admire various bird and plant species, and perhaps catch a glimpse of larger mammals.

After lunch, you visit the nearby Wildlife Rescue Center, where you gain insight into the center’s fantastic work with the jungle’s wild and endangered animal species.

You return to the lodge in the afternoon.

Accommodation:
Day 8: Nam Cat Tien – Mui Ne

After breakfast, it’s time to say farewell to the fantastic area of natural beauty in Nam Cat Tien. Your driver will pick you up from your hotel, and sand, sea and relaxation now await you on the gorgeous beaches of Mui Ne, one of Vietnam’s very best beach areas. The drive takes about 4 hours.

After check-in at your hotel in Mui Ne, you have the rest of the day to yourself.

Days 9-11: Beach holiday in Mui Ne

Originally a small fishing village, Mui Ne has developed into a lovely, cosy beach holiday destination. The beach has fine, golden sand, and the sea is wonderfully warm. Along the beach, you’ll find small, local eateries serving delicious Vietnamese dishes.

Mui Ne is also famous for its huge red and white sand dunes. Discover how the wind constantly blowing in from the sea shapes the red and pale-yellow sand into beautiful desert-like formations.

In southern Mui Ne, on the way to Phan Thiet, are the Po Shanu Cham towers, which were built by the Cham people in the 9th century. Neighbouring the towers is a fine Chinese temple. Both the towers and the temple are located on a hilltop with a nice view of the bay.

In the evening, you can stroll along the beach road, which is approx. 10 km long. Along it lie cosy coffee bars, restaurants and shops. You can also head into Phan Thiet where you can buy the town’s famous fish sauce, known throughout Vietnam.

Accommodation:
Day 12: Departure day

You will be picked up from your hotel and driven out to the airport to catch your flight from Ho Chi Minh City back to the UK. There will be connecting flights along the way.

Day 13: Arrival in the UK

Arrive back in the UK after a wonderful holiday.

When would you like to travel?
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All prices shown are per person
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Laura Arundell Trelborg

Laura loves to travel and is extremely passionate about helping others achieve their travel dreams.

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