HCMC - Cu Chi Tunnel, Vung Tau, Mekong Delta and Mui Ne

[Gerald Lam CK]

Hi guys...has anyone been to these few places that i mentioned above to provide some vital info? I'm planning to visit vietnam for the first time in May. Any kind souls out here can advise me on the arrangements like where to buy the bus tours in HCMC? I know there is a famous bus operator Sinh cafe, but what's the estimated cost for these bus rides to the places mentioned?

I'm on a 4D3N trip there and plan to cover each place per day (will want to squeeze Mui Ne into the equation somehow)

Are taxi recommended there?

 

[shahrulesa]

When I was in Vietnam, we hired a van to take us to Chu Chi... didn't have much time then so we left in the morning and be back just in time to check out at noon. Think it was less than SGD100.

 

[Gerald Lam CK]

How long was the journey? U booked the van in Sinh Cafe?

 

[shellshox]

Check with your hotel, normally they would have these tours and its pretty decently priced as well. I took the Cuchi tunnel + some other places tour for less than $100, went off in the morning and back by evening...

 

[Gerald Lam CK]

I'm actually staying at those backpacker's hostel, not sure if they offer the tours? Btw Is cu chi worth going? The tour is a guided tour? Or they just transport you to the place and you are on your own?

 

[thedarknight]

hi gerald, when i was in vietnam last month we booked our tours to mekong delta and cu chi tunnels from delta adventure tours.

you can book from HCMC itself, it's at De Tham St, near the backpacker's area.

the cu chi tunnel was a half day tour which cost about 4 USD per person, while the mekong delta tour we went for 2D1N (Mekong needs 2 days of your time if you can afford) cost about 35USD per person.
these are not inclusive of meals although they will bring you to some nice places to eat. at cu chi tunnel you can always try shooting some guns. i shot the ak47 at 10USD for 10 bullets. so bear in mind these costs as well.

journey to cu chi maybe around 2 hours or so, while the journey to mekong's city took very long as we took small boat rides through the small rivers and visited the many local mekong villages (very little bus journey almost all boat).

anyway if you are going to HCMC, and need recommendations to the places to eat, do check out this food review around HCMC and try out some of these places!

http://thecrazyartichoke.blogspot.com/2010/01/foodies-in-saigon.html

 

[night86mare]

Any kind souls out here can advise me on the arrangements like where to buy the bus tours in HCMC? I know there is a famous bus operator Sinh cafe, but what's the estimated cost for these bus rides to the places mentioned?

I'm on a 4D3N trip there and plan to cover each place per day (will want to squeeze Mui Ne into the equation somehow)

Are taxi recommended there?

gerald, i think you are squeezing too many places.

you will end up feeling like it is the amazing race. it's a holiday, relax, take your time, explore the place more intimately - it is far more rewarding than just having been there and saying that you have been there when you haven't really been there.

for 4d3n, i think you can just limit yourself to HCM and mui ne.

i am not very good at geography, but i have been to hcm and mui ne, if you want to know more specifics, i can only give you very rough details from what i remember. the planning of the trip was done by someone more experienced with vietnam than me.

for hcm --> mui ne at least, there are a lot of bus agencies scattered around a particular street, you should not have problem finding it, it is at the tourist area.

did not ever take a taxi during my trip there. so sorry, can't help you there.

 

[night86mare]

I'm actually staying at those backpacker's hostel, not sure if they offer the tours? Btw Is cu chi worth going? The tour is a guided tour? Or they just transport you to the place and you are on your own?

hostels usually will have, though you might want to do some research if you want to save money to the max. sometimes the hostels' tours might not be the most competitively priced.

still, it is vietnam. you won't lose too much money even if you get ripped off a little.

 

[Gerald Lam CK]

hi gerald, when i was in vietnam last month we booked our tours to mekong delta and cu chi tunnels from delta adventure tours.

you can book from HCMC itself, it's at De Tham St, near the backpacker's area.

the cu chi tunnel was a half day tour which cost about 4 USD per person, while the mekong delta tour we went for 2D1N (Mekong needs 2 days of your time if you can afford) cost about 35USD per person.
these are not inclusive of meals although they will bring you to some nice places to eat. at cu chi tunnel you can always try shooting some guns. i shot the ak47 at 10USD for 10 bullets. so bear in mind these costs as well.

journey to cu chi maybe around 2 hours or so, while the journey to mekong's city took very long as we took small boat rides through the small rivers and visited the many local mekong villages (very little bus journey almost all boat).

anyway if you are going to HCMC, and need recommendations to the places to eat, do check out this food review around HCMC and try out some of these places!

http://thecrazyartichoke.blogspot.com/2010/01/foodies-in-saigon.html

Hey Dark Knight, Thx for the info dude! I'm afraid I might not have 2 days to spare for Mekong Delta though...will check with my travel kakis on this. However 1 qns...i notice you quoted all in USD. So all transactions in USd and not dong?? It's advisable to change USD instead of dong isit?

 

[Octlong]

Hi there,

For Cu Chi, is about 2hrs trip.
You can book from Sinh cafe (is a tour bus) and is about US$10 (if i am not wrong).
As for Vung tao, is about 2hrs trip too.
The rest of the places u mention, it will take you about 4hrs or more.
The distance travel is not far but is the traffic that slow down everything.
If you been there, u should know what i mean.
I had been there on and off for 2 years.

*Remember to takecare of your belongings. I had personally encounter snatch theif (motorcycle) and pickpocket (lucky they failed all the time).

Enjoy your trip!
A nice place to go.

Best Regards

 

[night86mare]

btw, i don't know where you want to be based, or where mekong delta is

as i said, my geographical knowledge is horrible

but hcm --> mui ne is not a short bus ride.

i quote wikitravel:

Most overseas visitors reach Mui Ne via "Open Tour" buses that run between Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang. Most depart from HCMC between 7:30 and 9:00AM or PM (7:30AM for Sinh Cafe in air-conditioned bus and arrive at Mui Ne at about 1:00 PM, same for night schedule). In the opposite direction, buses typically depart from Mui Ne around 2:00PM or AM and arrive in HCMC at 7:00PM or AM~ five hours at night or in the morning.

you can read more here:

http://wikitravel.org/en/Mui_Ne

 

[Gerald Lam CK]

gerald, i think you are squeezing too many places.

you will end up feeling like it is the amazing race. it's a holiday, relax, take your time, explore the place more intimately - it is far more rewarding than just having been there and saying that you have been there when you haven't really been there.

for 4d3n, i think you can just limit yourself to HCM and mui ne.

i am not very good at geography, but i have been to hcm and mui ne, if you want to know more specifics, i can only give you very rough details from what i remember. the planning of the trip was done by someone more experienced with vietnam than me.

for hcm --> mui ne at least, there are a lot of bus agencies scattered around a particular street, you should not have problem finding it, it is at the tourist area.

did not ever take a taxi during my trip there. so sorry, can't help you there.

Hi Nightmare, thx for the info too...yeah i saw yr Mui Ne photos! Damn nice and it was the trigger that prompted me to squeeze Mui Ne into the itinerary. lol. Well im gg with a couple of kakis, so we will have to discuss. Anyway..how long was the journey from hcmc to mui ne? I heard it's pretty long? 5-6 hrs??

 

[Gerald Lam CK]

btw, i don't know where you want to be based, or where mekong delta is

as i said, my geographical knowledge is horrible

but hcm --> mui ne is not a short bus ride.

i quote wikitravel:

Most overseas visitors reach Mui Ne via "Open Tour" buses that run between Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang. Most depart from HCMC between 7:30 and 9:00AM or PM (7:30AM for Sinh Cafe in air-conditioned bus and arrive at Mui Ne at about 1:00 PM, same for night schedule). In the opposite direction, buses typically depart from Mui Ne around 2:00PM or AM and arrive in HCMC at 7:00PM or AM~ five hours at night or in the morning.

you can read more here:

http://wikitravel.org/en/Mui_Ne

Thx...this answered my last question.

 

[night86mare]

Hey Dark Knight, Thx for the info dude! I'm afraid I might not have 2 days to spare for Mekong Delta though...will check with my travel kakis on this. However 1 qns...i notice you quoted all in USD. So all transactions in USd and not dong?? It's advisable to change USD instead of dong isit?

you can use both.

i think the dong prices are better though, after conversion.

if i'm not wrong, if you pay in usd, they will repay the change in dong, but the rate is always horrible.

most places that only accept usd are usually overpriced.

 

[night86mare]

Hi Nightmare, thx for the info too...yeah i saw yr Mui Ne photos! Damn nice and it was the trigger that prompted me to squeeze Mui Ne into the itinerary. lol. Well im gg with a couple of kakis, so we will have to discuss. Anyway..how long was the journey from hcmc to mui ne? I heard it's pretty long? 5-6 hrs??

well, if you only have 4 days, i don't think you can squeeze mui ne in if you want to go somewhere else other than HCM.

maybe nearby can, if it is more than a half-day trip, then you will have to leave mui ne out.

5 hours one way means travelling to and fro from HCM will take nearly a day in total.

 

[thedarknight]

gerald, i think you are squeezing too many places.

you will end up feeling like it is the amazing race. it's a holiday, relax, take your time, explore the place more intimately - it is far more rewarding than just having been there and saying that you have been there when you haven't really been there.

for 4d3n, i think you can just limit yourself to HCM and mui ne.

i am not very good at geography, but i have been to hcm and mui ne, if you want to know more specifics, i can only give you very rough details from what i remember. the planning of the trip was done by someone more experienced with vietnam than me.

for hcm --> mui ne at least, there are a lot of bus agencies scattered around a particular street, you should not have problem finding it, it is at the tourist area.

did not ever take a taxi during my trip there. so sorry, can't help you there.

i agree with night86mare i think you are squeezing too many places in. pick out where are the places you want to visit the most. cu chi was alright. if you really despo to shoot some vietnam war weaponry you can visit.

 

[Gerald Lam CK]

night86mare, any info on the budget hostels/ lodging in mui ne?

 

[xhui]

gerald,

you can book your trip to cu chi from sinh cafe, i did that the last i was at hcm. i stayed at hcm for 3 nights before moving to dalat for my last. believe me, i really dreaded hcm. it is wayyyyy too noisy (traffic was a nightmare) and crossing roads is a death-facing experience ha! even at night you'll hear all the horns and all! dalat (or anywhere further from the city) is such a relief! dalat was wonderful! nice, cooling, peaceful, sceneric place. would stay there longer the next time i visit viet again! :thumbsup:

cu chi hmm, you can actually google for images and decide for yourself if it's worth. do note the travelling here and there. the one which i bought w at sinh cafe have guides. it was pretty alright, you'll see all those war-related things (traps, torture eq used, bomb shells, tunnels, shelters, wax soldiers, etc.) you can also go into their connecting tunnels created for their then soldiers (but it is really small,cramp and stuffy, you goto duck walk or crawl on knee at some areas-if you're not comfortable with close space, don't attempt, you can wait for your friends/family members at the end of the tunnel. if you're carrying some bigger stuffs, also kind of troublesome too.) i even got to taste some pretty alright steamed tapioca (they informed these were e bare minimum food ration they took then).

i regretted packing too many places for my 5D4N trip last and was so so tired out, didn't enjoy much, prob only the times when i was "lazing" in a cafe, drinking coffee and looking at the people (but then, the traffic kills half of that enjoyment). HTH

 

[Gerald Lam CK]

Hi xhui, thx for the advice. Cu chi sounds interesting...as for the noise in hcmc, it cant be avoided isnt it? Well since it's my first visit there..perhaps upon my 2nd visit then i will explore some other areas other than hcmc.

 

[xhui]

Hi xhui, thx for the advice. Cu chi sounds interesting...as for the noise in hcmc, it cant be avoided isnt it? Well since it's my first visit there..perhaps upon my 2nd visit then i will explore some other areas other than hcmc.

np. you might want to consider staying more nights at other places? :bsmilie: ok la, maybe i just can't stand the noise. it even gave my friend a headache bad enough to pop a panadol. oh, when you are wandering around the city, and crossing roads, just cross with the locals. don't hesitate! even with pedestrain crossings, vehicles might not stop. you goto step out onto the road and walk bravely across with the vehicles whizzing pass you infront and behind you. death defying stunts. :bsmilie: cross with the locals (or with a group) if possible. :sweat:

do visit the post office, church, museums etc around there.bargain when you buy stuffs.