Cu Chi Experience
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
From USD 39.00
Office phone number: +84 (0) 909 904 100
Cu Chi Experience
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Culture shock rating
Worried we’re going to shock your senses? Relax! We believe part of the fun of travel is immersing yourself in the destination and its culture, meeting the people, and learning what makes the place tick. We’ve got a wide range of tours with something for everybody. The cultural shock rating ranks how different the experience is from most Western cultures. But no matter the level, don’t worry, you’ll have a local, in-the-know guide with you every step of the way.
Low
Consider these tours your 101 intro to a place. Transportation might be private or a very comfortable public option, and the activities are usually visits to iconic sites and locations that are familiar to most Western cultures – but that will still give you fantastic insight into a destination.
Medium
Expect to rough it for parts of this tour, whether that’s on a packed public bus or in a local market off the tourist trail. There might be a few language barriers or unfamiliar cultural customs, and you’ll get an experience different from what you're used to at home.
High
You're out there in the global community! We’re going to take you down streets you’d rarely explore on your own, introduce you to local customs and languages, and take you for a ride in whatever transport is available. Get ready to take it as it comes, whatever comes. There might be a shock, but oh man, it’s worth it.
Physical rating
Worried our tours are too tough? Relax! From leisurely strolls to muscle-burning treks, we’ve got a wide range of tours with something for everybody. The physical grading gives you an idea of how much huffing and puffing you can expect on the tour.
Low
Slow and steady is all you need here. These tours have very limited physical activity, such as walking relatively flat streets, sites, or markets, and climbing in and out of the transport provided.
Medium
Not too hard, not too soft, these tours are just right! You can expect a bit of physical activity, but nothing overly challenging – perhaps walking up and down hills, riding a bike for up to 30 kilometers along mostly flat terrain, or jumping in a kayak for a gentle paddle on flat water.
High
Get ready for a workout! These tours are our most challenging and involve intense walking, hiking, kayaking, swimming, or bike riding. You could be making steep climbs by foot or pedal, or working your core in the water. We recommend you have a good level of fitness to join this tour.
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Tour snapshot
Good Morning Vietnam! Start the day the right way - with an up close and personal history lesson on guerilla warfare. Climb into the underground tunnel system that played a crucial part in the war and imagine what it would have been like to eat, sleep, work, cook... even go to school underground as a conflict raged above.
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Highlights
- Delve into an underground world of guerrilla warfare in the incredible Cu Chi tunnels
- Gain insight into the tenacity and resourcefulness of the Vietnamese
- Visit the former Viet Minh underground stronghold at Cu Chi
- Visit with a local family to better understand local life, past and present
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Schedule details
- Duration: 5-6 hours
- Meeting point:
Pick up at front entrance of the Central Post Office - 2 Cong Xa Paris St, District 1 (next to Notre Dame Cathedral).
- Starting time: 7.30 AM
- Ending point:
Drop off centrally located hotels in Ho Chi Minh City.
Inclusions: Local English speaking guide, transportation, entrance fees as indicated.
Exclusions: Items of a personal nature, tips / gratuities for drivers or guides.
Built by local fighters during the Indochina conflict, the Cu Chi tunnels served as a base from which the Viet Cong could operate from close to the Southern Vietnamese capital. For this HCMC tour, leave the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City to explore one of the relics from one of the most significant local historical events in recent memory.
Journey 2.5 hours west towards the Cambodian border. Before arriving at the Cu Chi tunnels, we'll visit with some local friends and gain an insight into local life in the area, both past and present. Learn about their lives, culture, and customs and get an insight into the recent past through local eyes.
Continue on to the Cu Chi tunnels. The location of the tunnels was of significant strategic importance: they're at the end of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail, and within striking distance of the southern Vietnam capital. Initial construction started in 1948 when the Viet Minh required somewhere to hide from French air attacks, and by 1965, the tunnel complex was estimated to consist of 200 km of tunnels. It included, hospitals, schools, meeting rooms, kitchens, and sleeping quarters. Life was difficult for the inhabitants, and to protect against outside intruders, booby traps were laid throughout the complex.
Today, the Vietnamese government have preserved approximately 75 km of the Cu Chi tunnels as a memorial park, and in some areas the tunnels have been widened and low powered lights installed so that tourists can now fit through the complex.
Your local guide will take you on a fascinating tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, where you'll learn more about the conditions the people lived in, the hardships they faced, and the amazing ingenuity employed to maintain life in the tunnels. We walk past huge bomb craters - evidence of the heavy bombing campaigns in the region during the Indochina conflict, discover hidden entrances right beneath your feet, wander past tiny little chimneys in the ground that dispersed smoke from the underground kitchens, sample some of the simple cuisine that local fighters would have survived on, and have an opportunity to venture into the tunnels and explore the complex.
You'll end this historical Ho Chi Minh City tour with a greater understanding of the local impacts of the conflicts of the 20th century.
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Additional information
Inclusions: Local English speaking guide, transportation, entrance fees as indicated.
Exclusions: Items of a personal nature, tips / gratuities for drivers or guides.
Dress standard: Dress standards are conservative throughout Asia, especially outside major cities. To respect this and for your own comfort, we strongly recommend modest clothing. This means clothing that covers your shoulders and knees. Loose, lightweight, long clothing is both respectful and cool in the predominantly hot Asian climate.
Your Trip: This trip is offered on a "join-in" basis. Maximum group size is 16.
Confirmation of booking: If you have your voucher, your booking is confirmed. We'll see you at the start point. Get in touch if you have any concerns or require more information via the email address or phone number (business hours only) on your voucher.
Child Policy: Children between the ages of 6 and 11 inclusively are permitted on this tour at the rate listed above. Please select ‘child’ above when booking. Children below the age of 6 are not permitted on this tour.
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Local contact
Office phone number: +84 (0) 909 904 100
Email address: info@hochiminhcityurbanadventures.com
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