Lonely Planet Experiences - Private Ho Chi Minh City Tour: Cu Chi Tunnels Experience
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
From USD 73.00
Office phone number: +84 (0) 909 904 100
Lonely Planet Experiences - Private Ho Chi Minh City Tour: Cu Chi Tunnels 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.
This tour is priced for a minimum group size of four travellers. A solo traveller or group smaller than four may still book this private experience but will be charged the base rate for four travellers. This tour is identical to our join-in Cu Chi Experience group tour. If you prefer to do this tour as part of a regular group, please book the Cu Chi Experience Tour.
Experience the best travel stories for yourself. Join a local expert and uncover hidden gems on this city adventure hand-picked by the world's leading travel publisher. Lonely Planet Experiences powered by Urban Adventures bring stories to life in the best-loved cities around the globe.
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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
- Have the guide all to yourself for a more intimate and personal experience
- Each Lonely Planet Experience comes with six-months free access to Lonely Planet’s Guides App which includes over 8,000 destinations guides and unbeatable discounts to Lonely Planet Guidebooks
Local Impact: How you will help the local community by joining this tour:
- By visiting and paying an entrance fee to Cu Chi tunnels, this tour helps preserve the local historical heritage.
- You'll visit a local family in the area on the way to Cu Chi to gain an insight into local life in the area. Part of your tour fee is used to directly support the family.
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Schedule details
- Duration: 5-6 Hours
- Pickup location:
For this private HCMC tour, we will pick you and your group up from your hotel.
Important note: Local house visit in Cu chi will be closed from 12th to 26th Mar.
- Pickup time: Various
- Drop off location:
We will drop you off back at your hotel.
Language: English
Inclusions: Private tour with local English speaking guide, private transportation, entrance fees as indicated, local family visit.
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.
Note: This tour is priced for a minimum group size of four travellers. A solo traveller or group smaller than four may still book this private experience but will be charged the base rate for four travellers.
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Additional information
Inclusions: Private tour with local English speaking guide, private transportation, entrance fees as indicated, local family visit.
Exclusions: Items of a personal nature, tips / gratuities for drivers or guides.
Dress standard: Light and comfortable clothing is recommended with shoes appropriate for walking in the tunnels.
Confirmation of booking: Please email us at info@hochiminhcityurbanadventures.com or give us a call at our hotline number + 84 909 904 100 to reconfirm your booking 24 hours prior to departure.
Additional Information: Important note: Local house visit in Cu chi will be closed from 12th to 26th Mar.
Child Policy: This is a child-friendly tour. 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 under the age of 6 are permitted to join this tour free of charge. Please inform us at the time of booking if you’ll be bringing a child under the age of 6. You can do so in the special request box on the checkout page.
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Local contact
Office phone number: +84 (0) 909 904 100
Email address: info@hochiminhcityurbanadventures.com
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