4 Days of Saigon Day Trips
Four days keeps the same Cu Chi, Tay Ninh, Mekong and Vung Tau days as the 3 day version, then heads out to Can Tho for a night, setting up the dawn floating market a rushed day trip always misses. One overnight bag needed, for Can Tho only. Tighter on time? See the 3 day version . Want the market itself the next morning? The 5 day version adds Cai Rang at dawn.
| Day | Day trip | Travel time from HCMC |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cu Chi Tunnels (Ben Duoc) and the Tay Ninh Cao Dai noon ceremony | Combined, 8-10h round trip |
| 2 | Mekong Delta: My Tho and Ben Tre | 1.5-2h each way |
| 3 | Vung Tau beach and the Christ of Vung Tau statue | 1.5-2h each way by hydrofoil |
| 4 | Travel to Can Tho, overnight | 3-3.5h each way |
Book these before you go
- Compare District 1 hotel rates for the first three nights
- Book a combined Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai Temple tour rather than arranging both legs solo
- Book a My Tho and Ben Tre Mekong Delta day tour if going without a private car
Day 1: Ben Duoc’s tunnels, then the Cao Dai noon ceremony
Morning: Ben Duoc, 70km and roughly 2 hours out, entry 110,000-125,000 VND (~US$4-5), the introductory film plus a stretch of tunnel crawl. Check current visitor details before you go. Afternoon: Tay Ninh, 90km and 2-2.5 hours from HCMC, the Holy See’s free noon Cao Dai ceremony from the upstairs gallery. Evening: return; the combined day runs 8-10 hours door to door.
Day 2: My Tho and Ben Tre, the honest single-day Mekong trip
My Tho and Ben Tre sit 70-90km and roughly 1.5-2 hours from HCMC: a sampan through coconut-palm canals, a coconut-candy workshop, orchard fruit tasting, all inside one unhurried day. Ben Tre’s own tourism notes cover the coconut province in more depth.
Day 3: Vung Tau’s beach, and the statue you climb from the inside
The Greenlines hydrofoil takes 1.5-2 hours each way, roughly 250,000-375,000 VND (~US$10-15) one-way. The Christ of Vung Tau statue, 32 metres tall on Small Mountain, is reached by roughly 800 steps up the hill and 133 steps inside the statue to its arms, open 7am-5pm daily; the beach is a fair reason to stay for lunch, not the main event.
Day 4: The road to Can Tho, ahead of the dawn market
Why spend a whole travel day getting to Can Tho? Because the payoff is the next morning, not this one. Can Tho sits 3-3.5 hours from HCMC by road, far enough that same-day round trips only ever catch Cai Rang floating market’s tail end. Settle into a riverside hotel near Ninh Kieu Wharf, walk the wharf’s evening night market for dinner, and set an early alarm; the market’s actual wholesale trade runs hardest 5-8:30am. Vietnam’s official Mekong Delta guide covers the wider region if extending the loop further later.
Grab covers the city between day trips; fix the fare in the app before you ride. Four days is enough to add the one overnight that turns a rushed Mekong glimpse into the real dawn market the next morning delivers.