A Weekend of Saigon Day Trips
Two days out of HCMC covers the two day trips worth the furthest travel: Cu Chi’s quieter Ben Duoc tunnels paired with Tay Ninh’s noon Cao Dai ceremony on day one, then a My Tho and Ben Tre Mekong run on day two. No overnight, no rental car, just an early Grab to a pickup point each morning. Want the city itself instead? See our Saigon offbeat weekend . Have more time? The 3 day version adds a Vung Tau beach day.
| 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 |
Book these before you go
- Compare District 1 hotel rates , close to every day-trip pickup point
- 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: pickup around 6:30-7am for Ben Duoc, the farther and quieter of the two Cu Chi sites, about 70km and roughly 2 hours out. Entry runs 110,000-125,000 VND (~US$4-5) for an introductory film and a stretch of tunnel crawl, enlarged from the wartime original 0.8m by 0.8m to fit Western-sized visitors. Check current Cu Chi Tunnels visitor details before you go. Afternoon: continue on to Tay Ninh, about 90km and 2-2.5 hours from HCMC, arriving by 11:15-11:30am for the Holy See’s noon Cao Dai ceremony, a brightly-costumed, genuinely unusual spectacle watched from the upstairs visitor gallery. Entry is free. Evening: return to HCMC; the combined day realistically runs 8-10 hours door to door, so plan a quiet dinner rather than a late night.
Day 2: My Tho and Ben Tre, the honest single-day Mekong trip
Is a My Tho and Ben Tre day trip worth it if you can’t spare a night? Yes. My Tho and Ben Tre sit 70-90km and roughly 1.5-2 hours from HCMC, close enough that the day trip actually delivers what it promises: a sampan through coconut-palm canals, a coconut-candy workshop, and fruit tasting at a riverside orchard, all inside a single unhurried day. Save Can Tho and the Cai Rang floating market, 3-3.5 hours out, for a future trip with a night built in; a rushed round trip there only catches the market’s tail end. Vietnam’s official Mekong Delta guide covers the wider region for that future trip.
Grab covers everything in the city itself; fix the fare in the app before you ride. Vietnam’s official tourism site has visa rules by nationality worth checking before you book flights. Two days is enough to try the two nearest day trips properly, provided the alarm is set early both mornings.