Private Cu Chi Tunnels tour half day

• DEPARTURES : 8:00 AM or 1:00 PM (please strictly follow these timings)
• ESTIMATED TIMING: 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM or 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM
• Tour duration : 5 hours
• Type of tour : Private/small group
• Cost per person varies depending number of persons/group (500.000 VND – 1.000.000 VND)
• Group tour cost: 790.0000 VND – maximum 10 pax

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Cu Chi is a district of Ho Chi Minh (Saigon).

There are 2 different sites for visiting : Ben Dinh site and Ben Duoc site both of which are managed by the military.

Ben Dinh is in the list of regular tours for 90% of travel agents in Saigon and it’s usually very busy and touristy. It’s 40km (25 miles) from Saigon downtown (by google maps) but it takes 1.5 hours to get there.

Ben Duoc is real and authentic, 60 km (37 miles) from Saigon downdown (by google maps) but it takes 2 hours to get there. What makes Ben Duoc more authentic are : a sample of a peaceful village in war with local markets, barber’s shop, grocery stores, houses, and local restaurants; very few tourists; most parts are reserved at their original sizes and statuses; and there is a temple to worship the late soldiers.

Introduciton : Vietnam – meaning the Viet people in the south (Nam) of China- has a very bloody history with 1000 years of Chinese consecutive supervision, 96 years of French control, 21 years of civil war and 4 years of Khmer Rouge terrorism. (111 BC to 1979 AD). When we refer to the term VIETNAM WAR, we mean 2 wars : one against France and the other against the US (totally 1945 -1975).

SAIGON – HOCHIMINH city has always been the most wealthy and modern city of Vietnam especially it was considered AS the PEARL OF THE FAR EAST during the civil war between North and South (1954-1975). During this bloody period, CU CHI DISTRICT (around 60km away from Saigon) was the most important stronghold for VC soldiers (Vietnamese soldiers in South but supported North). Cuchi tunnel system (3 vertical levels in total) was manually dug by VC soldiers during the civil war of Vietnam. Ten thousand people lived away from the sunlight for 20 years with one COMMON GOAL : forcing Saigon to surrender and American government’s withdrawal.

Today, visitors of all ages come to Cu chi with diverse purposes such as to find out how come VC could win the war, to see how much VC and locals had to suffer, to witness and admire the creativeness of the VC soldiers and LAST BUT NOT LEAST to experience being a VC soldier.

DETAILED ITINERARY: You will be picked up at your hotel (8,00 am or 1.30 pm) by our friendly guide and driver. Then everybody spends 1.5 hour on the car with our guide’s introduction about Saigon and the war in an interesting way. You can also enjoy the lively life of the today Saigonese during the drive to Cu Chi district.

When arriving at the tunnels, you will be intensively led into the tunnels for about 1.5hour with our guide. You don’t have to crawl into the tunnels if you don’t want that, instead just walk on the surface under shady trees and on easy paths. During the visit, our guide will point out and tell you lots of interesting and touching stories about the war related to Cu chi area.

Things that you will surely see and get told during the visit:

• Secret entrances
• Personal fighting bunker
• Booby traps / Bamboo spikes
• Termite mounts, carmouflaged finely as a ventilation hole
• Display of self-made traps from bomb shells by VC soldiers
• Shooting range – where you can buy real bullets to experience shooting
• Models of VC soldiers
• Fighting trenches
• Military workshops
• Milatary uniform bunker
• And more

You will also enjoy a common food for VC which is Boiled Tapioca dipping with Peanut salt mixture.

At the end, everybody will be warmly welcomed back by our smiling driver with a bottle of water and a cold tissue. Then drive back to the city for resting.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TOUR:

• Gain deep understandings of the Vietnam war.
• Get to know how VC soldiers struggled but won the war such as Walking without Footprints, Cooking without smoke and Talking without noise.
• Witness different bunkers like Sleeping, Meeting, Fighting, Kitchen and Dining Bunker in the ground with great creativity.
• Witness how VC soldiers created their traps and weapons for American soldiers.
• Experience being a VC soldier by crawling inside (only if you want)
• Experience shooting real guns at the shooting range (on your own account, guns are stabilized on the stand) to understand how severe the war was like.
• Guide’s excellent services of knowledge, skills and caring attitudes.

TOUR INCLUSIONS:

• Private 7-16 -29 seater new car/bus with air conditioner
• 01 bottle of water each person
• Entrance tickets
• Great English speaking guide who is always caring, helping, knowledgeable, and gentle.
• Intense visit of tunnel system with guide’s leading and clear explanation.
• Taste tapioca potato – common food for VC in war.
• Crawl into the tunnels with our guide if wanted.