Suppose you are in Saigon and have time to spare, relax, and leave the city for a while. Here are suggested day trips from Ho Chi Minh City.
There are a lot of things you can do in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. For the tourist at a frantic pace to see everything and do everything, a whole week may be fine. However, appreciating the beauty of Saigon is better done slowly, one day at a time.
For travelers who have settled in and grown tired of the millions of motorbikes on the streets, some sights a few hours from HCMC may be the answer.
Frolic in the White Sand Beaches of Vung Tau
Vung Tau, the first seaside resort for Vietnam’s rich and famous, is only two hours from Saigon. The most popular beach where local tourists converge is Bai Sau (Back or Rear Beach), with its 10-km stretch of fine white sand. Teenagers and families come in droves here, especially since the weather is cool all year round and the waters are calm and perfect for swimming.
Near the north end of Bai Sau is the more expensive and private Paradise Beach, which charges visitors an entrance fee. It has a Taiwanese-owned theme park and a popular golf course. Due to its hefty charges, it caters mostly to foreign tourists.
Aside from its five beaches, visitors can also admire another landmark in the town, the French-built mansion used as a summer retreat and vacation home for Vietnam’s heads of state sitting 50m above sea level and overlooking the South China Sea. The small town also has temples, pagodas, and a statue of Jesus Christ for the Catholics.
Enjoy the Rides and the Zoo at Dai Nam Amusement Part, Binh Duong, Vietnam
Around an hour from Saigon is what tourists call an amusement park for Buddhists, although, in truth, Dai Nam is much more than that. This huge theme park complex can practically cater to everyone, with the largest artificial sea (and waves) in Southeast Asia, a large zoo, a 4-D cinema, temples, a shopping area, hotels, and several rides, including a roller coaster and electric car racing.
The complex is so large that visitors use buses and electric trains. The open zoo alone is over 12 hectares, with its residents ranging from rhinoceroses and lions to tigers, elephants, bears, ostriches, zebras, gnus, squirrel monkeys, and others, most of which could not be found in Vietnam.
Explore the Cu Chi Tunnels
Cu Chi, a district of Saigon, was counted as among the most famous battlegrounds of the Vietnam War. Its huge network of interconnecting underground tunnels was the Viet Cong’s base of operations in the Tet Offensive in 1968. It had been used by guerrillas as hiding spots, serving as their communication and supply routes, their hospital, food, and weapon storage, and even as their living quarters.
Nowadays, the Cu Chi is a major tourist attraction. When visitors arrive at the site, they are first shown a film of the Vietnam War. The guide brings them to various spots in the area, showing where the trick entrances are and even giving a chance for those who are not claustrophobic to try navigating the tunnels. There are also exhibits of the traps used during the war, and the guide would show visitors how these are triggered, describing a horrible death to those who are caught in it.
Day trips are best arranged through travel agencies for cost-effectiveness and convenience. The Sinh Café in District 1 in Saigon is popular with foreign tourists.
Visitors are encouraged to stay in Vietnam longer; these day trips from Ho Chi Minh City are but a glimpse of what travelers can experience in the country.