Day Trips From Ho Chi Minh City

• Get a local eSIM sorted before you go: You do not want to be navigating a ferry terminal or trying to locate your speedboat pickup without data. Yesim is the easiest way to sort it, and the app lets you top up and manage your plan without hunting for a SIM shop. Airalo and Saily are solid backup options if Yesim’s coverage doesn’t suit your device.

• Use a VPN on public Wi-Fi: Cafe stops, rest areas, and guesthouses on the road often have open networks. NordVPN runs quietly in the background and keeps your banking and social apps safe while you’re connected to anything you didn’t set up yourself.

• Sort travel insurance before you leave home: Motorbike taxis, boat crossings, and uneven terrain at Cu Chi are all minor adventure activities when it comes to insurance definitions. SafetyWing covers this kind of travel at a sensible price and pays out without endless paperwork. Our travel insurance Vietnam guide explains exactly what to look for in a policy.

• Book an airport transfer on arrival days: If you’re arriving into Tan Son Nhat and heading straight out on a day trip the following morning, start fresh. Welcome Pickups has fixed-price transfers from the airport with meet-and-greet service, which beats hunting for a metered taxi after a long flight.

Ben Tre and the Mekong Delta

The Mekong Delta is the rice bowl of Vietnam, and Ben Tre Province is one of its most charming, least commercialised corners. Forget the repetitive honey-tea-and-sampan circuit that dominates the crowded My Tho tours. Ben Tre is coconut country through and through.

Hire a small private wooden boat and drift through quiet canals lined with banana trees, stopping at family-run brick kilns and workshops where coconut candy is still rolled by hand. If the pace of the delta gets under your skin, our Vietnam boat tours guide covers how to extend the experience further.

The pace of life along the Ham Luong River is unlike anything inside the city. Local families wave from their stilted homes, kids splash in the shallows, and the smell of grilled river fish drifts across the water. This is southern Vietnam at its most unhurried and most honest. Families love it. Slow travellers never want to leave. If this is your first time in the south, pair the delta with a read through our things to do in Ho Chi Minh City guide so the city leg of your trip is just as sorted.

Tipping Culture: Boat rowers, motorbike drivers, and local musicians depend heavily on gratuities. A tip of 50,000 to 100,000 VND ($2 to $4 USD) per traveller is appreciated and goes a long way in rural communities.

Vung Tau Beach Escape

Vung Tau is Ho Chi Minh City’s favourite weekend exhale. Perched on a small peninsula about two hours south, it has long been the go-to beach town for expats, city families, and anyone who just needs sand, seafood, and a slower heartbeat. The ferry from Bach Dang Wharf takes roughly two hours and the journey across the open water is half the fun. Book your ferry seat in advance through 12GO, especially over Vietnamese public holidays when it fills fast.

Front Beach is lively and lined with seafood restaurants. Back Beach is longer and more laid-back. The giant Christ statue perched on Small Mountain offers sweeping views across the South China Sea and is well worth the climb.

Budget travellers can eat brilliantly for almost nothing at the local market near the main roundabout, while anyone wanting something more comfortable will find a growing selection of boutique stays and resort retreats tucked along the quieter stretches of coast. If you decide to stay a night, Agoda has the deepest inventory of options from guesthouses to waterfront hotels. Our Vietnamese street food guide is worth reading before you hit that market.

Combining Cu Chi and the Mekong Delta in a single day is technically possible via specialised speedboat itineraries, but the result tends to feel rushed. You end up spending a large part of your day in transit and far too little time actually being anywhere. For most travellers, splitting these across two separate days makes for a dramatically richer experience. If you’re building out your full city schedule, our things to do in Ho Chi Minh City guide is the logical place to fill in the gaps.

Can Gio works well as a standalone half-day or full-day trip, especially for families with young children. Vung Tau is best treated as an overnight stay if your schedule allows, turning it from a frantic dash into something genuinely restorative. If you only have one free day in the city, Cu Chi paired with a riverside dinner back in District 1 is a very satisfying combination. Need help figuring out how long to spend in the south overall? Our 2 weeks in Vietnam itinerary lays out a solid framework.

Rural southern Vietnam is safe and incredibly welcoming for foreign visitors. The chaotic motorbike energy of the city softens considerably once you are out on regional highways. Scams are rare but worth being aware of: confirm prices before you order food or board any independent water taxi, and always agree on a fare before stepping into a boat. These are simple habits that keep everything enjoyable. Our Is Vietnam Safe guide covers the common scenarios and what to watch for, including the ones most relevant to day trips outside the city.

For food safety outside the city, the same rule applies as anywhere in Vietnam: follow the crowds. Busy stalls with high turnover and smoking grills mean fresh ingredients. Drink only from sealed bottles or cans. If you have young children or sensitive stomachs, stick to cooked dishes served piping hot and skip raw salads and unpeeled fruit from roadside vendors.

For expats and long-stay visitors exploring the suburbs and river towns, the modern e-visa permits stays of up to 90 days with multiple entries, making it perfectly practical to base yourself outside the city and explore at your own pace. Check our Vietnam e-visa guide to make sure yours is set up correctly before you travel.