Private Tour: Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai Temple

After hotel pickup in Ho Chi Minh City, hop in your air-conditioned private vehicle for a comfortable 2.5-hour drive through the countryside to Tay Ninh, located near the Cambodian border.

Your private tour begins with a visit to the awe-inspiring Cao Dai Temple, home of the distinctive Cao Dai religion, which combines the teachings of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Christianity, including a belief in the occult. You will have the opportunity to take part in a colorful midday ceremony and take photos as your guide offers insight into the unique rituals.

After a Vietnamese lunch at a local restaurant, you’re taken to the Cu Chi tunnels, an elaborate network used as a strategic military base by the Viet Cong because of its proximity to the southern capital of Saigon. It contained schools, hospitals, hidden kitchens, meeting rooms and living quarters during the Vietnam War (known in Vietnam as the American War) that connected several villages. Today, it is preserved by the government as a memorial park. 

See a short film about the historical importance of the Cu Chi tunnels before walking with your guide into the forest where the tunnels are located. Discover what life was like down below as you crawl into narrow passageways that each cover a distance of 98 to 328 feet (30 to 100 meters). 

Today the remaining channels offer visitors a real feel for what life was like for guerrilla fighters and their families who lived below ground during the war. After your exploration, take a break in the forest with some hot green tea boiled with pandan leaves, accompanied by steamed tapioca.

After your visit, your full-day private tour ends with drop-off at your hotel.