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Good Morning Vietnam: Veteran Tour, South to North |
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16 Days / 15 Nights in Ho Chi Minh City – Cu Chi – My Tho – Vung Tau – Hue – Hoi An – Da Nang – Ha Noi – Ha Long Bay – Ha Noi |
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Tour Overview
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Whether you’re a Viet Nam Veteran or a war history enthusiast, take the unique opportunity to revisit or see Viet Nam for the first time in a beautiful but often heartbreaking light. The tour combines war history with ancient Vietnamese culture and contemporary life. First uncover the resilience of the Vietnamese people and the bravery of US and Australian combat troops who risked their lives in a long and often misunderstood struggle. Visit history and war museums, crawl through the ingenious Cu Chi tunnels, and venture into the still devastated DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) where the country was divided in two. But you’ll also see the modern-day magic and beauty of Viet Nam: from the sweeping vista of Ha Long Bay to the grandeur of imperial Hue and the fun and excitement of Ho Chi Minh City. |
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Tour Highlights
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• Understand the war from the North perspective when you visit Ha Noi, its war history museums and the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum complex
• Indulge in the majestic grandeur of the city of Hue and visit the surrounding DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) where many battles and mass devastation took place
• Revisit war history at major combat zones and US bases including Chu Lai, Khe Sanh and Bien Hoa
• Visit the site of Long Tan, where some 100 inexperienced young Australian troops fought and won a battle against an enemy at least 10 times its size
• Take time to digest the war history and enjoy the Viet Nam of today, as you cruise through World Heritage Ha Long Bay, down the Mighty Mekong and visit quaint Hoi An Old Town
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Detailed Itinerary
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DAY 1: Arrival in Ho Chi Minh City (no meals included) |
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| HO CHI MINH CITY: This modern metropolis has everything you need from chic hotels, bars and restaurants to bustling markets and street life. From its glory days as a major French colonial city to its war-torn past, today Ho Chi Minh City – formerly known as Saigon – is a thriving Vietnamese city. They say people make the place and city folk don’t get much friendlier than the Saigonese.
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| You’ll be greeted by your friendly guide at Tan Son Nhat Airport and taken to your hotel for check-in. Optional afternoon tour or rest at your leisure. Embark on a tour around HCMC and you’ll visit some grand buildings and historical sites such as the War Remnants Museum and the Reunification Palace. Stopover at sites around District 1 including the gothic-style Notre Dame Cathedral and the Ben Thanh markets, and browse the up-market Dong Khoi area and its many beautiful shopping emporiums. Later, sit back and soak up the atmosphere and views of HCMC with a steak and beer on the rooftop restaurant at the Rex Hotel.
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DAY 2: HCMC – Cu Chi Tunnel – Tay Ninh – HCMC (breakfast/lunch included) |
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CU CHI: These famous tunnels were first begun in 1948 so that the Viet Minh could hide from French air and ground sweeps. Later, during the Viet Nam War, the villages around Cu Chi supported a strong Viet Cong presence. As a result of repeated attacks and heavy bombing by American forces, civilians and guerillas literally dug themselves out of danger. The result was some 200km of underground tunnels where entire families and villages survived. Cu Chi was also the home of the 25th Infantry Division originating from Hawaii, nicknamed “Tropic Lightning”.
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| AM: After breakfast, you’ll take a trip to the famous Cu Chi tunnels, about 70km out of HCMC. The drive to Cu Chi features vast rubber tree plantations, as well as lush rice paddies dotted with conical hats and the stoic women-farmers masked beneath them. At Cu Chi, you can watch a documentary film about Cu Chi, visit the underground tunnels and be shocked by the ingenuity and cruelty of war-time booby traps. There’s also a firing range for shooting enthusiasts so you can fire M-16s or AK-47s!
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| PM: This afternoon, attend midday mass at the Holy Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh. Cao Daism is a fascinating fusion of Oriental and Western religions, and worshippers dress in colorful robes. You can also see Nui Ba Den (known as Black Virgin Mountain), a spiritual place for worshippers and once a battleground for US soldiers. Have lunch at a local restaurant then return to HCMC to take a tour to the city’s old Chinatown district, Cho Lon and glimpse beautiful pagodas and temples. You can wander through the Binh Tay Markets and immerse yourself in the Buddhist ambiance at the Thien Hau pagoda. Dinner at your leisure in HCMC.
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DAY 3: HCMC – My Tho – Xeo Quyt – Cai Be (breakfast/lunch included) |
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THE MIGHTY MEKONG: The Mekong Delta was once part of the Khmer Kingdom, and has a fascinating history of migration and settlement, mainly by ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese. The mighty Mekong begins its journey from the Tibetan plateau, flowing 4500km through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and ending its journey out to the South China Sea in Viet Nam as one of the world’s largest deltas. The region is rich and fertile, largely cultivated and produces enough rice for the entire country, and then some!
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AM: Today you’ll drive into the heart of the Mekong Delta; first to My Tho, a hotspot during the Mekong war, then to My Hiep, where you’ll take a 3-hour boat cruise on the Mekong. Glide in a sampan through the vast swamplands of Xeo Quyt, shaded by a dense canopy of cajeput trees. The boggy terrain and thick forest was an important hideout and strategic anti-American stronghold of the Viet Cong during the Viet Nam War.
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PM: Cruise back towards charming Cai Be, home to the Mekong’s prettiest floating markets.
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DAY 4: Cai Be – HCMC (breakfast/lunch included) |
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AM: Floating markets…more Mekong delta…snake farm
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PM: Return to HCMC where you’ll overnight.
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DAY 5: HCMC – Vung Tau (breakfast/lunch included) |
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VUNG TAU: Vung Tau, once a French seaside resort called Cap St Jacques, is today a commercialized beach getaway for many Vietnamese tourists. The area around Vung Tau is famous for many battle sites, particularly the Battle of Long Tan, which saw the Australian Army’s heaviest engagement in the war against Viet Cong and the NVA. Vung Tau was also a popular spot for in-country R&R for US combat troops. Towards the end of the war, the world broadcast the last US troops in Viet Nam departing by ship, and later many Vietnamese boat people also took flight from Vung Tau.
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AM: You’ll go down to the Bach Dang jetty in Ho Chi Minh City to catch the one-hour hydrofoil to Vung Tau. If you were in Vung Tau during the war, you’ll be surprised at the changes! Although nothing remains of the Peter Badcoe Club or the Australian Logistic Support Group Base (ALSG), you’ll visit these sites and your hotel is located right next door.
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PM: In the afternoon, visit the Long Phuoc Tunnels and museum, showing how locals survived incessant bombing during the war. Then make your way over to the site of Long Tan, cited a victory for Australian troops (D Company 6RAR) who fought a long and arduous battle against an enemy around 15 times their size, and in a blinding rainstorm. Walking through the rubber plantations where they fought, you’ll arrive at the simple but powerful Long Tan memorial site. A quiet moment to commemorate both the Vietnamese and Australian losses. Another option for the afternoon is to visit the Whale Temple, a kind of shrine with whale bones on display, to the whales that once inhabited the South China Sea and that the Vietnamese believed saved them from “sea monsters”. You can also see Bao Dai’s White Palace – he was the last King of Viet Nam’s feudal dynasty. Return to Vung Tau to overnight.
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DAY 6: Vung Tau – HCMC (breakfast/dinner included) |
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AM: You’ll spend a full day visiting the old hilltop site of Nui Dat, the 1st Australian Task Force Base operating between 1966 and 1972. You’ll also visit the remains of what was once the Horse Shoe, now a quarry owned by the government, and the Minh Dam Revolutionary Base. Here you can see the caves and boulders that served as a communist bolt-hole from 1948, and imagine the place where many Viet Minh and Viet Cong soldiers took refuge. The mountainside was also the site of many skirmishes.
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PM: Return to HCMC for a magical and relaxing dinner while cruising on a boat down the Saigon River, captivated by the reflections of the lights and signs that make this town sparkle by night.
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DAY 7: HCMC – Bien Hoa (breakfast/lunch included) |
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BIEN HOA: Bien Hoa Air Base is a former South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) and United States Air Force base, which supported the greatest number of air combat units in South Viet Nam during the war. The VNAF 2311th Air Group, later to become an Air Wing, and the 311th Air Division were stationed there. The Air Base came under attack many times during the war due to the strong contingent of Viet Cong sympathizers in the region.
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AM: First stop off at the Bien Hoa Museum, home to the original Long Tan Cross. Then see the site of the Bien Hoa Air Base, now a military airfield run by the Viet Nam People's Air Force. Visit more battle sites where US troops lost many men including Bau Bang and Ben Cat. Another site of interest is the Fire Support Base “Coral” near Tan Uyen which came under attack by rockets and mortar by NVA troops on several occasions.
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PM: Return to HCMC. Dinner at the ''Chateau restaurant" where you’ll get to sample a variety of Vietnamese specialty dishes.
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DAY 8: HCMC – Hue (breakfast/lunch included) |
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HUE: Majestic Hue was once the country’s imperial capital, and today is still at the very heart of Vietnamese culture. From 1802 to 1945, Hue was home to the famous Nguyen Dynasty Emperors who made Hue a cultural and political center:- that legacy remains today with imperial palaces, stately buildings and grand mausoleums. Hue is also renowned for its traditional music, Nha Nhac.
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AM: Breakfast and leisure time until you’re transferred to the airport for your flight to Hue. Soon after your arrival, get ready for an adventurous boat trip along the Huong or Perfume River – the city’s picturesque waterway – to visit Thien Mu Pagoda, perched high on the river banks. Behind the main sanctuary of the pagoda, you can see the original Austin motorcar that transported the monk Thich Quang Duc to the site of his self-immolation in Sai Gon in 1963. Then travel by car to the royal mausoleum of Minh Mang, one of the Nguyen emperors. Past glories can be contemplated in the tranquil gardens of the tombs. Return to Hue by car.
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PM: Take a tour to the Hue Imperial Citadel, which was established as Viet Nam’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. It includes ramparts, gates, a moat, a palace and temple, and the Forbidden Purple City, reserved solely for the emperor. For dinner, try some of Hue’s famed culinary specialties such as “Bun Bo”, a special beef noodle soup.
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DAY 9: Hue – Dong Ha – DMZ – Khe Sanh – Hue (breakfast/lunch included)
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DMZ: Following the withdrawal of the French and under the 1954 Geneva Accords, Viet Nam was sliced in two – North and South. The demarcation line rang along the Ben Hai River and the stretch of land both 5km to the north and south of the river was known as the DMZ or Demilitarized Zone. Ironically, the DMZ and the two provinces either side of it were to become the most heavily bombed regions in Viet Nam during the war, with countless casualties and unparalleled destruction. Today a trip to the DMZ can be a painful memory for some or a fascinating chapter in war history for others.
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KHE SANH: The battle of Khe Sanh is largely remembered for the huge media attention it received in the US and the West, showing the futility of the war. In late 1967, North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops had swelled to 40,000 on the outskirts of Khe Sanh ready to launch an attack on some 6000 marines and few hundred South Vietnamese. The result was a huge human loss and a US retaliation campaign of incessant bombing, backed up by napalm and defoliants, leaving the border between Viet Nam and Laos resembling a lunar landscape.
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AM: Today you’ll venture into the notorious battlefields of Central Viet Nam and understand the historical significance of the DMZ. Visit infamous sites such as Camp Carroll where thousands of US marines were stationed, and the town of Khe Sanh to see the Khe Sanh combat base where a deadly battle was waged. You’ll see some other well-known sites including Dar Krong Bridge and the Rockpile, a post for directing artillery to targets across the DMZ and into Laos.
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PM: Stop for a picnic lunch en route during the tour and then continue seeing war-famed sites. You’ll return to Hue in the late afternoon to relax at your leisure.
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DAY 10: Hue – Da Nang – Hoi An (breakfast/lunch included) |
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DA NANG: Today a major industrial city in the center of Viet Nam, Da Nang was a small American city at the height of the war. Thousands of marines flocked to protect a massive US Air Force base, and the town swelled to take in a huge American enclave including supermarkets, hospitals, bars and other entertainment. Nearby, soldiers took some much needed R & R at the legendary “China Beach”.
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AM: You’ll depart from Hue, traveling overland past some of Viet Nam’s most spectacular scenery – the white sand and pristine waters of Lang Co Beach and Hai Van Pass, where mountains meet the sea and green hills and valleys roll effortlessly into the aqua-marine water. Swim and have lunch at Lang Co Beach.
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PM: You’ll continue on to Hoi An via the Marble Mountains, where hundreds of sculptors make giant statues, from majestic lions to awe-inspiring Buddhas, from all different colors and grades of marble and other stone. Climb the mountain and you’ll have a fantastic view of the old US Army Base, now occupied by the Vietnamese Army. Continue on to Hoi An. Wander through the peaceful Old Town to see low-tiled houses from the Chinese merchant era, assembly halls, the Japanese covered bridge and the town’s myriad brightly painted pagodas and temples.
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DAY 11: Hoi An – Da Nang (breakfast/lunch included) |
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HOI AN: Hoi An was a thriving port city during the Middle Ages and reached its zenith as an international seaport for British, European and Asian sea merchants and traders from the 16th to 19th centuries. Today Hoi An Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is an inimitable blend of quaint colonial building facades, small Chinese pagodas, hidden alleyways and an old-world charm all of its own. It’s hard not to be won over by Hoi An, especially once you learn that it’s Viet Nam’s one-stop-shop for all your tailoring needs.
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AM: A free day to further explore the town or shop for an entirely new wardrobe – tailor-made – and for a fraction of the price! Or you can laze by the hotel pool or on Hoi An beach, about 10 minutes out of town. Another option is to visit “China Beach” from the Viet Nam War, back towards Da Nang.
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PM: You’ll return to Da Nang to overnight.
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DAY 12: Danang – My Lai – Danang (breakfast/lunch included) |
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MY LAI: The village of Son My was the main site of the My Lai massacre and took place on the morning of 16th March 1968. Fuelled by anger and fear following the Tet Offensive just one month earlier, the ''Charlie Company 1st Battalion 20th Infantry” was sent in to flush out the NVA who they believed were hiding there. Instead soldiers tortured, raped and killed hundreds of local villagers, including babies, women and the elderly. They poisoned their water supply with dead animals and torched the village houses before leaving. The truth of the massacre didn’t surface until a year and a half later and those responsible were not ultimately brought to justice.
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AM: A full day trip will allow you to visit the site of the My Lai massacre. You’ll travel down the coast from Da Nang to the Son My Memorial Park. Wander through the park to see statues of the fallen, family relics, house foundations, bullet holes in trees, and finally a photo gallery documenting the tormenting events of that day.
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PM: You’ll also visit what is left of the old US Military Base located at Chu Lai. In 1965, US marines narrowly escaped an attack planned against them when given a tip-off by a Viet Cong deserter. The former base is currently maintained by the Vietnamese government, who plan to turn it into an industrial and transportation hub. Return to Da Nang to overnight.
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DAY 13: Da Nang – Ha Noi (breakfast/dinner included) |
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HA NOI: Ha Noi is not just Viet Nam’s elegant capital city, today it stands as a testament to its war-torn past and has a rich and complex culture. Nestled in the heart of the Red River delta, Ha Noi is a city of beautiful lakes, temples and pagodas.
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AM: Transfer to the airport to fly to Ha Noi. You’ll be greeted at Noi Bai International Airport and taken to your hotel for check-in. Later, you can take a leisurely walk or ride on a cyclo through Ha Noi’s bustling ancient merchant’s area, known as the Old Quarter. Opportunities abound for sampling local food and drinks, indulging in some oriental shopping or simply burrowing into every nook and cranny of this dynamic district. To the south of the Old Quarter, breathe in the splendor and richness of the city on the banks of the peaceful Hoan Kiem lake. The lake and its sacred Ngoc Son Temple are steeped in legend of Viet Nam’s overthrow of Chinese rule.
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DAY 14: Ha Noi City Tour (breakfast/lunch included) |
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AM: You’ll make a stop at Viet Nam’s 20th century revolutionary leader's mausoleum to reflect on this period of Viet Nam's struggle for independence and view one of the most frequently visited national landmarks. Visit the Army Museum with war remnants, video footage and information on war history from the battle of Dien Bien Phu to the Viet Nam War. Take a trip to the Dong Da district, an area heavily devastated in the 1972 “Christmas Bombing”, causing an estimated 1300 deaths. A Vietnamese plane did manage to take down one of the American bombers however, and you can see this relic nearby at the Air Force Museum.
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PM: Lastly, visit the infamous “Hanoi Hilton”, really the Hoa Lo Prison, which has some cells, photos and information but focuses mainly on the pre-1954 colonial period. Later you’ll marvel at the unique Vietnamese tradition of water puppetry, where puppeteers gracefully and humorously tell pastoral fables a la Punch and Judy!
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DAY 15: Ha Noi – Ha Long – Ha Noi – Train to Hue (breakfast/lunch included) |
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HA LONG BAY: One of the world’s great natural phenomena and a UNESCO World Heritage site, Ha Long means “the dragon descending to the sea.” Here turquoise seas are peppered with some 3000 limestone islands that nature has beaten into the most incredible of shapes, jutting out like precious jewels. Today many islands are home to secret inlets, grottos and caves.
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AM: Set off for Ha Long in the morning. It doesn’t get much better than this: cruise the splendid Ha Long Bay and visit two grottos, Thien Cung and Dau Go. Have seafood lunch on board while soaking up panoramic views of the amazing limestone formations; often shaped like animals or mythical creatures. If the weather permits, dive in for a swim at one of the many coves.
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PM: Return to Ha Noi to overnight.
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DAY 16: Departure from Ha Noi (breakfast included) |
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Free time for relaxing or shopping until you’re transferred to the airport for your return flight home.
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