Private Full Day Cao Dai Temple and Cu Chi Tunnels Experience
- 9 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Experience two sides of Vietnam on this full-day private tour from Ho Chi Minh City. Journey northwest to Tay Ninh, spiritual capital of Caodaism, Vietnam's unique religion blending ancient and modern beliefs. Visit the spectacular Great Temple, an architectural masterpiece with vibrant colors. Witness the remarkable midday ceremony where followers worship saints including Victor Hugo, Joan of Arc, and Shakespeare, creating a spectacle combining Eastern and Western traditions. After lunch, explore the legendary Cu Chi Tunnels, a vast underground network stretching over 250 kilometers. Built as defense against French forces and expanded during the American War, these tunnels served as the strategic base for guerrilla warfare. Discover secret trapdoors, underground kitchens, living quarters, and meeting rooms demonstrating incredible ingenuity. Adventurous visitors can crawl through authentic tunnel sections at multiple levels, while others observe excavated areas from above.
Inclusions
What's included
- All entrance fees for visits as mentioned in the description.
- Transportation by air-conditioned vehicle with professional driver
- All applicable taxes and service charges
- A full-day tour with a professional English-speaking guide
- Lunch at a local restaurant is included (food only)
What's not
- Personal expenses such as meals, drinks, tips and gratuities
- Hotel accommodation in the destination of commencement
- Single supplement charges for single travellers, where applicable
- Any airline tickets, visa fees, additional transportation cost from and to the general meeting point
- Supplements for transfers outside general pick up and drop off area
- Hotel expenses of a personal nature, should an overnight be included
- Travel insurance coverage for customers (highly recommendable)
Itinerary
Our guide and driver will wait for you in the lobby of your Ho Chi Minh accommodation, and we start our 70-kilometre drive in a north-western direction in the direction of Tay Ninh. The Cao Dai religion is unique to Vietnam and is a blend of both ancient and modern beliefs. The Great Temple at Tay Ninh is the centre of the religion, demonstrated by an exotic temple, often likened to something out of a fairy tale! Here followers of this eclectic religion worship saints such as Victor Hugo, Joan of Arch and even Shakespeare. A highlight of this tour is the very colourful yet formal service held at midday, which you are welcome to observe.
After lunch at a local restaurant, we head out towards the Cu Chi Tunnels. The vast underground network of tunnels and rooms was built first as a defence against the French and later expanded during the American war. It was from here that the North Vietnamese waged their guerrilla warfare and you will marvel at their ingenuity and resilience. See secret trapdoors, underground kitchens, living areas and meeting rooms. The more adventurous ones may explore even the deeper second, and even third, level tunnels. For those preferring to remain above ground, there is ample opportunity to view excavated areas from above. Your guide will explain some of the challenges and levels of difficulty for each tunnel one can expect before entering. Some are easily accessed by stairs, other passages require a bit more crawling and ducking. We recommend good walking shoes and sun protection for this tour and advise you may get a little dirty!
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Know before you go
- Pickup
- Pickup is included for everyone.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- Asian Trails LTD
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- This tour is operated on full private basis with English-speaking guide. Other languages are on request / subject to availability and supplementary charges may apply
- Return transfers for this excursion apply only / are inclusive for customers staying in and inside Ho Chi Minh City centre. Transfers outside these areas, including any accommodation outside the city, harbour and the Ho Chi Minh’s International Airport are excluded. Supplements apply for customers who want to join this excursion outside one of these regions
- Customers are advised that during the TET celebrations (celebration of Vietnamese New Year), excursions and tours may be subject to supplementary charges and/or may see longer waiting times than normal
- We will do all possible to comply with any dietary requirements during this excursion; it may not always be possible to confirm your wishes in advance based on the choice of local restaurant
- We regret to inform you that this excursion is not suitable for wheelchair users
- Guests are advised that some walking is required during this excursion; we always ensure that we take the most comfortable ways from the entrance of the sight to the sight itself
How it compares in Ho Chi Minh City
- Its from-price is 53% above the median of the 2927 experiences we list in Ho Chi Minh City.
- Its length is typical for the group.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City, still widely called Saigon, is Vietnam's buzzing commercial hub of French colonial landmarks, war history and superb street food.
District 1 holds the main sights within walking distance: the red-brick Notre-Dame Cathedral, the elegant Central Post Office with its vaulted hall, the colonial Opera House and the ornate City Hall. The Independence Palace preserves its rooms as they were at the end of the war, and the War Remnants Museum tells the story of the conflict with sobering directness.
Top-ranked sights in Ho Chi Minh City: Cu Chi Tunnels, Saigon Opera House (Opéra de Saïgon), Saigon Central Post Office.
Special offers in Ho Chi Minh City
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
