Vietnam Veteran Tour

Itinerary

• Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City, Arrival

  Your tour starts from Saigon, where the Vietnam War ended on April 30th, 1975. In 1976, this turbulent city was formally renamed Ho Chi Minh City to salute the great leader who led the Viet Cong into victory.

  Meet your guide after touching down at Tan Son Nhat International Airport and then take the comfortable transfer to your downtown hotel.

  • Ho Chi Minh City

• Day 2: Old Saigon and War Remnants

  Get a general understanding of colonial Saigon by browsing some of its most graceful historical buildings, including the Opera House, Continental Hotel, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and Old Saigon Post Office. Focus the rest of today on the War Remnants Museum, where you will see massive photos of the Vietnam War, personal items of American soldiers, and some military equipment of the U.S. Army - a shocking reminder of the brutal war! End the tour at the significant Reunification Palace, formerly known as Independence Palace, signaling a dramatic finish to the Vietnam War.

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  • Ho Chi Minh City

• Day 3: Cu Chi Tunnels & Ba Den Battlefield Site

  Drive about two hours to the Cu Chi Tunnels, a vast subsurface network used by the Viet Cong as hiding places, supply line, and communication route. Crawl through sections of the original tunnels to see what living conditions were like in the narrow tunnels and how they were designed to defend and attack the enemy.

  In the afternoon, moving on to the northwest for about 1.5 hours, you will arrive at the Ba Den battlefield site. Being the end of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, it was an active area with many battles during the Vietnam War. There is a chance to take a cable car to the summit of Nui Ba Den (Black Virgin Mountain) for impressive views of the surroundings.

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  • Ho Chi Minh City

• Day 4: Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang - Hoi An

  Bid farewell to Saigon and fly to Da Nang, followed by a half-hour land journey to your hotel in Hoi An.

  You have the remainder of today at leisure to explore the charming Hoi An Ancient Town under UNESCO protection. Stroll through the quaint alleys lined with all kinds of cafes and shops, and spot some of its time-honored buildings, such as the Japanese Bridge, Chinese Temple, and traditional Vietnamese merchant's house.

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  • Hoi An

• Day 5: Son My Memorial

  March 16, 1968, in Son My and several nearby villages, a hideous massacre happened, and at least 504 Vietnamese, including children and women, were killed by U.S. soldiers. This incident, referred to as the Son My massacre in Vietnamese media and the My Lai Massacre in American media, stirred up the antiwar passions in America and hastened the end of the Vietnam War.

  Today, drive about 140 km to Son My to recall these dark days and victims slain on this soil. On the way, stop to see Chien Dan Cham, a group of three Champa towers that have witnessed history over a thousand years.

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  • Hoi An

• Day 6: Leisure Morning & Land Journey to Hue in the afternoon

  Have a leisure morning to break from the brutal war memories, enjoying the idyllic countryside or the nearby beach of Hoi An.

  In the afternoon, a three hours' scenic drive will take you to Hue, the capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty (1802–1945).

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  • Hue

• Day 7: Legacy of Nguyen dynasty & Local Market

  Discover the legacy of the Nguyen dynasty from the tomb of Emperor Tu Duc, the longest-reigning ruler of this dynasty. Next, explore Hue's Imperial Citadel, once the nation's power seat and religious hub. Built upon the lines of the Forbidden City in Beijing, this hundreds-of-years-old complex, though destroyed in the Battle of Hue in 1968, remains with many broken walls telling vicissitudes of history.

  Following this, wander around the bustling Dong Ba Market to peek into local life before returning to your hotel for a leisure afternoon. Or you may prefer to hop on a bicycle to discover the surrounding countryside with your guide.

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  • Hue

• Day 8: Day Tour to the Old Demilitarized Zone

  Head northwest from Hue, after about two hours, you will be in the region that once divided North and South Vietnam and hosted some significant battles at the end of the Vietnam War. Here, you will see the Rockpile - a former US Marine outpost and the Hien Luong Bridge bisected between the opposed parties from 1954 to 1976. The tour also includes the Ho Chi Minh Trail used to transport supplies by North Vietnam, the bullet-riddled citadel at Quang Tri, and Camp Carroll - the artillery base of the U.S. Marine Corps and the ground forces of South Vietnam.

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  • Hue

• Day 9: Hue - Hanoi, The Old Quarter & Visit to a former Vietnamese pilot

  Take a private transfer to the airport and fly to Hanoi this morning.

  On arrival, be welcomed by your local guide and escorted to visit a former Vietnamese pilot and hear the involver telling some unknown stories in the war. Afterward, get on a cyclo and sightsee around the Old Quarter of Hanoi.

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  • Hanoi

• Day 10: The Historical Hanoi

  After breakfast in your hotel, pay an insightful visit to the grand mausoleum of Vietnam's founding father Ho Chi Minh and the quaint stilted house where he lived intermittently from 1958 to 1969 before stopping off at the nearby One Pillar Pagoda.

  Next, you will explore North Vietnam's General Command Headquarters beneath the ancient palace walls of the Tang Long Citadel. Following it is the Hoa Lo Prison, nicked named Hanoi Hilton and used to jail American pilots. Today's tour also includes several sites related to the horrifying Christmas Bombings in 1972, the Kham Thien Street, the B-52 Memorial Lake, and the Downed Aircraft Memorial.

  Note: For travelers with a bit of flexibility in their schedule, we highly recommend adding a two-day voyage on the mesmerizing waters of Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

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  • Hanoi

• Day 11: Hanoi, Departure

  Meet your guide and driver at the appointed time for the private transfer to the airport. Say goodbye to Vietnam and board your homebound flight.

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