South Vietnam & Island Hopping - 10 Days

Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City, the beating heart of southern Vietnam. Upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, your Meetup Travel guide will meet you at the arrivals hall and transfer you to your hotel in the city center. Take the afternoon to settle in, freshen up, and shake off the journey at your own pace.

As the heat softens toward evening, join your guide for an orientation walk through the most iconic streets of District 1. Stroll past the ornate facade of the Central Post Office, admire the pink towers of Notre-Dame Cathedral, and pause at the steps of the grand City Hall. The pavements buzz with the constant energy of motorbikes, street food vendors fanning coals, and locals sharing iced coffee under fluorescent lights.

• Airport transfer - private van from Tan Son Nhat Airport to hotel
• Hotel check-in and free time to rest and explore independently
• Evening orientation walk - Notre-Dame Cathedral, Central Post Office, City Hall
• Optional dinner - rooftop restaurant with views over the city skyline

Tonight is yours to ease into the rhythm of Saigon - a city that never truly sleeps.

Today you step into the chapters of history that shaped modern Vietnam. Begin the morning at the War Remnants Museum, one of the most visited museums in Southeast Asia. The collection spans three floors of photographs, restored military hardware, and personal testimonies that offer an unflinching look at the Vietnam War from the Vietnamese perspective. The exhibits are confronting but essential, leaving a deep and lasting impression on every visitor.

From there, your guide leads you across to the Reunification Palace, the former seat of the South Vietnamese government and the site where the war officially ended on 30 April 1975. Wander through the original cabinet rooms, communications bunkers, and rooftop helicopter pad - all preserved exactly as they were on that historic day.

• War Remnants Museum - three levels of wartime photography, weaponry, and firsthand accounts
• Reunification Palace - original state rooms, underground bunkers, and rooftop terrace
• Ben Thanh Market area - afternoon browse through Saigon's busiest market
• Pham Ngu Lao Street - dinner in the city's most vibrant backpacker district

These landmarks place the rest of your journey in context - a reminder of how far Vietnam has come in a remarkably short time.

An early departure takes you northwest to the Cu Chi Tunnels, the legendary 250-kilometre underground network used by Viet Cong soldiers during the war. Your guide will explain how thousands of people lived, cooked, and coordinated military operations beneath a forest floor that shows no trace from above. Brave volunteers can crawl through a widened section of the original tunnel - a humbling and unforgettable 20 metres in near-total darkness.

After lunch, the journey shifts to something entirely different: the lush, waterlogged world of the Mekong Delta. Arriving in Ben Tre province, you board a traditional wooden sampan and glide along narrow canals shaded by towering coconut palms. Local guides share how families here weave coconut husks, harvest honey from jungle beehives, and make fresh coconut candy by hand. The air smells of river mud, blossom, and woodsmoke.

• Cu Chi Tunnels - historical briefing, tunnel demonstration, and optional crawl
• Sampan boat ride - narrow Mekong canals through coconut groves in Ben Tre
• Village visit - coconut candy workshop, honey tasting, and local fruit platter
• Lunch included at a riverside restaurant

Two completely different worlds in a single day - this is the unexpected range of southern Vietnam.

A pre-dawn start today rewards you with one of the Mekong Delta's most atmospheric spectacles. Drive to Can Tho, the delta's largest city, and board a small rowboat while the sky is still dark. As the sun rises over the river, the Cai Rang floating market emerges from the mist - dozens of wooden boats lashed together, each laden with towering stacks of tropical fruit, vegetables, and herbs. Traders hang samples of their wares from tall bamboo poles so buyers can identify them from a distance. Buy a bowl of freshly cooked noodle soup right from a floating kitchen and eat it as the market comes alive around you.

After the market, return to the city for a late breakfast before your afternoon transfer to Can Tho Airport for the short flight to Phu Quoc Island. Your resort sits close to the beach, and after several days of city and river exploration, the sight of turquoise water at the end of a palm-lined path feels like an arrival in paradise.

• Cai Rang floating market - pre-dawn rowboat tour among fruit and vegetable traders
• Breakfast on the river - fresh pho or bun rieu from a floating kitchen vendor
• Can Tho city stroll - Ninh Kieu Wharf and French colonial architecture
• Flight to Phu Quoc - afternoon departure and resort check-in

By evening, cocktails in hand and toes in the sand, the Mekong feels like another lifetime.

The northern reaches of Phu Quoc are a world away from the resort-lined south - a landscape of red-earth trails, dense jungle, and hillside farms where some of Vietnam's finest pepper has grown for centuries. Your morning begins at a working pepper farm, where rows of climbing vines are trained up wooden poles and the air carries a sharp, earthy heat. Your guide explains the difference between black, red, and white Phu Quoc pepper and why chefs across Asia prize this island's harvest above all others.

Next, board the Vinpearl Cable Car, one of the longest over-water cable car rides in the world, stretching 8 kilometres across the sea to Hon Thom Island. The views from the gondola - turquoise shallows below, jungle ridges above - are breathtaking. Spend time at Hon Thom's water park or simply walk the island's quieter beaches before returning across the water.

• Pepper farm visit - guided tour of a working plantation in Phu Quoc's north
• Vinpearl Cable Car - 8 km over-water ride to Hon Thom Island
• Hon Thom Island - free time to swim, snorkel, or enjoy the water park
• Dinh Cau Rock - sunset visit to the fishermen's lighthouse shrine at the river mouth

This is Phu Quoc beyond the beach towel - raw, aromatic, and utterly rewarding.

Today belongs to the southern tip of the island and one of the finest stretches of sand in all of Vietnam. Sao Beach is consistently ranked among Asia's top beaches - a long, curved bay of powder-white sand and water so clear you can see the seabed three metres below your floating body. Arrive early before the day heats up and claim your spot under a coconut palm. Kayaks and snorkelling equipment are available for rent along the shore.

After the beach, a short drive brings you to the Nuoc Mam fish sauce factory, where giant wooden barrels of fermented anchovies and salt have been maturing in the tropical heat for up to 18 months. The guide explains how Phu Quoc's particular combination of sea breeze and climate creates a fish sauce that is awarded geographical indication status - the first Vietnamese food to receive this UNESCO-backed recognition. Before dinner, watch the sun melt into the sea from Long Beach, then head to the island's famous Night Market for grilled seafood, sugarcane juice, and the most competitive haggling on the island.

• Sao Beach - free swim and kayak time at Vietnam's top-rated white-sand beach
• Nuoc Mam factory - guided tour of Phu Quoc's legendary fish sauce production
• Long Beach sunset - golden hour over the Andaman Sea
• Phu Quoc Night Market - fresh grilled seafood, tropical fruit, and local snacks

Sao Beach, a sunset, and a plate of grilled prawns at the night market - a day that asks nothing more of you.

Today is a travel day as you make your way from Phu Quoc to the remote Con Dao archipelago, one of the least visited and most remarkable destinations in Vietnam. Your flight connects through Ho Chi Minh City before the short onward hop to Con Son Island, the largest of the 16 islands and islets that make up Con Dao.

The descent into Con Son is one of Vietnam's most dramatic - the runway sits at the edge of jungle-covered hills that drop sharply into a ring of electric-blue water. First-time visitors often press their faces to the aircraft window, barely believing what lies below. Your Meetup Travel guide meets you at the small airport and transfers you to your resort, which sits close to the island's main beach.

• Morning - hotel checkout and transfer to Phu Quoc Airport
• Flight via Ho Chi Minh City to Con Son Island
• Airport arrival - scenic descent over jungle and coral-ringed waters
• Resort check-in and afternoon free time at leisure
• Evening stroll - Con Son town's tree-lined French colonial main street

Con Dao operates at a different pace to the rest of Vietnam - slower, quieter, and more deliberate. The island rewards those who simply let it unfold around them.

Con Dao National Park covers nearly 80 percent of the archipelago's land and sea surface, protecting coral reefs, sea grass beds, and nesting beaches that host the largest population of green sea turtles in Vietnam. Today you venture into the heart of it. Board a traditional wooden boat and cross the narrow channel to Bay Canh Island, a protected sanctuary where human visitors are outnumbered by monitor lizards, hornbills, and nesting seabirds.

At Bay Canh, slip into the water with mask and fins and discover a coral garden of exceptional health - staghorn coral, giant clams, schools of parrotfish, and the occasional reef shark moving unhurried in the blue depths below. Your national park guide will point out key species and explain the turtle monitoring programme that has seen hatchling numbers rise dramatically in recent years. If timing allows, an evening beach walk may coincide with a female turtle hauling herself up the sand to lay eggs - a sight granted to very few visitors.

• Boat crossing to Bay Canh Island through Con Dao National Park waters
• Snorkeling - coral reef exploration with national park guide
• Bay Canh beach walk - jungle trail to the historic French lighthouse at the island's tip
• Lunch on the island - fresh seafood and tropical fruit
• Optional turtle watch - evening nesting patrol (seasonal, subject to availability)

The reef here belongs to a different era - vast, undamaged, and breathtakingly alive.

Con Dao's history is as powerful as its natural beauty, and this morning you walk into one of the most significant historical sites in Vietnam. The Con Dao Prison complex was originally built by French colonial authorities in 1861 and later expanded by successive administrations into a network of holding facilities that earned Con Dao the name 'Hell on Earth'. The most chilling section is Tiger Cages - roofless concrete cells where prisoners were kept in isolation under extreme conditions.

Your guide, who brings deep knowledge of both the colonial and wartime periods, leads you through the Phu Hai Camp, the largest camp on the island, and on to the Con Dao Museum, where personal letters, photographs, and artefacts of political prisoners document decades of resilience and resistance. The afternoon is intentionally free - time to absorb what you have experienced, walk the beach alone, or simply sit with a cold drink as the light changes over the water.

• Con Dao Prison - Phu Hai Camp - guided tour of the largest French colonial prison
• Tiger Cages - the isolation cells that drew international condemnation in 1970
• Con Dao Museum - personal stories and artefacts from political prisoners
• Van Son Temple - tribute to the thousands who lost their lives on the island
• Free afternoon - beach walk, swimming, or quiet reflection

History this honest demands a gentle evening, and Con Dao's golden-hour beach delivers exactly that.

Your final morning on Con Dao moves at a gentle pace. After breakfast at the resort, take one last walk along the beach or sit on the terrace with a coffee and watch the jungle-covered hillsides catch the early light. Check-out is followed by a short transfer to Con Son Airport for your flight back to Ho Chi Minh City, where Meetup Travel's team will meet you on arrival and assist with any onward connections.

Depending on your international departure time, there may be a few hours to revisit a favourite Saigon street, pick up last-minute gifts at Ben Thanh Market, or enjoy a final Vietnamese iced coffee on a pavement terrace. Your driver will transfer you to Tan Son Nhat International Airport in good time for your flight home, carrying memories that span 10 days, four destinations, and one of the most varied journeys southern Vietnam can offer.

• Morning - leisure time and hotel checkout in Con Dao
• Flight from Con Son Airport back to Ho Chi Minh City
• HCMC arrival - Meetup Travel meet-and-assist for onward connections
• Optional free time - city farewell, last shopping, or airport lounge
• Airport transfer to Tan Son Nhat for international departure

Thank you for travelling with Meetup Travel. We hope southern Vietnam exceeded every expectation.