6-Day South Vietnam Tour: Mekong, Mui Ne and Phu Quoc

Inclusions, Exclusions and the Two Gaps

The operator lists airport pickup and drop off, an English speaking guide, an air-conditioned vehicle, accommodation, breakfast, the meals named on the itinerary, use of snorkelling equipment and all fees and taxes. Tips, alcoholic drinks, soft drinks and personal expenses are excluded.

Two things need checking before you book. First, the itinerary shows a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc on day 4 and a departure flight from Phu Quoc on day 6, yet no flight appears in the inclusions, so message the operator and get the answer in writing. Second, the marketing text calls the package all-inclusive while the exclusion list and the absent dinners say otherwise. Dinners on all six days, drinks with every meal and the dunes ride at 300,000 to 400,000 VND per person all come out of your own pocket. The hotel upgrade to 4 or 5-star is optional and paid extra, and the listing states no single supplement amount, so ask if you travel alone.

Days 1 to 3, the Mainland Loop

Day 1, airport arrival and Cu Chi. The itinerary lists a 13:00 pickup at the airport with hotel check-in and rest, and a 12:45 start for the Cu Chi Tunnels. The two times overlap, so confirm the order with the operator. You walk some of the tunnels, see the smokeless stoves and, if you want, try the shooting range. Overnight in a 3-star hotel in the city.

Day 2, Mekong Delta. A 7:45 AM pickup at 123 Ly Tu Trong or your hotel, then a 1.5 hour van ride to My Tho with a stop at Vinh Trang pagoda. A boat takes you past fish cages and floating houses to a coconut island in Ben Tre for a village walk, honey tea, honey wine, traditional music and a coconut candy shop. Breakfast and lunch included, city hotel night again.

Day 3, Mui Ne sunset. Depart 8:00 and drive 120 minutes to the white sand dunes and Lotus Lake, where the quad bike or jeep costs 300,000 to 400,000 VND per person. Then the fishing village with its wooden boats, 60 minutes barefoot along the Fairy Stream, and the sunset at the red sand dunes before the bus returns to Ho Chi Minh City. It is a long day that ends after sunset, so plan a quiet dinner nearby.

Days 4 to 6, Phu Quoc

Day 4 starts with breakfast at 7:00 and an 8:00 checkout for the 120 minute transfer to the airport and the flight to Phu Quoc. You arrive around 14:00, check in, eat at your leisure and swim. Overnight in a 3-star hotel on the island.

Day 5 is the excursion. Pickup at 8:30, An Thoi port at 9:30, then snorkelling at Kim Quy island for 60 minutes from 10:00, a stop at May Rut or Gham Ghi island around 11:15 weather permitting, and a second snorkelling site at Coconut island at 12:15 with soft coral, fish and fish feeding. Fruit, a drink and a sandwich at Fingernail island at 13:15, then a seafood BBQ lunch at a mainland restaurant at 14:15 before the hotel. Breakfast and lunch included, dinner is not.

Day 6 is free time until checkout and the transfer to the airport for your departure flight. The tour ends at the airport, and the listing does not name which airport on Phu Quoc.

Check These Before Booking

The price buys a shared group of up to 10, not a private guide, and hotel names are not given. The meals list leaves every dinner uncovered, which matters if you expected the all-inclusive framing of the marketing text to be literal. The flights sit on the itinerary but outside the inclusions, and until the operator answers who pays, your real cost is uncertain.

Day 3 is the physical test, an 8:00 start, a 120 minute drive to Mui Ne and a return to the city after sunset. Wheelchair users are served well here, the listing states the transportation and all areas and surfaces are accessible, and infants can ride in a stroller. The age bands on the listing, infant 0 to 3, child 4 to 9, adult 10 to 70, are pricing bands, not entry limits.

If you wanted the north too, the 9-day south to north tour runs Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi with a Ha Long and Lan Ha Bay cruise night for $999. If the Mekong is the part you care about, the 3-day Mekong Delta tour adds Can Tho, Tra Su and Chau Doc with an optional Phnom Penh exit for $261. Travellers who want a cruise night on their south Vietnam tour will not find one here, the tour has none.

Getting to the Start City

You fly into Tan Son Nhat airport (SGN), which handles nearly half of Vietnam's international arrivals, and the tour picks you up there on day 1 at a time the listing leaves unstated, so share your flight number when you book. On day 2 the guide meets you at 123 Ly Tu Trong in District 1 or at your hotel for the departure at 7:45 AM. Arrive a day early if you can, both to absorb any flight delay and to see the city, the War Remnants Museum at 28 Vo Van Tan Street opens daily 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM with ticket sales ending at 5:00 PM.

Before or after, consider extra days in the city or the Mekong towns the route skips, Can Tho, the largest city of the delta, has the Cai Rang floating market. The south is hot year round, with Ho Chi Minh City daily means between 27.3 and 29.5 degrees Celsius, and March and April are hot and dry, April the hottest at 33 degrees Celsius or more at midday. The practical month choice is covered in the guide to the best time to visit Vietnam, and the Vietnam itinerary guide helps if you want to add days. Two notes, buy a SIM at a city carrier store for about 150,000 to 200,000 VND rather than airport prices, and the e-visa costs US$25 for single entry with stays up to 90 days.