Southern Vietnam war history day tour

Learn about Vietnam War History at Cu Chi Tunnel and Napalm Girl village

Our trip begins with a 2 hour drive close to the border with Cambodia, where we will find the famous Cu Chi Tunnels. On the way, we stop of and spend some time with some locals, learning about the local customs and history. You will have the opportunity to chat to the local people for a real learning experience.

Onwards towards the Cu Chi Tunnels reveals the strategically important location into which the tunnels were dug. The tunnels are near the end of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail, allowing for artillery strikes against the South Vietnamese Capital.

The Tunnels were initially constructed in 1948, when the Vietnamese anti-colonial resistance, the Viet Minh, required shelter from French air strikes, and the tunnels had been expanded since then to measure roughly 200km of underground routes. Within these extensive tunnel networks, one could find all necessary facilities to support the troops, including hospitals, kitchens, meeting rooms and sleeping quarters.

Life in these difficult and cramped spaces was made even more precarious as booby traps were built into the tunnels to protect from outside intruders. To preserve this heritage, the Vietnamese government has preserved a 75 km stretch of the Cu Chi tunnels as a reminder to the past and a new tourist attraction. The Tunnels have been given low powered lighting to imitate the real life conditions of the war times, however, the tunnels have had to be widened to allow for tourists to safely fit through them.

Your local guide will accompany you through a fascinating tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, where you will experience the real life conditions of the people who had taken residence in the tunnels. The difficulties the troops faced in the tunnels as well as the ingenuity that was employed to allow for existence of life in the tunnels.

We will witness the scars of heavy bombing of the area that are still evident by the huge bomb craters left in the landscape, discover cleverly hidden entrances right under your feet, glimpse at the intricate tiny chimneys that dispersed smoke from the underground kitchens as well as taste the food that the fighters survived on and get to explore the tunnel complex itself.

The tour will then proceed to the village that became infamous as the Napalm Girl village; we will visit the temple that gave refuge to the girl, as well as talks with some of the residents who witnesses the bombings will be on the itinerary. Local cuisine will be served for lunch in the village.

Optional choice: If you would like to have a more authentic Cu Chi tunnel experience, then why not take a tour of the Ben Duoc tunnel which is less frequented by tourists than the Ben Dinh tunnel.

Note : In reality, there are two different tunnel systems in Cu Chi area; one for the locals called Ben Duoc, and other more popular one known as Ben Dinh, where most foreign tourists are taken to by travel companies. Ben Duoc is the most real life like tunnel system in the Cu Chi tunnel systems, unaltered for the western tourists, this section of the tunnels are not frequented as much. The Ben Duoc tunnels, preferred by the local visitors, present the realities of the day to day struggles of the Vietnamese troops underground and the ingenuity and skills that were employed to build these underground system of Mazes.

Well-known Napalm girl Kim Phuc 1972

Trang Bang area in Tay Ninh

American air force in Ben Duoc tunnel

PRIVATE TOUR rate quoted in American Dollars per person in a private group.

What’s included

• Hynam’s live English speaking guide
• Private transfer with A/C
• Lunch in a restaurant
• Entrance fee and ticket

What’s Excluded

• Drinks
• Personal expenses
• Tipping
• Travel insurance