Vietnam’s largest city, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) – also known as Saigon – is the gateway to the steamy southern reaches of this slender Southeast Asian nation. HCMC is celebrated for its vibrant nightlife, spectacular dining, rich history and French-era architecture. It’s easy to while away happy days slurping down amazing noodle soups and walking along century-old streets laid down during the Indochina era.
But Ho Chi Minh City is also the front door to southern Vietnam and the vast, waterlogged Mekong Delta, with its colorful markets, wartime relics and pristine nature reserves. Bus routes crisscross the countryside around Vietnam’s southern capital and tour agencies offer all sorts of itineraries, making for easy detours. Here’s our pick of the best day trips from Ho Chi Minh City.
1. Get a taste of the Vietnamese countryside at Ben Tre and My Tho
Travel time: 2 hours
If you don’t have time for an overnight trip to the Mekong Delta, these two sister cities just two hours south of Ho Chi Minh City provide a rewarding glimpse of southern country life. Ben Tre, the so-called Coconut Capital of Vietnam, lies across the Mekong River from the more developed city of My Tho. Both make for a quaint getaway based around fruit orchards, local pagodas, intriguing cottage industries and detours to surprisingly rural villages off the main highway.
The four inhabited river islands between Ben Tre and My Tho are home to bee farms, coconut candy factories and scenic orchards where you can sample tropical fruit while being serenaded by Vietnamese folk singers. Explore on boat tours with companies such as Mango Cruises or tourist boat operators at My Tho. The Vietnamese government has established several eco-resorts in the area, complete with horse-pulled carts that take visitors from attraction to attraction.
Ben Tre makes everything imaginable from the humble coconut, from coconut wood souvenirs to chewy coconut candy. You can watch as workers stretch and mold the sweet little squares and take some home as a memento. Also try the noodle soup known as hủ tiếu Mỹ Tho, a specialty of My Tho, with chewy rice noodles topped with shrimp, pork, pork offal and heaps of fresh vegetables. If you visit My Tho, don’t miss the striking Vinh Trang Pagoda, about 1km (0.6 miles) east of the center, with its looming Buddha statue.
15 best things to do in Ho Chi Minh City
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