Essense southern Vietnam 7 days

As you arrive at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh city, a local guide will meet you (outside the Exit). He (and the driver) also gives you an overview of the central Ho Chi Minh City.
You have some free time relaxing at the hotel before having Dinner at nice Vietnamese restaurant.

You’ll visit the Reunification Hall – an early colonial masterpiece constructed to accommodate the Governor – general of Indochina, it is also the site of the end of Vietnam War so it helps you understanding a part of Vietnam history. The Museum of War Remnants provides a very partial, but riveting, perspective of the ‘American War’: not for the squeamish!
In the afternoon, you’ll come to the Jade Emperor Temple. It’s one of the best Taoist temples in Vietnam, with superb effigies, remarkable carved panels of the descent to Hell and somewhat incongruous terrapin and tortoise sanctuaries. The Binh Tay market is located in China Town which is the biggest one in Ho Chi Minh City.

A morning drive will take you to Tay Ninh to visit the Tay Ninh Holy City. Cao Dai Holy See is known as the Holy Temple is the largest holy site of Caodaism, and has an remarkable architecture. You should not miss the middle-day ceremony to understand the Cao Dai Religion (or Caodaism) because it is a ‘new’ religion unique to Vietnam.
After lunch, you’ll continue to the famous Cu Chi tunnels, a Byzantine maze of underground passages, chambers, rooms and booby traps used by both the Vietminh and the Viet Cong to suddenly materialise as if from nowhere, launch a lightning ambush, and vanish equally rapidly.

In the morning, you’ll travel to Ben Tre to visit a typical agricultural & seafood market in the Mekong Delta. You will board a boat to cruise on the Mekong Delta and zoom the local fishermen daily work and traffic in the river. Enjoy fresh coconut juice while the boat takes you to Cai Son canal. You walk to visit local families and explore how they handle coconut shells, also taste coconut candy, honey tea handmade, see how local breed bees in their farm.
You will visit Nhon Trach village to see local women preserve traditional handicraft for mat weaving. Then you hop on a motor-cart (or ride a bike) along village paths to local family/restaurant for lunch. You’ll have chance experience rowing on sampan through narrow Nipa-palm canals.

Start at 6:00 am, we take the boat to Cai Rang Floating Market – the biggest wholesale floating market in the Mekong Delta. It is the great chance you can see local people buy and sell onboard and traditional rural lifestyle in Mekong Delta. You stop at a local house to see making well-known rice noodle in Can Tho. Depending on the tide, you may cruise to orchards or visit local families. Otherwise, you come back to hotel for breakfast and relaxing.
Leave Can Tho to charming Sa Dec town, still has a lot of colonial architecture, in particular the old market. You will visit a beautifully renovated traditional house of a Chinese trader’s family. This sumptuous building belonged to the main character of the famous novel “The Lover“, indeed the lover of its author Marguerite Duras. You will also visit the Trung Vuong primary school where famous novelist spent her childhood.

In the morning, you explore Vinh Long Pottery village to see hundreds brick kilns. You will walk/ bike in the peaceful village to see how they make bricks, floor tiles, wave bamboo trays, bamboo baskets…
We’ll walk to visit the orchard & traditional house in An Binh island. Here, we will enjoy some kinds of fruits and tea, lunch can be served at this local house. The rowing boat will take you deeper into the countryside on smaller canals to enjoy the peaceful time.
You cruise Mekong river and see many floating cages for farming fish. Stop to visit Vinh Long market in the town. This is the best choice for you to take pictures of fish, shrimps, prawns, crab, snakes, rice-field rats, tropical fruits, vegetables...
On the way back to Ho Chi Minh city, you’ll stop in at the beautiful and ancient Vinh Trang pagoda. Vinh Trang Pagoda is architectural mixture of Chinese, Vietnamese and Angkor styles.

Breakfast at hotel then your time for relaxing. Free time on your leisure and to stroll around Ben Thanh market.
You should be available on time for drive to Tan Son Nhat airport for your international departure flight (or for your flight to the next destination).