7 Days: HCMC Day Trips on a Budget
Seven days from Ho Chi Minh City fits all four real day trips plus the dawn payoff at Cai Rang. This extends the 6-day plan with the actual market morning rather than replacing it, the same spine every shorter version of this plan builds toward.
Book these before you go:
- A District 1 hostel or hotel, check rates on Agoda
- A combined Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai Temple tour for Day 2
- A My Tho and Ben Tre Mekong Delta day trip for Day 3
- A Can Tho and Cai Rang 2-day overnight tour for Days 6-7, book a few days ahead
- Or browse the Cai Rang Floating Market page on GetYourGuide for shorter dawn-boat add-ons
| Day | Focus | Travel time | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrival, District 1 settle-in | ~25-45 min airport transfer | 150,000-300,000 VND (Grab + dinner) |
| 2 | Cu Chi Tunnels + Tay Ninh Cao Dai combined | 1.5-2h to Cu Chi, then on to Tay Ninh, 8-10h door to door | 90,000-125,000 VND entry, plus US$15-40pp tour |
| 3 | Mekong Delta: My Tho and Ben Tre | 1.5-2h each way | roughly US$25-70+pp tour |
| 4 | Vung Tau beach | 2h hydrofoil (2-3.5h by road) | 260,000-375,000 VND hydrofoil one-way |
| 5 | Slow day back in the city | none | under 200,000 VND (free sights + food) |
| 6 | Travel to Can Tho, overnight | 3-3.5h each way | from roughly US$139pp for the 2-day overnight tour |
| 7 | Cai Rang floating market at dawn, return | dawn boat, then 3-3.5h return | included in the 2-day tour above, or a small boat hire |
Day 1: Arrival and District 1 Settle-In
Fly into Tan Son Nhat (SGN) and Grab into District 1 for roughly 110,000-250,000 VND. Check into your hotel, wander Ben Thanh Market, then a street-food dinner under 65,000 VND.
Day 2: Cu Chi Tunnels and Tay Ninh’s Noon Ceremony
Leave by 7-7:30am for the Cu Chi Tunnels, entry 90,000-125,000 VND, then on to Tay Ninh for the Cao Dai Great Temple’s noon ceremony, arriving by 11:15-11:30am; entry is free.
Day 3: Mekong Delta, My Tho and Ben Tre
My Tho and Ben Tre sit 1.5-2 hours out: a sampan ride through coconut-palm canals, a coconut-candy workshop, and orchard fruit. A shared tour runs roughly US$25-70+ per person.
Day 4: Vung Tau, a Beach Day Out
Take the Greenlines DP hydrofoil from Bach Dang, about 2 hours each way, 260,000-375,000 VND one-way. Fresh seafood and a swim, book the earlier sailing for a full afternoon.
Day 5: A Slow Day Back in the City
Stay in the city and spend less than any day-trip day cost you. Wander Cholon or the Jade Emperor Pagoda, both free, or ride Metro Line 1 toward Thu Duc.
Day 6: Travel to Can Tho and Overnight
Head southwest toward Can Tho, 3-3.5 hours from HCMC, arriving early afternoon. Walk the riverside promenade, browse a local market that is not staged for tour buses, and have dinner at a Can Tho restaurant. Overnight in Can Tho, setting up for tomorrow’s dawn start.
Day 7: Cai Rang Floating Market at Dawn, Then Home
Up before dawn for the Cai Rang floating market, boats trading wholesale fruit and vegetables roughly 5-8:30am before the market winds down. A small boat tour out onto the water costs a fraction of an HCMC day-trip tour and delivers the market at its actual best, not the tail end a rushed round trip would catch. Head back to HCMC afterward, budget the full 3-3.5 hour return and a late arrival; this is the one day worth building the whole week around.
Is the Cai Rang floating market still worth seeing if it is smaller than it used to be?
Yes, and being honest about the decline is part of doing it right. Cai Rang has genuinely shrunk as more trade has moved onto roads, but the dawn window still shows real wholesale boats, not a staged show for tourists. Arrive at first light rather than mid-morning, that gap between dawn and 8:30am is where the market still functions as it always has.
Should I book the boat separately once I am already in Can Tho, or arrange it from HCMC first?
Arrange it from HCMC first if this is a packaged 2-day tour, since the overnight hotel and the dawn boat are usually sold together and timed to have you on the water at first light without negotiating on arrival. Book it separately only if you are extending a Can Tho stay beyond this itinerary and want more flexibility than a fixed pickup time allows.
For the city itself between day trips, our Ho Chi Minh City guide and its 7-day city itinerary cover District 1 sights on the same daily budget. The full day-trip guide lays out all four day trips side by side if a week feels too long and you want to cut one. Keep a spare 100,000-200,000 VND in small notes through Day 7, Can Tho’s dawn market breaks a large bill less easily than any stall in HCMC.