Departure from your selected airport in the UK with connecting flight(s) on the way.

Upon your arrival in Ho Chi Minh City, you are issued with your visa at the airport before collecting your luggage. Your guide awaits you in the arrivals hall with a TourCompass sign, and you are driven to the hotel where you will be spending the next four nights. When you get to the hotel, you’ve got time to unwind after your flight, and the rest of the day can be spent at your leisure.

Ho Chi Minh City – or Saigon, as the city is often still called, is the biggest city in Vietnam. It’s a hectic city. Home to millions, full of contrasts, from street fruit stalls to glittering bars and Western-style shops.

Surprisingly, the city is only around 300 years old, and for half of that time, it was strongly influenced by the French colonial power, which left Vietnam in the mid-1950s. This influence can be seen in the architecture of the Notre Dame Cathedral and the famous Central Post Office.  Other nations have also left their mark on the city; Cholon is Ho Chi Minh City’s Chinatown and features a plethora of temples and pagodas.

The morning is yours to have a lie in after your flight or to explore the city on your own.

In the afternoon, the guide will meet you at the hotel. The guided tour tour starts with a visit to the War Remnants Museum, where most people will be moved by, among other things, the thought-provoking pictures taken by American photographers during the Vietnam War. You will also visit the Reunification Palace, where the Vietnam War – or the American War, as the Vietnamese call it – ended on 30 April 1975. You will see the Central Post Office, the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral, the famous Dong Khoi shopping street and the Opera, which has an interesting story to tell.

You head from here to the narrow alleyway 287 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, where you will visit house number 70. Politician Tran Van Lai, who was also a secret agent for the Viet Cong, bought the house in 1966. He secretly built a secret weapons cellar under the house, where he hid and stored weapons. Today, the house serves as a museum, outlining the history of the cellar along with various artefacts from the war. You will also learn how weapons were secretly transported around the city during the American occupation.

The guided tour ends at a rooftop bar where you can enjoy the sunset with a refreshing drink.

The evening is then yours to do as you please.

The days in Ho Chi Minh are spent at your leisure. You can choose to go exploring in the city on your own – sniff around the various markets, or eat your way through the many delightful street kitchens.

After breakfast, it’s time to bid the big city farewell. Your driver will pick you up from your hotel, and sand, sea and relaxation now await you on the gorgeous beaches of Mui Ne, one of Vietnam’s very best beach areas. The drive takes about 2,5 hours.

After check-in at your hotel in Mui Ne, you have the rest of the day to yourself.

Originally a small fishing village, Mui Ne has developed into a lovely, cosy beach holiday destination. The beach has fine, golden sand, and the sea is wonderfully warm. Along the beach, you’ll find small, local eateries serving delicious Vietnamese dishes.

Mui Ne is also famous for its huge red and white sand dunes. Discover how the wind constantly blowing in from the sea shapes the red and pale-yellow sand into beautiful desert-like formations.

In southern Mui Ne, on the way to Phan Thiet, are the Po Shanu Cham towers, which were built by the Cham people in the 9th century. Neighbouring the towers is a fine Chinese temple. Both the towers and the temple are located on a hilltop with a nice view of the bay.

In the evening, you can stroll along the beach road, which is approx. 10 km long. Along it lie cosy coffee bars, restaurants and shops. You can also head into Phan Thiet where you can buy the town’s famous fish sauce, known throughout Vietnam.

You will be picked up at the hotel and driven to the Ho Chi Minh City airport, and you fly to the UK with connecting flight(s) on the way.

You arrive in the UK after a lovely holiday.