Departure day, where you will fly to Ho Chi Minh City with connecting flights along the way.

You arrive at Ho Chi Minh City Airport, where you go through immigration and then pick up your luggage. Your guide will be waiting for you in the arrivals hall, holding up a TourCompass sign, and you’ll be driven to your hotel where you will spend the coming nights. After check-in, there’s time to unwind after your flight, and the rest of the day is yours to do as you please.

With more than 10 million inhabitants, Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s largest city. It is a hectic metropolis full of contrasts, from street stalls to glittering skyscrapers.

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.

Today, your guide will meet you at the hotel. The city tour starts at Ho Chi Minh City’s old post office – a beautiful and iconic building that clearly bears the mark of the French colonial era. You’ll walk from here to the famous shopping street Dong Khoi and the Opera, which has an interesting story to tell. 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. The War Remnants Museum then awaits you, where most people will be moved by the exhibits such as the thought-provoking pictures taken by American photographers during the Vietnam War.

The tour then heads to Tan Dinh Church, which stands in sharp contrast to the traditional Notre Dame Cathedral, but is equally impressive with its exciting architecture, tall tower and distinctive colour. It is considered one of the most beautiful and unique churches in Ho Chi Minh City.

You can round off the city tour at the vibrant Tan Dinh Market next to the church, where you can buy a souvenir from among a multitude of local products to take home with you.

The rest of the day is yours to do as you please.

The day is yours to explore the city on your own, check out the various markets or eat your way through the delectable street kitchens.

You will be picked up from your hotel and driven towards the Mekong Delta, south of Ho Chi Minh City. The Mekong River itself runs 4,500 km through 6 countries from its source to the delta south of Ho Chi Minh City. The delta is known as Vietnam’s pantry and is, as the nickname suggests, an extremely fertile place. The delta covers an area of almost 40,000 km², but the area covered by water depends on the amount of rainfall and the season.

You won’t get far from Ho Chi Minh City before you start seeing beautiful green rice fields. The climate here allows farmers to plant and harvest three crops a year.

Arriving in the small charming town of Cai Be, you board a boat that takes you around the lush Mekong Delta. Here, you can experience the locals with their boats filled with watermelons, coconuts, and pineapples, or patiently waiting for another fish to bite. The area was formerly known for its floating markets, but today, goods are sold on land.

Then, you visit a family that produces and sells various products made from water hyacinths. The tour also passes by a small home factory that produces “pop rice,” a local specialty in the Mekong Delta.

You now board a sampan, a traditional boat, and sail through the labyrinth of narrow channels in the charming delta before enjoying a late lunch in a beautiful old local house. Here, you will also be shown how to make the traditional Vietnamese pancakes, banh xeo.

Afterward, you are sailed back to Cai Be and from there, driven back to Ho Chi Minh City.

Nam Cat Tien National Park is located about 150 km north of Ho Chi Minh City. The park is only 72,000 hectares and consists of lowland forest, swamp areas, lakes, and a river. The park is an extremely important area for the conservation of many Asian animal species. It is the largest contiguous jungle in Vietnam, and here exists a completely unique animal and plant life. If we were to mention some less threatened animal species, monkeys, sambar deer, gaur, muntjac deer, wild boar, and many bird species, including the beautiful rhinoceros birds and the endemic Saigon woodcock, live here. The majority of the park is dense jungle, and it is considered a special bonus if you spot mammals.

After arrival and check-in at the lodge, lunch is served, followed by a foot safari with a knowledgeable ranger who knows Nam Cat Tien’s flora and fauna inside out. The hike takes about 2 hours and is about 6 km long. We recommend wearing good hiking boots and leech socks or leech spray, as leeches are very common in Vietnam’s tropical forests, especially during the rainy season from May to November.

Back at the lodge, you can relax and enjoy a delightful dinner. Then, it’s time for a night safari in a jeep to spot the nocturnal animals. The number of animals varies from day to day and also depends on the season. Usually, you see the most animals in the dry season from December to April.

Today, you wake up to the sounds of the forest.

After breakfast, you embark on an exciting hiking tour. First, a beautiful 30-minute drive through the jungle takes you to the starting point of the hike. You trek 5 km through the jungle towards Crocodile Lake, home to the endangered Siamese crocodile. Along the way, you make several stops to admire various bird and plant species, and perhaps catch a glimpse of larger mammals.

After lunch, you visit the nearby Wildlife Rescue Center, where you gain insight into the center’s fantastic work with the jungle’s wild and endangered animal species.

You return to the lodge in the afternoon.

After breakfast, it’s time to say farewell to the fantastic area of natural beauty in Nam Cat Tien. 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 4 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 from your hotel and driven out to the airport to catch your flight from Ho Chi Minh City back to the UK. There will be connecting flights along the way.

Arrive back in the UK after a wonderful holiday.