Uncover the best of Cu Chi Tunnels the local Way

"The day began with a pouch up from our hotel and a trip out to the cookery school and farm. We enjoyed the opportunity to leave the hustle and bustle of the city, venturing out a little to see a less modern version of life. The cookery school and farm began with an introduction to the traditional veg and herbs that are used in cooking, all grown on site and picked by us for use as our ingredients. We then had Daisy our guide show us how to cook for delicious dishes which we also ate. My 21 and 18 year old sons really enjoyed this part of the trip and rated it the best part of our holiday and the best food that they ate on the whole trip (I didn't say they were modest). After the cooking, we travelled a little further to the Cu Chi tunnels. Daisy once again after as our guide and was very engaging. My son's in particular had little knowledge of the Vietnam war and found it fascinating. We enjoyed creeping through the tunnels and understanding how the Vietcong survived, before heading back to the hotel. The best part this trip was the completely relaxed feeling, with no one pushing us to buy things (although we did buy a cook book) or do extra activities, and by going later to the Cu Chi tunnels we avoided the crowds - although it was quite warm by European standards. Highly recommended - one star dropped as we didn't meet Chef Tan and the last that picked us up from the hotel was a little bit grumpy, but then so were we because it is an early start."

"We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels with Thien. The experience was incredibly informative and being able to see things through such a personalized lens was unforgettable. Being able to see the area through the eyes of a local in such a unique way made us so thankful to have found "With Locals." "

"We enjoyed the day and the tour with Thien, everything was very well organized and smooth. Thien is a very funfull and she gave us evperience which we can not get any regular tour. Thank you for your warm personalty and perfect service Thien you make our day in Vietnam."

"Our trip to Cu Chi with Huyen was fantastic. We could not rate her highly enough - very knowledgable and friendly. She was able to cater for a larger group and the transport was very comfortable. Perfect for a family. Highly recommended. "

"Thien was easy to connect with as soon as we hired her on with locals. She began messaging us and answering any questions we had regarding our travels in Vietnam. She met us at the airport, took us to our hotel and even made a stop at a local laundry to drop off our clothes. We had a city tour the first day of a Taoist temple, post office, book street and to a non tourist part of the city for the best pho. Before getting back to the hotel we made a stop for ban mi at a street food stand. The next day we went to the area called the US apartments , walked through the bustling markets where she helped us make some purchases and took us to a street side coffee shop recently reviewed in the New York Times where she knows the owner who gave us a private demonstration of her coffee making process. She arranged an excursion to the Mekong delta where we rode on a private boat through the delta to a coconut workshop for tea, fruit snack and a private musical performance and coconut candy tasting. Then on to a lovely open air restaurant right on the river for a lovely lunch. Thien arranged the day to locations where we were the only tourists. Then we continued on a rowboat to learn how to make rice paper wrappers. Next on to the tuk tuk to the home of an old woman who weaves fiber rugs where we were able to try weaving. The little children in the village came running to Thien for hugs and wanted to meet us . Our third day was to the cu chi tunnels. Thien has access to a non-tourist area. We saw the simulated village and how the people lived before the French and American soldiers came. I did not see any other tourists in the area. Then on to the tunnels . Again, Thien has access to tunnels where there are no other people. Just Thien and I and sometimes a park ranger guide through the tunnels. After a long drive back to the hotel Thien suggested a delicious restaurant near the hotel for our last night in Vietnam. Be sure to hire Thien. She is a smart woman with very strong opinions on life in current day Ho Chi Minh City. "

"Getting to explore the Cu Chi tunnels and have a cooking class with Tan was the most unexpected day - we didn’t realise we would be visiting an organic farm outside the city, learning about the different ingredients, picking them ourselves and getting to cook 4 different meals. All this before visiting the Cu Chi tunnels with a private tour guide. It was the hottest day ever but we had a wonderful time getting to chat, cook and explore!"

"Thien first took us to the oldest Vietnamese coffee shop in Ho Chi Min City which was fabulous. Three sisters run it and we saw how all the traditional methods and are still being used today. It was fascinating and the coffee was absolutely delicious - we tried both the hot and cold versions. Definitely worth a visit. We then went off to the Cu Chi tunnels. The tour started out with a very interesting film and then we moved to a traditional village set up which was both interesting and informative. Lastly we went to the Cu Chi tunnels themselves. Despite initially being apprehensive, we explored a number of tunnels as Thien relayed the history of how the tunnels were used and various other aspects showing how the entrances and exits were disguised. Thien was a fabulous guide and we thoroughly enjoyed a fantastic day."