Experience Day Trips in Ho Chi Minh City with Withlocals

"We enjoyed such a great trip to the Mekong with Thien. She was such a wonderful host - bright, vibrant and so entertaining. We felt really looked after the whole trip and the places we visited were authentic and definitely off the regular tourist track. The highlight was visiting the home of two lovely ladies, who showed us how to make sweet rice paper rolls. If you are looking to see a small slice of real Mekong Delta life - this is the trip for you. Thank you Thien"

"Wind was an amazing guide, willing to answer any question and so easy to talk to. We were traveling with our 12 and 14 year olds, and she helped make sure they had a great time too."

"Thien’s English is really good and we learned so much about Vietnam while experiencing all kinds of adventures in the Mekong Delta. She is a bundle of energy and enthusiasm and is clearly well loved by the people we interacted with. We also appreciated her driver who was top notch. Highly recommend Thien and the Mekong Delta tour!"

"What an unforgettable day! Thien curated an incredibly engaging and authentic tour of the Mekong river, away from tourist traps and crowds and deep into local villages, experiences and culture. We saw bricks being baked, cooked rice paper pancakes, helped weave a mat, tried snake wine and at every step felt like we were making a genuine connection with the river and its people. In many of these instances we were the only "group" there helping make the experience feel deeply personal. Throughout, Thien - and her perfect English - provided us with real and unvarnished commentary on the history of and life in VietNam. She is funny, warm and a very dedicated host who takes immense pride in her work and helping the local community through her tours. We could not recommend this day trip more. We made memories we won't soon forget."

"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. "

"Huyen took us around the delta in a comfortable large boat, a tuktuk and a charming rowboat. We experienced life in the area and learned about the history, farming and the delta life. She is both funny and knowledgeable and we highly recommend her."

"I cannot say enough about what an incredible time we had touring the MeKong Delta with Thien. Her knowledge of the area, its history, and the people that live there was fascinating and she's an engaging story teller. We all learned so much from her. She has an easy going, funny, charming way about her that got all of us talking and engaging with the people we visited along the way. It really helps that Thien knows these people so well. She knows their history in the area and is able to create an authentic experience to share with us. Because she knows the area so well, she was able to take us on less travelled paths away from larger tour groups and while we did see those other tour groups a bit, we spent most of our time with just our little group, Thien, our boat captains, and the locals. This made the tour so special. I have amazing photos of us going down small tributaries of the MeKong river where no other boats or people were even seen. We visited a family to learn about straw mat weaving and stayed there with the family for a while. The kids were so excited to see us and my partner sat and worked on a straw mat for a while with our hostess for this part of the tour. We took the kids on a Tuk Tug ride, the first time they'd ever been on one. It was adorable. Thien has to be the very best tour guide I've had the pleasure of traveling with. She made this tour the highlight of our 3 weeks in Vietnam. We learned about the history of the delta, we talked about the history of the war, we learned about local fruit, food, and folk music, while interacting and visiting with locals all while traveling by car, motor boat, sampan, and tuk tuk. I highly recommend this tour with Thien, You will not regret it. "

"Tu was a gem. Everything we look for in a guide. Informative, engaging and knowledgeable. We had a fantastic day and would choose Tu to do another tour. Visiting cu chi tunnels was an interesting but somber experience. We were happy we chose to drive further to the “less touristy” site rather than visit the closer spot. Thanks again Tu for the amazing time "

"Made the tour of the ‘lesser known’ Cu Chi tunnels really enjoyable with her enthusiasm and energy. Incredibly Knowledgeable on every subject and happy to answer and explain any questions we had. Would highly recommend Thien ! "

"We had a really good time with Thien. She speaks very good English and knows lots about Vietnam its culture and history. Including lots of stories regarding her own family. She worked really hard to make the tour feel special and private. Taking us off the main tourist trails. This definitely paid off. One thing to know is that the traffic can make journeys quite long but we saw places we’d never see otherwise, so it was well worth the effort. We’d highly recommend Thien to be your guide in Vietnam. "