Cu Chi Tunnels: is the day trip from Saigon worth it?

Most people arrive in Saigon expecting the food and the traffic. Fewer expect to spend a morning crouched in a hand-dug tunnel, in a forest an hour outside the city, listening to a guide explain how families lived underground for years. The Cu Chi Tunnels are one of the few places in Vietnam where history is something you walk through instead of read about. Here's what the visit is actually like, and who it suits.

What the Cu Chi Tunnels are

Cu Chi is a district on the north-western edge of Ho Chi Minh City, and underneath it runs a network of tunnels that is often quoted at around 250 kilometres in total. The digging started in the late 1940s during the war against the French and expanded hugely through the 1960s. Over time the tunnels grew into something closer to an underground village, with sleeping quarters, kitchens, storerooms, meeting rooms and field hospitals, spread across several levels.

Life down there was hard, and your guide won't skip that part. The air was hot and stale, the passages were dark and cramped, and illness, especially malaria, was a constant. The visit isn't a theme park, and it's worth arriving with that in mind. Our guide to Vietnam etiquette covers the general manners for a site like this.

Ben Dinh or Ben Duoc?

Two sites are open to visitors, and the choice shapes the day.

• Ben Dinh is the one most tours use. It's closer to the city, roughly an hour to an hour and a half by car, smaller and better set up for visitors, with wider tunnel sections. The trade-off is that it gets the crowds.
• Ben Duoc is further out, closer to two hours, and much larger. It's quieter, the tunnels are narrower, and there's a memorial temple on site. If you want a less packaged visit and don't mind the extra drive, this is the one to pick.

Entry is around 110,000 dong for an adult at the time of writing, roughly $4 to $5, and both sites open from early morning until late afternoon. Prices creep up, so check on the day.

What the visit is like

A typical visit starts with a short film in a small hall, then a walk through the forest with a guide who points out what you'd never spot alone: the hidden trapdoors, the air vents disguised as termite mounds, the kitchens built so their smoke would drift away from the surface. You'll also see the improvised traps that were part of the defence, and your guide will explain the thinking behind them.

Then comes the part everyone talks about. You can crawl through a stretch of tunnel, usually between 100 and 150 metres, that has been widened for visitors. It's hot, dark and low, and it's optional, with exit points along the way if you change your mind. Even in the widened sections you'll be crouching, and most people finish with a much clearer sense of what living down there meant.

There's usually a chance to taste steamed tapioca with sesame salt and a cup of pandan tea, which was a staple of the wartime diet. There's also a shooting range on site where you can fire old rifles for a fee. It's loud, you'll hear it across the whole site, and plenty of visitors skip it.

Is it right for you?

For most people, yes. It's one of the most memorable half days in the south, and it helps to understand a lot of what you'll see in Saigon afterwards. A few things are worth thinking about honestly:

• Knees, back and hips. The crawl means crouching or kneeling, and the paths have roots and uneven ground. If that's a problem, skip the tunnel. The forest walk, the displays, the film and the tapioca tasting still give you most of the story.
• Claustrophobia. Even the widened sections can feel tight. Watch the entrance first, and remember there are exits along the way.
• Heat. It's hot and humid almost all year, so go early and bring water.
• Children. Around seven or eight is usually when kids can follow the history. Younger ones tend to enjoy the forest walk more than the tunnels.

A private guide helps more than you'd expect. Groups of fifteen to twenty move at one pace, and a private visit lets you slow down, skip the shooting range or spend longer where you're interested.

Getting there, and when to go

The simplest way is a private car with a driver, or a Grab if you're comfortable arranging the return yourself. Shared coach tours are the cheapest and usually leave around 7:30 to 8am. A public bus route exists, but with a change of bus it takes closer to three hours each way, which isn't a good use of a day.

Whatever you choose, leave early. The traffic out of Saigon builds through the morning and the forest gets steadily hotter after ten. The dry season, roughly November to April, is easier on the paths. During the rainy months, from about May to October, showers usually come in the afternoon, so a morning visit works best. Our guide to the best time to visit Vietnam has the wider picture.

What to wear and bring

Closed shoes, not sandals. Light, breathable clothes you don't mind getting dusty, and darker colours if you'd rather not wear the dirt home. Bring water, insect repellent, and a light layer for the air-conditioned coach. Keep a few small notes for the entrance fee, drinks and souvenirs, and our guide to money in Vietnam explains what to carry.

Afterwards you'll want a proper meal, and Saigon is good for that. Our street food guide is the place to start, and the coffee guide explains what to order when you need to sit down somewhere cold.

Fitting Cu Chi around a Saigon stay

Cu Chi takes a half day, and Saigon's courts fill up early, so the two compete for the same cool hours. The easy solution is to put them on different mornings, or to visit the tunnels first thing and play later in the day if your club has a late session. Our guide to playing pickleball in Ho Chi Minh City lists the clubs and the session times.

On our Top to Bottom trip, Saigon has a morning session and a free afternoon, and that free day is the natural slot for Cu Chi. Tell us you'd like it and we'll build it in. Everything on the itinerary is a sample, the trip is private, and you choose the dates.

The bottom line

Go early, go with a guide, and treat the crawl as optional. The Cu Chi Tunnels aren't comfortable, but they're one of the few places in Vietnam that will change how you read the rest of the country.