Vietnam has a fierce history. From 1955 to 1975, a bloody war took place in Vietnam, where the North and South were directly opposed. Today the Vietnamese live happily in peace, but the war has left its mark on the country. At the Cu Chi Tunnels and the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh, learn more about the Vietnam War.
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Visiting the Cu Chi tunnels from Ho Chi Minh
From Ho Chi Minh, you can easily visit the Cu Chi tunnels. You can choose to drive yourself to the tunnels. The downside is that you won’t find an available guide then, and the guide is precisely what makes this visit so interesting. Therefore, consider going with an organized tour through GetYourGuide. We did this tour ourselves and can highly recommend it. The guide, Eddie, knew a tremendous amount about the history of Vietnam, the war and, of course, the tunnels. He was enthusiastic and introduced us to the tunnels.
Do keep in mind that the Cu Chi tunnels are an extremely popular spot for tourists. So you certainly won’t be alone here with your little group. Nevertheless, it is an interesting place that you should definitely have visited in Vietnam.
What does the visit to the Cu Chi tunnels look like?
When you book this tour, you will be picked up at your ho(s)tel in Ho Chi Minh by a comfortable van. When you drive out of Ho Chi Minh, the guide immediately takes the floor on the bus. He explains what the day will look like and gives some advance information about the Cu Chi tunnels and the history of the Vietnam War.
After driving for an hour, stop at a local labor market. Here you get a mini tour of people with amputated limbs painting and creating art. These people unfortunately have (almost) no job opportunities because they are disabled. The program here supports these people and turns their creativity into revenue so they can support their families. A wonderful initiative, as are the beautiful paintings. At this place you can also get a cup of coffee and juice and make a toilet stop.
After this, you will continue on the bus for another half hour before arriving at the Cu Chi Tunnels. You and your group follow the guide who buys tickets for everyone (admission is included in the tour). Then you will get a detailed explanation from the guide about the Cu Chi tunnels and the traps that were set for the soldiers. These traps were made to seriously injure but not kill soldiers. Thus, other soldiers were scared off and lost more manpower to carry their wounded soldiers. Very intense to see these traps and torture with your own eyes.
Toward the end of the tour, you get to enter the tunnels yourself to experience how the Vietnamese did it. Fun fact: the tunnel you enter has already been made 30% wider so tourists can fit in. You can crawl down the tunnel here for 20, 40, 60 or 100 meters. Very special to experience the dark and close of the Cu Chi tunnel here for yourself. After this, the tour ends and you get to taste the local specialty: tapioca. This is the root of cassava and tastes very much like potato. This is the end of the tour, you will walk back to the bus that will take you back to Ho Chi Minh city in 2 hours. A very informative and interesting tour where you will hear many new facts.
The War Remnants museum in ho Chi Minh
Before or after the Cu Chi tunnels, you can visit the War Remnants museum in Ho Chi Minh city. This museum was established as a tribute to the victims of the Vietnam War, with educational purposes. Admission to the War Remnants museum costs 40,000 dong (€1.50). If you want to do another audio tour it costs 80,000 dong (€3). We did do the audio tour ourselves but would not recommend it. The museum is very elaborate with many informative signs. The audio tour actually adds little.
You start at the War Remnants museum on the second floor. Here you will learn about the cause of the war and exactly how the war was put together. After you have read all the information about this, go one floor down. Here you can see how the war affected the people of Vietnam as well as foreigners. Here you are introduced to the horrors of napalm and agent orange. The pictures on this floor do not lie, it is very intense to see these images.
On the first floor of the War Remnants museum, you can see even more information about the demonstrations. These were conducted around the world during the years of the Vietnam War. The demonstrations were against American interference and the order to remove soldiers from Vietnam. You will see posters from demonstrations in America itself, France, Argentina and the Netherlands, among others. Furthermore, you will also find the fighter planes and tanks on the first floor. It is impressive to see these up close.
Conclusion of the Cu Chi Tunnels and the War Remnants museum
The combination of visiting the Cu Chi tunnels and the War Remnants museum is very good. You get a tremendous amount of information about the Vietnam War in both activities, each from a different point of view. It is very interesting to learn more about this. These two activities are must-visits when in Ho Chi Minh.
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