Overview

Go underground at one of the most significant wartime sites in Vietnam — the 200-kilometre tunnel network that sheltered an entire community through decades of conflict, 70 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City.

The Cu Chi Tunnels are not a recreation or a museum exhibit — they are the actual tunnels. Dug by hand from the late 1940s onward through the laterite soil of Cu Chi district, the network grew to more than 200 kilometres of connected passages running as deep as ten metres below ground. At its peak, the system housed several thousand people: fighters, medical staff, cooks, teachers, and civilians living and working in underground rooms connected by crawl-spaces that were deliberately too narrow for the average American soldier to follow. The tunnels were ventilated through concealed air shafts disguised as termite mounds, supplied through equally disguised entrances, and defended by an elaborate system of booby traps in the jungle above.

This half-day tour visits the Ben Duoc section of the Cu Chi Tunnels Historical Site — the larger and less-visited of the two public access areas, located on the western bank of the Saigon River. The group watches a short documentary filmed during and after the war, then explores the site on foot with the guide: above-ground jungle paths past concealed tunnel entrances, booby trap displays, weapons exhibits, bomb craters, and a section of widened tunnel that guests can choose to crawl through. The tour ends with a tasting of cassava and hot tea — the staple food of the people who lived underground.

Morning and afternoon departures run daily. Choose the session that fits your schedule — both cover the same ground.

Why TNK Travel for this tour

– Small group, not a crowd: maximum 12 people per group. At a site where the key experiences — the documentary, the tunnel entrances, the crawl section — involve gathering around a guide in close quarters, group size directly affects how much you take in. Smaller means more questions answered, more time at each stop, and less waiting.

– Morning or afternoon — your choice: the morning tour finishes by early afternoon, leaving the rest of the day free. The afternoon tour departs after lunch and returns in the evening, which works for travellers who prefer a late start or who are combining Cu Chi with a morning programme in Ho Chi Minh City. Both sessions cover exactly the same itinerary and the same site.

– Optional lunch add-on: if you want to eat at the site rather than before or after, lunch can be added to the booking at a fixed price. The lunch menu at Ben Duoc serves Vietnamese dishes in an open-air riverside setting. No need to make a separate arrangement.

– Local guides with genuine knowledge: TNK’s Cu Chi guides are Vietnamese, most with family histories connected to the war period. The history they present is not a script — it comes with personal context. Questions are welcome.

– Trusted operator since 2000: TNK Travel is ranked #3 on TripAdvisor with over 24,000 verified reviews.

Tour highlights

– Wartime documentary at the visitor centre: the tour begins at the Ben Duoc visitor centre with a short documentary film produced during and shortly after the war. The footage is authentic and unfiltered — it shows the tunnels being used, the people who lived in them, and the scale of the conflict from the Vietnamese side. The film is approximately 20 minutes and provides the historical context that makes the site visit make sense. Without it, the tunnels are just holes in the ground. With it, they are a functioning wartime infrastructure.

– Concealed tunnel entrances: the jungle floor at Cu Chi is riddled with trapdoors. The entrances to the tunnel system were designed to be invisible from above — camouflaged with leaves, shaped to look like natural features of the forest floor, and just wide enough for one person to drop through and pull the cover closed behind them. Your guide demonstrates a tunnel entrance and, for guests who want to try, shows how the original users entered and exited. The entrances are a physical demonstration of the ingenuity of the construction.

– Booby trap displays: the jungle around the tunnels was seeded with an elaborate defensive system of traps made from repurposed materials — sharpened bamboo, recovered artillery shells, wire mechanisms, and pit traps with hinged covers. The display sections along the walking path show the actual trap designs, inert and marked. Your guide explains how each one worked, how they were set, and the tactical logic behind the defensive layout.

– Crawl through a real tunnel section: a widened section of the original tunnel system — enlarged slightly from the original dimensions to allow larger international visitors to pass — is available for guests to crawl through. The section runs approximately 100 metres. It is dark, narrow, low, warm, and lit at intervals. It is also optional: guests who prefer not to crawl, or who have back or joint concerns, can watch from the exit point. The experience of being inside the tunnel for even a short section changes the scale of the engineering from abstract to physical.

– Bomb craters, tank display, and weapons exhibits: the site grounds include bomb craters left from B-52 strikes during the war — large depressions in the jungle floor, now overgrown, that convey the scale of the aerial bombardment in ways that photographs do not. A captured American M-41 tank and a section of the anti-aircraft gun display are also on site. Your guide contextualises each exhibit within the military history of the Cu Chi campaign.

– Cassava and tea tasting — the wartime diet: the tour ends at a tasting area where guests eat cassava (sắn) and drink hot jasmine tea. Cassava — a starchy root crop that grows quickly in poor soil and stores well — was one of the primary food sources for the people living in the tunnel system. It is not a delicacy. It is dense, dry, and slightly sweet, and eating it while sitting above the tunnels in the same jungle gives a direct and unromantic sense of what sustained life underground.

– Optional shooting range: an operational shooting range is available at the site for guests who want to fire period-accurate weapons — AK-47, M-16, M-30, and others. This is entirely optional and not included in the tour price. Cost is approximately $1–2 USD per bullet with a minimum purchase of 10 bullets. Your guide can explain the options and current pricing on the day.

Important information

Pickup service

– Hotel pickup is available for hotels in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City (Ben Thanh Ward and surrounding areas).

– Morning tour pickup: 7:30–8:00 AM. Afternoon tour pickup: 12:30–1:00 PM. Exact pickup time confirmed by email or WhatsApp 24 hours before the tour.

– Please wait in your hotel lobby at the confirmed time. The guide will come to you.

– For hotels outside the standard pickup zone or in Sài Gòn Ward / Tân Định Ward: meet at TNK Travel’s central meeting point at 112 Trần Hưng Đạo Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1. Morning: 7:45 AM | Afternoon: 12:45 PM.

Physical requirements

– The site involves walking approximately 1.5–2 kilometres on jungle paths, including uneven ground and tree roots. Closed-toe shoes are strongly recommended — sandals are not suitable for the paths.

– Crawling through the tunnel section is optional. The tunnel is narrow, low, warm, and dark. Guests with claustrophobia, back problems, joint pain, or limited mobility should skip the crawl and observe from the exit point — this is a fully valid way to experience the site and your guide will explain the system from above.

– Not recommended for guests with severe claustrophobia, serious mobility limitations, or recent back or joint injuries.

– Pregnant guests should consult their doctor before booking.

What to wear and bring

– Clothing: light, comfortable clothes suitable for outdoor walking. Long trousers are more practical than shorts for the jungle paths (insects, undergrowth).

– Footwear: closed-toe shoes with grip. The paths at the site are uneven and can be slippery after rain. Sandals are not appropriate.

– Sun protection: hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen for the outdoor sections of the site.

– Insect repellent: recommended, especially in the wet season.

– Camera: photography is permitted and encouraged throughout the site. The tunnel entrance demonstrations and jungle paths both photograph well.

– Cash: Vietnamese dong or USD for the optional shooting range and any personal purchases. The tour does not require cash unless you are doing the shooting range or buying lunch separately.

Weather

– The tour operates in most weather conditions including light rain. The site is largely outdoors and jungle-covered — a light rain jacket or poncho is useful in the wet season (May–October).

– The tunnel sections are underground and unaffected by rain or heat above ground. The documentary is shown indoors.

– If TNK Travel cancels due to severe weather, guests receive a full refund or can reschedule.

Related tours

– Cu Chi Tunnels & Mekong Delta full day (CMK): Cu Chi in the morning + Mekong Delta river cruise and sampan in the afternoon — two of Vietnam’s most visited sites in one day

– Ho Chi Minh City & Cu Chi Tunnels full day (PGT-CTCC): city highlights in the morning (Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, War Remnants Museum) + Cu Chi in the afternoon

– War Remnants Museum & Reunification Palace (city tour): half-day Ho Chi Minh City history tour for guests who want the wartime context before or after Cu Chi

– Mekong Delta day tour — My Tho & Ben Tre (MK1): full-day group tour from Ho Chi Minh City covering Cồn Qui Island, Ben Tre coconut candy workshops, and sampan