The Củ Chi Tunnel
A national monument in Vietnam,
A representation of Vietnamese perseverance, innovation, and strategic thinking
A brutal reality of asymmetric warfare
A living story of the complex legacy of the Vietnam War
Whether you search for places to visit in Vietnam or the best things to do in Vietnam, I am sure you will come across taking a Cu Chi Tunnel Tour. And the image of men and women half submerged in a hidden underground tunnel will fill your search page 🙂 On our own trip to Vietnam, we took a Cu Chi Tunnel Tour the day we landed in Ho Chi Minh. These are war-time tunnels, preserved to give everyone a glimpse of what living through a war looks like. While it’s thrilling and adventurous to walk through the war tunnels of Cu Chi Tunnel on your Cu Chi Tunnel Tour. But for me, it was more of an emotional and overwhelming journey.
Today I take you on an armchair Cu Chi Tunnel Tour near Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam. And also answer all your queries regarding a trip to Cu Chi Tunnel from Ho Chi Minh City. Also, if you are pondering that visiting the Cu Chi Tunnel is worth it or not, you are going to get your answers here. But, let’s first start with the history of Cu Chi Tunnel.
History of Cu Chi Tunnel, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
The Củ Chi Tunnels (also spelled Cu Chi Tunnel) are a vast underground network located near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. They are one of the most famous war-related attractions in Vietnam and a powerful symbol of Vietnamese resilience and ingenuity during the Vietnam War (known in Vietnam as the American War). The tunnels began in the late 1940s, during the war against French colonial rule. During this time the Vietnamese resistance fighters (Viet Minh) dug simple hideouts and storage tunnels in the Củ Chi area, a rural district northwest of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City).
During the 1960s, the Viet Cong (communist guerrilla fighters) massively expanded the tunnels to fight against U.S. and South Vietnamese forces. Then, at its peak, the network covered over 250 km (150 miles) of tunnels across several provinces.
These tunnels are a multi-level complex (up to 10 meters deep), consisting of different living quarters including :
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Living quarters: Where fighters ate, slept, and lived.
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Hospitals and kitchens.
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Command centers and weapons factories.
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Storage for food, weapons, and documents.
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Trapdoors and booby traps to deter and injure enemy troops.
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Ventilation systems disguised as termite mounds.
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Emergency escape routes to rivers or forests.
It’s like it was a world built underground by the Vietnamese to defend themselves and their countries. And to keep their families safe during the atrocities of the war. Since, the Củ Chi Tunnel were near the Ho Chi Minh Trail and key military bases. Thus, Viet Cong used the tunnels to launch surprise attacks on enemies. And also to evade American aerial bombardments and ground patrols. These tunnels were also used to transport troops and supplies undetected.
Despite efforts like “tunnel rats” (U.S. soldiers sent underground), defoliation, and bombing campaigns, the tunnel system proved extremely difficult to eliminate. So, this tunnel structure played an extremely crucial role in the victory of the Vietnamese forces.
Life inside the Cu Chi Tunnels
The life inside Cu Chi Tunnels was harsh and dangerous. As diseases, snakes, insects, floods, and food shortages were constant threats. Fighters lived underground for weeks or months, often only emerging at night. Despite extreme hardship, the tunnel network enabled the Viet Cong to sustain a long guerrilla campaign.
After reunification, the Vietnamese government preserved parts of the tunnels. Today, Ben Dinh and Ben Duoc are open to tourists:
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Ben Dinh is more restored and easier to access.
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Ben Duoc is more authentic and less touristy.
Visitors can explore parts of the tunnels, see traps, bunkers, and displays, and even fire war-era rifles at a shooting range.
General information to help plan a Cu Chi Tunnel Tour
Chu Chi Tunnel Entrance Fee
Entrance Fee of Chu Chi Tunnel is around 110,000–130,000 VND (~$4–5 USD) or a little over INR 350 per adult. Kids are charged half the price.
You can book the entrance fee online via apps like getyourguide or klook. Or, you can also buy the tickets directly from the ticket counter near the entrance to Cu Chi Tunnel while starting your Cu Chi Tunnel Tour.
Cu Chi Tunnel Timings
7:00 AM – 5:00 PM daily
How much time is required to visit Chu Chi Tunnels
You can visit Cu Chi Tunnel on a half day trip or a full day trip which will be more relaxed. Overall, just to explore the tunnels only and the associated museum, it will require 2-3 hours minimum. So, plan accordingly.
How to reach Cu Chi Tunnels from Ho Chi Minh City
Cu Chi Tunnel is located at a distance of around 44 km from the center of Ho Chi Minh City. But it can take up to 1.5-2 hours to reach there because of the city traffic. There are two major tunnel sites to visit Cu Chi Tunnel –
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Ben Dinh: More touristy, closer to HCMC (~1.5 hours).
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Ben Duoc: Less crowded, more authentic, further (~2 hours).
Having said that, there are multiple ways to reach Cu Chi Tunnel from Ho Chi Minh City. These include –
- Take a half day or full day guided Cu Chi Tunnels tour which includes pickup and drop either from your hotel in Ho Chi Minh or from a designated spot in the town near your hotel. It will cost around ~$15–$30 USD per person. And can be easily booked from apps like getyourguide or Klook, even a day before.
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Public Bus (Cheapest but Slowest) are also available. From HCMC, take Bus #13 or #94 from Ben Thanh Bus Station to Cu Chi Bus Station. And then at Cu Chi Bus Station, transfer to Bus #79 to Ben Duoc Tunnel site. The overall travel time will be 2.5–3 hours one way. But it will cost only around USD 1 (INR 85 ) per person.
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Private Car or Taxi is the most luxurious option of all. Like us, if you are a group or family and want flexibility over economy 🙂 then this is your best option. You can either reserve a half day or full day taxi from getyourguide, klook or a local agency. Or, you could also book a Grab taxi on the go using the app like we did. It will cost you around ~$40–$60 USD round trip. But, it will only take 1.5-2 hours to travel one way.
- Last but not the least, you can also travel using a speed boat via the Saigon river. Which takes around ~1.5 hours each way. It is a combined package that includes boat ride, tunnel visit, a guide on board and food as well. It’s a luxurious experience that costs ~$80–$100 USD per person. Companies like Les Rives or Saigon River Tour provide this kind of tour.
Cu Chi Tunnels Tours
There are numerous guided tours available for Cu Chi Tunnels from Ho Chi Minh City. These come with multiple variables. Some are just for the Cu Chi Tunnels. While in others, there are more tourist locations clubbed with the tunnels. Some include meals and round trip transport from Ho Chi Minh City also. While some might include boat rides on the Saigon river. You can book one online from getyourguide or klook. Or, you can also book one from local agency. These are some of the tours that I liked while browsing online –
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Planning a Cu Chi Tunnels Tour on your own
To be honest, there are so many guided tours to Cu Chi Tunnel available, that it gets overwhelming. There was a point when I even wondered if it’s possible to take a Cu Chi Tunnels Tour on our own. And turns out, it is very much possible! We visited Cu Chi Tunnel on our own. Yes, it did involve planning. But it gave us the flexibility of time. Since, we had reached Ho Chi Minh City after a long flight, early in the morning around 3:00am. So, we were not really sure when we will be able to start our day. We definitely wanted the kids to first get ample rest.
Starting off to Cu Chi Tunnels
So, as soon as we reached our airbnb, we all slept off. After waking up around 10:00am, we first did some grocery shopping from the store at the ground floor of the complex. Prepared and had our breakfast. And then decided to head to Cu Chi Tunnel. By then it was already past 12 pm. We already had grab app installed. So, we decided to see if we could get a grab taxi to Cu Chi Tunnel. And we did get one, within 3-4 mins of booking. It cost us around INR 1500 (USD 18) to reach Cu Chi Tunnel using Grab taxi. And it took around 1.5 hours, as we had to cross the whole city traffic of Ho Chi Minh City.
Arrival at Cu Chi Tunnels
As we arrived near Cu Chi Tunnel, we first stopped for lunch. There is a beautiful riverside restaurant, right before Cu Chi Tunnel Ticket counter. They had a lot of food options, including vegetarian. It was a beautiful open air restaurant with the river flowing in the backyard. We had our lunch here. And then we proceeded to Cu Chi Tunnel ticket counter.
At the Cu Chi Tunnel ticket counter, we took the entry tickets. Right besides the Cu Chi Tunnel ticket counter, you have electric buggies available. Which can give you a ride to the main entry gate (almost 300 meters from the ticket counter) at a nominal additional cost. However, we decided to give it a pass. And walked to the Cu Chi Tunnel entry gate. The whole road is dotted with dense trees on both sides. And an instagram worthy landscaped garden on the way.
A tour of Cu Chi Tunnels Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam
You get free guides inside the Cu Chi Tunnel campus assigned to you, to guide you through the maze of tunnels. As we entered inside, there were several tour groups around, walking ahead on the pathway to the tunnels. We followed them. And soon reached an ampitheatre where movie about the Vietnam war and the history of Cu Chi Tunnel was being displayed. Although, we decided to skip it. As it was already around 4:00pm. So, we requested the lady at the ampitheater to rather help us explore the tunnel. She called for a guide who took us to the tunnel.
What followed was a thrilling and emotional ride through maze of tunnels. Abhishek first tried the most famous, drop-in tunnel whose entrance is hidden in the grass.
Then we went to another tunnel which was used as a house, with halls, kitchen and rooms inside.
And then to one which was used as a school. Followed by one which was a hospital, where the soldiers as well as those living here were treated.
Finally after exploring all the tunnels we arrived at an open air museum where the war time artifacts and weapons were on display. Along with information on each one of them. There are also 3-D models displaying what the soldiers had to really endure during the Vietnam war. It instantly reminded me of the Cellular Jail that we had visited long back on our trip to Andaman Islands in India. Visiting yet another war memorial just reinstalled the fact that wars are always cruel and destructive, no matter what.
As you arrive at the last tunnel, there is a restaurant there. Selling some refreshment drinks and some snack items.
Souvenir Shop at Cu Chi Tunnels Tour
Finally, right before the exit, there are couple of Souvenir Shops that you walk through before you reach the Cu Chi Tunnel exit gate. These souvenir shops have a lot of handmade local items – fabric items, jute and cotton, bamboo and ceramic items and refrigerator magnets. The prices are slightly higher, but not too much, compared to the city markets. But some of the products are really lovely and beautiful.
Between the two souvenir shops there is also drinking water and restroom facilities. And some refreshment shops selling packaged drinks, coconut water and packaged snacks.
Back to Ho Chi Minh City from Cu Chi Tunnels Tour
Finally around 5:30pm, we came out of the gates of Cu Chi Tunnels Tour. And walked back the same path to the restaurant. On the way, we briefly stopped at this landscaped garden to click some pictures of our kids.
I guess it shouldn’t be a challenge to get a taxi back to Ho Chi Minh from Cu Chi Tunnels Tour. As visitors regularly keep visiting in taxis. Although our Grab taxi driver had proposed to wait for us and give us a ride back to the town once we were done. At the same price at which we had come from town to Cu Chi Tunnel. It was a win-win situation for both the parties I guess. He didn’t have to take the risk of returning to town with an empty cab. And we didn’t have to take the hassle of finding another taxi. We reached back to our airbnb by 7:30pm in the evening.
With it’s rich history and enthralling experience, I will say Cu Chi Tunnel is definitely a must visit. You will get a lot of war memorials on your trip to Europe, and other countries around the world which were once European colonies. But, the construct of Cu Chi Tunnel and the interwinding history definitely makes it one of a kind.
General tips on Cu Chi Tunnels Tour
- Try visiting in the morning or evening hours. It will be hot during the day. And crowded as well
- You can either book a Grab taxi to reach Cu Chi Tunnel or book this guided half day tour to Cu Chi Tunnel . Or, you could also take this combined tour to Cu Chi Tunnel and Mekong Delta. There are many options available to choose from
- Carry an umbrella and apply generous sunscreen
- Also carry your refill water bottle with you
- Keep cash with you as on the ticket counter they accept only cash
- There will be a lot of walking around, make sure to wear your sturdy and comfortable walking shoes.
- Claustrophobic? The tunnels are very narrow and dark — there are short sections for tourists, but you can skip entering them if you prefer.