Ho Chi Minh City 7-Day Itinerary: Mekong, Cu Chi, Metro

What is the best 7-day itinerary for Ho Chi Minh City?

Spend four days in the city and three beyond it. Ride Metro Line 1 and the waterbus on day one, see the palaces and museums slowly on days two and three, sleep a night in Can Tho for the Cai Rang floating market, give day six to the Cu Chi tunnels, and keep the last morning easy.

The Ho Chi Minh City 3-day itinerary fits the War Remnants Museum, the Independence Palace, Cu Chi and Cho Lon into three full days. A week lets you split the museums over two unhurried days, add the Fine Arts Museum, and make the Mekong Delta a proper overnight trip rather than a long return drive, with Cu Chi kept for later in the week.

The plan assumes one hotel in the old District 1 or nearby for the whole week (see where to stay in Ho Chi Minh City), with a small overnight bag for Can Tho. Leave the main bag at the hotel.

Fees and hours come from the venues’ own pages and dated news, checked on 17 October 2026; city museum fees rose to 60,000 VND on 1 October 2026. Read the best time to visit Ho Chi Minh City first: wet-season afternoons and late-year tides shape the order more than heat does.

What does the week look like at a glance?

Days one to three are in the city, days four and five are the Can Tho overnight, day six is Cu Chi and day seven is a slow departure. Put the delta and Cu Chi on the driest days, keep museum days for storms, and check the tide forecast in October and November. The table lists the hours that matter.

The order is flexible within limits. Days two and three can swap, and Cu Chi can move to day four if the delta forecast is poor, but avoid stacking the delta and Cu Chi back to back: both are long road days, and the delta needs an early start on day five.

Every city sight in the table opens daily: the Independence Palace says it opens every day including holidays and Tet (Independence Palace), and the HCMC Museum opens Monday to Sunday (HCMC Museum). That leaves you free to arrange the week around the weather.

How should you spend day one on the metro and the river?

Arrive, drop your bags and ride Metro Line 1 from Ben Thanh or the Opera House out to Thao Dien for a late lunch and cafés. Come back on the Saigon Waterbus to Bach Dang wharf for the river at dusk, then walk up Nguyen Hue, the pedestrian street from City Hall to the river.

Metro Line 1 opened on 22 December 2024 and runs 19.7 km from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien, with 14 stations, three of them underground (VnEconomy). Trains run from 05:00 until 22:00 on weekdays and 23:00 at weekends and on public holidays, every six to eight minutes at peak times (Tuoi Tre). Thao Dien and An Phu are among its elevated stations (VOH).

Single fares cost 7,000–20,000 VND in cash or 6,000–19,000 VND cashless, and day passes 40,000 VND for one day or 90,000 VND for three (SGGP); a three-day pass covers days one to three of this plan. The Saigon Waterbus calls at Bach Dang, Thu Thiem, Binh An, Thao Dien and Thanh Da, for 15,000 VND a trip (Saigon Waterbus).

Vietnam’s tourism authority describes Nguyen Hue as a pedestrian street from City Hall to Bach Dang wharf, liveliest at sundown (Vietnam Tourism). It is an easy first evening that needs no tickets.

How do you see the palace and museums on day two?

Start at the Independence Palace at 07:00, before the heat and tour groups, then walk to the HCMC Museum in the former Gia Long Palace, open from 08:00. After lunch, spend the afternoon in the Fine Arts Museum. Everything is indoors or shaded, so this is the day to move if storms arrive.

The Independence Palace opens 07:00–18:00 every day, including holidays and Tet; adults pay 80,000 VND, students and older people 40,000 VND and children aged 6 to under 16 pay 20,000 VND (Independence Palace). The HCMC Museum, at 65 Ly Tu Trong in Sai Gon ward, opens 08:00–17:00 from Monday to Sunday (HCMC Museum).

From 1 October 2026, the HCMC Museum, the Fine Arts Museum, the War Remnants Museum and the Museum of History each charge 60,000 VND, with students, children and some other groups admitted free (Tuoi Tre). Older guides quoting lower prices are out of date.

We could not find the Fine Arts Museum’s regular hours on an official page; over Tet 2026 it followed the HCMC Museum’s 08:00–17:00 schedule (DTiNews). Go after lunch and check at the door, or swap it for the Museum of History if it is closed.

What should you do on day three at the War Remnants Museum and in Cho Lon?

Arrive at the War Remnants Museum for its 07:30 opening, with a ticket bought online if you want to skip the counter, and give it the whole morning. Rest after lunch, then take a taxi to Cho Lon in the late afternoon for its temples and markets, and stay for the night street that opens at 18:00.

The War Remnants Museum, at 28 Vo Van Tan in Xuan Hoa ward, started selling timed tickets online on 10 February 2026, with a QR code sent by email, and opens 07:30–17:30 daily, with the ticket counter closing at 17:00 (SGGP). From 1 October 2026 it charges 60,000 VND (Tuoi Tre). Vietnam’s tourism authority warns that its photographs are graphic (Vietnam Tourism).

Vietnam’s tourism authority recommends exploring Cho Lon on foot, from Binh Tay Market to Thien Hau Pagoda (Vietnam Tourism). The Cho Lon night street in Binh Tay ward, which opened officially on 1 January 2026, sets out food trucks and carts in the evening (Tuoi Tre); the 3-day plan visits Cho Lon in the morning instead.

Cho Lon has no metro station, so book a car back to the centre rather than flagging one down late at night.

How do you plan the Can Tho overnight on days four and five?

Travel to Can Tho, about 165 km away, on the morning of day four, see Ninh Kieu wharf and the Binh Thuy Ancient House, and book a boat for the next morning. On day five, rise at 05:00 for Cai Rang, where trading runs from about 04:30 to 08:00, then return to the city after lunch.

Vietnam’s tourism authority puts Can Tho about 165 km from Ho Chi Minh City by the My Thuan–Can Tho expressway, says express buses run between the two, and gives Cai Rang’s trading hours as about 04:30 to 08:00 (Vietnam Tourism). It also describes the Binh Thuy Ancient House, built in 1870 by the Duong family, and Ninh Kieu wharf, the city’s symbol.

Its four-day delta itinerary suggests booking the boat the evening before, rising at 05:00 and allowing for the 30-minute ride from Can Tho to Cai Rang (Vietnam Tourism). If an overnight does not suit you, a day trip to Ben Tre, about two hours each way, is the shorter delta option (Vietnam Tourism).

The FCDO says flooding is common in the Mekong Delta in the rainy season and that the tropical cyclone season normally runs from May to November, so watch the forecast and keep the Can Tho hotel refundable.

How do you do the Cu Chi tunnels on day six?

Go by tour or private car, arriving soon after the 07:00 opening, and ask whether you are visiting Ben Duoc or Ben Dinh. Foreign visitors pay 35,000 VND entry plus a 100,000 VND service and guide ticket. On some full-moon nights the site runs an evening programme, so check the date if you want to stay late.

The Cu Chi Tunnels Historical Site says it is open every day from 07:00 to 17:00 (Cu Chi Tunnels Historical Site). Its January 2026 notice raised the service and guide ticket for foreign visitors from 90,000 to 100,000 VND from 1 February 2026, on top of the 35,000 VND entry fee (Cu Chi notice). Vietnam’s tourism authority notes that Ben Duoc is the further of the two entrances from the city (Vietnam Tourism).

The site’s “Trang Chien Khu” evening programme of storytelling and performance runs on selected full-moon nights; in October 2026 it was scheduled for Saturday 24 October, from 18:00 to 20:30, at 399,000 VND, with homestay and camping on site for those who stay over (Cu Chi site). Check the site for later dates and book by phone.

Read are the Cu Chi tunnels worth it if you are unsure about tight spaces, and take a car rather than riding a motorbike out: the FCDO says motorbike travel is much riskier than in the UK.

How should you spend the last day and reach the airport?

Keep the morning slow, in Thao Dien or the old centre, and allow plenty of time for the airport. Bus 109 runs to Tan Son Nhat’s domestic terminal, T3, from 05:30 to 22:40, and route 152 serves T1 and T2 until 19:00. From December 2026, check whether your flight uses Long Thanh instead.

Route 109 links the Saigon bus station, via Pham Ngu Lao, with terminal T3 for 8,000–15,000 VND, every 15–25 minutes, taking about 45 minutes depending on traffic; route 152 serves T1 and T2 from 05:15 to 19:00, and an airport shuttle links the terminals (VOH).

Long Thanh airport is due to operate at around 6–10% of its designed capacity from December 2026 to March 2027, rising to about half from April to October 2027 (Tuoi Tre). It is outside the city, so if your ticket names it, arrange the transfer before your last day.

Late in the year, avoid tight airport runs in the afternoon on high-tide days: on 10 October 2026, tides flooded several streets, with peaks expected between 16:00 and 18:00 (Tuoi Tre).

How should rain, tides and Tet change the week?

From May to October, WMO normals show 13–19 rain days a month, usually as afternoon storms, so do outdoor stops in the morning and move museum days into wet spells. Keep the delta for a calm forecast. In October and November, check tide peaks. At Tet, the palace and city museums stay open but transport fills.

The WMO 1991–2020 normals show September as the wettest month, at 273 mm, and only one to five rain days a month from December to March. Vietnam’s tourism authority describes a dependable afternoon downpour in the wet season (Vietnam Tourism weather guide), which is why days one and three keep their outdoor parts for the morning and evening.

Tet falls on 6 February 2027, with public-sector workers off from 4 to 10 February (Tuoi Tre). Over Tet 2026 the HCMC Museum closed for one day of preparations before reopening on the first day of the new year (DTiNews), so check notices that week, and book delta buses and Can Tho rooms early.

What should you book before a week in Ho Chi Minh City?

Book the Can Tho hotel and the Cai Rang boat, which should be arranged the evening before, the Cu Chi tour or driver, and the War Remnants Museum ticket online if you want a set time. Everything else in the city works on the day. Around Tet and in the storm season, choose refundable terms.

When comparing Cu Chi tours, check which entrance they visit and whether the 35,000 VND entry and 100,000 VND service tickets are included (Cu Chi notice). For delta trips, compare a Can Tho overnight with a Ben Tre day on total hours in the vehicle, not just price.

Compare tour platforms with GetYourGuide vs Viator vs Klook, check entry rules in our Vietnam e-visa guide, and if you are travelling north next, compare Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang by train or plane.