One week in southern Vietnam, without the usual choice
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A week in southern Vietnam is six nights, and the region offers three separate things without asking you to drop one of them. A city. The delta. An island with a beach on it.
A northern week forces a choice between the mountains and the water. A southern Vietnam itinerary does not, and the reason is arithmetic rather than generosity.
Why does a week in the south not force a choice?
Because nothing here is more than four hours away. Can Tho, the city the delta is run from, is about four hours by road from Ho Chi Minh City. Phu Quoc is about an hour in the air and Con Dao about an hour and a quarter. Six nights absorb all three without an overnight bus.
Flights do more of that work than the map suggests. Con Dao gets roughly ten departures a day from Saigon on Vietnam Airlines and VietJet. Phu Quoc gets several times that from several carriers, which is why it is the easier of the two to add late.
Road time is the only cost worth watching, and the delta owns almost all of it.
How far apart is everything?
Closer than the rest of the country. Saigon to Can Tho is about 170 km and 3 to 4 hours by road; Saigon to Phu Quoc is a 1 hour flight; Saigon to Mui Ne about 200 km and 4 to 5 hours, where things to do in Mui Ne covers what the dunes need.
Short distances are why a southern week works where a national fortnight strains. Nothing here is more than half a day from anything else.
How do the six nights divide?
Two nights in the city, two in the delta, two on an island. The order matters more than the split does. Put the delta in the middle. A dawn market and a four-hour bus back do not belong on the same morning as an international departure. The island goes last.
Days one and two are Ho Chi Minh City, with Cu Chi taken as a half day out of one of them.
Day three is the bus south to Can Tho. Day four is the market before sunrise, and the smaller canals for the rest of the morning.
Day five is the bus back and an afternoon flight out to the coast. Days six and seven belong to the island, and the flight back to Saigon takes about an hour.
Is Cu Chi worth a whole day?
Half of one, and only if you leave early. Ben Dinh sits about 45 km from the city and Ben Duoc about 70. Light traffic makes either an hour and a half; the peak makes it three. Both open at seven and stop selling tickets at four. Entry is 110,000 dong at Ben Dinh and 90,000 at Ben Duoc.
Ben Dinh is where the coach tours go, and its tunnels have been widened for visitors. Ben Duoc is the further of the two, roughly half an hour more road, closer to the original bore and quieter for it.
The visit underground is short either way. What turns Cu Chi into a full day is the drive, so an early start buys back an afternoon in the city.
What do two nights in the delta buy?
A dawn, and a spare one. Cai Rang trades from about half past four until nine, heaviest between five and half past seven. A boat has to be on the water before six for the market to look like a market at all. One night gives a single attempt at that; two gives a second if the first is rained on.
Buses to Can Tho leave every thirty to sixty minutes and cost around 165,000 dong. Four hours of flat road, and the water arrives long before the city does.
Day four has room for more than the market. Orchards, a smaller canal, and the food the delta is known for fill the hours that a day trip from Saigon spends driving.
Con Dao or Phu Quoc?
Con Dao for quiet, Phu Quoc for a plan that might still change. Both are around an hour from Saigon, so the flight time is not the deciding factor. Frequency is, and Phu Quoc has several times the departures.
| What | Con Dao | Phu Quoc |
|---|---|---|
| Flight from Saigon | About 1 hour | About 1 hour |
| Departures | Around ten a day | Several times that |
| Airlines | Vietnam Airlines and VietJet | Several carriers |
| Sea | calmest March to September | rough water in September |
| Suits | two slow nights | a beach booked late |
Con Dao's last flight of the day goes in the afternoon rather than the evening. Missing it costs a night rather than an hour, so put the island at the end of the week and never in the middle of it.
Phu Quoc forgives a late decision. With several carriers running the route through the day, a change of mind on day four usually still has a seat on day five.
When should you come?
December to April is the southern dry season. The rains run May to October, and in the south they arrive as an afternoon hour rather than a lost day. Con Dao adds a second calendar on top: the sea there is calmest from March to September, and September brings rough water to both islands.
March and April are where the two overlap. Dry in the city and the delta, calm at sea, and hot enough by noon that shade stops being optional. Our region-by-region calendar covers how far the southern year drifts from the northern one.
A week in the north buys one landscape and a long road to reach it. The south buys three shorter journeys and a beach at the end. Neither week is better than the other. A southern Vietnam itinerary is the one that fits six nights without cutting anything out.
FAQ
Is one week enough for southern Vietnam?
Enough for three places rather than one. Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho and an island fit inside six nights, because nothing is more than four hours apart and both island routes take about an hour in the air. A northern week cannot do that. The south can, without a single overnight bus in it.
How long is the flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Con Dao?
About an hour, on Vietnam Airlines or VietJet, with roughly ten departures a day. Published figures range from around 50 minutes to an hour and a quarter depending on whether they count the airborne time or the scheduled block. Con Dao is far less frequently served than Phu Quoc, and the last flight of the day leaves in the afternoon rather than the evening, so a late international arrival usually costs a night in Saigon.
Con Dao or Phu Quoc for the beach at the end of the week?
Phu Quoc if the plan might still change, Con Dao if it will not. Phu Quoc is served by several airlines many times a day and forgives a late decision. Con Dao runs about ten departures a day and stops in the afternoon, so a missed flight there costs a night rather than an hour.
Is Cu Chi a full day trip from Ho Chi Minh City?
Half a day underground, and the road decides the rest. Ben Dinh lies about 45 km from the city and Ben Duoc about 70 km, which is an hour in light traffic and up to three at the peak. Both open at seven and stop selling tickets at four, so an early start is what keeps the afternoon.
How many nights does the Mekong Delta need?
Two, because the floating market is a dawn event rather than a place. Cai Rang trades from roughly half past four until nine, heaviest between five and half past seven. Reaching it means sleeping in Can Tho, four hours from Saigon. One night buys one attempt at that morning; two buys a second if rain takes the first.