Saigon and Mui Ne in 6 Days

Collect your cases at Tan Son Nhat and meet the booked driver at the pickup point for your flight’s terminal, or take an airport taxi to the hotel. Vietnam Airlines Group domestic flights use T3; for other airlines, follow the terminal on the flight instructions. Give the driver the complete hotel address. If the room is still being prepared, arrange bag storage at reception and have a meal nearby. From a central hotel, stroll along Nguyen Hue towards Ton Duc Thang and take a short walk beside the river. Stop for a drink if the heat or arrival fatigue calls for a break, then walk or take a taxi back to the accommodation. With a late landing, leave this walk for tomorrow. For dinner, try com tam, a plate of broken rice served with pork from the grill and side dishes. Ask about the meat and sauces before ordering if you have dietary restrictions. Pack a small bag for the palace morning and leave the rest of the luggage in the room.

• Airport pickup and case storage
• Nguyen Hue and the river
• A simple first dinner

Base: Ho Chi Minh City

Have breakfast before heading to the Independence Palace’s main gate at 135 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia. This entrance operates from 07:00 to 18:00. Select palace-only admission or the combined palace-and-exhibition ticket, then give the morning to that choice. Take lunch after the visit rather than rushing straight into another museum. The War Remnants Museum can replace the palace when its wartime photography and exhibits are your main interest. Its entrance is at 28 Vo Van Tan, with daily visiting hours of 07:30–17:30 and ticket sales ending at 17:00. Consider the difficult subject matter when travelling with children or anyone who prefers a lighter historical visit. The afternoon walk works with either morning choice. After lunch, go to the Central Post Office and see the cathedral exterior, then follow Dong Khoi towards the Opera House. Choose a café along the way; you can also look for an open business in the reused apartment building at 22 Ly Tu Trong. This is a place to select a café or shop, rather than a single attraction with one admission. Return to the hotel before dinner, and check that the car supplier has tomorrow’s lobby address and contact number.

• One historical visit
• Post Office to the Opera House
• A café stop and hotel return

Base: Ho Chi Minh City

Eat breakfast, check out and have all cases ready for the driver. Meet at the hotel entrance you agreed, load the car and leave the city. Arrange a meal or comfort stop with the supplier when setting the departure time; keep water and the small bag within reach rather than buried in a suitcase. On reaching the coastal hotel, check in or ask reception to hold the bags while the room is prepared. Pandanus lists 15:00 check-in; other properties have their own hours. Have lunch if you have not eaten on the road, then make a short orientation walk around the property and its beach approach. For a kite booking, locate Sea Lion Beach Resort at 12 Nguyen Dinh Chieu and arrange how you will reach it from your room. If you are using the resort excursions instead, visit Guest Relations to reserve the dune outing and find its gathering point. Finish with dinner near your accommodation. Lau tha brings together fish, shrimp, pork, vegetables and noodles with a peanut-flavoured broth, so check the ingredients if sharing it with the party.

• Breakfast and checkout with all cases
• Hotel arrival and lunch
• Find the next outing’s meeting point

Base: Mui Ne

Reserve the three-hour dune excursion through Pandanus and agree its departure time and gathering point. Eat beforehand, or arrange breakfast after an early outing with the resort. The car starts from Pandanus and brings you back there. If your room is elsewhere, book the rides to the resort and back to your own hotel separately, and ask the desk whether it can take your party. Visit the white dunes at Bau Trang, then choose either the red dunes or Fairy Stream for the second stop. The red dunes keep the outing on sand; the stream involves taking off shoes and wading upstream beside coloured formations. Choose for the party’s comfort with walking, slopes and water, and ask about the approach before booking if mobility is limited. A van or jeep is available through the resort; additional motorised activities at the dunes are a separate purchase. Return to Pandanus, have lunch and take the arranged car back to your accommodation if needed. Leave the afternoon for a shaded rest, the pool or a short shore walk suited to the local conditions. A bowl of fish-noodle soup makes an easy meal when you do not want a long restaurant evening.

• White dunes at Bau Trang
• Red dunes or Fairy Stream
• Resort return, lunch and a quiet afternoon

Base: Mui Ne

For the kite option, agree a teaching time with the instructor and arrange your meals around it. Join at Sea Lion Beach Resort, leaving the suitcases in your room and bringing water, sun protection and a dry change of clothes. The private Taster is a two-hour lesson for one learner; a companion can relax at the accommodation while you learn. Plan lunch or dinner together according to the lesson time. Afterwards, change and take your booked ride or taxi back to the hotel. For a resort day, Pandanus guests can reserve the village walk through Guest Relations. The minivan leaves at 06:30 and returns around 08:00 for breakfast; ask the desk where to gather. This is separate from the cooking reservation. Book the 11:00 class at Café Blue Lagoon at least 24 hours ahead, agreeing the date with the desk. Request a weekday place, and ask the desk directly if your only available date is a Saturday or holiday. The class prepares four dishes and ends with lunch. The market-and-cooking version starts at 08:30 with a visit to Ham Tien Market, then returns to the resort. Ask for its gathering instructions and choose it instead of combining two early programmes. Guests from another hotel need the resort’s acceptance and their own return ride. Take the afternoon off, then have dinner and pack dry and wet items separately for tomorrow’s car.

• Instruction or a resort food day
• Breakfast and the correct gathering point
• A meal and hotel return

Base: Mui Ne

Have breakfast and prepare for the return car. Pandanus checkout is at noon; if your pickup is later, ask the Bell Desk to store the cases and set a time to collect them. At another property, arrange the equivalent with reception. A nearby lunch is useful for a later departure, but leave time to return, retrieve everything and meet the driver. Have the cases ready when the car arrives, then load them. Give the supplier the complete Saigon drop-off address. If you are going to a city hotel, arrange arrival instructions and dinner near it; a taxi can complete a different onward city address if needed. If the car is taking you straight to the airport, book that terminal drop explicitly and agree a pickup that allows for the road journey and your airline’s reporting requirement. The itinerary finishes in Ho Chi Minh City after five hotel nights. A further city room, followed by a flight on day seven, is an extension with a sixth night. Choose that buffer when you want to keep a fixed flight apart from the long car journey. There is no last dune or lesson appointment to fit in before leaving. Check documents, phone, purchases and the bags in storage before signing out.

• Breakfast, checkout and bag collection
• The agreed city hotel or airport drop
• A separately booked sixth night if needed

Base: Mui Ne