If you’re looking for a stop on your travels where the kids can soak up some real history and culture, then Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam is a great option. There’s a whole host of sights that let you delve in to Vietnam’s past, but none as immersive as the Cu Chi Tunnels where the Viet Cong fought back from underground. Read on for more info on and tips on how to visit the fascinating Cu Chi Tunnels with kids.
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What are the Cu Chi Tunnels?
During the Vietnam War, the Cu Chi Tunnels were a huge expanse of underground tunnels where the Viet Cong – fighting for what at the time was the Communist North of Vietnam – lived, trained and fought from. They stretch all the way from Ho Chi Minh City out to Cambodia. Dug several metres underground, they were a crucial part of the Viet Cong strategy.
There are several sets of tunnels that are open to tourists; most are accessible from Ho Chi Minh City.
How do you get to Cu Chi Tunnels?
The easiest and most popular way to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels is to book a day tour from Ho Chi Minh City. There are lots of options available via GetYourGuide and Viator. Most day tours from Ho Chi Minh City will include pick up/drop off from District 1. In fact, many of the day tours from HCMC offer pick up from District 1, so it’s a good idea to base yourselves there if there are lots of things you want to do.
The set of tunnels we visited were around 60km to the North West of Ho Chi Minh City.
Most tour companies use either minivans or buses to get you out to the tunnels. The journey for us (including pick ups/drop offs) took around two hours each way.
What do you get to see on a Cu Chi Tunnel tour?
Typically tours will include hotel pick up (from District 1) and generally they tend to include:
- Transport to/from the tunnels
- A stop at a market selling goods made by people who were left with disabilities after the war (and chance to nip to the loo/buy snacks)
- A guided tour of the tunnels
- The chance to visit the shooting range and fire a machine gun (this costs extra)
- Set lunch after the tour with a drink
Once you arrive at the tunnels themselves your tour will start with some background info on the Vietnam war (which helps put it all in context). There is also a short video and a model of what the tunnels look like. Our guide spent a while explaining how deep the tunnels were, what different sections were used for and how they were hidden. Whilst the kids did get a bit fidget-y during this talking part, it was all really interesting information and really important to understand what we were about to see.
We’d also visited the War Remnants Museum the day before, which really helped understand the conflict and gave us at least a bit of prior knowledge.
Once you’ve soaked up some of the background info, the guide takes you through the forest to see the tunnels themselves. You can see some of the smoke holes that were built (and disguised in the forest) so that smoke from the cooking fires underground had an exit point. There’s various (fairly gruesome) traps on display that show how the Viet Cong would attack their enemies.
There’s also some mannequins dotted around in various positions to try to illustrate what the Viet Cong would have looked like. Plus a tank!
The highlights of the tour though are definitely the interactive elements. There are small ‘demo’ holes in the forest that are covered in foliage but that you can climb inside to experience how tight the tunnels were. Plus this is THE photo op spot for the tours! There are a LOT of tourists and so expect to wait in a bit of a queue to access these.
There’s a shooting range set up where you can fire machine guns at targets. This is an additional cost – the bullets are Vn20,000 per bullet so it’s quite costly. We opted not to do this, mostly because it is INCREDIBLY loud; our youngest did not enjoy this part of the tour! If you’re visiting Cu Chi Tunnels with kids who are sensitive to noise then be warned – if you have earplugs you might want to bring them.
It does though give you a sense of what the noise must have been like when war was raging in this part of the world.
Finally, you get to a stretch of tunnel that has been opened up for tourists to go in to. This was the bit we’d been waiting for! The tunnel access is down a steep set of stairs and once you’re down there it is very dark. The tunnel itself is very narrow and you have to crawl through the vast majority of it. Plus, it’s MUCH further than you think! There are though steps back up to the surface at various points along the route so you can escape if you want to.
Our boys loved this bit of the tour, but if you have kids who are a bit younger or more nervous you might need to assess for yourself if you think they can cope. As a note though, the tunnels are so narrow that the kids found it much easier than the adults to get through!
Is a tour of Cu Chi Tunnels worth it with kids?
Whilst it is a bit of a trek from HCMC to get to the tunnels, in our opinion it was worth making the trip. The fact that you can really explore the tunnels gives you the chance to really feel how claustrophobic life down there must have been.
It IS busy, it DOES feel touristy and some of the exhibits (the set-up mannequins in particular) are a bit old and shabby.
But despite this the kids really enjoyed the tour and the chance to experience life underground gave it that interactive element that is so much better for learning (at any age!).
Which tour of Cu Chi Tunnels did we book?
There are dozens and dozens of tour operators offering the trip out to Cu Chi Tunnels from HCMC. As we were visiting with kids, we took the time to read through all of the reviews to make sure we found one that others had recommended.
In the end we booked this tour via GetYourGuide.
It included everything I’ve outlined above. Our guide was great, the bus was really nice (comfortable and good aircon!) and the lunch we got at the restaurant on the way home was actually really good.
You can book private tours from HCMC which would allow you to escape the crowds a bit. For full flexibility you can also negotiate a Grab taxi there and back and just buy your tickets on arrival.
The verdict
Despite the long bus journey to/from the tunnels, it was definitely worth the effort. Getting to learn more about the Vietnam War and to actually experience what life underground must have been like was an amazing educational experience for us all.
Yes, it’s touristy and you will likely be bustled round in a group surrounded by other tourists. But sometimes the touristy stuff is touristy for a reason, and still worth doing! If you’re travelling to Vietnam then a trip out to Cu Chi Tunnels with the kids is definitely a great learning opportunity.
Top tips for visiting Cu Chi Tunnels with kids
- Try to visit the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City first; this will give you a really good understanding of the war.
- Pack a torch so you can see when you’re crawling through the tunnels!
- If your kids are sensitive to loud noises then pack ear plugs/defenders. The shooting range is extremely loud.
- Book a hotel in District 1 for your stay in HCMC. Almost all tours in and around the city include pick up/drop off from District 1 so if you’re planning to head out and about it’s best to locate yourselves centrally.
Planning a trip to Vietnam with kids?
If you’re planning a family trip to Vietnam then check out some of our other posts for inspiration, advice and top tips!
