If you are a budget traveler in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and want to travel to Cu Chi tunnel at the lowest cost, just follow some instructions I have gained from a friend at Eviva Tour Vietnam as below.
First go to Ben Thanh bus station in District 1. It is very easy to find the station since it seems busy all the time and is located near the famous iconic Ben Thanh market. There are quite many bus lines to Cu Chi town but the one I recommend is line no. 13. Take it at the price of 12,000 VND and you will go directly to the targeted town. The distance is about 50 km and you will get to the center of Cu Chi town after nearly 1 hour.
Now get off the bus and head to Cu Chi bus station which is right at the center of the town. Then look for the 79 bus line that departs every 30 minutes. The price is just 6000 VND but do not worry about the quality because this 45-seat bus really is surprisingly clean and quiet. You will surely get a lot of offers from motorbike taxi drivers on the road. Just ignore them if you are not a great bargainer (Remember “good” is not enough. Must be “great”) Line 79 will cover 20 km from the station to the Tunnel gate in about 20 minutes.
The last thing to remember is the Tunnel has two separated entries which are nearly 10 km away from each other. So decide which to go into first and tell the bus driver where to drop you at. The famous Cu Chi Tunnel is the biggest defense system in the ground built from 1946 to 1948 and primarily used in Tet Mau Than Campaign in 1968. Just enjoy yourself here and I am sure you will have a great time!
By Hiep Nguyen