Southern Vietnam · Day tour
Can Gio: Monkey Island & the Sac Forest
The mangrove biosphere an hour from Saigon: a thousand bold monkeys, a crocodile reserve, the guerrilla base hidden in the Sac forest, and grilled seafood at the market.
- Length
- Full day
- Approx. 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM
- Pick-up
- Ho Chi Minh City
- From your hotel
- Guide
- English-speaking
- Group or private
What you see
The day in short
Everything below is covered by the programme. The order can move with the traffic and the weather; the list does not.
Where it goes: Ho Chi Minh City
Highlights
- Monkey Island and its thousand-odd macaques, entirely unbothered by you
- The Binh Khanh ferry across the river, and the road through the mangroves
- The Hoa Ca crocodile reserve
- A twenty-five minute walk under the canopy to the Sac Forest Revolutionary Base
- The reconstructed shelters, kitchen and field hospital, and the original ordnance
- Can Gio seafood market, grilled on the spot or packed to take back
Hour by hour
The running order
Approx. 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM. These are the timings operations work to; your guide confirms the pick-up the evening before.
Want it privately?Morning
Pick-up in central District 1 or at the Atlas office, then out along Nguyen Tat Thanh and Huynh Tan Phat to the Binh Khanh ferry.
Late morning
Monkey Island, then the Hoa Ca crocodile reserve.
Before lunch
Twenty-five minutes on foot through the mangroves to the Sac Forest Revolutionary Base, or ten minutes by canoe.
Midday
Set-menu lunch of local specialities.
Afternoon
Can Gio seafood market, grilled on the spot or bought fresh to take home.
05:00 – 05:30 PM
The tour ends back in central Saigon.
What's included
- New air-conditioned tourist vehicle
- One set-menu lunch
- Entrance tickets for everything in the programme
- An experienced guide for the whole route
- One bottle of water per person
What's not
- The canoe to the forest base, 800,000 VND per boat, shared between up to six people
- Meals outside the programme
- VAT
- Personal expenses
Before you book
- The schedule can shift with the weather and the water level in Can Gio. The full list of stops is still covered.
- Keep bags closed and food out of sight on Monkey Island — the macaques are quick.
- Children aged 10 and over pay the full rate, 9 and under pay 75 percent, and under 3 travel free.
The route
- 1Ho Chi Minh City
- 2Binh Khanh Ferry
- 3Monkey Island
- 4Can Gio Seafood Market
Map is schematic and not to scale for travel times.
Good to know
Questions
Walk to the base, or take the canoe?
The walk is twenty-five minutes in the shade and is included. The canoe is ten minutes, costs 800,000 VND for the boat and takes up to six, so it is worth it if there are a few of you.
Are the monkeys safe around children?
They are wild and very used to people, which makes them bold rather than aggressive. Hold onto bags, glasses and phones, keep food away, and do not feed them by hand.
Where does pick-up happen?
From central District 1, or from the Atlas office at 244 Ly Tu Trong Street. Give us your hotel name and address when you book and we will confirm a time the evening before.
Can we combine this with other days?
Yes — most guests string two or three of these together, or add them either side of a multi-day journey. Send us your dates and we will lay them out in a sensible order.
Book the Can Gio: Monkey Island & the Sac Forest
Give us your dates, your hotel and how many of you there are. We confirm availability the same day and pick you up from the door.