Long Tan & Nui Dat: Australian Battlefield Day Trip from Saigon

4.89

(140 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We left Ho Chi Minh City early — I was half awake, honestly, but the drive out to Ba Ria-Vung Tau sort of eased me into the day. Our guide, Minh, started sharing little stories about the area before we even got close to Nui Dat. The countryside felt different than I expected; quiet but with this low buzz from scooters and distant radios. When we finally reached what used to be the Australian military base at Nui Dat, Minh pointed out where helicopters landed — it’s just grass now, but you could almost picture it. He traced the old perimeter with a stick in the dust. I didn’t expect that part to hit so hard.

Walking through the rubber plantation at Long Tan was strange — there’s this sharp smell from the trees and the ground is soft under your feet. Minh stopped us for a moment near Mong Ngua Mountain and told us how Vietnamese soldiers used those hills for shelter. He laughed when I tried to pronounce “Mong Ngua” — probably butchered it. The Long Tan Cross Memorial is simple but heavy with meaning; someone had left fresh flowers that morning. It was quiet except for birds and our footsteps.

The last stop was Long Phuoc Tunnels — crawling inside felt weirdly claustrophobic, even though Minh kept joking about how he’d never make it as a tunnel rat. Afterward, lunch back in Ba Ria tasted better than I expected (I let Minh order for me). There was this spicy fish dish — can’t remember the name now — and sticky rice that stuck to my fingers. On the drive back to Saigon, I kept thinking about how close all these places are to each other, and how far away they feel from daily life back home.