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Private Day Tour: Discover Unique Local Life at Cao Dai Holy See
4.8
14 Ratings
Quận 1
Embark on a private day tour to the Cao Dai Holy See and discover the unique local life of Tay Ninh Province. Benefit from a customized experience with a private guide and explore off-the-path destinations while still visiting must-see attractions. Don’t miss the chance to explore a secret bunker at the religious complex. Book now!
Embark on a private day tour to the Cao Dai Holy See and discover the unique local life of Tay Ninh Province. Benefit from a customized experience with a private guide and explore off-the-path destinations while still visiting must-see attractions. Don’t miss the chance to explore a secret bunker at the religious complex. Book now!
Duration:
10 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
-
Cao Dai Temple - ITINERARY:
1/ Pick-up & Local History/Culture Session – 7:30 AM
Our guides will collect you from your hotel, followed by a two and a half hour journey to Tay Ninh. During the trip, you will engage in discussions about the local culture and history of Vietnam and Tay Ninh with our guide.
2/ Journey through “The Real Vietnam”…
-
Cao Dai Temple - ITINERARY:
1/ Pick-up & Local History/Culture Session – 7:30 AM
Our guides will collect you from your hotel, followed by a two and a half hour journey to Tay Ninh. During the trip, you will engage in discussions about the local culture and history of Vietnam and Tay Ninh with our guide.
2/ Journey through “The Real Vietnam”
Experience the authentic Vietnam: rivers, rice paddy fields, villages, temples, and more.
3/ Visit Go Ken Buddhist Pagoda, where Caodaism was first introduced.
4/ The Caodaism Complex
Arrive at the Temple just in time for the renowned noon worship of local pilgrims, featuring vibrant costumes, sacred chants, and disciplined formations.
6/ Local Lunch
We will pause at a local restaurant and select dishes according to your dietary preferences. Enjoy a leisurely lunch and engage with the local community.
7/ The Holy Palace of Wisdom – Special Access to the Secret Bunker
8/ Return Journey
After completing the excursion and local visits, which are sure to be highly satisfying, we will drive you back to your hotel.
What's Included
- Bottled water
- All necessaries for the tour included
- Lunch provided
- Private guide and transport
- Bottled water
- All necessaries for the tour included
- Lunch provided
- Private guide and transport
What's Not Included
- Alcoholic beverages
- Tea and coffee
- Alcoholic beverages
- Tea and coffee
Additional Information
- Private: Enjoy personalized care and attention from a dedicated guide.
- Local: An excellent opportunity for cultural enthusiasts to delve into the distinctive local culture of Tay Ninh Province.
- Unique: Gain exclusive access to a secret bunker within the religious complex.
- The Real Vietnam: Experience an off-the-beaten-path tour to…
- Private: Enjoy personalized care and attention from a dedicated guide.
- Local: An excellent opportunity for cultural enthusiasts to delve into the distinctive local culture of Tay Ninh Province.
- Unique: Gain exclusive access to a secret bunker within the religious complex.
- The Real Vietnam: Experience an off-the-beaten-path tour to less crowded locations while still visiting essential sites.
Location
Ho Chi Minh City Opera House
Công Trường Lam Sơn
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(14 Ratings)
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Daniel_k
Jun 17, 2024
Great day tour out to Tag Ninh - We had a great day out with Binh, who took us to the Cao Dai palace and temple, a local market. We also visited a local Buddhist temple. We added Ba Den Mountain to the tour on the way back, and had a really nice lunch of locally caught fish at a farmstay nearby.
Binh was very prompt and very communicative, making the logistics very smooth. He is also brought up in the Cao Dai religion so he is very knowledgeable in answering our questions.
We would recommend adding the Ba Den Mountain to your tour as well. It is a bit of a strange place as a Westerner but the views are stunning and it's very interesting to walk around.
Review provided by Viator
Alessandro
Jun 10, 2024
Awesome day - Wanted a private experience so I could fully appreciate the culture, was not disappointed. Binh was an awesome guide, and I could tell he had a deep appreciation for the Cao Dai religion. It was nice to be guided by someone who is also a follower. After seeing the beautiful ceremony, we had hotpot made with local ingredients, had a nap in a hammock, and enjoyed the peaceful garden. Later we went to Ba Den, and rode a cable car to the top to see lovely Buddhist art, as we well as a great view. A wonderful day, one of the best tours I've been on, much better than the typical tourist things.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anvan2019
May 7, 2024
Awesome experience with accommodating guide - Attentive and knowledgable guide. Binh is very friendly, punctual and accommodating. The food is tasty and served based on your choice. Interesting religious and cultural itinerary. The trip from HCMC to Tay Ninh is 2hour but it’s worth the time and value for money.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Inspire00614193029
Jan 31, 2024
Best day tour from HCMC - Personal, Authentic, Perfect Guide - DO NOT MISS!! 💜 - This was absolutely our favourite tour during our trip, and I cannot rate it, or our wonderful guide Binh, highly enough. When booking, I decided to go for an experience that was run by a local company that had expertise in the Cao Dai religion- I had visited briefly about 10 years ago as part of a bigger tour and wanted to have a more personal and specific tour this time. It certainly did not disappoint.
Although it was quite a drive to the temple, Binh was the perfect host - explaining the beautiful philosophies of the religion as well as a lot of information about his home town, so the time went very quickly. The temple was even more beautiful than I remembered, and the experience was elevated to another level by Binh’s personal knowledge and patient explanations.
Our lunch was delicious - we were treated to an abundance of food in a restaurant that we would never have found on our own.
We had several stops during our day, each one showing us a different aspect of this beautiful area.
Binh was extremely flexible and tailored our trip to give us the best experience possible. He is not only extremely knowledgeable, but very entertaining and really made the day a pleasure. If you want a tour that is personal and authentic, this is the best available.
As a true indication of how much we enjoyed our experience, we subsequently have booked this company and Binh for other tours on our next trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
770elliotf
Jan 27, 2024
Best thing in Ho Chi Minh - Easily the best thing I’ve done in Ho Chi Minh City.
I was already quiet familiar with the amazing oddity of this religion and their beliefs, but you don’t need to read all about it as Binh has excellent knowledge (along with being a fantastic driver in such an insane city.)
The experience of seeing the temple and then viewing the service was amazing. Really fascinating stuff. We were given a great lunch and got to to meet his family at the markets.
If you’re fascinated by a religion that has Victor Hugo as a saint, where all and every religion throughout history is strangely absorbed into one fascinating amalgamation, then I would highly recommend.
There’s even a hidden cellar in a temple not far away you get to through a hidden closet. Many odd and beautiful things I saw today.
Could not have enjoyed it more.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Laurenta1005
Nov 25, 2023
Noice - Great knowledge and understanding of our needs (tailored-made tour), and great personality with a witty sense of humour: highly recommended :-)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Spencer
Feb 19, 2023
Excellent - Beautiful place. Long journey but worth it. The lunch stop venue was unsuitable for tourists, however.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Halcyonl2022
Aug 15, 2022
Best Local Tour in Vietnam with Binh - I chose Binh as I was interested in a tour that would take me to a different attraction in Vietnam from normal and let me learn more about the local cultural / religious practices. Do check out Binh's Facebook as he has come up with new tours besides this one - for the tour I chose, I believe he is the only English-speaking tour operator who has an itinerary that combines the Black Virgin Mountain and Cao Dai Holy See in one day!
I had a great tour with Binh, who was happy to answer my questions about local cultures and practices, all while navigating the crazy rush hour drive to and from Ho Chi Minh and the long drive to Tay Ninh. Being a local from Tay Ninh and having grown up in a Cao Dai family, he gave a lot of much needed context to the various places that we visited. Not to mention the food that he got throughout the tour - he was accomodating of my dietary restrictions and gave me a chance to experience some truly local delicacies.
I highly recommend booking a tour with Binh - he is a passionate, knowledgeable tour guide who strives to give his best and the most authentic local experiences, all while charging a fair price for the tour that he gives back to his local community. Wishing Binh all the best for the future!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
B3374krtomb
Apr 2, 2025
Fascinating experience - We really wanted to see the Caodai Holy See and generally learn more about this fascinating religion. Most group tours didn't seem to offer this or, if they did, they also included Cu Chi Tunnel as part of the experience - which we did not want to do - therefore we decided to book a private tour.
The positives:
- Good, knowledgeable guide, Mr Harry, that brought us to interesting places
- Delicious local food.
- Customisable experience: we could ask to replace or add things from the itinerary to customise what we wanted to do
- Safe transport and very comfortable
There could have been betters:
- We had specifically chosen this tour because of all of the incredibly positive reviews of "Mr Binh", reading also that he grew up in a Caodaist family convinced us further, as we were keen to understand the religion from the point of view of someone who has direct ties to the religion. However the evening before Mr Binh informed us that he would not be our guide for the tour. While our guide, "Mr Harry" was good, he did not have the Caodaist background and so could not give the unique perspective that we believed we would get.
- We were brought to a place called "Handicap Handicraft" under the guise of a bathroom break rest stop, despite not being listed anywhere in the itinerary. It's not clear what the place is or how much of the proceeds actually go to the handicapped people. The main point is that it's not written anywhere on the itinerary and is therefore impossible to do any prior research of the place beforehand.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Robertd_l
Feb 14, 2023
Informative with disappointing aspects - On this tour, we learned a lot about Cao Dai. Binh spoke enthusiastically about his religion as he took us to the Holy Palace and the Temple. It was all very interesting. However, other aspects of the tour were not what we were expecting. On the way, we were taken to a place selling over priced laquered boxes, pictures, etc. This was something we had not bargained for. As for lunch, we were offered rice with some tofu and a minimal choice of dried out vegetables or noodle soup. They had run out of the soup, so we had the rice. We weren't expecting a gourmet meal, by any means. However, this fell way below anything we've experienced on previous tours.
Review provided by Viator
