CaliToday (03/11/2025): Ho Chi Minh City tour operators are pioneering "experiential" trips to the Vietnam-Cambodia border, tapping into a growing demand for off-the-beaten-path adventures and historical connection.
Tinh Bien Market - a wholesale market located in the border area between Vietnam and Cambodia
HO CHI MINH CITY – While most international travel itineraries focus on Vietnam's iconic coastline and northern highlands, a new, hyper-local travel trend is emerging from Ho Chi Minh City, taking travelers to a destination few ever consider: the border.
Local travel agencies are now developing and promoting a new category of "experiential tourism" known as "Tour Chạm mốc Biên giới," which translates to "Touching the Border Markers" tour.
These new itineraries are designed to guide adventurous tourists to the official border markers separating Vietnam and Cambodia, primarily in the lush, river-crossed landscapes of the Mekong Delta.
Beyond the Tourist Trail
This new trend is a direct response to a growing desire among modern travelers to escape the crowded "tourist bubble" and find more authentic, meaningful experiences.
Instead of a guided tour of a familiar landmark, these trips offer:
Remote Exploration: The tours focus on the "off-the-beaten-path" (các tuyến đường ít người biết đến) appeal, taking visitors through remote villages, along border patrol roads, and across landscapes rarely seen by outsiders.
Experiential Connection: This is not a passive sightseeing trip. The goal is for travelers to physically reach and "touch" the official stone markers (cột mốc) that demarcate the nation's sovereign territory.
Historical & Cultural Immersion: For many Vietnamese travelers, the journey is described as a powerful way to "foster national pride" (bồi đắp lòng tự hào dân tộc). It provides a tangible connection to the nation's geography and recent history.
For international tourists, this translates into a unique opportunity for deep cultural immersion, allowing them to understand the local perspective on land, history, and sovereignty in a way that's impossible to grasp from a museum or city center.
These tours, which often depart from Ho Chi Minh City for a day or two, are specifically attracting travelers who pride themselves on exploring the "real" Vietnam, beyond what is available in a standard guidebook. As the market for experiential travel grows, these borderland adventures represent a new, and deeply personal, frontier in Southeast Asian tourism.