This is Scivi’s most compact gateway program for regional schools. It keeps the group in one hotel, avoids internal flights and gives students a clear experience of contemporary Ho Chi Minh City rather than a rushed South Vietnam circuit. The two options also create clear curriculum entry points: a Vietnam War history school trip for IB History, AP World History or Cambridge History, or a locally scoped CAS/service experience connected to food access and urban care.
Schools choose one main pathway for the third day. The war pathway uses Cu Chi and selected historical sites to connect conflict, public memory and post-war change. The community pathway looks at food access and the practical operation of a low-cost meal initiative, subject to host confirmation and a suitable student role.
4 days / 3 nights
One hotel base in Ho Chi Minh City
Recommended for ages 13–18
Light to moderate walking; heat and traffic awareness required
IB History / TOK, AP World History, Cambridge History; or IB CAS, Business and Global Perspectives
One question holds the trip together.
How does a fast-changing city live with its history and respond to present-day social needs?
The question guides selected field tasks and reflection. It does not turn every activity into a lesson or remove the enjoyment of travel.
How the program may run
The sequence is indicative. Scivi adjusts it around flight times, age, weather, local capacity, school priorities and what can be responsibly confirmed.
Arrival and city orientation
Airport arrival, hotel check-in, group briefing and a guided neighbourhood or central-city walk. The first evening introduces street life, food and practical movement in the city.
History and contemporary Ho Chi Minh City
Use selected historical sites, public spaces, markets or neighbourhoods to connect the city’s past with its current pace, commerce and everyday life.
Cu Chi, war and recovery
Visit Cu Chi with careful historical framing. Students compare how war is presented at different sites and identify evidence of how the city and country have changed since the conflict.
Food access and urban care
Join a structured activity connected to the Nụ Cười 2,000-dong meal model, where feasible. Students examine procurement, volunteers, service flow, dignity and the limits of short-term contribution.
Closing task and departure
A short synthesis activity before airport transfer, depending on flight time. Students identify what a visitor should understand about Ho Chi Minh City beyond a single historical or social narrative.
Students explore, take part and bring something usable back to school.
What students actually do
- Read a historical site or museum display as a source, not only as an attraction
- Observe how public space, markets and movement reveal contemporary urban life
- Take part in a practical community task only where the host has defined a useful and age-appropriate role
- Compare what the city remembers with what students see happening in the present
Possible student output
A short group briefing: “What should another student understand about Ho Chi Minh City beyond the standard tour?” The school may adapt this into a history source exercise, CAS reflection, business note or Global Perspectives presentation.
The school decides whether the output is assessed, informal or used only for reflection.
Use the curriculum layer only when the school needs it.
History, CAS and urban learning are optional layers, not extra itinerary days.
What remains subject to confirmation
The Nụ Cười community component is not presented as students “helping poor people.” The host role, photography rules, food-safety conditions and useful student work must be confirmed for each group. A four-day visit may support a CAS experience, but it is not described as a complete CAS project.
Next step
Would this structure fit your school calendar?
Share the student age, approximate dates, flight market, group size and the curriculum or service direction that matters most. Scivi can first test route and local feasibility before building a detailed proposal.