One non-FR site said that it is sometimes difficult to travel to former battlegrounds (which might indicate that less inaccessibile areas are available) and that you can rent car and driver for about $50/day.
This seems to indicate that travel is not very restricted, as there is no mention of need for a local gmvt “guide” to go with you, etc.
No, it's not. Go wherever you want. It's no longer 1991. (Speaking as one who "owns" a house on the Delta)
That doesn't mean you can get into a former facility. Like all of MACV at Than San Nhat is now SRVN Army. You'd "probably" be questioned there (just as you can't traipse around U.S. bases at your leisure).
IMO Frommer's has the most reliable info for visitors to VN, and for vet tours they say:
"A few tour operators cater to veterans and can tailor individual tours to follow a division's history or customized travel for an individual returning veteran's wishes. Most groups visit general operating areas. An itinerary might include starting out in Saigon with an excursion to the Cu Chi Tunnels, going down to the Mekong Delta, then heading up to Qui Nhon and to the Central Highlands and Pleiku, and then moving on to Danang, China Beach, Hue, and, of course, the demilitarized zone (DMZ). Contact the following: The Global Spectrum, 5683 Columbia Pike, Suite 101, Falls Church, VA 22041 (tel. 800/419-4446 or 703/671-9619; fax 703/671-5747), or Nine Dragons Tours, P.O. Box 24105, Indianapolis, IN 46224-0105 (tel. 800/909-9050 or 317/329-0350; fax 317/329-0117; www.nine-dragons.com)."
BUT BY ALL MEANS GO, AND POST YOUR PHOTOS AND RECON VIA THE UBIQUITOUS INTERNET CAFES IN VN!
Be happy to give you any tips via FRMAil.
>>rent car and driver for about $50/day<<
I’m a 747 captain and have laid over in SGN 3 times. I find it an interesting dichotomy. On the one hand, the economy is capitalist, but their govt. is most definitely communist. I’ve only done organized tours but considering how entrepreneurial the common folk are, I’m sure you could engage a car and driver and tour guide for a decent sum. Be prepared, however to hear references to the American imperialists. The population is very young and few remember anything about the conflict except what they were taught in school. However, I found no animosity toward Americans at all. In fact, the country folk want to move to the city, and the city folk want to move to the US.
You just rent that car (usually a small van) and go. The government will mostly not care much about where you go. You are free to go pretty much where you want to go. Pleiku is usually hard to get to because there is often a bit of “unrest” thereabouts. The Viets still have not got the hill people figured out.