Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City – My Tho – Ben Tre – Chau Doc
In the morning, our guide and driver welcome you, and leave Ho Chi Minh City for My Tho province. Today you will experience a row boat meander through some channels in the Mekong Delta. First you will take a boat cruise through the Bao Dinh natural canal and see traditional stilt houses and fruit garden houses. My Tho is a prosperous town of 170,000 inhabitants in the Mekong delta. It is famous for its extensive orchards and immense rice fields. You will have a chance to visit the My Tho wholesale fruit market and purchase a variety of tropical fruits. Then you proceed to Tortoise Island, and have lunch in the heart of an orchard.
In the afternoon we continue enjoying a boat ride through the Tan Thach canal in Ben Tre, cruising under the shadows of the water coconut trees. Visit a family business, which epitomizes the idyllic rural lifestyle. After trekking through the fruit plantations on Thoi Son Island, enjoy a row boat ride along the creeks before returning to My Tho by motor boat. Next we will proceed to Chau Doc by car where we have an overnight stay. Check in on arrival, before continuing on to visit the Sam Mountain and a cave pagoda. Take the chance to enjoy the sunset over the Vietnamese – Cambodian Frontier. Have your dinner at a restaurant.
Overnight in hotel.
Inclusion: Transport, English speaking guide, entrance fees, local boat, lunch, dinner, hotel
Day 2: Chau Doc – Long Xuyen – Can Tho
In the morning enjoy breakfast at your hotel. Today you rise early, for a boat trip to visit a floating fish farm. You will have the chance to listen to plenty of sounds, see many colors and the smells of the morning activities of local people here. One of the special features of the Mekong Delta is the floating fish farms on the river. Most families have a floating house on the river and raise fish to earn their living. We will then go on to discover the ethnic Cham weaving village. After, we depart for Can Tho. Along the way we pass through Long Xuyen and visit the Bang Lang bird sanctuary, the incense stick village and a crocodile farm. Have lunch in restaurant.
In the afternoon, along the way from Long Xuyen to Can Tho, you will have the opportunity to see more colorful fruit gardens in the Mekong Delta provinces. On arrival Can Tho we check into your hotel. Take a dinner cruise on the Bassac River – or Lower Mekong River. Overnight in hotel.
Inclusion: Transport, English guide, entrance fees, local boat, breakfast, lunch, dinner, hotel
Day 3:
After breakfast at your hotel we will begin our boat cruise to the Cai Rang floating markets to see the procession of boats selling their goods and to watch and enjoy the trading happening there. Many different articles are sold here, including farm produce, hand made tools and clothing. We continue on our cruise, through the small channels, stopping along the way to visit a rice noodle making village, and continue to Binh Thuy Ancient House where we will have lunch.
In the afternoon our driver will transfer you from Can Tho and return Ho Chi Minh City. Along the way, via Vinh Long, you stop to visit a local snake market where you can see local people buy and sell a variety of snakes and learn more about the people here. You arrive in Ho Chi Minh City at around 6.00 pm, where you will be dropped back to your hotel.
Tour ends at your hotel.
Inclusion: Transport, English guide, entrance fee, local boat, breakfast, lunch
We took a 3 day loop tour of the Mekong Delta to have a look at the region first-hand after raves from friends at home. My kids loved it and I was also suitably impressed. They were becoming restless in HCM City but became mesmerised as we travelled around the delta region. We cruised along rivers, tributaries and canals at different times, visited fruit farms, markets, fish farms, gorgeous sunsets, a crocodile farm and much more. Each different place we visited was exciting and interesting, and the guide provided was a very nice and friendly guy. It was a bit strange when we arrived back to HCM City, but the experiences we had were educational and interesting.