Mekong Delta tour at your own pace

Saigon / Arrival (-)

Arrival at Saigon Airport. Welcome by our driver (without guide) and transfer to your hotel in the city center. Free time to rest or enjoy your own activities.

Meals on your own. Overnight in Saigon.

Saigon – City Tour (B/L/D)

After breakfast, meet our guide and driver to begin your discovery of Saigon:

• Notre Dame Cathedral, built in the late 1880s by French colonists, is one of the few major Catholic landmarks in predominantly Buddhist Vietnam. Located on Paris Square, the name Notre Dame was given after the installation of the statue of “Our Lady of Peace” in 1959.
• The Central Post Office, designed by Gustave Eiffel, the Opera House, and the City Hall with their beautiful architecture are among the oldest buildings in Saigon. They are classic examples of French colonial architecture in Vietnam and some of the most popular sights to see in the city.
• A walk through Cho Lon, Saigon’s Chinatown. Today, a multitude of small family businesses thrive in this district traditionally devoted to trade and commerce. Its richly decorated Chinese pagodas and temples are very different in style from Vietnamese sanctuaries.
• Visit Thien Hau Pagoda, dedicated to the goddess who protects sailors and ships in Asian belief. A major gathering place for Chinese worshippers from the city and surrounding areas, Thien Hau Pagoda is also known as “Chua Ba Cho Lon” because of its location in Cho Lon, Saigon’s Chinatown.
• Binh Tay Wholesale Market.

Saigon – Ben Tre (B/L/D)

Breakfast at the hotel.

Departure for Ben Tre, passing through My Tho, to begin your discovery of the Mekong Delta, formed by the nine branches of the great river.

Upon arrival in Ben Tre, board a local boat and cruise along the river to observe the daily activities of local residents. You visit a brick kiln, an old house, and a family-run coconut candy workshop. Enjoy tastings of coconut candies, honey tea, and seasonal fruits. The family workshop produces various local products made from coconut.

ontinue cruising along the Cai Son River. Disembark at Nhon Thanh Village, where local families specialize in making traditional mats.

Then enjoy a bicycle ride through coconut fields and orchards. Return to a traditional house located in a coconut orchard, where you will taste specialties of the Mekong Delta.

After lunch at a local restaurant, take a walk of about ten minutes to reach the pier and board a rowing boat.

Visit the tropical fruit market before departing for Ba Tri (40 km – approximately 1 hour). Travel through vast rice fields and coconut forests. Stop at a family workshop to meet local people who make their living from bamboo weaving. They are friendly and happy to show you the different stages and techniques of their work.

Check in at a local homestay at the end of the day. Here, you will have the opportunity to discover how coconuts are picked by hand. You can try it yourself and then taste the juice from the coconut you have picked.

In the evening, the family cook will invite you to join her in preparing the meal. An aperitif will be offered, followed by dinner at the homestay.

You will enjoy many activities in this region to discover local life, and tonight you will sleep in a typical Southern Vietnamese house.

You will all stay together in one room with single or double beds arranged in the traditional Vietnamese style.

Ben Tre – Cai Be – Vinh Long – Tra On – Overnight on board (B/L/D)

After breakfast, departure for Cai Be.

Arrival at Cai Be pier. Transfer by traditional junk boat to a magnificent traditional residence, a former imperial residence, where descendants of the Kiet family welcome you and invite you to enjoy tea accompanied by delicious samples of tropical fruits. You will have the opportunity to stroll through the garden filled with fruit trees.

Continue toward craft villages where products made from rice and coconut are produced, including rice wine, puffed rice cakes, rice paper, and coconut milk sweets.

At 12:00 PM, board the boat and enjoy a welcome drink.

Lunch on board as the boat heads toward Co Chien. During the cruise, you will have the opportunity to admire beautiful and authentic landscapes along the riverbanks.

In the afternoon, enjoy a walk or bicycle ride along small paths through the villages. This excursion allows you to discover lush orchards, riverside activities, and above all, meet local residents.

The boat continues toward Tra On, cruising upstream. An aperitif is served on the upper deck while you enjoy a foot massage as the sun slowly sets over the river.

Take part in a cooking class on board, where you will have the opportunity to prepare stuffed zucchini flowers with “thac lac” fish and learn how to cut vegetables for food decoration.

Dinner and overnight on board to fully enjoy the beauty of the river at night.

Tra On – Can Tho – Chau Doc (B/L/D)

Wake up early to admire the sunrise over the Mekong River: fresh air, birdsong, the movement of barges, and the daily activities of local residents along the riverbanks.

Breakfast is served on board as the boat slowly begins cruising toward Can Tho.

Along the way, the boat takes you to Cai Rang Market, one of the most important floating markets in the Mekong Delta, bustling with boats loaded with fruits and vegetables and small vessels weaving through the lively waters.

Enjoy a boat ride along creeks shaded by palm trees. Admire beautiful orchards, local houses, boat-building yards, and the lively river activities. Visit an orchard where you can discover many kinds of tropical fruits, including mango, dragon fruit, kumquat, jackfruit, star apple, and more.

Return and disembark from the boat.

Continue by vehicle to Chau Doc.

Stop along the way for lunch at a local restaurant.

Upon arrival in Chau Doc, visit the town center and the local market. Dinner at a local restaurant and overnight in Chau Doc.

Chau Doc – Long Xuyen (B/L/D)

After breakfast, the morning is dedicated to visiting the must-see sites of Chau Doc:

• Ba Chua Xu Pagoda, dedicated to a legendary lady remembered for her sacrifice for peace in the region. The site is remarkable for its three-tiered roof inspired by the shape of a lotus flower and carefully decorated. Its largest festival takes place from the 23rd to the 27th day of the 4th lunar month, attracting large numbers of pilgrims. During the festival, according to tradition, the statue of the goddess is bathed and dressed in new clothes.
• Thoai Ngoc Hau Tomb, known for its almost intact architecture dating back to the Nguyen Dynasty. The complex contains the tomb and memorial of a mandarin who once governed An Giang. Recognized as a national historical site and surrounded by ancient trees, the monument is worth visiting for both its historical and aesthetic value.
• The summit of Sam Mountain, home to around two hundred pagodas and temples that attract pilgrims from all over the region, especially during traditional festivals.
• A boat ride to the Cham fishing village to visit floating houses beneath which Pangasius fish are raised.

Lunch at a local restaurant, then departure for Long Xuyen. Check into your room upon arrival in Long Xuyen.

Dinner at a local restaurant and overnight in Long Xuyen.

Long Xuyen – Floating Market – Saigon (B/L/-)

Breakfast at the hotel.

In the morning, take a boat to visit Long Xuyen’s most authentic floating market, bordered on one side by beautiful houses and on the other by rice fields and stilt houses. From dawn, the river comes alive as hundreds of boats filled with all kinds of products move along the water, creating an incredible mosaic of colors and fragrances.

Enjoy a bicycle ride on Tiger Island, followed by lunch at a local homestay.

Disembark and continue by road back to Saigon.