Escaping the hustle and bustle of the city for a 3-day Mekong Delta tour is an ideal weekend choice. We offer a tour from Ho Chi Minh City to Ben Tre, Can Tho, and Dong Thap.
You'll visit Unicorn Island, a bee farm, the Cai Rang floating market, and a Cham village, while enjoying tropical fruits, folk music, and local specialties. This trip is a memorable way to explore the Mekong Delta.
I. Three-Day Journey from Saigon to Lotus Paradise, Mekong Delta Tour
Day 1: Saigon to Ben Tre – The Coconut Capital (L, D)
7:30 AM: A professional English-speaking tour guide will pick you up from your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. The minivan will take you to Ben Tre, famous for its coconut trees in the Mekong Delta.
Upon arriving at Hàm Luông pier, embark on a cruise along the Bến Tre River. Observe the lively activities along the riverbanks, including traditional brick-making methods.
Visit one of the many coconut processing workshops along the canal. Navigate through narrow creeks and immerse yourself in village life. Walk to a family workshop where sleep mats are made, and enjoy some fresh fruits and tea.
Travel along shaded paths on a motor cart (xe lôi) or bicycle, passing lush rice fields and vegetable plains. Experience authentic rural life and tropical culture with local farmers. Enjoy a delicious lunch at a local restaurant, further exploring local cuisine.
Continue your journey on a sampan along a peaceful canal, taking in the beauty of the surroundings. Return to the pier by boat, wrapping up this captivating experience.
Depart for Can Tho city. Enjoy a lovely dinner at a local restaurant and have free time to explore downtown Can Tho.
Day 2: Can Tho – Capital of the Mekong Delta (B, L, D)
5:30 AM: Prepare for a morning excursion in Can Tho. Your friendly guide will pick you up from your hotel and transport you to the pier. The 5-kilometer journey by river takes about 40 minutes.
Upon arriving at the Cai Rang floating market by sampan, you’ll tour the market during its bustling trading hours. Enjoy Vietnamese coffee and fruit right on the boat. Next, the boat heads to a local noodle factory where you’ll learn about the rice noodle-making process and even try making noodles yourself.
After breakfast, the boat will navigate through narrow rivers, shaded by water coconut trees, offering a green and serene environment. Visit a dragon fruit garden to enjoy fresh fruit directly from the tree. Explore the garden, learn about the cultivation process, and take wonderful photos.
Around 9:00 AM: Travel to the land of lotus flowers to check in at the beautiful Bungalow Homestay (approximately a 3-hour car ride).
Immerse yourself in the agricultural tool exhibition, reflecting on the history of the ancestors who settled in Dong Thap Muoi's wilderness. Enjoy traditional pastries and lotus-based dishes with local farmers. Engage in activities like plowing with water buffaloes, fishing, and net casting.
Rest and sleep in a stilt house amidst the lotus fields, embracing the tranquility of rural sounds and the breath of nature. Enjoy a lovely dinner and stay overnight at the peaceful, eco-friendly stilt house.
Day 3: From Lotus Flower Land to Ho Chi Minh (B, L)
5:00 AM, Dong Thap Province: Beautiful Conservation
Begin your day with a morning tour of this wonderful land, characterized by its authentic nature and stunning national park. Enjoy the sunrise as you arrive and take in the rural landscape. Embark on a boat trip along the long, narrow channels. The park’s beauty shines with vibrant green plants and water rich with alluvium.
From December to June, witness birds gathering in this area. Experience the serene sunrise on the farm before returning to the homestay for a delicious breakfast featuring a traditional local menu.
Participate in making traditional pastries and capture memorable photos with lotus flowers. Enjoy the natural, chemical-free fields and don't forget to check in on the long wooden bridge that spans the green fields adorned with pink lotus flowers and the vibrant multicolored grass of Dong Thap Muoi.
Have lunch at the beautiful homestay. Around noon, a private car will pick you up in Dong Thap for the journey back to Ho Chi Minh City or Can Tho. The drive will take approximately 3.5 hours, with an expected arrival around 4:00 PM.
Bid farewell to the Mekong Delta with great memories of an unforgettable trip. End your amazing Mekong Delta tour with incredible experiences, saying ‘hen gap lai’ (see you again).
II. What are the popular destinations in Mekong Delta tour?
Mekong Delta tour typically begins in Ho Chi Minh City and takes travelers through 12 captivating provinces and one city in the region. The most popular destinations on the Vietnam Mekong Delta map include Can Tho, Ben Tre and Dong Thap.
These top places in the Mekong Delta tour offer a diverse array of experiences along the beautiful Mekong River. From bustling floating markets to tranquil backwaters, each destination reveals unique cultural treasures and natural beauty that will leave a lasting impression on any traveler.
1.Ben Tre – an adventure through picturesque landscapes and vibrant culture
Ben Tre, a captivating province in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, offers a wealth of enriching experiences for travelers. From exploring lush coconut groves to cruising through stunning scenery, there is no shortage of activities in Ben Tre. Discover the region's rich cultural heritage and savor its vibrant local cuisine during your visit
With its vast network of Mekong rivers and coconut canals, Ben Tre effortlessly attracts travelers seeking eco-tours. Visitors will be captivated by the pristine landscapes, the simplicity of the coconut gardens, fresh orchards, and numerous dunes interspersed with garden fields. The fresh air of the laid-back villages adds to the charm. Needless to say, Ben Tre is a haven for wanderlust.
Ben Tre, known as Vietnam's Coconut Kingdom, boasts nearly 40,000 hectares of coconut plantations. Coconuts are so integral to the region that they are considered a symbol of Ben Tre, and the annual coconut festival celebrates this significance.
The province is also renowned for its coconut candy and other coconut-based products. Besides coconuts, Ben Tre is home to numerous orchards, primarily concentrated in the Cho Lach and Chau Thanh districts.
2. Can Tho invites travelers with a symphony of sights, sounds, and flavors that capture the very essence of Vietnam
Explore the Islets
Whether by bicycle or sampan, the islets of Can Tho allow you to experience the true essence of local life. Opt for a community-based tour to enjoy lunch with a local family, visit rice paper villages and fruit orchards, and soak in the pure charm of the Mekong Delta.
Rise Early for the Floating Markets – the most captivating experience of a Mekong Delta tour
An early morning start is worthwhile to witness Can Tho’s bustling floating markets, filled with colorful boats and exotic produce. Cai Rang is the most famous, but ask your local host about smaller markets where you can interact with the vendors more closely.
Enjoy Hu Tieu on a Boat like Mr Gordon Ramsay
Nothing beats a breakfast of steaming Hu Tieu noodles served on the water in the early morning. The combination of sticky tapioca noodles, crunchy bean sprouts, and thinly sliced pork in a savory broth is a must-try experience amid the lively market sounds.
Visit Binh Thuy Ancestral House
Step back in time at the Binh Thuy ancestral house, built in 1870, to see how Can Tho's wealthy merchant families once lived. This brightly painted house, home to several generations of the Duong family, showcases a fascinating blend of French and Asian architecture.
3. Dong Thap Province – immerse in the local life of a Mekong Delta tour
Dong Thap Muoi, a region celebrated for its rich biodiversity and stunningly beautiful lotus ponds.
The lotus fields in Thap Muoi district are a popular tourist attraction. Locals believe lotuses are Buddhist flowers, and they treat them with great reverence. Despite growing in mud, lotuses possess a unique fragrance. A well-known saying in Thap Muoi goes, “Dong Thap is nothing, but lotus”. This is evident when the lotuses bloom, transforming the fields into a lotus paradise.
Visitors can not only admire the elegant flowers but also savor their soothing fragrance, allowing their minds to relax and soak in the serene atmosphere. Engaging activities include riding bamboo boats to get up close to the flowers and spending a day as a farmer, harvesting lotus flowers and fishing. The ideal time to visit the lotus fields is between July and October.
Sa Dec Flower Village – Visit the Floral Haven of the Mekong Delta Tour
As the premier tourist destination in Dong Thap, Sa Dec Flower Village continually captivates visitors. Located just 3 kilometers from Sa Dec city, the village boasts 1,969 households. Established in the 1930s, it has since become the floral capital of the Mekong Delta.
The village is home to a diverse array of ornamental flowers and unique bonsai. Its products are distributed across the region, including Ho Chi Minh City and the Cambodian market. A wide variety of flowers thrive in Sa Dec Flower Village, making it easy for visitors to become enchanted by the vibrant colors and captivating scents of apricot yellow, spares, persimmon, daisies, false bon, and more.
Visitors can also take stunning photos of the unique bonsais. The best time to visit is near the Lunar New Year, when the village is at its busiest, offering a plethora of beautiful flowers and bonsai plants for sale to meet the high demand of the holiday season.
Explore Lotus Pagoda
Phuoc Kien Pagoda, renowned for its expansive lotus ponds in Chau Thanh district, Dong Thap province, is a beloved destination among tourists. Despite being demolished during the war, the local community painstakingly reconstructed it.
The pagoda features two serene lotus ponds: a large one at the rear and a smaller one in front of the main pagoda building. The lotus leaves here are large and thick, measuring between 1.5 to 2 meters. Remarkably, a mature leaf can support a person weighing up to 80 kg.
Interestingly, the origin of these lotus plants remains a mystery; they appeared naturally in the pond around 1992. It was later found that this variety, resembling Victoria Regia, originates from the Amazon. Standing on one of these lotus leaves is an unforgettable experience!
Must-try experience of Mekong delta tour is visiting Tram Chim National Park.
The optimal time to visit is February and March, when migratory birds return, providing a spectacular opportunity to observe large flocks in their natural habitat. Spanning 7,500 hectares in Tam Nong District, the park boasts a diverse ecosystem supporting over 200 bird species, including many endangered ones.
Tram Chim National Park is particularly renowned for its Sarus Cranes, a cherished bird species. Visitors to the park can engage in a variety of captivating activities, including fishing, rice harvesting, and bathing in the local style. Additionally, tourists can take boat rides for sightseeing and capture breathtaking photographs of the birds and natural scenery.
Moreover, they can savor distinctive local cuisine in Dong Thap such as crab hotpot, fish sauce hot pot, and grilled snakehead fish.
During the floating season at Tram Chim, visitors can explore the park either by boat or on foot, navigating through the floating vegetation and witnessing the vibrant colors reflected on the water's surface. This season not only provides a visual spectacle but also offers an opportunity to observe the diverse wildlife thriving in this unique habitat.
Nature enthusiasts and birdwatchers find the dry season at Tram Chim National Park to be particularly rewarding. This time of year offers a chance to witness the captivating beauty of red-crowned cranes and immerse oneself in the park's rich biodiversity.
As the waters retreat and the landscape undergoes a subtle transformation, these magnificent birds grace the park with their elegant postures and vibrant red crowns. It's a mesmerizing spectacle set against the backdrop of the changing dry season scenery
Huynh Thuy Le Ancient House
Situated in Sa Dec city, Dong Thap Province, this ancient house is renowned as the filming location for the romantic movie “L’Amant” (“The Lover”). This film is inspired by the famous novel depicting the true story of Huynh Thuy Le and a French girl who fell in love at first sight aboard the My Thuan ferry.
However, their romance ultimately ended in sorrow due to cultural disparities and familial differences. The house features three compartments typical of traditional Southern architecture, complemented by a French-inspired exterior. Inside, the owner has adorned the living room with Chinese elements like a singing machine and a golden-plated altar of Quan Cong, adding a distinctive character to the house.
Prepare to embark on your Mekong Delta Tour, where every moment unveils wonders and cultural discoveries. For an unforgettable travel experience in Vietnam, exploring the winding waterways of the Mekong Delta is essential.
