Most of those travelers who are looking for leisure travel itineraries or short excursions in Vietnam will be interested in the Mekong Delta besides many famous attractions. This vast land itself knows how to attract all tourists by its rusticity, typical idyllic countryside life, attractive delicious specialties, and lyrical beautiful river. Immersing in the Mekong River Delta, you will feel cozy, safe and relaxed because of the local people’s hospitality, which has become a typical cultural feature of the area. Some people wonder how many days to spend in the Mekong Delta. The trip can take many days or a whole week. However, Izitour highly recommends you to spend 1 to 4 days. Let us give you some best suggestions so that you can plan a suitable Mekong Delta itinerary.
Please keep reading the following article for the most general ideas about the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam: the best things to see, do and how to plan your trip. It only takes 4 minutes to grasp the important information about this land to best prepare for your traveling.
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The Best Travel Guide to Mekong Delta Itinerary
1. Some suggestions for organising Mekong Delta itinerary
Most travel itineraries to the Mekong Delta begin and end in Ho Chi Minh City. Apart from being an important economic metropolis of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh city has many interesting attractions that should not be missed on your discovery journey. Many international flights from global countries and internal flights operate to land here. There is also the North-South railway station stop, and many large inter-city bus stations. All of which make transportation more convenient than ever. You will not need to be too worried about having to arrange the travel schedule.
Therefore, in this article we will assume that your trip to the Mekong Delta will start and end at Ho Chi Minh City.
You may be interested in:
>> The 15 Best Things to Do In Ho Chi Minh city
>> The 10 Best Unusual Things to Do in Ho Chi Minh City
1.1. Visit the Mekong Delta in a day
If you only have 1 day for the Mekong Delta trip, our advice is to choose destinations which are not too far from Ho Chi Minh City to save transfer time, devoting more time to relaxing and discovering what this land can offer you. In this case, you can choose one of the following itineraries:
- Itinerary 01: Ho Chi Minh - My Tho - Ho Chi Minh
My Tho is located about 71 km from Ho Chi Minh City, which means that with only one and half an hour by car, you can set foot in the Mekong Delta. With the Mekong delta day trip to My Tho, you will visit Vinh Trang Pagoda, a famous spiritual tourist site with synthetic architecture that demonstrates an interference between Asian and European architecture such as French, Roman, Thai, Burmese and Cham architecture. Afterwards, you will continue the journey by exploring the islets on the Tien Giang River, particularly Thoi Son island or Phung island and Lan island, where you will visit many workshops with typical traditional handicrafts of the region.
- Itinerary 02: Ho Chi Minh - Cai Be - Ho Chi Minh
Cai Be is about 110 km from Ho Chi Minh city and takes about 2.5 hours to get there. Cai Be is indeed an interesting destination, famous for its lush orchard all year round thanks to the alluvial deposition of the Mekong River. In addition, Cai Be is also famous for the region's typical old houses, Phu Chau pagoda and many traditional handicraft villages. This is a good choice for your one day trip to the Mekong Delta.
- Itinerary 03: Ho Chi Minh - Ben Tre - Ho Chi Minh
The Ben Tre is about 84 km from Ho Chi Minh city, but private tour itineraries in Ben Tre often take you farther into the tranquil local villages of the province. Nicknamed the Coconut capital, you will feel as if you are lost in an immense tropical coconut forest when you arrive in Ben Tre. What makes this land special are visits to family-run factories, workshops, cycling through the rural villages and exploring the canals on rudimentary rowing boats. Stops such as Nhon Thanh village or Tu Lo brick kiln are all interesting places to stop to help you understand more about Mekong Delta's life.
Among these 3 attractions, My Tho is the closest one, so it is also the most touristy. Every day, there are many reasonably priced tours organised here.
Previously, due to the presence of the floating market in Cai Be, Cai Be used to be an ideal place to arrange daily sightseeing tours in the Mekong region. Now, due to the development of roads, bridges and other forms of trade, the Cai Be floating market has been gradually disappearing. However, this is still a very fascinating land, not to be missed!
If you are looking for a more authentic itinerary, Ben Tre is always a good choice.
Click on the following links and check the actual price for the private Mekong Delta day trip on Izitour website! Just enter the number of participants and the date you would like to start your journey, the final quote is always available.
>> Ben Tre
>> Cai Be
1.2. Visit the Mekong Delta in 2 days
2 days in the Mekong Delta is a good duration to visit this area. If the 1-day program can only take you to the Tien Giang River region, exploring the river system and rustic villages, the 2 day Mekong Delta tour will take you to the floating markets, a very special identity of the Mekong River Delta.
In the Mekong Delta there are many famous floating markets such as Cai Rang floating market, Long Xuyen floating market, Nga Nam floating market, Phong Dien floating market, Nam Can floating market... In the past, Mekong Delta people mainly traded on the river, forming these interesting and unique markets. Today, they go to both the floating market and wet market.
>> See more photos of the floating market here: The Bustling Cai Rang Floating Market in Mekong Delta
Normally, tourists often choose Can Tho and Long Xuyen for their Mekong Delta tour for 2 days because of the convenient route and wide selection of accommodations.
- Itinerary 01: Ho Chi Minh - Cai Be - Can Tho (overnight stay) - Ho Chi Minh
The trip to Can Tho, an enchanting land of the Mekong Delta, will open up a picturesque scenery before your eyes. It will be 2 days immersing in so many outdoor activities such as embarking on rowing boats, visiting orchards, floating markets, religious monuments, ancient houses,... You will feel completely satisfied. In Can Tho, in addition to visiting the Cai Rang floating market, you can also visit Binh Thuy ancient house, where the movie based on the famous novel by French writer Marguerite Duras - "The Lover" was filmed.
- Itinerary 02: Ho Chi Minh - Ben Tre - Long Xuyen (overnight stay) - Ho Chi Minh
If the above trip attracts tourists with the radiant beauty, full of vitality of the Mekong Delta, the 2 day itinerary to Ben Tre and Long Xuyen will bring a more rustic atmosphere. On the voyage of discovery to Long Xuyen, you can visit the Long Xuyen floating market, also take a trip on the xe loi, a local rickshaw, to Ong Ho Island, discovering its interesting history as much as the serenity of life.
In addition, some tourists would like to choose more authentic itineraries for their 2-day, 1-night trip to the Mekong Delta such as:
- Itinerary 03: Ho Chi Minh - My Tho - Ben Tre (overnight stay) - Ho Chi Minh
- Itinerary 04: Ho Chi Minh - Ben Tre - Tra Vinh (overnight stay) - Ho Chi Minh
1.3 Explore the Mekong Delta in 3 days
How can you arrange 3 days to visit the Mekong Delta area? We must say that it is a great duration because you can take your time to explore deeper into this land and enjoy most of Mekong’s beauty.
There are some really exciting trips for you:
- Itinerary 01: Not-to-be-missed Mekong Delta Journey
Day 01: Ho Chi Minh city - Cai Be - Can Tho
Day 02: Can Tho - Chau Doc
Day 03: Chau Doc - Sa Dec - Ho Chi Minh city
Just by reading the names of the destinations, you can imagine that this is a must-do program for the first-time travellers in the Mekong Delta. Continuing the 2-day, 1-night trip as above, you will continue to Chau Doc, a beautiful and peaceful land near the Vietnam - Cambodia border. This is where you can take a sampan trip to the Tra Su melaleuca forest. The scene is really like a fairy tale, especially in the water season from August to November, so never miss Chau Doc during this time! On the way back to Ho Chi Minh City, you can make a stop at the famous flower village of Sa Dec, Kien An Cung Pagoda and the house of Mr. Huynh Thuy Le, the main character in the novel "The Lover".
- Itinerary 02: Cultural and spiritual journey
Day 01: Ho Chi Minh city - Ben Tre - Tra Vinh
Day 02: Tra Vinh - Long Xuyen
Day 03: Long Xuyen - Ong Ho Island - Ho Chi Minh city
Tra Vinh may not be a famous name in any tour programs you find on the Internet, but this is really an enchanting land where you can delve into Southwest Vietnam's culture. You can say that this is the land of the Khmer people in the Mekong Delta. Another special feature is that this route is particularly suitable for those looking for a trip off the beaten path. If you like it too, why not start planning the 3 day trip to Mekong Delta now.
- Itinerary 03: Authentic Journey
Day 01: Ho Chi Minh city - Ben Tre - Long Xuyen
Day 02: Long Xuyen - Ong Ho Island - Chau Doc
Day 03: Chau Doc - Sa Dec - Ho Chi Minh city
This is also one of the most popular Mekong Delta tours for 3 days with tourists, where you can feel the idyllic and lovely pace of life in the region. Don't forget to consider this itinerary when you have 3 days available for your trip.
1.4. Embark on a 4-day trip to the Mekong Delta
Do you have 4 days in the Mekong Delta? Maybe you will be a little worried because you will see the same river scene or similar villages for 4 days? Take a look at this itinerary:
Day 01: Ho Chi Minh - Ben Tre - Can Tho
Day 02: Can Tho - Long Xuyen
Day 03: Long Xuyen - Chau Doc
Day 04: Chau Doc - Sa Dec - Ho Chi Minh
In other programs you will visit only one floating market, but with this trip you will visit both the Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho and the floating market in Long Xuyen. The difference of this program from the 3-day, 2-night programs is in the second day of Can Tho - Long Xuyen when you have the opportunity to explore both the beauty of Bang Lang stork garden, crocodile breeding area, orchid garden and also the fish market. There are plenty of things to experience!
Please click HERE to see the interesting Mekong Travel Packages or send us an email directly to [email protected] to receive the best quote and schedule!
2. Where to go after visiting the Mekong Delta?
There are many people who wonder where to go after visiting the Mekong Delta if they do not want to go back to Ho Chi Minh City. We will give you some suggestions!
2.1. Beach stay
If you want to take a break from the beach right after your Mekong Delta tour, you can travel to Phu Quoc Island or Con Dao Island.
Phu Quoc Island:
- From the Mekong Delta you can go to Phu Quoc by plane or speedboat.
- There are daily direct flights from Can Tho to Phu Quoc, you have to pay attention to the schedule if you want to take advantage of the floating market before going to the airport.
- In addition, you can also take a speedboat from Rach Gia (Can Tho) to Phu Quoc with a 2.5-hour trip.
If you do not want to spend too much time floating on the sea, you can take a speedboat from Ha Tien to Phu Quoc in only 1.5 hours. However, if you travel by speedboat from Ha Tien, consider spending the previous night in Chau Doc. Chau Doc also has many interesting things to explore.
>> See more: Exploring Picturesque An Giang: Things to See and Do in Chau Doc and Long Xuyen
>> You may be interested in information about Phu Quoc
Con Dao Island:
From Can Tho airport you can also take a direct flight Con Dao Island, a marine paradise in Vietnam. Even today Con Dao retains its wild look and is not too crowded with tourists. This is a great choice for those seeking an escape to a land surrounded by nature, state forests, coral reefs,...
>> Read all of Con Dao's information
2.2. Other tourist spots
Continue your journey of discovery, you can definitely reach other tourist attractions from the Mekong Delta.
Famous tourist cities in Vietnam: Hanoi, Da Nang
You can fly to other regions of Vietnam from Can Tho airport. However, the number of flights in a day is not many, so you need to plan the time with your travel schedule.
Cambodia: As an area with a geographical location bordering Cambodia to the west, you can thoroughly explore another Southeast Asian country from the Mekong Delta. People usually go to Cambodia from the Mekong Delta by 2 routes:
By river: after staying overnight in Chau Doc, early in the morning you can cruise up the Mekong River and reach Cambodia's capital by speedboat. This trip will take about half a day and you can reach Phnom Penh by noon.
By road: if you go by road, the trip can start from Chau Doc - Ha Tien and will reach Kampot province in Cambodia in about 2 hours. Then, you can explore the countryside of this country. Kampot is considered the land of pepper in Cambodia and is really an interesting choice for the first day in the country.
3. Mekong River Cruises
Taking a cruise on the Mekong River is really a memorable experience. Unlike other tourists who spend most of their time travelling by car, almost all of your time will be spent on the yacht, enjoying the typical river scenery. If you like to spend your time cruising, consider Mekong River Cruises if you plan to spend leisure time in the Mekong Delta.
3.1. Available Mekong Voyages
Each cruise will have its own fixed itinerary so based on the overall itinerary of your trip, you can click directly on the following links to find the right itinerary. If you want to know the price of this cruise package, enter your group's number of participants and travel date to know the estimated price.
3.2. Mekong River boat quality
Currently, Mekong Delta boats usually meet a 3-4 star rating standard. There are only a few 5-star cruises. They are mainly wooden cruises that are not too large with about 2-8-12-14-26 cabins.
Two-cabin cruises usually cater the best for private groups who love a personalized journey with intimacy.
Go to this linkand click on the Rating section to choose the appropriate cruise classification. We just have a note that, unlike the Halong Bay cruises, the Mekong ones do not operate every day of the week. So, you should consider and check your schedule before booking.
Above we share with you the how to plan the memorable Mekong Delta itinerary. If you have other questions or experiences, please share them in the comments down below so that other travelers can get more information. Happy traveling!
To see more travel guides to other regions of Vietnam:
>> The Best South Vietnam Trip Itinerary Ideas For First-Time Visitors
>> Exploring the Best of Central Vietnam Itinerary
>> How to Plan the Best North Vietnam Itinerary?
To get a customized proposal fitting with your travel wishes, please click HERE or send us an email to [email protected]
02 Comments
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I will be visiting Can Tho in late March with my children and need to pick a place to stay for my 3 days, 2 nights. We are willing to splurge a little for a nice place and we need help deciding whether to stay in Can Tho Ecolodge.
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