Private 2–5 day Mekong Delta routes
Ho Chi Minh City · Can Tho · Chau Doc · Phnom Penh
The Mekong Delta, one night at a time
Four private routes from Ho Chi Minh City along the line the river draws: Ben Tre and Vinh Long, then Can Tho, then Chau Doc, and on the longest route the morning speedboat to Phnom Penh. Your own car and guide, a 3–4 star hotel each night, and a straight count of the hours you spend on the road.
Where to begin
Three ways to start
People reach this page with one of three questions. Which route fits the days I have? Where should I sleep? And, for anyone carrying on into Cambodia, how does the river crossing actually work? Each has its own page.
Pick a route
Two, three, four or five days, with every night, every leg and every skipped place on one table. Compare the routes.
Pick a base
Can Tho, Chau Doc, Vinh Long or Ben Tre: what each one puts on your doorstep at six in the morning. Choose your overnight base.
Plan the crossing
The 07:00 speedboat from Chau Doc, the river border, the visa on arrival and the road alternative. Chau Doc to Phnom Penh.
How we plan
Where you sleep decides what you see
The delta's good hours are early. Cai Rang floating market near Can Tho is busiest from about 06:00 to 07:30 and thins out after 08:00. The Tra Su cassia forest outside Chau Doc opens at 06:30 and has its softest light in the first two hours. The speedboat to Phnom Penh leaves Chau Doc at 07:00. None of these can be reached from Ho Chi Minh City in time, because Can Tho is about 171 km away and Chau Doc about 235 km.
So we plan the delta the other way round. First we fix where you sleep, then we fill the days around the mornings those beds make possible. A night in Can Tho buys you the market. A night in Chau Doc buys you the forest or the boat. A night further east, in Vinh Long, shortens the next day's drive and lets you reach Can Tho by lunch instead of by dinner.
That is why every route here is at least two days, and why the route pages show the night before they show the sights. A morning is only on the list if the night before it is in the right town.
Routes
The four routes on one line
| Route | Days | You sleep in | Hours on the road, all legs | Ends in | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can Tho | 2 | Can Tho | about 6.5–7.5 | Ho Chi Minh City | On request |
| Can Tho and Chau Doc | 3 | Can Tho, Chau Doc | about 9.5–12 | Ho Chi Minh City | On request |
| Ben Tre to Chau Doc | 4 | Vinh Long, Can Tho, Chau Doc | about 6–8 | Chau Doc | On request |
| Delta to Phnom Penh | 5 | Vinh Long, Can Tho, Chau Doc ×2 | about 6–8, plus 6.5 by boat | Phnom Penh | On request |
The full table on the routes page adds the hours for every single leg, the places each route leaves out and the months that suit it. Prices are quoted per person for your dates and party size; the pricing page explains what moves the figure.
Hours on this site are planning ranges, not timetables. We take road distance from an OpenStreetMap route model and allow 50–60 km an hour plus town traffic. Holiday weekends and the drive out of Ho Chi Minh City can add an hour.
What a private route means here
One party, one car, one guide. The car collects you at your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City and stays with you until the route ends; it is not shared with another booking, and it does not stop at shops that pay commission. The guide speaks English and travels with you on every day of the route, including the boat legs on the delta's smaller rivers.
Nights are in 3–4 star hotels in the centre of each town, chosen because they are close to the wharf or the road out the next morning. We do not sell homestay-based trips or luxury resort stays, and we do not run single-day trips from the city. If one of those is what you want, this is the wrong site, and saying so now saves you an exchange of emails.
Every route uses 3–4 star hotels in town centres. We do not name a hotel on this site because the one we book depends on your dates and what is free; your quote names each hotel and room type before you pay anything.
Plan your trip
Not sure how many days?
Tell us the date you leave Ho Chi Minh City and where you need to be afterwards. We reply by email with the route that fits, or with a straight answer that it does not.
What we will tell you before you book
- The floating markets are smaller than the photographs. Cai Rang survives and is still worth an early start, but many traders now move goods by truck, and a growing share of the boats you see carry visitors. Cai Be, further east, has weakened sharply by recent reports. We do not build a route around it.
- Chau Doc is a long way. About 4.5 to 5.5 hours by road from Ho Chi Minh City. Any route that reaches it and returns to the city in three days has one long drive in it, and the route page says which day.
- The boat to Phnom Penh is a transport day. About six and a half hours on a public speedboat with a border stop. It is a good way to arrive in Cambodia, not a cruise.
- The season changes the routes. From September to November the upper delta floods and Tra Su is at its fullest. From December to April it is dry and easier on the boats.
Who we are not the right fit for
- Travellers who want a single day out of Ho Chi Minh City and back by evening
- Anyone who wants the trip built around a homestay night with a family
- Travellers looking for a luxury hotel or a resort as the reason for the trip
- Groups who want a fixed published price before sending dates
- Trips that need a guide in a language other than English — ask, but we cannot promise one
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Do you run day trips to the Mekong Delta?
No. Every route here has at least one night in the delta, because the market at Cai Rang and the forest at Tra Su are morning places. A day trip spends most of its hours in the car.
Which route should we choose for a first visit?
With three days, the Can Tho and Chau Doc route shows the most for its length. With four, the Ben Tre to Chau Doc route spreads the driving more evenly. If you are going on to Cambodia, the five-day route ends in Phnom Penh by boat.
Are the routes shared with other travellers?
No. Each route is private: your party, your car, your guide, your dates.
How do we contact you?
Send the form on any page. We reply by email to the address you give, with questions if we need them and a priced route when we have what we need.
Related
Read next
Tours
Tours
Four private delta routes of 2 to 5 days compared by nights, hours per leg and what each skips.
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Plan · Where to sleep
Overnight bases
Can Tho, Chau Doc, Vinh Long or Ben Tre: what each base gives you at dawn and how to combine them.
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Plan · Getting across
Chau Doc to Phnom Penh
The Chau Doc–Phnom Penh speedboat, the Vinh Xuong–Kaam Samnor border, visas and the road option.
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Tours · Pricing
Pricing
How a private delta quote is built, what moves it most and the local prices we can publish.
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Destinations
Destinations
Can Tho, Chau Doc and Ben Tre with Vinh Long: nights, access, local costs and when to skip each.
View this journey
Plan · Seasons
When to go
Mekong Delta seasons month by month: dry months, rain, the autumn flood and the route to choose.
View this journeyStart planning
Tell us about the route you have in mind
The day you leave Ho Chi Minh City, how many are travelling and where you go afterwards are enough to start. We reply by email with questions or a priced route that names every hotel.