Private 2–5 day Mekong Delta routes
Destinations
Three places to sleep, one way out
Our routes sleep in three parts of the delta: the orchard islands around Ben Tre and Vinh Long, the river city of Can Tho, and Chau Doc on the Cambodian border. Each page below says what the place is, how many nights it needs, how you get there and when to leave it out.
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The places at a glance
| Place | Nights we suggest | From Ho Chi Minh City | The morning it gives you | Good months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Tre and Vinh Long | 1 (in Vinh Long) | 85–136 km, about 2–3 h | Islet canals by boat before the heat | May to August for fruit; December to April for dry days |
| Can Tho | 1–2 | about 171 km, 3–3.5 h | Cai Rang market, 06:00–07:30 | December to April |
| Chau Doc | 1–2 | about 235 km, 4.5–5.5 h | Tra Su at 06:30, or the 07:00 boat to Cambodia | September to November |
| Crossing to Phnom Penh | — | from Chau Doc, about 6.5 h by boat | Arrival in Phnom Penh at 13:30 | All year; the boat runs daily |
The distances are road kilometres from an OpenStreetMap route model, and the hours are our planning ranges. Our guide to choosing an overnight base compares the towns head to head.
Sources: OSRM route model on OpenStreetMap data, queried 11 Oct 2026; Hang Chau Tourist — daily schedule and fares June 2026 to June 2027 · checked .
How the delta is laid out
Think of the delta as a fan of rivers opening towards the sea, and our routes as a line drawn across it from east to west. Leaving Ho Chi Minh City, you cross the Tien River, the northern branch of the Mekong, into the coconut and fruit country of Ben Tre and Vinh Long. The next big river is the Hau, also called the Bassac, and Can Tho sits on its bank. Follow the Hau upstream and it leads to Chau Doc, where the river comes in from Cambodia.
The names on your map may not match the names on the road signs. In July 2025 Vietnam merged its provinces: the former Ben Tre and Tra Vinh provinces are now part of Vinh Long province; My Tho and Cai Be are in Dong Thap; Can Tho city has absorbed Soc Trang and Hau Giang; and Chau Doc is a ward of the enlarged An Giang province. Travellers still use the old town names, and so do we.
Distances on the line are modest but add up. From Ho Chi Minh City it is about 85 km to Ben Tre and about 136 km to Vinh Long; from Vinh Long it is only about 41 km on to Can Tho; from Can Tho about 120 km up the Hau to Chau Doc. That is why we travel the line one way where we can, with the longest leg falling between Can Tho and Chau Doc, and why any route that comes back from Chau Doc to the city carries one long drive.
Sources: Báo Đại biểu Nhân dân — Resolution 202/2025/QH15, 12 Jun 2025 · checked .
How we chose these places
A place gets a night on our routes if it gives you a morning you cannot have from anywhere else. Can Tho gives you the market. Chau Doc gives you Tra Su, Sam Mountain at either end of the day, and the boat to Cambodia. Vinh Long gives you An Binh islet before the heat and a short hop to Can Tho. Ben Tre is a morning on the way, not a base.
Several well-known places are not on our routes, and we would rather say why than pretend they are not there:
- My Tho and Cai Be. Close enough to Ho Chi Minh City to be day-trip country. The Cai Be floating market has weakened sharply, by recent reports.
- Tra Vinh and Soc Trang. Home to the delta's Khmer pagodas, and worth a trip of their own, but off the straight line west; each costs most of a day.
- Sa Dec. The flower villages are busiest in the weeks before the Lunar New Year. We add it on request.
- Ha Tien and Phu Quoc. Reached from the far west of the delta; a different trip.
Reading a destination page
Each page opens with the facts in a short table, then says plainly what the place is, including what has been over-sold. Then come the nights it needs and why fewer goes wrong, the months that suit it, how to get there, what things cost on the ground with the source and date, and finally when to leave it out. The routes that sleep there are linked from each page.
Local prices on these pages are taken from published sources and dated. They change, so check them before you travel. Entrance fees on your route's itinerary are included in your quote, whatever they are on the day.
Plan your trip
Know where you want to sleep?
Tell us the towns and the number of nights. We reply by email with a route built around them.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Which town is the better base, Can Tho or Chau Doc?
They do different jobs. Can Tho is the base for Cai Rang and has a wide choice of hotels; Chau Doc is the base for Tra Su, Sam Mountain and the boat to Cambodia. Most of our routes sleep in both.
Can we sleep in Ben Tre instead of Vinh Long?
Yes, but on our line Vinh Long is better placed: about an hour from Can Tho rather than two.
Are the old province names still used?
Travellers and many locals still say Ben Tre, Soc Trang or Tien Giang, but they are no longer provinces since the July 2025 merger.
Do you have pages for Tra Vinh or Ha Tien?
No. They are not on our routes, so we do not write about them as if they were.
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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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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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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.