Private 2–5 day Mekong Delta routes
Tours · Can Tho · Chau Doc
Can Tho and Chau Doc, 3 days
Two nights, two of the delta's defining mornings: Cai Rang market from Can Tho, then Tra Su forest from Chau Doc, with Sam Mountain at the end of the day in between. The reach has a price, and we say it plainly: the last day is a long drive back to Ho Chi Minh City.
At a glance
- Length
- 3 days, 2 nights
- Party
- Private, your party only
- Starts
- Ho Chi Minh City, 07:00
- Ends
- Ho Chi Minh City, early evening
- On the road
- About 11–13.5 h over three days, including Tra Su
- Price
- On request
Who this route is for
This is the route for travellers who have three days and want to reach the far side of the delta. Chau Doc sits on the Hau River near the Cambodian border, about 235 km from Ho Chi Minh City, and it is a different place from the orchards further east: a town of pilgrims, mosques across the river, floating fish farms and the hill of Sam Mountain rising out of flat rice country.
Three days is the shortest time in which that works, and only because each night is placed for the morning after it. Can Tho gives you Cai Rang at dawn. Chau Doc gives you Tra Su when it opens at 06:30. The cost is arithmetic: the drive back to Ho Chi Minh City on day three takes 4.5 to 5.5 hours. If that is more driving than you want, the four-day route spreads it out, and the five-day route replaces the drive home with the boat to Cambodia.
Day by day
Day 1
Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho
The car collects you at 07:00 and takes the expressway west through Trung Luong and across the My Thuan 2 bridge. We stop once, at Vinh Long, for a short boat ride into the canals of An Binh islet and lunch there, because a stop in the middle breaks the drive and shows you the delta at the scale of a canal rather than an expressway.
You reach Can Tho in the mid-afternoon. Your guide takes you to the Binh Thuy ancient house, a family house of 1870 that mixes French and Vietnamese architecture, then leaves you on the Ninh Kieu riverfront. Dinner is your choice; your guide will suggest a place for vit nau chao, duck stewed in fermented tofu, a Can Tho dish.
Day 2
Cai Rang at dawn, then west to Chau Doc
Cai Rang in the trading hour and Sam Mountain at sunset on the same day
A 05:30 start for the boat to Cai Rang, 30 to 40 minutes downriver, timed for the trading hour between 06:00 and 07:30. Breakfast is noodle soup on the water. You are back at the hotel by about 09:00 to check out.
The road to Chau Doc runs about 120 km up the Hau River through Long Xuyen, two to three hours. After lunch in Chau Doc your guide takes you to Sam Mountain, about 284 m high: the Ba Chua Xu temple at its foot, Tay An pagoda of 1847, and the summit by road or by the cable car for the view west over the rice fields towards Cambodia as the sun goes down.
Day 3
Tra Su forest, then back to Ho Chi Minh City
The car leaves at 06:00 for Tra Su, about 20 km and 30 to 40 minutes away, to be at the gate when it opens at 06:30. A motor sampan takes you into the cassia forest, then a rowed boat goes deeper into channels covered in duckweed, where storks and egrets nest. You are out by about 09:00.
Back in Chau Doc there is time for a short visit to the floating fish farms on the river before lunch. Then the long leg: about 235 km to Ho Chi Minh City, 4.5 to 5.5 hours with a rest stop, arriving in the early evening.
Why this route goes out one way and back the same way
We tested the alternatives on paper. Coming back through Ben Tre adds about an hour and a half of driving to a day that is already long. Flying back from Can Tho saves little once you count the drive from Chau Doc to the airport and the check-in time. The straight road back is the least bad option, and we would rather tell you that than hide the fifth hour in the small print.
If you can add one day, the line changes completely: the four-day route never doubles back, and no leg is longer than about three hours.
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.
Sources: OSRM route model on OpenStreetMap data, queried 11 Oct 2026 · checked .
Price
| Party | Car | Rooms | Price per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo traveller | 4-seat car | 1 single room per night | On request |
| 2 travellers | 4-seat car | 1 shared room per night | On request |
| 3–4 travellers | 7-seat car | 2 rooms per night | On request |
| 5–8 travellers | 16-seat van | 3–4 rooms per night | On request |
Party size and date move this price more than anything else; the long last day also means a full third day of car and guide. The pricing page explains each line of a quote, and how to book covers the steps from first message to confirmation.
What the price includes
- Private car and driver for all three days, from and back to your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City
- Private English-speaking guide on all three days
- One night in Can Tho and one in Chau Doc in 3–4 star hotels, with breakfast
- Boat at An Binh islet, private boat to Cai Rang, and the Tra Su boats
- Entrance fees: Binh Thuy house, Tra Su, Sam Mountain sites (cable car if you choose it)
- Lunch on all three days
- Drinking water in the car
What it does not include
- Dinners and drinks
- Tips for the guide, driver and boat crews
- Travel insurance
- Your Vietnam visa or e-visa
- Donations at temples and pagodas, and hotel extras
Gallery
Who this route is NOT for
- Anyone who does not want five hours in a car on the last day — choose the four- or five-day route
- Travellers who want an unhurried afternoon somewhere; every afternoon on this route has a plan
- Visitors in the dry season hoping for Tra Su at its fullest — that is September to November
- Those who want to see Ben Tre's coconut country — it is off this line
- Pilgrimage-season visitors who dislike crowds — Sam Mountain fills during the Ba Chua Xu festival
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.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Can we do Can Tho and Chau Doc in two days?
Only by giving up either the market or the forest. Both are morning places, and each needs the night before it in the right town.
Is the cable car on Sam Mountain worth it?
It saves a climb in the heat, and the summit can also be reached by road. Your guide decides with you on the day, depending on the weather and how you feel after the market.
Can we end in Chau Doc and take the boat to Phnom Penh?
Yes, but the boat leaves at 07:00, so you would need a second night in Chau Doc. That is the five-day route, or a version of this one with an extra night.
Is Tra Su worth visiting in the dry season?
Yes, but it is a different place. From September to November the water is high and the boats go deep into the forest; in the dry months the water is lower and the walkway does more of the work.
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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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Tours · Booking
How to book
The steps from first form to confirmed route, documents for the crossing, and payment safety.
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Destinations · Mekong Delta
Chau Doc
Chau Doc: Sam Mountain, Tra Su, the Cham villages, two nights, flood season and the boat to Cambodia.
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Destinations · Mekong Delta
Can Tho
Can Tho: Cai Rang at dawn, one or two nights, the expressway from Ho Chi Minh City and local prices.
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Example journey
Ben Tre to Chau Doc, 4 days
Four days east to west: Ben Tre, Vinh Long, Can Tho, Chau Doc. Short legs, ends in Chau Doc.
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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.