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Mekong Delta Discovery: by bicycle and by boat |
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9 Days / 8 Nights in Ho Chi Minh City – My Tho – Ben Tre – Vinh Long – Can Tho – Sa Dec – Ho Chi Minh City |
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Tour Overview
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Cycle your way to the interior of Vietnam’s vibrant and bountiful region, the Mekong Delta. As you ride along provincial routes into the southern reaches of the delta, you’ll cruise past lush green rice paddies, bountiful orchards, small hamlets and the countless tributaries of the mighty Mekong. You won’t be alone on your journey as you travel alongside old-fashioned modes of transport such as ox-drawn carts and cyclos. Cycling also allows you the unique opportunity to see life up close, to be a part of the landscape, and to directly make contact with locals. Like a flock of white doves taking flight, the image of Vietnamese school girls riding past in billowing white ao dais (traditional Vietnamese dress) will be forever carved in your memory. |
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Cycling Highlights
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• Cycle a total of 124 km and finish your tour feeling inspired, exhilarated and physically in shape
• Relax on the roads: small groups will be followed by a car and large groups will be led by a motorbike with a coach tagging along behind carrying your luggage
• Weave your way through the intricacies of the exciting Mekong Delta region; down small tributaries, past charming hamlets, and across rivers in ferryboats.
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Detailed Itinerary
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DAY 1: Arrival in Ho Chi Minh City (no meals included) |
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| HO CHI MINH CITY: This modern metropolis has everything you need from chic hotels, bars and restaurants to bustling markets and street life. From its glory days as a major French colonial city to its war-torn past, today Ho Chi Minh City – formerly known as Saigon – is a thriving Vietnamese city. They say people make the place and city folk don’t get much friendlier than the Saigonese.
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| Upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport, you’ll be picked up and taken to your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). Optional afternoon tour or rest at your leisure. Embark on a tour around HCMC and you’ll visit the History Museum, the Binh Tay Markets and the Thien Hau Temple in the city’s old Chinatown district, Cholon. Later you can visit a lacquer workshop to see artisans at work. Relax over a Vietnamese dinner or indulge in some nightlife.
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DAY 2: Ho Chi Minh City – Tan An – My Tho (breakfast/lunch/dinner included) |
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THE MIGHTY MEKONG: The Mekong Delta was once part of the Khmer Kingdom, and has a fascinating history of migration and settlement, mainly by ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese. The mighty Mekong begins its journey from the Tibetan plateau, flowing 4500km through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and ending its journey out to the South China Sea as one of the world’s largest deltas. The region is rich and fertile, largely cultivated and produces enough rice for the entire country, and then some!
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| MY THO: The gateway to the Mekong Delta, this peaceful town lies on the north bank of the River’s northernmost branch, known as Tien Giang. My Tho has strong commercial roots and a thriving market place.
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| AM: Get ready to hit the trail today! First you’ll stop off at Tan An for a visit to the Cao Dai temple. Cao Daism is a fusion of Oriental and Western religions, and worshippers dress in colorful robes. Afterwards, it’s time to jump on your bike and take a ride along Bao Dinh Creek to My Tho (22km) with a stop-over at a dragon fruit orchard and the Vinh Trang Pagoda.
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| PM: On arrival in My Tho, you can take a cruise along the Mekong. Visit sumptuous orchards and local homes, and take a sampan ride along palm-shaded tributaries. You’ll also sample some fresh seasonal fruit and honey tea while watching Cai Luong, traditional musical theatre from the South. A lunch of Mekong specialties will be offered.
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DAY 3: My Tho – Ben Tre (breakfast/lunch/dinner included) |
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BEN TRE: A strong military past and the birthplace of many revolutionaries, provincial capital Ben Tre is today a picturesque river town with some grand old colonial buildings. Famous for coconut candy, the banks and network of small river islands overflow with orchards and coconut groves.
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AM: In the morning, cross the Mekong River by ferryboat. Take a bicycle ride to charming Ben Tre (12km) past coconut palms, creeks and ponds. There are many dirt roads to explore, located on the less developed south bank, giving you an insight into life on the delta. Later you can visit an elementary school and the Ben Tre market.
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PM: This afternoon you can watch or join the locals in their farm work such as ploughing, sowing, reaping, etc
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DAY 4: Ben Tre – Cai Mon – An Binh (breakfast/lunch/dinner included) |
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CAI MON: Cross over rickety bridges into the Mekong backwaters of Cai Mon. Lush fruit gardens and bonsai tree nurseries abound. A place to meet friendly locals and contemplate the simple but rich life of the delta.
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AM: The morning starts with a short trip in a ferryboat across the Mekong. Then back on your bike to cruise past small villages, along many tributaries and via coconut and fruit gardens to Cai Mon (20km). Lunch en route.
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PM: A boat cruise will take you to the stunning An Binh Island where you can sip local liquor and partake in a traditional southern singing performance with the islanders. You’ll have the unique opportunity to have dinner with locals and overnight at a local home.
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DAY 5: An Binh (breakfast/lunch/dinner included) |
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AN BINH ISLAND: The delta doesn’t get more lush than An Binh Island, actually a mesh of islets joined together by a maze of channels and waterways. Orchards of citrus fruits, longans and other exotic Asian fruits abound.
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AM: Enjoy a full-day exploration of the island (20km) by bike, by sampan and on foot. A great place to mosey and visit local homes and orchards, and join in activities such as gardening, fishing, cooking and sports. Have lunch at a local home.
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PM: Island activities continue. You’ll have dinner at a home and overnight there.
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DAY 6: An Binh – Vinh Long – Can Tho (breakfast/lunch included) |
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VINH LONG: Surrounded by water, this provincial capital embodies life on the river. Away from the hectic town, women wash clothes in front of rustic stilt houses, families cram into houseboats and fruit sellers traipse up and down the river in sampans.
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AM: Time to leave the island and head back to land by boat. On arrival in Vinh Long, you’ll take a leisurely cycle around the town, stopping off at the central market and later visiting the Long handicraft village where bamboo baskets and bricks are made. Have lunch en route.
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PM: The afternoon is spared for a bike ride to Ba Cang (22km) and a boat ride to a Khmer village where you’ll visit a local market and a small bean curd factory. Later transfer to Can Tho where you’ll overnight.
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DAY 7: Can Tho (breakfast included) |
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CAN THO: The industrial and cultural heart of the Mekong has some great restaurants and several colorful and dynamic floating markets. Every morning, boats and sampans loaded with fruit and farm products weave in and out of each other in a commercial frenzy.
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AM: In the early morning, you’ll take a boat ride to two floating markets – Cai Rang & Phong Dien, the biggest in the Mekong Delta. Every morning, swarms of buyers, sellers and tourist boats congregate, exchange and move on. If you feel like a “floating” breakfast, pull up to a vessel that serves coffee and grab some fresh fruit or a bowl of “pho” (noodle soup). For the return to Can Tho, you can ride back via Vong Cung Road (18km).
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PM: The afternoon program features a visit to the Bang Lang Stork Sanctuary by car, where you can see thousands of storks. Later, relax on a sampan that twists and turns through small creeks and past villages perched on the banks. Back to Can Tho to spend the night.
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DAY 8: Can Tho – Sa Dec – Xeo Quyt – Ho Chi Minh City (breakfast/lunch included) |
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SA DEC: From the giant statue of “Uncle Ho” (his father lived in Sa Dec) to the countless specialty nurseries (roses, bonsais) and the old French colonial villas that line the river, Sa Dec is one of the Mekong’s prettiest and most charming towns.
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AM: You’ll leave for Sa Dec by car (60km). Once there, jump on your bike to the town’s famed Tan Qui Dong flower village, where hundreds of farms take great pride in the cultivation of flowers, ferns and bonsais. Then you’ll cross the river by ferryboat to cycle around Binh Thanh Island to the Xeo Quyt Cajeput Forest (10km). Lunch at Xeo Quyt.
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PM: Glide in a sampan through the vast swamplands of Xeo Quyt, shaded by a dense canopy of cajeput trees. The boggy terrain and thick forest was an important hideout and strategic anti-American stronghold of the Viet Cong during the American War. Later, return to Ho Chi Minh City (130km) by car. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
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DAY 9: Departure from Ho Chi Minh City (breakfast included)
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AM: Leisure time – perhaps a massage after all that cycling, or some last-minute shopping (embroideries, lacquer ware, wood-carvings) before you’re transferred to the airport for your journey home.
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