Mekong Delta Tour from Ho Chi Minh City: 3 Days, 2 Nights

Included in the $261

The price covers the air-conditioned bus or van, boat trips in the Mekong Delta including a sampan ride, a professional English-speaking tour guide, all entry fees, 2 hotel breakfasts, 2 lunches and 1 dinner with a set menu, twin or double shared 3-star hotel accommodation in Can Tho and Chau Doc, and a fast boat or bus ticket to Phnom Penh on the optional exit, subject to availability. Reserve now and pay later is available, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund.

One warning. The Includes list on the listing shows a line for Vietnam and Cambodia entry visas, but the know-before-you-go text says visa costs are not included. Treat the visa as your own expense. If you continue to Phnom Penh, bring USD cash and passport photos for the Cambodian visa on arrival at the waterway checkpoint, plus a passport valid for 6 months. The listing does not state the fee.

• Air-conditioned bus or van and all delta boat trips
• English-speaking professional guide
• All entry fees
• 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 1 dinner (set menu)
• 2 nights in twin or double shared 3-star hotels
• Fast boat or bus ticket to Phnom Penh, subject to availability

Not Included and Paid on the Day

Drinks and additional meals are extra, as are tips and any single supplement. Vietnam and Cambodia entry visas are excluded despite the conflicting line in the Includes list. The Vietnam e-visa fee is $25 for single entry and $50 for multiple entry for citizens of all countries, so budget that yourself.

On the Phnom Penh exit the tour ends early at the boat drop-off point and that day's lunch is not included, so eat before boarding. There are no domestic flights and no airport transfer, pickup is within the central area only or at the meeting point on 112 Tran Hung Dao Street.

What You May Add

Baggage is limited to one medium suitcase up to 20kg and one small backpack per person. Single travellers should ask about the single supplement, the amount is not stated on the listing. Drinks at meals and any snacks between stops come out of your pocket, and Vietnam uses no coins and banknotes in frequent use run from 1,000 to 500,000 VND.

Tips are extra and the amount is not stated.

Day 1, Ho Chi Minh City to Cai Be and Can Tho

Meet your guide between 07:30 and 07:45 at 112 Tran Hung Dao Street in District 1, or wait for central-area hotel pickup. The bus or van drives out of the city to Cai Be, where the day is built around the Cai Be floating market. You board boats to see the market, visit a coconut candy workshop and take a sampan ride through the narrow channels.

A cooking class and lunch follow. The drive then continues to Can Tho, the largest city of the Mekong Delta, where you check in to the West Hotel or similar, a 3-star property, for the first night. Dinner is the set-menu meal included in the price.

Day 2, Cai Rang, Then Tra Su and Chau Doc

The day is built around the Cai Rang floating market. After the market the itinerary includes a noodle workshop, then a drive to the Tra Su mangrove forest for a boat ride through the flooded forest. The day ends in Chau Doc near the Cambodian border, with a second night at the Paris Hotel or similar, another 3-star twin or double share.

One reviewer found the program full with long days, which fits a floating market and two destinations in one day. Plan for it rather than fighting it, and keep the evening free.

Day 3, Chau Doc, Then Back to Ho Chi Minh City or on to Phnom Penh

The morning covers a floating village on the river near Chau Doc and a Cham village, two of the more distinctive stops on the route. After that the group splits. You either board the bus or van back to Ho Chi Minh City, arriving around 17:00.

If you take the optional exit you go instead to the fast boat, which runs to Phnom Penh subject to ticket availability and can be replaced by a bus depending on conditions. The tour ends at the boat drop-off, earlier than the city return, and lunch on the exit day is not included. The Cambodian visa on arrival at the waterway checkpoint is paid by you in USD cash with passport photos.

Age, Mobility and Pace

The listing says the tour is not suitable for people over 70 and not suitable for wheelchair users or people with mobility impairments. The pace is the reason. A floating market, the Tra Su forest and back-to-back stops leave little slack, and one reviewer described the program as full with long days.

If you want a slower delta trip or a route that adds beach time, look at the 6-day south Vietnam and island tour, which runs the delta with Cu Chi, Mui Ne and Phu Quoc over 6 days.

Booking Terms and Extras

Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before departure, so the terms are fair, but the Phnom Penh exit depends on boat tickets being available and the boat can be swapped for a bus. The visa contradiction matters most if you exit to Cambodia. The Includes list names visas while the know-before-you-go text excludes them, so arrive at the checkpoint with USD cash, passport photos and a 6-month-valid passport.

Solo travellers pay any single supplement out of pocket, the amount is not stated.

Group, Transport and What the Price Buys

This is a shared small group tour, not private, and the exact group size is not stated. Transport is a bus or van plus boats, with no domestic flights and no airport transfer. Pickup covers the central area of Ho Chi Minh City only, so hotels elsewhere mean a trip to the meeting point at 07:30.

If you want the delta inside a full north-to-south route with flights and a cruise night, the 9-day south to north Vietnam tour starts in the same city and adds Da Nang, Hanoi and Ha Long and Lan Ha Bay. For Angkor Wat after the delta, the 12-day Vietnam and Cambodia tour flies on to Siem Reap instead of using the boat.

Reaching the Start City

Most international flights land at Tan Son Nhat airport, which handles nearly half of Vietnam's international arrivals. The listing offers pickup in the central area only, between 07:30 and 07:45, so book a hotel in District 1 or near the meeting point at 112 Tran Hung Dao Street to keep the first morning simple. Wikivoyage says Grab sets the price and destination upfront and takes payment in the app or in cash, which helps with the airport run.

Physical SIM cards need passport registration and kiosks in the arrivals hall open for every flight, with a 30-day tourist SIM costing about 150,000 to 200,000 VND in a city store.

Days to Add Before or After

Ho Chi Minh City rewards two extra days. The War Remnants Museum at 28 Vo Van Tan Street opens daily 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM with ticket sales ending at 5:00 PM, and Independence Palace was completed in 1966 and can be paired with it. The Cu Chi tunnels sit outside the city and are a common half-day add-on.

For a longer southern loop, the 6-day south Vietnam and island tour continues from the delta to Mui Ne and Phu Quoc. General timing advice sits in the guide to the best time to visit Vietnam, and cost planning in the Vietnam trip cost guide. Browse the full range of Vietnam package tours if the delta alone is too narrow.