Duration: 4 days 3 nights
Start: Saigon / Finish: Chau Doc
Destinations included: Can Tho, Cai Be, Sadec, Cao Lanh, Tan Chau
We will explore Mekong Delta on cruise. Along the way you pass fascinating Mekong Delta landscapes with an abundance of rice paddies and fruit orchards, life along the shores, playing children, Buddhist pagodas and colorful Cao Dai temples. The tour will depart on every Thursday.
JOURNEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Discover floating market, one of important life style of people in Mekong.
- Visit ancient houses, delightful flower gardens and enjoy tropical fruit.
- Explore local traditional coconut candy and rice paper, pop-rice manufacturing workshop.
- Walk or cycle on the footpaths of the countryside to explore local people’s daily activities.
- Contemplate beautiful scenery on Mekong River
TOUR INCLUSIONS
- Road transfer from Saigon to the embarkation port
- Accommodation in cozy double or twin bedded cabins
- Guided excursions as mentioned in the itinerary
- English speaking guide
- Speed boat from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh with Mekong Eyes guide
- Transfer from the jetty to the hotel in Chau Doc / Phnom Penh
- Meals as mentioned in the itinerary
- Mineral water placed in your cabin on your cruise boat
- Free flow of tea and coffee
TOUR MAP
ITINERARY BY DAY
Day 1: Saigon – Can Tho – Cai Be
In the morning we pick you up at your hotel in Saigon (District 1 and parts of District 3) and take you to your port of embarkation in Can Tho. After a refreshing welcome drink, we show you our on-board facilities and your cozy cabin.
As lunch is served, the boat starts cruising. Sit back and watch the fantastic scenery and the daily life of the Mekong people. In the afternoon you can disembark for a guided leisurely stroll through a village and the surrounding fruit orchards or rice fields. Meet the friendly locals and taste the local produce and fruits.
Get back on board and enjoy a drink at the bar or relax on deck as the sun sets over the magnificent water landscape of the Mekong River. The cruise boat anchors for the night. The day ends with a delicious on-board dinner.
Sa Dec, Dong Thap Province, Vietnam – Febuary 07, 2015: Womans in Vietnamese conical hat are using sampan to harvest daisy pots in Sa Dec Flower village. Preparing for sell at the days before Tet
Day 2: Cai Be – Sa Dec – Cao Lanh
Wake up well rested to the sound of the river and get ready for another exciting day of sightseeing in the Mekong Delta. At 6:30h the cruise vessel sets off for a sunrise cruise. Watch the locals go about their daily work drying exotic fruits and building ships on the wooden yards while enjoying an early breakfast.
After breakfast, we enjoy a rowing boat excursion through the hidden small canals of Tan Phong Islet on a sampan. We also visit some of the local candy or rice cake making production or boat through the green water landscape to see local villages, verdant orchards or rice paddies.
In the afternoon we arrive in the laid back town of Sa Dec for a city tour. There you can see the busy and colorful local market, enjoy a coffee on the nice riverside promenade or visit a nearby flower village with orchards. The charming town still has a lot of colonial architecture, in particular the old market, the church and many old villas and traders’ houses. We visit one of them, a beautifully renovated traditional house of a Chinese trader’s family. This sumptuous building belonged to the main character of the novel „The Lover” and indeed to the lover of Marguerite Duras.
In the late afternoon we return to the Mekong Explorer vessel and enjoy a sunset cruise with more fantastic photo opportunities from aboard.
Day 3: Cao Lanh – Tan Chau (optional embarkation in Cao Lanh)
The boat arrives Cao Lanh in the morning. After breakfast on the top deck, you can enjoy the the visit to Tan Thuan Dong Islet, which is famous for its orchards full of mangoes, longans, and ambarellas. It is totally off-the-beaten track and rarely visited by tourists.
As the boat maneuvering through the scenic Cho Vam Canal, you are invited to a sunset cocktail party on the top deck, which also allows you to fully enjoy one of the most magnificent moments that Mekong river has to offer.
Day 4: Tan Chau – depart
After breakfast the tour with Mekong Eyes Explorer ends.
The trip ends here. Please contact us if we can help you organize your tour to Angkor or any further trips. Of course we will also be happy to arrange your transfer to Ha Tien for connecting to Phu Quoc or an excursion to Chau Doc and its fascinating surroundings with Sam Mountain and the magic forest of Tra Su or back to Saigon.
