Mekong River Delta Cruise One Day Tour – Vietnam
The Mekong River Delta cruise experience: A few hours drive from Ho Chi Minh City, this waterway and its 39,000 sq km surround remains one of the most densely populated parts of the country. Another world almost, where schools, markets and whole villages float on life-sustaining manmade islands. A Mekong River Delta Cruise allows you to experience and enjoy this unique part of the world.
One Day Trip from Ho Chi Minh City
Mekong river cruise: what to expect. I found it easiest to experience the Mekong Delta on a Mekong river cruise, from Ho Chi Minh City, that included a pleasant 2-hour bus ride (they drive extremely slow in Vietnam) south towards My Tho, passing by paddy ride fields, fruit plantations (lots of pineapples) and many individual graves in the middle of rice fields (it is a tradition for farmers to be buried on their farms).
Mekong River Cruise – Tour Includes
My Mekong River Cruise included motorboat rides in the Mekong, and stops along the way to islands including Dragon Island, Unicorn Island, Phoenix Island and Turtle Island. At Unicorn Island, our tour group was able to go in rowboats through the green canals. We also visited a tropical fruit orchard on the island, a beekeeping farm, and a handmade coconut candy workshop, where we got to taste the produce at each stop.
It was really nice to see all the different types of plants and fruits growing in the orchard, that I would not typically be exposed to in Australia, and I have to put in a special mention to the coconut candy workshop, this part of the Mekong river cruise was very delightful.
Mekong River Cruise – Lunch Provided
Mekong River Cruise Food: The tour on the Island ended with a lunch at the small restaurant and some exploring around the island area. Being a vegan I had no problem with lunch, the tour guide asked if there were any special requests at the beginning of the tour, and when we arrived at the restaurant at the end of the tour my lunch was sitting aside ready.
It’s great when this happens so fuss-free. I would assume that most Mekong River Cruise Companies cater to many food and allergy requirements due to the huge numbers of people that take part in their tours and meet the needs of everyone. (I might just add, peanuts are a very popular snack food in Vietnam, as they are in most parts of Southeast Asia, and I did notice many people eating them on buses and boat trips throughout my time in Vietnam).
Mekong River Cruise – Getting Back to Ho Chi Minh City
The Mekong River Cruise that I went on, and other similar tours, to My Tho – Ben Tre are a full day. Most Mekong River Cruise companies (and there are many) offer pick up from your accommodation at 7:30 am and do not arrive back to Ho Chi Minh City until around 7 pm that night. The tour cost was 190.00 VND per person and included the bus trip, tour guide, boat rides, canoe rowboat rides, water, fruit, and full lunch.
Mekong Delta Cruise – Ticket Sales
All travel agents around the Pham Ngu Lao area will offer this tour, as well as other shorter or longer overnight tours, all for varying prices. There are one-day trips to Cai Be or My Tho, two-day trips to Can Tho and Cai Rang, and three-day trips as far as Chau Doc, as well as combination trips (boat and bus) to Phnom Penh.
Mekong Delta Cruise – Shop Around
It usually works best to ask around a couple of travel agents, grab a few information sheets detailing the different trips and choose the one best suited to your time frame over dinner 🙂 I found the one day trip enough, as these trips although exciting, interesting and informative, are very long days with a combination of heat, sun and bus travel I find slightly exhausting.
Final Thoughts
My final words. The Mekong Delta is breathtakingly grand, powerful, full of culture and life, and must not be missed when in Vietnam. Going on a Mekong river cruise is not only inexpensive but a rich experience that I would not have been able to take part in without a tour company run river cruise.
