The Mekong Delta represents the Western region or Miền Tây in Vietnam and is an expanse area full of life that captures the essence of village life and natural beauty. The Mekong Delta is feared for its second-to-none rivers, marshland, and islands; it provides guests with an eclectic mixture of cultural and natural treasures, from 100-year-old Buddhist temples to forests brimming with rare wildlife. The Mekong Delta, with its bustling floating markets, fruit orchards, sugar cane groves, and hundreds of villages, is the perfect suggestion for many of you who are busy working on international plane tickets. If you’re a nature lover or a cultural explorer, or you love history, your trip to the Mekong Valley will stay with you forever. Just how long to spend in Mekong Delta to soak up its essence? So with your one, nice, egg which should you prepare?
Floated Market
The Mekong Delta occupies 40,500 square kilometers of land, extending inward from the southwestern tip of Vietnam into Cambodia. Known as the “rice bowl" for all the rice paddies, I wound up in the very fertile Mekong Delta. It is worth noting that major cities such as Can Tho, My Tho, and Chau Doc are the key gateways for those who want to discover the delta and its various attractions.
Floating markets are one of the most famous aspects of the Mekong Delta. Cai Rang and Cai Be are notorious, with fresh fruit and vegetables passing from trader boats to make-shift stalls. A seasonal market provides a colorful and lively snapshot of local life and is a worthwhile destination for any traveler.
Fruit orchards and gardens, where you can try mangosteen, rambutan, and durian, the king of fruits, also are located in the delta, Quiet creeks with water and coconut hiding away make it ideal for riding a boat around. It is also the place where you find a lot of cultural relics such as traditional Vietnamese houses, temples, and craft villages where you will see the local people with their hands.
How long to stay in the Mekong Delta ranges, depends on a few different factors. Careful planning includes knowing about the following aspects of travel:
What do you want to do while visiting here? Day trippers may be able to see the best and ho,p so,e good shots locally. If you want to experience the culture and nature to its fullest extent, I recommend you to stay there at least for a few days.
How much you can spend will have a major impact on your time. The Mekong Delta has accommodations to suit every preference and budget, ranging from homestays to five-star luxury. While meals and transport once inside the delta are pretty reasonably priced, the cost of guided tours, tours, and boat trips can mount up.
The region boasts a tropical climate, so it is seldom out of season, but you can be excused for feeling that depending on what season you visit, it can be a very different place. During the dry season (November – April) you can explore without the worry of endless rain, while the wet season (May – October) will bring with it a lush green landscape to witness, plus the added opportunity to experience the excitement of the “floating" Mekong as water levels rise.
There are everything from boat trips and cycling through the rice paddies in village lanes to visiting floating markets and perhaps local workshops. Make your itinerary based on your specific interests.
Fruit basket in the Mekong Delta
A one-day road trip to the Mekong Delta area is also a good way to explore the region for travelers who are on a tight schedule. Get a super early start from Ho Chi Minh City & head to Cai Be OR My Tho. In the morning you will walk through the floating market and go on a boat on the channels. Visit Local Workshop where you will see how people make coconut candy and rice paper. Take a last cycle around a village and visit a fruit orchard before you head back to the city.
A two-day journey offers more leisurely exploration. On the first day, make a trip to the Cai Be floating market and then to the canals and local villages by boat. Leave in the early afternoon for Can Tho where we will spend the night. On the morning of the second day, drop by Nga Nam Market, the longest and biggest market in Sideway Canal, and then head over to Cai Rang Floating Market, one of the big floating markets in the Mekong Delta, and visit hundreds of boats packed the market to sell fruits, flowers, and vegetables. Without reaching the end of the country, this schedule will make you understand more about the lives of the locals, and feel the peacefulness of the place.
Three days provides a more exhaustive experience. Take out the activities covered in the Two-day itinerary. Head to Chau Doc on the third day to visit the Tra Su Cajuput Forest wetland area which has many birds to see. You can also visit the breaks of the mountain on cham village enjoy the top of the mountain see the long beach and learn about the culture and traditions of the Cham people. This itinerary is a much longer route such that it allows you to embrace the endless possibilities of experiences that the Mekong Delta can bring to you.
Tra Su Cajuput Forest
The Mekong Delta offers a wealth of experiences that rise above the traditional sightseeing circuit. Try a homestay to see local hospitality and for daily experience. Traditional music and performances like the Dai Ca Tai Tu, UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. Join tours and do farming or pick fruits for the experience.
If you ever make a trip to the Mekong Delta, just remember these tips to reduce your time:
The Mekong Delta is best visited during the dry season, which lasts from November to April. This is a time when the weather is mild, with less humidity and relatively less rain. But the wet season from May to October has its appeal, with magnificent greenery and the chance to see the delta in full high-water mode.
Getting around the Mekong Delta Many of those visitors will rent a scooter or bicycle to get around the villages at their leisure.
There is accommodation to suit all budgets in the Mekong Delta Staying with locals is a vital part of a travel experience. Those who are willing to splurge will find a handful of mid-range hotels and luxury resorts in bigger towns such as Can Tho and Chau Doc. During the high tourist periods, it is recommended to book your stay beforehand.
Be wary of your bags and belongings when moving through the Mekong Delta, especially when you are on boats or in crowded markets. It is also strongly recommended that nighttime interprovincial travel must also be avoided as there may be threats on roads. However, insects like mosquitoes can sometimes be a problem, particularly in more rural or wooded areas, so always take bug spray.
Harvesting rice in the Mekong Delta
To sum it up there are various encounters that one can do while exploring the Mekong Delta that make it a loose and journey care experience. A few hours or a few days, and anywhere between, there is plenty to part-take in at Basantapur.
Conclusion So, how long to spend in the Mekong Delta? During this timeframe, there is also a chance to visit the main sites including the floating markets of Cai Be and Cai Rang, to stay with people in their homes, listen to traditional music, to get involved in the landscape and local life. Three days are perfect to experience the colorful culture, various food, and tranquil nature of the Mekong Delta.
Ready to explore the Mekong Delta? Book your Mekong tour with IMPRESS TRAVEL for an enriching and seamless experience. Our expert guides and comprehensive itineraries ensure you won’t miss any highlights. Contact us today at mekong@impresstravel.com or call our hotline at +84.912 379 189 – Mr. Alex, and start planning your adventure!
The Mekong River, the ‘Mother of Waters’, is the heart and soul of mainland South-East Asia. Millions of people depend on its waters. It’s a way of life, a home for the spirits, the defining element in the everlasting battle for survival, and the foundation and boundaries of cultures and kingdoms across eons. The river speaks of the past and the future, of the eternally recurring cycles of nature, of the people living upstream and downstream, of survival, beauty and danger.
Foreigners can’t appreciate the role of the river in the lives of those who live in the Mekong basin. It influences every aspect of their daily existence, shaping not only the land, but also the people themselves.
The Mekong Basin extends over 795,000km2. More than 70 million people, 55 million of which inhabit the watershed area lying within Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam, depend on the river and its tributaries for food, water and transport. At 4,350km, the Mekong is the longest river in Southeast Asia and the 12th longest in the world.
The river runs from its source deep in China’s Tsinghai Province through the eastern part of Tibet. From Yunnan province, it becomes the border between Myanmar and Laos, and between Laos and Thailand. From there it surges across Cambodia to Phnom Penh, where the Bassac River branches off. The two rivers continue to divide into nine outlets, the Cuu Long (Nine Dragons) of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, and finally discharge into the East Sea. The river is navigable from the delta to Southern Laos, where massive waterfalls near the Cambodian border prevent boats from travelling further.
About nine-tenths of the people in the Lower Mekong Basin are engaged in agriculture, mostly rice production on a massive scale, for which irrigation from the Mekong River is essential. A substantial proportion is exported, thus providing the staple diet of a far greater number than just those living in the area.
The Mekong River is also very rich in fish, the single most important source of animal protein in the diet of people living in the Lower Mekong Basin.
What is included: Transfer, tour guide, hotel in Can Tho, lunch, entrance fee(s), boat trip in Cai Be
What is included: Transfer, tour guide, hotel breakfast, lunch, entrance fee(s), boat trip in Can Tho
| Hotels in Can Tho | ||
| Star | Hotel | Room Type |
| 3-Star hotel in Can Tho | Hau Giang Hotel | Superior |
| 4-Star hotel in Can Tho | Muong Thanh Hotel | Superior |
| 5-Star hotel in Can Tho | Victoria Hotel | Superior |
We went on a private trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, the whole trip plan was organized for us by the Impress Travel Company from Vietnam, the company did an amazing job, the whole trip was organized in a wonderful way with an amazing match between the various parties, their choices were correct and the quality of the hotels chosen were very high quality and it is important to note that the price was low in comparison To other agencies, thanks to Impress Travel and especially to Daniel who was tolerant and open to changes and organized the route for us.
Impress travel were amazing. Did my bookings with Daniel for our tour of Vietnam and I must say Daniel was very professional and prompt with his services. All the arrangement, plans, pick-up & drop-off services, hotels, vehicles, sightseeing tours and guides were spot on and excellent. Did 4 nights Hanoi, 1 night Hà Long Bay cruise, 3 nights Hoian, 4 nights Saigon and 1 night in Can Tho. It was totally awesome. Every part of the journey was superbly arranged and planned. I will highly recommend Impress Travel for anyone interested in visiting Vietnam. Very organized and reliable!
I booked with Impress Travel in July. My contact person was Tommy Thang. He is an amazing person. He was very helpful. He changed my program twice for me. Very accommodating!
We started our holiday in the north (Sapa)of Vietnam and travelled down to HCMC.
The tour was fantastic, Tommy's arrangements were to the"T".
I will always use them if I have to visit the area again and recommend them to one and all.
Thank you once again Mr.Tommy and the Impress Team.
Sulaiman Pochee
Great value for money with 4 stars hotel accommodation for 4 couples. The tour guide has been very helpful and brought us to amazing places in Sapa. We want to thanks Thuy the tour guide and especially Mark from Impress Travel for his great service and assurance throughout our trip. We’ll definitely use his service for other tour packages in other parts of Vietnam.
This is the second time we travel to Vietnam with IMPRESS Travel. First time, we booked our holiday to Hanoi, Halong Bay & Sapa during Dec 2018 with Impress.
Second time, we travel to Hoi An, Hue & Danang (Central Vietnam) during Jan 2019.
My friends & I are very glad & happy with all the hotels stay in Central Vietnam, the meals provided are delicious. We are greatly appreciated with all the tour arrangement by Tommy & his team (tour guide).
Especially, Mr. NHAT C.V. He is helpful, cheerful, knowledgeable and very professional. He always volunteer to take a nice pictures for six of us (group) .
We enjoyed our holiday with Impress travel. We will definitely come back to Vietnam again with Impress
