Booking choice: The My Tho and Ben Tre day with islands, a sampan and coconut candy, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Book this Compare the options below
Almost every Mekong Delta tour sold from Ho Chi Minh City looks the same in its photographs: a sampan under palm fronds, a bowl of fruit, a boat heaped with watermelons. The photographs are honest, but they come from different places. The palm canals are at Ben Tre, about two hours from the city. The market boats are mostly at Can Tho, about three hours away, and only in the early morning.
So the useful choice comes in two steps. First the depth: the near edge of the delta in a day, or deeper in with a night on the way. Then the style: a classic small group, a quieter route, a speedboat, a homestay or a combination with Cu Chi. This guide sets the tours on this site side by side, using what each listing states.
The quick answer
For most first-time visitors the best Mekong Delta tour is the classic day to My Tho and Ben Tre: islands by motorboat, honey tea at a bee farm, coconut candy, a sampan through the palm canals and an orchard lunch, back in the city by about 5 pm. If a floating market is the reason you are going, book the two-day tour with a night in Can Tho instead. If you want fewer crowds, choose the less-touristy Ben Tre day or the speedboat day.
What is the best Mekong Delta tour?
The best tour is the one whose depth and style match your trip. Decide whether a floating market matters to you, then pick the day or the overnight tour that fits.
The tours on this site fall into four shapes. A classic day tour drives to My Tho and Ben Tre and is back the same afternoon. A combination day adds the Cu Chi tunnels to a shorter delta visit. An alternative day goes somewhere quieter, by road or by speedboat. And an overnight tour sleeps in Can Tho or at a homestay; the night in Can Tho is what puts you on the water for the sunrise trade.
The table lists each tour with where it goes, how long it takes and whether it reaches a floating market, per the listings. For the market question in detail, read the floating markets guide.
| Tour | Where it goes | Length | Floating market? | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| My Tho and Ben Tre classic day | My Tho islands, Ben Tre canals | 9 hours | No | Small group |
| Four islands by boat and tuk-tuk | My Tho's four islands | 9 hours | No | Small group |
| Cu Chi tunnels and Mekong Delta | Cu Chi, then My Tho | 10 to 11 hours | No | Small group available |
| Less-touristy Ben Tre | Ben Tre villages and canals | 10 hours | No | Small group |
| Speedboat day | Thu Thua by river | 8 hours | No, a land market at Thu Thua | Small group |
| 2 days with Cai Rang | My Tho, Ben Tre, Can Tho | 2 days | Yes, Cai Rang at 6 am | Up to 12 |
| 2 days bike, kayak and homestay | Garden homestay, Thoi Son islet | 2 days | No | Up to 16 |
| Can Tho sunrise boat | Cai Rang and canals | 6 to 6.5 hours | Yes, from 5:30 am | About 6 |
| 3 days to Chau Doc | Cai Be, Can Tho, Chau Doc | 3 days | Yes, Cai Rang on day two | Group |
Is a Mekong Delta day trip worth it?
Yes, if you go for the canals, the islands and the orchards rather than the floating market. A day trip shows the delta's near edge well.
The classic My Tho and Ben Tre day covers a lot in nine hours: about two hours on the road, a motorboat between Dragon, Phoenix and Turtle islands, a bee farm with honey tea on Unicorn Island, a coconut candy workshop, a sampan through the palm canals, a tuk-tuk or electric-car ride, some cycling, and lunch with fruit and folk music in a garden. It is a gentle, sociable day and easy to fit between two city days.
What a day trip does not do is show you a floating market in full swing; it arrives too late in the morning and too far from Can Tho. If you go knowing that, the day is well spent.
Which tour is the classic first visit?
The My Tho and Ben Tre day. It is the format most people picture, with the boat, the sampan and the orchard lunch in one relaxed loop.
Pickup runs from 7 to 8 am at hotels in Districts 1, 3 and 4, the group arrives in My Tho around 10 am, and the van is back in the city between 4:30 and 5 pm, per the listing. Lunch is included, with vegan meals on request, and the listing notes that it is not suitable for wheelchair users.
The four-islands tour is the same idea with a little more activity: all four islands, a rowboat, a tuk-tuk, cycling, a stop at Vinh Trang Pagoda and a banh khot cooking session with a local chef. Pick whichever itinerary reads better to you; both are back for dinner.
Islands, honey tea, coconut candy and a sampan through the palm canals, back in Saigon by about 5 pm.
Book thisWhich Mekong tour avoids the crowds?
The less-touristy Ben Tre day and the speedboat day. Both skip the busiest island jetties and go where fewer coaches stop.
The less-touristy Ben Tre tour replaces the island circuit with a brick factory, a long boat on the Mekong with fruit and coconut juice, a look at coconut and cacao growing, a bicycle ride through villages and a five-course southern lunch in a local home, finishing with a rowing boat through coconut canals. It needs a minimum group size and good weather, per the listing.
The speedboat day leaves the road behind: a van to Bach Dang pier, about 75 minutes by speedboat into the waterways of Long An, the market and Cao Dai temple at Thu Thua, lunch, a local walk and the boat back. Large bags are not allowed on board.
Brick kilns, village lanes by bike and a five-course lunch in a family home, away from the island circuit.
Book thisCan I see the Cu Chi tunnels and the delta in one day?
Yes. The combination tour does both in about 10 to 11 hours, with the tunnels in the morning and a shorter delta visit in the afternoon.
The Cu Chi and Mekong Delta day collects you at 7:30 to 8 am, spends the morning at the tunnels with an optional crawl and the shooting range, has lunch, then drives to My Tho for a river cruise, a sampan, fruit, honey tea and folk music, and is back between 6:30 and 7 pm. Guiding is offered in English and French.
It is a long day with plenty of time in the van, and the delta part is shorter than on a dedicated tour. For a traveller with one free day and two sights on the list, it is efficient. Our Cu Chi and Mekong guide weighs it against two separate trips.
Is the two-day Cai Rang tour worth it?
If you want to see a floating market while it trades, yes. Sleeping in Can Tho puts you on the water at 6 am, which no day trip from the city can match.
The two-day Cai Rang tour spends day one on the classic route, Vinh Trang Pagoda, a My Tho boat, a Ben Tre sampan and coconut candy, then drives on to Can Tho for the night. Day two starts at 6 am on the Cai Rang market, then a rice noodle workshop, a local market, breakfast, an old Can Tho house and a banh xeo pancake lesson with lunch, arriving back in the city around 4:45 pm. Groups are limited to 12.
Bring your passport for the hotel, and note that luggage can come with you, per the listing.
My Tho and Ben Tre on day one, a night in Can Tho and Cai Rang floating market by boat at 6 am.
Book thisWhich tour suits a slower pace?
The two-day bike, kayak and homestay tour. It trades the hotel for a garden farm, a cooking class and a morning on the canals.
The homestay tour cycles through villages and rice fields on day one, cooks lunch, cruises the Mekong to Thoi Son islet, rides a sampan, visits a bee farm and a coconut candy workshop, then settles in for a barbecue dinner at the Family Tiny Garden Homestay, in a room with air conditioning and a private bathroom. Day two brings a sunrise ride, a morning market, an herbal foot soak, kayaking, rice planting and traditional fishing, with the return around 2 pm.
It is the most hands-on option on this site and suits families and active travellers who want to stay put rather than tick off stops.
A night on a garden farm with bikes, kayaks, a cooking class and a morning planting rice.
Book thisWho should not book a day tour?
Anyone set on a floating market, and anyone who dislikes long hours in a van. For the first, stay a night; for the second, take the speedboat.
Day tours from Ho Chi Minh City spend roughly four hours of the day on the road, and the island stops at My Tho are busy around midday. If that sounds tiring, the speedboat day swaps the van for the river. If the market is your goal, the Can Tho sunrise boat starts at the pier at 5:30 am with breakfast on board, for travellers already staying in Can Tho.
Several listings say they are not suitable for wheelchair users, and every tour involves stepping in and out of small boats. Ask the operator before booking if mobility is a concern.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Mekong Delta tour worth it?
Yes for the canals, islands and orchards of My Tho and Ben Tre. For a floating market in trading hours, plan a night in Can Tho.
What is the best day tour of the Mekong Delta?
For a first visit, the My Tho and Ben Tre day. For fewer crowds, the less-touristy Ben Tre day or the speedboat day.
How long does a Mekong Delta tour last?
Day tours run about 8 to 11 hours including pickup. The overnight tours take two or three days.
Do the tours include lunch?
The day tours on this site include lunch, with vegan or vegetarian options on request on most listings.
Ready to book
Choose your Mekong tour
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every option. Booked on GetYourGuide.
My Tho & Ben Tre: Islands, Sampans & Coconut Village
- Pickup 7 to 8 am from hotels in Districts 1, 3 and 4; about two hours by road to My Tho, back 4:30 to 5 pm
- Motorboat past Dragon, Phoenix and Turtle islands; a bee farm with honey tea on Unicorn Island
- A coconut candy workshop in Ben Tre, a sampan through the canals, a tuk-tuk or electric-car ride and some cycling
2 Days: Mekong Delta & Cai Rang Floating Market
- Day one: Vinh Trang Pagoda, a My Tho boat trip, a Ben Tre sampan, coconut candy and lunch, then on to Can Tho
- A hotel night in Can Tho (if that option is selected) with a free evening in the city
- Day two: Cai Rang Floating Market by boat from 6 am, a rice noodle workshop and a local market
Less-Touristy Ben Tre: Brick Kilns, Bikes & Home Lunch
Ben Tre away from the island circuit: a brick factory, coconut and cacao, village cycling, a five-course lunch in a home and a rowing boat
