Kayaking Mekong Delta: Cycling, cooking & Vinh Tràng Pagoda
You operate the kayak yourself in the Mekong's narrow canals, not just watch from a boat.
Kayak, cycle and cook in the Mekong Delta on a full day from Ho Chi Minh City with hotel pickup and an English-speaking guide. Start at a family farm where you bike through orchards and rice fields, then join a cooking class to make Vietnamese pancakes and spring rolls. After lunch, visit Vinh Tràng Pagoda, the largest ancient temple in the delta, then kayak and cruise the Mekong and its tributaries, stopping at a bee farm and coconut candy factory before returning to the city.
Options for this experience
2 optionsStep-by-step itinerary
Mekong Delta tour with activities
- Pick up at hotel in Ho Chi Minh City
- Travel to Bến Lức - My Tho
- Check in Family Garden and bike village
- Join cooking class for Vietnamese dishes
- Enjoy BBQ Vietnamese lunch
- Visit Vinh Trang Pagoda
- Check in cruise and boat ride on Mekong River
- Enjoy traditional Vietnamese music
- Relax on hand-rowed sampan in canals
- Visit bee farm and taste honey tea
- Visit largest coconut candy factory
- Return to boat and bus back to Ho Chi Minh City
What’s included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Ho Chi Minh City.
- cycling through orchards and rice fields.
- a hands-on cooking class making spring rolls and Vietnamese pancakes.
- lunch including the food you cooked and a barbecue.
- entry to Vinh Tràng Pagoda.
- cruises on the Mekong River by motorized boat and hand-rowed sampan.
- visits to a bee farm and the largest coconut candy factory in the delta.
- an English-speaking local guide.
- and transport by air-conditioned minivan.
Times
- Every day 08:00 09:00
Before you book
Operated by mekong cruises tours
Prices and times updated 5 days ago
Traveler reviews
The experience
The day starts with a pickup from your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City and a drive to Bến Lức, where you arrive at a family-run farm. You cycle through the surrounding countryside on a bike, passing orchards heavy with dragon fruit and views of rice fields stretching to the horizon. The farm sits in the quieter hours of the delta, when tour groups have not yet arrived, so the roads stay calm and the pace is yours to set.
At mid-morning you join a cooking class at the farm and learn to make two staples: Vietnamese spring rolls and bánh xèo, the crispy pancakes filled with shrimp and bean sprouts. You prepare the ingredients and cook alongside a guide who walks you through each step in English. Lunch is a barbecue of the food you made, eaten at the farm. By early afternoon you move on to Vinh Tràng Pagoda, the largest ancient temple in the Mekong Delta, where you spend time on the grounds before heading to the water.
The boat ride is where the day shifts. You board a motorized cruise boat and head toward Unicorn Island on the Mekong River, then transfer to a sampan (a small, hand-rowed wooden boat) for a leisurely drift through narrow canals where you see the daily life of local people on the water. You stop at a bee farm to taste honey tea, then visit the largest coconut candy factory in the delta to watch how the sweets are made. The return journey takes you back to the motorized boat, which carries you back to Ho Chi Minh City, arriving around 5:30pm.
Is this one for you?Choose the shared tour if you are comfortable meeting other travelers and want to keep the cost lower. Pick the private tour if you prefer the guide's attention focused on your group alone. Both options follow the same itinerary and include all activities, transport and meals.
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Top questions
What languages is the tour guided in?
Live guide in English and Vietnamese.
Can children come?
Yes. Ticket types: Child (4 to 7 years); Infant (under 4): free.
What is Vinh Tràng Pagoda and why does it matter in the Mekong Delta?
Vinh Tràng Pagoda is the largest ancient temple in the Mekong Delta and a significant religious and cultural landmark. You visit it in the early afternoon as part of the day's itinerary, spending time on the grounds before moving on to the water activities.
Do I operate the kayak myself, or do I ride in a boat with a guide?
You ride in a hand-rowed sampan boat and a motorized cruise boat. The sampan is a small wooden vessel poled or rowed by the operator, not paddled by you. The kayaking mentioned in the tour name refers to the boat-based water exploration of the Mekong's canals and tributaries.
What do I actually cook, and is it hands-on?
You make Vietnamese spring rolls and bánh xèo, the crispy pancakes filled with shrimp and bean sprouts. The cooking class is hands-on: you prepare ingredients and cook under the guide's instruction, then eat what you made for lunch.
What time does the day end, and how do I get back to Ho Chi Minh City?
The tour ends around 5:30pm when the motorized boat returns you to Ho Chi Minh City. Hotel pickup and drop-off are included, so the minivan collects you from your hotel in the morning and returns you at the end of the day.
Kayaking Mekong Delta: Cycling, cooking & Vinh Tràng Pagoda
8h · EN +1 · at your hotel
from US$ 40 per person
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