Can Tho Floating Market Mekong Delta Day Trip from HCMC

Breakfast on a boat, lunch on an islet, the Mekong in between

This full-day Mekong Delta tour departs Ho Chi Minh City at 5am for a 3-hour drive to Can Tho, where you visit Cai Rang Floating Market at dawn, explore Son Islet on foot, and return by evening. The tour includes breakfast and lunch on the water, a guide who speaks English or Vietnamese, and an air-conditioned vehicle for the drive—you pick between a shared group tour or a private one at checkout. Children from age 5 are welcome.

Step-by-step itinerary

Mekong Delta Floating Market and Son Islet

• 05:00 am Depart Ho Chi Minh City
• Drive 3 hours to Mekong Delta
• 8:00 am Arrive Can Tho city
• Visit Cai Rang Floating Market
• Have breakfast on floating market
• Visit traditional workshops and learn Hu Tieu making
• Enjoy fresh pineapple on boat
• 10:00 am Explore Son Islet and floating fish farm
• Experience foot massage with Koi fish
• Walk around Son Islet and pick fruit
• Cross monkey bridge
• Enjoy flying menu lunch on Son Islet
• Return to Ho Chi Minh City
• 18:00 Arrive Ho Chi Minh City, end tour

The Experience

You leave Ho Chi Minh City before sunrise. The drive south takes three hours, and the landscape shifts from city to rice paddies and fruit orchards lining the road. By 8am you're on the water at Cai Rang Floating Market, where vendors sell produce, noodles and coffee from wooden boats. Breakfast happens here—you sit on the boat and eat a countrified meal while the market moves around you, the waves rocking the hull. Two specialties the guide will point out: shaken noodles and braised coffee, both made right there on the water.

After the market, the boat takes you to traditional workshops where locals make hu tieu (rice vermicelli), then to a floating fruit stand where a seller peels fresh pineapple for you to eat on the boat. By 10am you disembark at Son Islet, a small settlement in the Hau River with about 80 households. You walk around the islet, visit a floating fish farm, and cross the monkey bridge—a narrow bamboo structure that's exactly what it sounds like. The orchards here stay green year-round. Lunch is a "flying menu," a community arrangement where each family prepares one dish and all of it comes to your table, so the money spreads through the village. You return to Ho Chi Minh City by 6pm.

The tour runs 12 hours door-to-door. You choose between a group tour (shared boat and guide, breakfast and lunch included) or a private tour at checkout. Bottled water, snacks, and an English or Vietnamese-speaking guide come with both. The vehicle is air-conditioned and pickup is included—the operator will arrange your hotel collection.

What’s included

• Breakfast on the boat at Cai Rang Floating Market.
• lunch with local specialties on Son Islet.
• bottled water and snacks throughout the day (fresh fruit, pop rice, Vietnamese pizza).
• air-conditioned vehicle for the 3-hour drive each way.
• English or Vietnamese-speaking guide.
• all entry fees and taxes.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Viet Fun Travel Company

Is this one for you?Book the group tour if you want to share the boat experience and meet other travelers; choose private if you need your own guide and smaller group size for the 3-hour drive and market visit.

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Top questions

What's the Cai Rang Floating Market actually like when you arrive?

Cai Rang is a working market where vendors sell fruit, vegetables, noodles and coffee from boats. You arrive around 8am when it's busiest, and you eat breakfast on the water while the market operates around you. The guide points out how locals make their living on the river and shows you the two signature dishes—shaken noodles and braised coffee—both prepared on the spot.

Can I do this tour if I've never been to Vietnam before?

Yes. The tour is suitable for all fitness levels and children from age 5 are welcome. The guide speaks English or Vietnamese, and the itinerary is straightforward: boat rides, walking on Son Islet, and meals included. You don't need any prior experience with floating markets or river travel.

What's the difference between the group tour and the private tour?

Both tours follow the same route, include the same meals and guide language, and cover the same attractions. The group tour shares a boat and guide with other travelers; the private tour is just your group. Both include breakfast at the floating market and lunch on Son Islet, plus snacks and water throughout the day.

What happens on Son Islet besides walking around?

You visit a floating fish farm on the Hau River, cross the monkey bridge (a narrow bamboo footbridge), pick fruit in the orchards with local people, and eat lunch prepared by families on the islet. The "flying menu" means each household contributes one dish to your meal, so you taste multiple specialties and the money benefits the community directly.

How much time is spent driving versus on the water?

The drive from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho takes 3 hours each way. Once you arrive, you spend roughly 4 hours on the boat visiting the floating market and Son Islet, plus time walking on the islet and eating. The full tour is 12 hours from pickup to return.

Is this tour crowded?

Cai Rang Floating Market is a busy working market, especially in the morning when you visit, so you'll see other boats and vendors. Son Islet is quieter—it's a small settlement with about 80 households. The group tour shares a boat with other travelers; the private tour is your group only.