Mekong Delta Floating Market Tour from Ho Chi Minh City: Cai Rang

Watch vendors trade from boat to boat at dawn, then learn to make bánh xèo from a local chef.

A two-day tour from Ho Chi Minh City into the Mekong Delta that centers on Cai Rang Floating Market, the region's largest, where you ride through boats stacked with produce and watch the daily haggle of river commerce. You'll also visit Cai Be for handicraft makers, take a rowing boat through mangrove canals, stay overnight at an ecolodge on the river, and spend your second afternoon in a cooking class making Vietnamese pancakes. Groups stay under ten people, and a guide leads in English throughout.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Saigon to Can Tho via Mekong Delta

• Pick up from Saigon accommodation
• Drive to Cai Be with breakfast stop
• Boat ride and local fruit tasting in Cai Be
• Visit handicraft makers and taste local delicacies
• Rowing boat through mangrove canal
• Long boat trip to Vinh Long
• Lunch at local home in Vinh Long
• Drive to Can Tho and check in to eco resort
• Dinner and overnight at eco resort

Day 2 — Can Tho Floating Market and Return

• Breakfast with Mekong River views
• Explore Cai Rang Floating Market by boat
• Visit rice noodle-making shop
• Bicycle tour of local village
• Kayak ride on the river
• Cooking class for Vietnamese Pancake
• Drive back to Ho Chi Minh City
• Drop off at hotel and tour ends

The Experience

What does it actually look like to be at the floating market before the crowds arrive? You leave your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City early on day one, drive about 30 minutes to Cai Be on the Mekong River, and start with a boat ride where you taste local fruit and coconut juice straight from the vendors. Then you stop at handicraft makers working with water hyacinth and banana leaves, sample coconut candy and pop rice, and take a rowing boat through a small mangrove canal—the kind of quiet stretch that sits between the busier river traffic.

The long boat trip across the Tien River to Vinh Long Province is where the landscape opens up. Lunch happens at a local home in the Ancient House, and you'll eat with people who live there, not in a restaurant built for tourists. By afternoon you're driving to Can Tho, where you spend the night at either Bamboo Eco Village Resort or Mekong Silt Ecolodge, both positioned on the river so you wake to the sound of boats and the smell of the water.

Day two starts before the market gets loud. After breakfast at the ecolodge, you're back on the water at Cai Rang, watching vendors load and unload goods from their boats, haggling over prices, trading in the way they've done it for decades. You can buy directly from the boats and try coffee there. Then the tour takes you to a rice noodle-making shop on the river to see how the traditional process works. Back at the village, you have time to explore by bicycle or kayak before the cooking class in the afternoon, where a local chef walks you through making bánh xèo—the savory rice pancake filled with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts—and you eat what you've made for lunch. The drive back to Ho Chi Minh City happens after that.

What’s included

• All boat trips on the Mekong and its canals.
• breakfast and dinner both days.
• lunch at a local home in Vinh Long.
• the cooking class where you make bánh xèo.
• an air-conditioned vehicle with pickup and drop-off at your Ho Chi Minh City hotel.
• bottled water and coconut juice.
• and your overnight room at Bamboo Eco Village Resort or Mekong Silt Ecolodge.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcome

Operated by Joy Journeys

Is this one for you?Choose the private tour if you want to set your own pace and have the guide's full attention; the Premier Group option works better if you're looking to meet other travelers and share the cost. Either way, the small group size means you're not competing with dozens of other visitors at the floating market, and the overnight stay on the river lets you experience the Mekong as locals do, not as a day-tripper passing through.

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Top questions

What is Cai Rang Floating Market actually like when you get there?

Cai Rang is a working market where vendors sell produce, goods and local products from their boats, and you cruise through watching them trade and haggle with customers. Boats are piled high with exotic fruits and vegetables, and you can buy directly from the vendors and try local coffee while you're there.

Do I get to cook or just watch someone else make the food?

You make the bánh xèo yourself in an afternoon cooking class at the village, learning the traditional method from a local chef. You prepare the rice pancake with your choice of fillings and eat what you've cooked for lunch with the other travelers.

How much time do I actually spend on the water?

The tour includes multiple boat trips across two days: a relaxing ride at Cai Be, a rowing boat through mangrove canals, a long crossing to Vinh Long, and the morning at Cai Rang Floating Market. All boat trips are included in the price.

What's included in the price, and what do I need to pay extra for?

The tour includes all boat trips, breakfast and dinner, an air-conditioned vehicle for transport, bottled water and coconut juice, and your overnight room at the ecolodge. If you're traveling alone, a single room costs an extra 500,000 VND. Tips and anything not listed are separate.

How many people will be on this tour?

You can book a private tour for your group, or join the Premier Group option with a maximum of ten people. Either way, the small size means your guide can answer questions and you'll have time to interact with locals.

Does the tour pick me up from my hotel in Ho Chi Minh City?

Yes, pickup is included from your accommodation in District 1 or District 4, and the drive to Cai Be takes around 30 minutes. You'll be dropped back at your hotel at the end of day two.