Mekong Delta Day Trip: My Tho, Ben Tre & Lunch Pickup

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Free cancellation

1/42

Duration10h–11h

GroupUp to 45

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

One day in the Mekong Delta with boat rides, food and music

You’ll taste honey wine on Unicorn Island, cruise past islands on motorboats through the Mekong Delta, watch coconut candy being made in Ben Tre, and share lunch with new friends while Southern folk music drifts through an orchard garden. This day trip from Ho Chi Minh City lets you slow down and feel life along the riverbanks—you might even find yourself thinking about it long after you’re home.

10h–11h

Step-by-step itinerary

Mekong Delta tour from Ho Chi Minh City

Pick up at hotel in Ho Chi Minh City
Travel to My Tho by air-conditioned vehicle
Motor excursion to Dragon, Unicorn, Turtle, Phoenix Islands
Visit bee farm and taste honey and local wines
Motor boat to Ben Tre coconut candy workshop
Boat cruise along green canals
Lunch at local restaurant in Ben Tre
Sample tropical fruits and listen to traditional music
Return to My Tho by local boat
Bus back to Ho Chi Minh City with optional Vinh Trang pagoda stop

The Experience

“Try this—just a sip!” That’s what our guide, Minh, said as he handed me a tiny glass of honey wine on Unicorn Island. I’ll admit I was nervous (it smelled sweeter than I expected), but everyone else at our table was already laughing and swapping stories about their first taste. We’d left Ho Chi Minh City early that morning—traffic was humming, scooters everywhere—and after two hours watching rice paddies and roadside cafés blur by, the Mekong Delta finally opened up around us. The air felt heavier here, almost sticky with river mist.

The motorboat ride was louder than I thought it would be—kids waving from the banks, water hyacinths bumping against the hull. Minh pointed out Dragon Island and Turtle Island as we passed; honestly, I lost track of which was which because there were so many birds overhead and someone nearby started playing music on their phone. We stopped at a bee farm on Unicorn Island (yes, there were bees everywhere but they seemed chill), tasted banana wine that burned just a little going down, and then hopped back onto another boat toward Ben Tre. The coconut candy workshop smelled like melted sugar—sticky-sweet—and watching the workers shape each piece by hand made me realize how much patience goes into something you eat in two seconds.

Lunch was in a shaded garden in Ben Tre—rice, fish, vegetables I couldn’t name but really liked. There was this old man playing traditional Southern music while we ate; his voice kind of floated over everything. Afterward we tried tropical fruits straight from the orchard (the mangosteen was my favorite). On the way back to My Tho by boat, I sat next to Minh again and asked if he ever gets tired of this route. He just grinned and said every group is different—that’s what keeps it interesting for him.

We got back to Ho Chi Minh City around sunset. My shirt still smelled faintly like river water and honey wine. Sometimes when things get quiet at home now, I remember that slow drift through the canals—the sound of paddles in green water—and wonder how many people are having lunch under those trees right now.

What’s included

Your day includes pickup from your hotel in central Ho Chi Minh City by air-conditioned bus or van, all boat rides between islands and along canals, entrance to workshops like the coconut candy factory and bee farm, tastings of honey tea and various local wines, plenty of tropical fruits at an orchard garden with live traditional music performance, mineral water for each guest, an English-speaking guide throughout—and a set menu lunch served in Ben Tre before heading back in the evening.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for heart conditionsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by VN Lotus Travel