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Mekong Delta Day Trip: My Tho & Rice Bowl Boat Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.00 (4 reviews)

Free cancellation

1/6

Duration9h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Two hours from the city, the Mekong Delta opens up in rice paddies and river villages

You travel two hours from Ho Chi Minh City to My Tho, then spend the day on motorized and rowing boats through the Mekong Delta's four main islands, stopping to sample tropical fruits, watch coconut candy being made, and walk through village orchards. Lunch at a local restaurant is included, as are all boat trips, entrance fees, and an English-speaking guide. The return transfer gets you back to the city by late afternoon.

Step-by-step itinerary

Drive 2 hours to My Tho
Board motorized wooden boat
Cruise along Tien River
Pass floating fish villages and islands
Explore Xep Canal by boat
Ride auto-rickshaw on village paths
Enjoy honey tea and tropical fruits
Visit coconut candy and rice wine workshop
Row boat through water coconut creek
Walk through fruit orchards
Have authentic Mekong Delta lunch
Return by boat to My Tho
Transfer back to Ho Chi Minh City

The Experience

You're picked up after breakfast at your Ho Chi Minh City hotel and driven two hours through local communities and rice fields toward My Tho, the gateway town to the Mekong Delta. The landscape shifts gradually — fewer buildings, more water, more green. By the time you reach the boat pier, you've already crossed into the "rice bowl of Vietnam," where the Tien River and its tributaries shape everything: the crops, the villages, the rhythm of the day. Your guide meets you there and stays with you through the whole route.

The motorized wooden boat leaves from one of My Tho's piers and moves slowly along the Tien River, passing orchards and water coconut palms that line both banks. You'll pass four islands — Long, Lan, Qui, and Phung — each with its own small communities and farms. The boat stops at a fruit orchard where you sample tropical fruits and see how they're grown, then continues through the narrower Xep Canal, where the water feels closer and the shade deepens. After that, you switch to an auto-rickshaw to move through quiet village paths on land, which breaks up the day and gives you a different angle on how people actually live here.

There's a stop at a local garden for honey tea and more tropical fruit, then a visit to a traditional workshop where you watch how coconut candy and rice wine are made — the kind of thing that sounds small until you're standing there watching someone's hands work the same way they've worked for years. A rowing boat takes you through a creek shaded by water coconut palms, slower and quieter than the motorized stretch, and you walk through fruit orchards before lunch at a local restaurant. The meal is included, though the operator notes that dietary requests depend on what the restaurant can offer that day. After lunch, the boat carries you back to My Tho, and your driver brings you back to Ho Chi Minh City by late afternoon.

The whole day runs full — you're not sitting still much — but the pace is built around water and walking, not rushing. Bring sunglasses, a hat, and high-SPF sunblock; the sun reflects off the water and the clouds don't stop it. Protect your phone and camera in a waterproof bag; spray and splashes are constant on the boat sections. If you're staying outside central Ho Chi Minh City, check with the operator about transfer costs, as pickups from the airport or outer suburbs may carry a supplement.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and drop-off in central Ho Chi Minh City.
air-conditioned vehicle transfer (2 hours each way).
motorized boat cruise along the Tien River.
visits to four islands (Long, Lan, Qui, Phung).
stop at a fruit orchard with tropical fruit sampling.
visit to a traditional coconut candy and rice wine workshop.
honey tea and fruit in a local garden.
rowing boat ride through a shaded creek.
walk through fruit orchards.
lunch at a local restaurant.
all entrance fees.
full-day professional English-speaking guide.
all applicable taxes and service charges.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Asian Trails LTD

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see how the Mekong Delta actually works — the farms, the villages, the workshops — without arranging transport, tickets, or a guide yourself. The fixed itinerary and included meals mean you show up at your hotel and the day unfolds; the two-hour transfer is what puts you far enough out to see the real landscape instead of the tourist version.