My Tho Mekong Delta tour: Sampan, villages, lunch

Ride a sampan through narrow canals lined with orchards and floating houses.

A full-day guided tour of the Mekong Delta from My Tho takes you by motorized boat and hand-rowed sampan through fishing villages, orchards and waterways, with stops at a bee farm, a coconut candy workshop and Vinh Trang Pagoda. The tour includes an English-speaking guide, lunch at a riverside restaurant, hotel pickup and air-conditioned transport. You walk village paths, taste honey and tropical fruit, and learn how locals make coconut candy by hand.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Mekong Delta and Local Villages

• Visit orchards and bee-keeping farm
• Taste honey and tropical fruit
• Attend coconut candy workshop
• Listen to traditional local music
• Ride horse in cart
• Row sampan through narrow channels

The experience

If you've just landed in Ho Chi Minh City or have a free afternoon, this eight-hour tour moves you straight into the Mekong Delta without needing to arrange transport or figure out where to eat. You're picked up from your hotel in an air-conditioned van and driven to My Tho, where the day splits between motorized boat and sampan: the narrow wooden boats locals row through channels too tight for anything else. The motorized boat carries you past orchards and the floating houses where families live on the water. The sampan takes you deeper into the canals where the engine can't follow.

The stops build a picture of how the delta works. At the bee farm you taste honey straight from the hive and pick tropical fruit from the garden. The coconut candy workshop shows you the whole process (boiling, rolling, wrapping), and you watch locals work or try your hand at it. You'll ride in a horse cart if you want one, and listen to traditional music played by people who live there. Lunch comes at a riverside restaurant with dishes made from what the region grows: fish, vegetables, coconut. By the time you reach Vinh Trang Pagoda, a yellow-and-white temple set back from the water, you've moved through the delta's working day instead of just looking at it from a boat.

The guide speaks English throughout and handles the logistics (timing, tickets, which boat goes where), so the day holds together without you managing it. Bottled water comes with you, and the landing fees at each stop are already paid. The tour runs as a small group in a van or as a private option with a flexible itinerary if you want to linger somewhere or skip a stop.

What’s included

• Bottled water.
• motorized boat and hand-rowed sampan rides through the delta.
• entry to the bee farm and coconut candy workshop.
• lunch at a riverside restaurant with local dishes.
• visit to Vinh Trang Pagoda.
• English-speaking guide.
• air-conditioned van transport.
• hotel pickup and return.

Options for this experience

2 options

Small group trip by vanGuide in English · 08:00Vietnamese set menu, van with 16 seats, pickup is included

Private Flexible itineraryGuide in English · 08:00, 09:00 and 10:00Private tour of Vinh Trang Pagoda, lasting 7 hours, with an upper-tier set lunch, a flexible itinerary, a modern private vehicle, and pickup included.

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 08:00, 09:00 and 10:00

Book up to4h before

AgesAdult (10 and older) · Child (5 to 9 years) · Infant (under 5): free

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup is optional; you can also go straight to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 2 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortPublic transport nearbyNot recommended during pregnancyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by VietCruise Tours

Is this one for you?Book the small-group option if you're comfortable meeting other travelers and want a lower price. Choose the private tour if you want to set your own pace through the delta and skip stops that don't interest you.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (5 to 9 years); Infant (under 5): free.

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What exactly is a sampan and why do we need one in the Mekong Delta?

A sampan is a narrow wooden boat rowed by hand or with a pole, built to fit through the delta's tight canals where motorized boats can't go. The tour uses both: the motorized boat for the wider waterways past villages and orchards, and the sampan for the narrow channels where the real delta life happens. You get closer to the houses, the gardens and the way people actually move through the water.

How much time do we spend on the water versus walking around?

Most of the eight-hour day is on the boats: the motorized boat and sampan combined take up the bulk of it. You also walk village paths through the tropical forest, spend time at the bee farm and coconut candy workshop, and visit Vinh Trang Pagoda. The guide paces it so you're not sitting the whole time.

Is the coconut candy workshop a demonstration or can we actually make something?

You watch locals make coconut candy and have the chance to try making it yourself: rolling and wrapping the pieces. It's hands-on if you want it to be, though watching is fine too.

What kind of food is lunch and where do we eat?

Lunch is at a riverside restaurant with local specialties: fish, vegetables and dishes made from what grows in the delta. You eat overlooking the water, and the meal is included in the tour price.

Do we need to arrange our own way to the tour, or is pickup from the hotel included?

Hotel pickup is included. The van collects you from your accommodation in Ho Chi Minh City and brings you back after the tour ends, so you don't need to arrange transport to get there.

Is this tour suitable if I'm not very fit or haven't done much walking?

The tour is suitable for all physical fitness levels. Most of the day is spent on boats, and the walking is on village paths at a leisurely pace. You're not hiking or climbing. It's a gentle exploration of the delta.