Mekong Delta tour: riverside market and temples

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.79 (472 reviews) 86% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/19

Duration8h

GroupUp to 14

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

A Cao Dai Temple sits next to a Buddhist pagoda in the same afternoon.

This full-day guided tour of the Mekong Delta departs Ho Chi Minh City and takes you by speedboat and rowboat through the Delta's canals, markets and villages. You visit a bustling riverside market, drift through coconut palm groves on small waterways, stop at a traditional farmhouse to sample coconut and local whisky, eat lunch at a family home, then explore a Cao Dai Temple and Buddhist pagoda before returning to the city. The tour runs eight hours with a local English-speaking guide, includes breakfast, lunch and refreshments, and stays under 14 people to avoid large crowds.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Mekong Delta and local culture

Start at Saigon Water Bus Station
Arrive at Mekong Delta watery expanses
Visit colorful riverside market
Rowboat trip along small canals
Visit Mekong village and farmhouse
Sample coconuts and Mekong whisky
Enjoy traditional Mekong Delta lunch
Visit special pagoda
Visit colorful Cao Dai Temple
Return to speedboat and depart

The Experience

What makes the Mekong Delta different from the city is the water itself—you start at Saigon Water Bus Station and reach the delta by 9:30 am, where nine tributaries splinter from the main river. The first stop is a riverside market at 10:30 am, crowded with locals buying tropical fruits, fish and shellfish. By 10:45 am you're off the main waterway, turning into the Thu Thua area's small winding canals shaded by foliage, where a rowboat replaces the speedboat and the pace slows. Thousands of coconut palms line the water as you drift past a Mekong village and stop at a traditional farmhouse to taste coconut and Mekong whisky.

Lunch happens at noon at a local family's house—a traditional Mekong meal, not a restaurant setup. After eating, you visit a Buddhist pagoda, then at 1:30 pm the Cao Dai Temple, which the itinerary marks as one of the tour's highlights. The temple's architecture and the pagoda's spiritual role in the delta get explained by your guide as you walk through. By 2:15 pm you're back on the speedboat heading to Ho Chi Minh City, arriving by late afternoon.

Hotel pickup and drop-off are included if you're staying in districts 1 or 3. The tour runs eight hours total. Wear comfortable walking shoes and clothes you don't mind getting damp from the boats. Water levels can shift the route, so the itinerary is flexible—your guide will adapt the stops if needed.

What’s included

Local English-speaking guide for the full eight hours.
breakfast, lunch and refreshments including water, soft drinks and tropical fruits.
hotel pickup and drop-off in districts 1 and 3 of Ho Chi Minh City.
speedboat and rowboat transport through the delta.
entry to the Cao Dai Temple and Buddhist pagoda.
a stop at a traditional farmhouse where you sample coconut and Mekong whisky.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Les Rives Vietnam

Is this one for you?You're on a shared tour with up to 14 people, led by a local guide who handles the route, timing and explanations—this works best if you want the delta's rhythm without building the day yourself, and if you're comfortable on boats for most of the morning. The fixed schedule keeps all three spiritual sites and the market inside a single afternoon, so the experience holds together without gaps.