Cai Be boat tour with cooking class and local workshops

See how the Mekong Delta actually works, not how it's packaged for tourists

This full-day boat tour explores Cai Be's floating market and rural workshops in the Mekong Delta, with a professional English-speaking guide, hotel pickup, and lunch in an orchard on An Binh Island. The itinerary skips the crowded main channels and focuses on smaller waterways and working villages where rice paper, coconut candy, and fish sauce are still made by hand. Moderate fitness is required. The boat ride and rowboat sections involve 8 to 9 hours total.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Cai Be and Mekong Delta

• Depart hotel early morning
• Boat trip through floating market
• Visit rice paper and candy workshops
• Enjoy Mekong-style lunch on An Binh Island
• Rowboat ride through shaded canals

The experience

The day starts with hotel pickup between 7:30 and 8:00 AM and a ride to Cai Be, where you board a boat into the floating market. Dozens of vendors pile their boats high with fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and household goods. You'll watch locals barter and families shop for groceries instead of watching from a distance. The guide points out what's moving and why, and the pace stays slow enough to actually see what's happening on the water.

From there you visit working workshops where rice paper is stretched and dried, coconut candies are rolled by hand, and fish sauce ferments in large clay jars. These aren't demonstrations set up for groups. They're places where the work happens every day. You see the process, ask questions, and move on. Lunch comes next in a peaceful fruit orchard on An Binh Island: a Mekong-style meal with seasonal tropical fruits and honey tea, eaten sitting down instead of standing in a market stall.

The afternoon shifts to a rowboat, a smaller wooden boat that lets you drift through shaded canals lined with palms and water plants. This is where the tour narrows: fewer boats, quieter water, the kind of place where you can actually hear the guide and notice details. The whole day runs 8 to 9 hours from pickup to drop-off, with bottled water provided throughout.

What’s included

• Boat trip through the floating market and rowboat ride through the canals.
• professional English-speaking guide.
• all workshop visits (rice paper, coconut candy, fish sauce).
• lunch in the fruit orchard on An Binh Island with seasonal tropical fruits and honey tea.
• bottled water.
• hotel pickup and drop-off (selected District 1 hotels).
• all taxes, fees and handling charges.

Options for this experience

2 options

Mekong with My Tho and Ben TreGuide in English · 07:00Full-day Mekong Delta tour: Cruise the Mekong by boat past stilt houses and fruit orchards, with local treats and folk music along the way. Regular group (maximum 25 people), 8 hours, Vietnamese lunch or Asian food, bus with 29 seats. Pickup is available in District 1 (Central City) and Ben Van Don, District 4; there is no pickup in District 3. Pickup is included.

Mekong with Cai Be, non-tourist versionGuide in English · 07:00Small group luxury tour lasting 8 hours, with Vietnamese lunch, a nice and clean van with air conditioning, and an English-speaking tour guide. Pickup is included.

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

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 07:00

Book up to1h before

AgesAdult (12 to 85 years) · Child (2 to 11 years)

GroupUp to 20

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.

Paid on siteUS$ 3.87

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Moderate physical effortNot recommended during pregnancyNot recommended with heart problemsNot recommended with back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Vietnam Travel Group Co., LTD

Is this one for you?Choose this tour if you want to see how the Mekong Delta actually functions (the working markets, the village workshops, the quiet canals) rather than the main channels built for tour groups. The smaller boat in the afternoon and the focus on less-touristy stops mean you'll spend more time watching and less time waiting.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (2 to 11 years).

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's the difference between the Cai Be tour and the other Mekong options you offer?

Cai Be focuses on the smaller canals and working villages away from the main tourist channels, with visits to active workshops where rice paper, coconut candy and fish sauce are made. The other options (My Tho–Ben Tre and the luxury variant) cover different regions and stops. Cai Be is built around the less-traveled side of the delta.

How long is the boat ride, and is it rough water?

The full tour runs 8 to 9 hours including pickup and lunch, with the boat portion split between the floating market (motorized boat) and the afternoon canals (rowboat). The water is calm. The rowboat sections are gentle drifts through narrow channels, not open-water travel.

What happens at the workshops? Do I make anything, or just watch?

You watch the process at each workshop: rice paper being stretched, coconut candies rolled, fish sauce fermenting in jars. The guide explains how each is made and why. It's observation and learning, not a hands-on cooking class. The cooking happens at lunch in the orchard, where the meal is prepared for you to eat.

Is lunch included, and are vegetarian options available?

Lunch in the fruit orchard on An Binh Island is included. Vegetarian options are available. Let the operator know at booking what you need, and they'll arrange it.

Does the tour include hotel pickup?

Hotel pickup and drop-off are included for selected hotels in District 1. Confirm your hotel's location when you book to make sure pickup is available.

What should I bring or wear for the boat sections?

Wear comfortable clothes and shoes you don't mind getting wet. The rowboat is stable but you're close to the water. Bring sun protection (hat, sunscreen, sunglasses) as there's limited shade on the motorized boat. Bottled water is provided throughout the day.