Mekong Boat Tours, Best Mekong Boat Tour 2025, 2026

Mekong Delta is one of the most popular destinations in Vietnam and Asia. Taking a Mekong BoatTour is the best way to learn more about the local life and culture of the local people in South Vietnam. 

If you travel to Saigon and want to discover real Vietnam please take a boat trip to Mekong Delta and you will know more about the local life while enjoying the scenery and special food of the farming and fishing local life.

Places to visit for Mekong Tours in Vietnam

If you visit Ho Chi Minh and want to take a tour to Mekong Delta there are some options for you from Mekong Delta Day Tour to Mekong Delta Overnight Tour. There are overnight from overnight tour staying in homestay, hotels to overnight tour on cruises.

Some places famous for Mekong Delta Tours are Ben Tre, My Tho, Vinh Long, Can Tho, Chau Doc where you can do the tour.

Mekong Delta is famous for the floating market. There are a lot of local floating markets but there are 2 famous floating markets which named Cai Be Floating Market and Cai Rang Floating Market.

Cai Be Floating Market:

Cai Be Floating Market is located in Vinh Long – About more than 2 hours from Ho Chi Minh City. It is one of the biggest and busiest floating markets in Mekong Delta in Vietnam. The market was formed around the 17th to 18th century. When you visit Cai Be Floating Market you can see local people sell and buy things on the boat. The vegetables, fruits and other agriculture products from other provinces are carried on the sampan boat and gather in the market. The sellers will hang the product they want to sell on a pole so it is easy for the buyers to see and come to buy. The atmosphere of the market is really interesting there.

Cai Rang Floating Market:

Cai Rang Floating Market is about 6 kms from Can Tho City Center and it is about 30 minutes from Ninh Kieu Wharf. Cai Rang Floating Market is located on Cai Rang River and it is the most famous floating market in Vietnam. The products are carried on boats to the markets from different areas to Cai Rang Floating Market. The floating market was formed initially to meet the need of trading the goods in Mekong Delta when the road traffic system was not so good. Now the traffic network in Vietnam is much better but local people still keep this market as their way of trading.

To visit Cai Rang Floating Market, you should visit in the early morning as this floating market is for most wholesales. So staying in Can Tho then visit the market in the early morning is the best way for travellers as you can visit the market in the early morning.

Ben Tre:

Ben Tre is about 2-hour drive from Ho Chi Minh City. You can visit Ben Tre by taking a day tour from Ho Chi Minh City. There are daily tours from Ho Chi Minh City so you can take a group tour or a private tour. That is very convenient.

In Ben Tre, you can take a boat trip along the river and see the local life. There are some famous islands there like Turtle Island, Phoenix Island, Dragon Island and Unicorn Island. Visiting these islands you will have a chance to visit their life and the workshops where they produce the handicraft products like coconut candy, fish sources, shrimp paste, rice paper, cake, mat from coconut leave…etc. You also can have a chance to enjoy the motorised rickshaw.

Vinh Long:

Vinh Long is about 3 hour-drive from Ho Chi Minh City. In Vinh Long, you can visit the An Binh Island where you can see how people make the rice papers, coconut candy, popcorn and other products. 

You may take a day tour from Ho Chi Minh to Vinh Long, which is interesting. Enjoy the boat trips, enjoy a cup of tea with honey and listen to traditional music there. You also see the life of local people there which is very different from other areas like you can see a floating gas station on the way or you can see the big boats carrying full of products along the rivers.

In Vinh Long, you can visit the central market of Vinh Long where people trade their products there.

Can Tho:

Can Tho is more than 4 hours from Ho Chi Minh City. If you wish to visit Can Tho, you should stay overnight in Can Tho so you can visit Can Tho better. From Ho Chi Minh City, you can visit Ben Tre or Vinh Long then drive to Can Tho for overnight. The next morning, you can visit Cai Rang Floating Market in Can Tho as it is the most famous and interesting floating mark in Vietnam.

After one night in Can Tho and floating market, you can go back to Ho Chi Minh or you can take a flight from Can Tho to other destinations like Hanoi, Phu Quoc if you wish.

Chau Doc:

Chau Doc is far from Ho Chi Minh City so if you wish to visit Chau Doc you can combine with other destinations.

Take a boat trip to Vinh Long or Ben Tren then stay 1 night in Can Tho, the next day you can visit Can Tho, Cai Rang Floating Market then take a drive to Chau Doc.

In Chau Doc, you can visit Tra Su Forest. The next morning, you can take a speedboat to Cambodia. That is a good itinerary for people who wish to visit Cambodia after Vietnam.

See the Mekong tours as below.