Mekong Delta in 4 days: Ben Tre, An Binh homestay, Can Tho and Chau Doc

Why four days instead of a day tour from Saigon

Vietnam's national tourism site says it plainly: Ben Tre is one of the towns nearest Ho Chi Minh City, which is why it is so easy to see on a day tour. The trouble is the rest of the delta. Can Tho is about a four-hour bus journey from the city, and its Cai Rang floating market gets going around five in the morning; the tourism board's advice is to be on a boat by 6am. A same-day trip from Saigon cannot do that, and spends more of the day on the road than on the water.

Sleeping in the delta changes the shape of every day. You can cycle the coconut lanes in Ben Tre before the heat, spend an evening and a quiet morning with a family on An Binh, reach Cai Rang while the big boats are still trading, and catch the late light from Sam Mountain at Chau Doc. The route runs one way, from the Tien River side near Saigon to the Hau River at the Cambodian border, so you never double back.

Expect new names on maps and bookings. In June 2025 the National Assembly cut the number of provinces: Ben Tre and Tra Vinh were merged into Vinh Long province, Can Tho absorbed Soc Trang and Hau Giang, Tien Giang joined Dong Thap, and Kien Giang joined An Giang, the province Chau Doc belongs to. Older guides, tour descriptions and bus signs often still use the former names, so check the exact address of anything you book.

Day 1: Saigon to Ben Tre, coconut lanes and Con Phung

Leave Ho Chi Minh City in the morning. VnExpress's guide puts Ben Tre 85 km from the city and says several bus lines run the two-hour trip from Mien Tay bus station; a booked car is simpler with luggage. Drop your bags in Ben Tre town by the river, or go straight to a homestay in the orchards, where VnExpress notes their number has grown in recent years.

Spend the day on a bicycle. The national tourism site's own four-day itinerary notes that most hotels in Ben Tre offer bicycles to guests, and suggests riding past the market and the Ben Tre River to the ferry dock for the short crossing to Cu Lao Long, an islet of shaded paths, coconut groves and the occasional café. You can take your bike on other ferries to more islets; those in the Ham Luong River give a look at ordinary delta life rather than an organised stop. The same itinerary counts more than 300 coconut candy workshops in the area; visiting one after lunch shows the whole process, from coconut milk and sugar to the wrapped sweets.

If you want the classic island visit as well, go to Con Phung, the islet in the Tien River, in the late afternoon when the coach groups have thinned. When we checked on 2026-10-03, the website that describes itself as the official Con Phung tourist area listed a gate ticket of 50,000 dong for adults and 30,000 dong for children including the return boat, with opening hours of 7:00 (7:30 in its FAQ) to 18:00, and boats from the old Rach Mieu ferry landing in Tan Thach. It warns that many intermediaries sell trips to the islet and asks visitors to call its hotline at the landing so they board the right boat. Our Ben Tre guide has more on the Thom River coconut market and the craft villages if you would rather stay a second night.

Day 2: a night on An Binh island, opposite Vinh Long

Move on to Vinh Long in the morning. Ben Tre and Vinh Long are now in the same province, but we found no official bus timetable for this short leg; ask your hotel to book a car or a bus the evening before. The goal is to reach An Binh island in time for lunch with your hosts.

An Binh lies between the Tien and Co Chien rivers, opposite Vinh Long town. The provincial newspaper describes nearly 4,000 hectares of orchards growing longan, rambutan and durian, and quoted the commune's Party secretary in February 2026 as counting 19 homestays, nine of them with ASEAN tourism awards, plus six places to eat and more than twenty orchard gardens that receive visitors. A homestay here is a family house in an orchard, not a hotel: expect home cooking, a bicycle, a boat trip arranged by the hosts and an early night. Before booking, check whether the room has air conditioning and a private bathroom and how you get there from the town or the boat landing with luggage.

Use the afternoon slowly: a bicycle along the island's lanes, a rowing boat into the side canals, fruit in a garden. The provincial newspaper lists tourist boat routes in Vinh Long that include the An Binh orchards and, along the Long Ho river, the Mang Thit brick and pottery kilns on the Thay Cai canal. We found no official timetable or fare list for these boats, so ask your hosts to arrange one and agree the route and return time before you set off. Our Vinh Long guide covers the island, the kilns and Cai Be across the river in more detail.

Day 3: on to Can Tho, with Sa Dec as a detour

Take the morning on An Binh while it is cool, then cross to the mainland and drive south. Vietnamese Wikipedia puts Vinh Long town 33 km north of Can Tho, so this is the shortest leg of the trip. Check in on or near the Ninh Kieu waterfront in the early afternoon.

If you would rather fill the day, go by way of Sa Dec in Dong Thap. Its flower village grows pots on raised platforms over water channels and tends them from small boats, and the town centre has the Huynh Thuy Le ancient house and a riverside market. VnExpress puts Sa Dec about 60 km from Can Tho, a little over an hour by road, and notes electric carts through the flower lanes. It turns day three into a full day on the road and in the gardens, so leave early from An Binh; our Sa Dec guide has the details.

In Can Tho, follow the national tourism site's own suggestion: walk to Ong Pagoda, built at the end of the 19th century by the city's Chinese community, with coils of incense hanging from the rafters, then stroll the Ninh Kieu promenade as the evening cools. For dinner, De Tham Street, known locally as the food street, is the easy place to start. Before bed, book tomorrow's boat, through your hotel or at the wharf. Ask what time it leaves, how long it lasts and whether it goes into the small canals after the market.

Day 4: Cai Rang at dawn, then upriver to Chau Doc

Get up at five. The national tourism site describes a ride of about 30 minutes from Can Tho to Cai Rang, the largest wholesale floating market in the delta, which runs from early morning to about midday. Big wooden boats hang a sample of what they sell from a tall pole at the bow, and smaller boats move between them selling breakfast noodles and coffee: a bowl of hu tieu on the water is the classic Can Tho breakfast. Afterwards, continue into the small tributaries for the quieter half of the morning. The market is closed or runs on a limited basis on the first two days of Tet.

Be back by late morning, have lunch in Can Tho, and set off for Chau Doc. The tourism site puts the drive at about three hours; book a car or a bus through your hotel. Aim to arrive by mid-afternoon, check in on the riverfront and go straight out to Sam Mountain. The tourism site counts around 200 religious sites on its slopes. Visit Mieu Ba Chua Xu, where devotees bring roast pigs, fruit and lotus, then climb to Chua Hang, the Cave Pagoda, for the view over the rice fields to the mountains of Cambodia as the sun drops. Dress for temples and carry water.

Day four is the longest of the route. If the dawn start and a three-hour drive in one day is more than you want, split it: a second night in Can Tho with a day on the islets, then Chau Doc on day five.

The departure morning, and how to leave Chau Doc

Get up early once more for Chau Doc market. The tourism board's dining guide says it is in full swing by 7am, and calls the town the 'Kingdom of Pickled Fish': look for neat mountains of mắm beside the vegetables and flowers. On the pavements outside, the tourism site's town guide points to bún cá, a turmeric-tinted fish noodle soup, as the breakfast to have. If you have an extra hour, a boat to the floating village or to the Cham villages on the islets across the river is the best use of it.

Then choose your way out. The tourism site gives about six hours by direct bus or car to Ho Chi Minh City, and about three hours by road back to Can Tho airport, which has domestic flights to Vietnam's main cities. It also notes cruises between Can Tho and Chau Doc and from Cambodia into Vietnam; if you continue upriver into Cambodia, confirm visas and border formalities with your operator and on the official sources before you travel.

With one more day, stay a second night in Chau Doc. The Tra Su melaleuca forest, which the tourism site puts 23 km from town, is explored by small motorboat over a carpet of duckweed and is at its best in the high-water months from August to November. Our Chau Doc guide covers the forest, the Cham islets and Sam Mountain in full.

The plan at a glance

This is an editorial suggestion, not a timetable. Check boat times the evening before and travel between towns in daylight.

• Day 1 — Ben Tre: bus or car from Mien Tay (about two hours); afternoon cycling to Cu Lao Long, a coconut candy workshop, Con Phung late in the day. Sleep in Ben Tre town or an orchard homestay.
• Day 2 — Vinh Long: short road leg to Vinh Long; lunch, bicycle and boat on An Binh island. Sleep in an An Binh homestay.
• Day 3 — Can Tho: morning on An Binh, 33 km to Can Tho (or the long way via Sa Dec); Ong Pagoda, Ninh Kieu promenade, book the boat. Sleep on the Ninh Kieu waterfront.
• Day 4 — Cai Rang and Chau Doc: boat at dawn to Cai Rang and the side canals; about three hours by road to Chau Doc; Sam Mountain at sunset. Sleep on the Chau Doc riverfront.
• Day 5 morning — leave: Chau Doc market at 7am, then about six hours to Saigon, three to Can Tho airport, or the river into Cambodia.

Weather, water and getting around

The national tourism site describes southern Vietnam as hot all year, around 30 degrees, with a wet season from May to November that brings a dependable afternoon downpour, usually lasting a few hours. The route works in either season: put the cycling and the boats in the morning and keep the drives for the afternoon. For Chau Doc, the tourism site gives May to October as the rainy season, August to November as high water, and November to April as sunny and dry.

Water levels matter as much as rain. If you travel in the high-water months, ask your hosts before you arrive whether the landings and island lanes are passable, and leave slack in the day.

For getting around, the tourism site notes that local buses connect most delta provinces with each other and with Mien Tay Bus Station in Ho Chi Minh City, and that taxis and motorbike taxis are available: check that the meter is running, and agree the price before a motorbike ride. With luggage and four moves in four days, a car with a driver for some or all of the legs is the easiest option. For bicycles, ask your hotel about rental.