The Best of Mekong Delta
Overview
Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City – Arrival
Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City – Cu Chi Tunnels – Cao Dai Temple
Day 3: Ho Chi Minh City – Ben Tre – Can Tho – Mekong Delta
Day 4: Can Tho – Cai Rang floating market – Ho Chi Minh city
Day 5: Ho Chi Minh City – City Tour – Shopping time
Day 6: Ho Chi Minh City – Departure
Customizable itinerary
Your private tour guide will meet you at Ho Chi Minh City’s (HCM City) Tan Son Nhat airport and will escort you by private car to your selected hotel in HCM City. Your tour guide will be happy to answer any questions along the way and will assist you with check-in and registration at the hotel. The rest of the day will be yours to explore at your leisure.
Lunch and dinner will be on your own, but your guide will recommend excellent options for your preferred cuisine – we highly recommend trying HCM City cuisine for a true immersion experience.
Some recommended sights in HCM City on your own:
– The famous Ben Thanh night market to enjoy an evening shopping spree
– A O Show, a one-of-a-kind show with optical illusions, amazing choreography, powerful acrobatics, and traditional music that takes place at the Saigon Opera House. Appreciate the exterior of the French-designed Saigon Opera House before venturing inside this architectural gem.
– Water Puppet Show: enjoy all the singing and splashing of a traditional water puppet show! Lasting for around 50-60 minutes, kids will love getting a splash or two from these beautifully crafted puppets. Even toddlers will be mesmerised by the colors, singing and laughs in the show (which is in Vietnamese, but still worthwhile!).
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (Choice of Halal/ No Pork – No Lard Meals)
Morning
After breakfast, we will take a three-hour drive to the Tay Ninh to visit the Cao Dai Holy See, home to the Cao Dai Great Temple (Thanh That Cao Dai), the Cao Dai Holy See, founded in 1926, is 4km east of Tay Ninh, in the village of Long Hoa. As well as the Great Temple, the complex houses administrative offices, residences for officials and adepts, and a hospital of traditional Vietnamese herbal medicine that attracts people from all over the south for its treatments.
We will arrive at the temple around mid-day and attend the mid-day service and to learn about this unique, interesting young local religion.
Afternoon
After lunch in a local restaurant, we’ll drive to the legendary Cu Chi Tunnels. This fascinating tour will help give an insight into how the Viet Cong managed to conceal themselves through the war.
Upon arrival, we have an opportunity to watch a brief introductory documentary. This black and white film tells of the War from a different perspective which is always interesting. Following this film, we will take a walk through the compound to experience what life was like for the 10,000 Viet Cong who took part in the 1968 Tet Offensive. You may even have a chance to crawl through the tunnels yourself.
Leaving Cu Chi, we will drive back to Ho Chi Minh City.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (Choice of Halal/ No Pork – No Lard Meals)
Morning
After breakfast and check out, your private tour guide will pick you up and take you to Ben Tre town, on the way to the heart of the Mekong Delta, via some rustic country roads (travel time approximately 2 hours). The Mekong Delta, popularly known as the “rice bowl” of Vietnam, is famous for its vast rice fields, orchard farms, coconut trees, numerous waterways, and beautiful landscapes.
When you arrive at Ben Tre town, you will embark on a motorized boat trip along the scenic Ben Tre River, visiting various local industries along the way such as the small local factories where bricks and sleeping mats are made. You will take a leisure walk along the village lanes visiting the local homes to sample dry fruits and enjoy honey tea while enjoying a local Tai Tu music show. You will also visit a coconut mill workshop where the local delicacy of coconut candy is produced, and a range of coconut husk and fiber products are skillfully handcrafted.
You will then take a small sampan boat through palm-fringed back canals, gliding peacefully along the hidden waterways surrounded by an immense variety of tropical plants. The quiet, rural setting is a welcome and restorative retreat to the frenetic buzz of HCMC which seems so far away.
Lunch will be served at a local restaurant where you will sample some of the local cuisines.
Afternoon
After lunch, you will return to the boat to head back to the road and continue the drive through the fields and towns of the Mekong to Can Tho city, stopping briefly at the Vinh Trang Pagodas.
After arriving in Can Tho and checking in to your hotel, the rest of the day will be yours to explore at your leisure. We suggest you see the town on foot or by pedicab or find a quiet place for a cocktail by the river.
Overnight in Can Tho
Meals: Breakfast, lunch (Choice of No Pork – No Lard Meals)
Early Morning
We’ll rise early today (suggested at 5:00 AM) and take our motorized boat straight to Cai Rang Floating market. This time is the best time for photos when the market is at its busiest and the dawn is breaking. After the “shooting party” we enjoy a local breakfast served by one of the vendor boats then cruise further to Phong Dien floating market for another photo hunting trip of the day. Phong Dien market is best known for its excitements and variations of bizarre food and a local specialty.
On returning to the road, you will visit the Binh Thuy old house before driving back to Ho Chi Minh City
with a stop en route for lunch.
Arrive back to Ho Chi Minh City, check into your hotel and enjoy your own time of leisure.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City
Meals: Breakfast, lunch (Choice of No Pork – No Lard Meals)
Morning
Today we will enjoy a guided tour of this Metropolitan City. This tour will offer you a glance of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) with the visits to the War Remnant Museum, the Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, GPO “General Post Office” and the City Municipal Theater ‘Opera House”. Tour ends at around midday after lunch.
Afternoon
This afternoon will be at your own leisure for your last minute shopping time. You may want to shop in best-known places like Ben Thanh Market, Saigon Square, or stroll along the Dong Khoi and Le Loi Street. If you want some up-market products, check out the Diamond Plaza.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City
Meals: Breakfast, lunch (Choice of Halal/ No Pork – No Lard Meals)
Today will be on your own leisure until you are transferred to Tan Son Nhat International Airport for your flight home
Meals: Breakfast
Useful Information
This tour is built upon our firsthand knowledge & experience, offering you the best choices available. The price of this trip varies depending on the number of people in your party, dates of departure, and availability of ground services. Please click on REQUEST A FREE QUOTE (above) and supply the required information, enabling us to send you your personalized quote within 24 hours!
Note: Amendments CAN be made to this tour to suite your requirements.
What’s Included?
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- Accommodation with daily breakfast at selected hotels
- Private Vehicles and Drivers
- Private English Speaking Guides (Other languages if available, upon request)
- Meals as mentioned in the itinerary (B= Breakfast, L= Lunch, D= Dinner)
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- Entrance fees for all mentioned sights visited
- Service Charge & Government Taxes
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What’s Not Included?
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- Your International Flights to and from Vietnam
- Vietnam entry Visa Fees (contact us for further information)
- Personal Expenses (such as laundry, telephone, drinks, etc.)
- Any bank fees or charges at your end
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- Meals other than those mentioned in the itinerary
- Personal Travel Insurance
- Tips for guides and drivers
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Free service. No credit card required
Reviews on Our Service
We are committed to giving our customers unforgettable experiences in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and beyond, not just something staged for tourists. Read reviews written by our customers about their experiences in Indochina after they have returned home. These include the ratings and comments on attractions, guides, activities, hotels and food.
Vietnam Luxury Vacation Review: Sightseeing, Culture, 12-Day Travel
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Sightseeing, Rice Fields, Boat Rides, 18-Day Trip
We started searching for our tour for Vietnam / Cambodia back in October 2022 to start the tour in the first week of January 2023. We selected this travel agency, and contact name provided to us was Elly. She was extraordinary with her communication with us. Excellent English speaking language capability & excellent in communication on Whats app and email communication. We went back & forth few times to arrange the tour we wanted. She was very accommodating in arranging our schedule. We requested automobile tour for both countries, just for two of us.
We requested SUV FOR OUR COMFORT AND WE GOT IT!
We requested to get the high end hotel in each city and she gave us choices and not only that but send videos of each hotel for each City and then waited for us to decide which hotel we select. All the Hotels turned out to be one of the best we would expect to be. M/s Elly, personally came to visit with us on the evening of our first day tour. Very respectful and asked if she could do anything for us.I had requested before in our communication, if she would arrange for power converter for us, since my camera chargers are all in 110. So brought two power converters for us! Something, not everyone will do this kind of service. So all the kiddos to her!
as to the drivers in each city were very courteous, very professional and very careful in how and where they have to do driving.
our Guides in each city were so friendly, courteous and knowledgeable in where ever we visited. How ever wish two guides in Hue An and Ho Chi Minh City spoke English more clearly.
We only wish we had one extra day in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, , however, there is so much to see in the world! Perhaps next time will visit Vietnam.
As to Cambodia, same thing to express about site seeing and our Guide and drivers. Guides and drivers really made our travel thro’ the countries where we do not speak that language, made it so comfortable and enjoyable.
Outstanding!
Hi Lam…hope you don’t mind me contacting you directly. My wife Barb & I (Paul) have just arrived home after completing a great tour of Vietnam which was organised through your company Asia Pioneer Travel.
We want to tell you personally how impressed were were with the level of service that we received…it was amazing and the best that we have experienced anywhere. After we made initial contact with you, you handed us over to Chloe to arrange the trip which she did in very quick time and the amount of detail that she went to was fantastic. From the moment that we walked out of Hanoi airport on arrival to see our guide waiting, we knew that we were in for a great trip. The drivers & guides were fantastic and Chloe was in contact by email constantly making sure that everything was going to plan & that we were happy. At one stage we need to vary the itinerary by extending accommodation & changing air tickets and Chloe did that without any fuss or bother.
We also met some wonderful Vietnamese people along the way and Ive got to say that they are our kind of people, very generous & friendly.
Enough of my ramblings, thanks for a great visit to Vietnam, and a special thank you to Chloe for looking after us in such a terrific manner…she is a very special caring lady.
Kind regards & I hope that we have the opportunity to use Asia Pioneer Travel again….Paul & Barb Little from Newcastle Australia
Superbly organised and very flexible
We travelled to Vietnam for two weeks, booking the whole trip through Lizzie at Asia Pioneer, including hotels, excursions, trips, guides and internal flights. Lizzie was so helpful and flexible, accommodating changes to our schedule until the last minute, especially as we missed our connecting flight in Dubai and arrived a day later than planned (our fault). Nothing was too much trouble, including getting my wallet back to me after I left it in the car taking us to the airport.
We started in Hanoi in the North and worked our way south to Ho Chi Minh city (Saigon), taking in Ha Long with its amazing sea stacks and sleeping on a boat, then to Sa Pa on the overnight sleeper train from Hanoi, with its wonderful countryside and rice terraces. Afterwards, we went to Hoi An for three days of relaxation. Hoi An probably my favourite place and three days are enough to cover it. Then onto Hue, the original capital, my least favourite place and then finally on to HMC, which was a real contrast to the North.
The 3-star hotels that Lizzie picked were very good and comfortable, and the guides were very knowledgeable. I would definitely use Asia Pioneer again for future Asia trips.
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