In the Mekong Delta, the sun shines brighter and the Vietnamese smile wider. Palm trees arch over waterways and boats with painted eyes move silently over pale brown water.
Youโll see trees bearing magnificent durian and jackfruit. Seafood markets, floating markets, and night markets are vibrant and full of life.
There are a plethora of packaged tours from Saigon to the Mekong Delta, ranging from one day to four-day tours. It may seem that itโs too difficult, or complicated to get to the Mekong by yourself.
But the truth is, itโs straightforward and if you want to travel independently, you absolutely can. Donโt let the travel agencies sway you.

This is how we planned our Mekong Delta DIY Tour from Ho Chi Minh City:
- Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho
- Day 2: Cai Rang Floating Market
- Day 3: Can Tho to Ben Tre
- Day 4: Ben Tre to Ho Chi Minh City
This post outlines each day of the itinerary. You’ll find thorough public transit details, accommodation recommendations, as well as things to do and see.
At the very end of the post, there’s a summary of our expenses.
DAY 1: Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho
How to Get from HCMC to Can Tho

Step 1: Purchase Bus Ticket at theย Phuang Trang ticket office.
Step 2: Take free shuttle bus to bus station one hour before bus departure.
Step 3: Take bus to Can Tho.
Step 4: At the Can Tho bus station, ask for a free shuttle to your hotel/guesthouse.
Getting to the heart of the Mekong Delta is really simple. Simply, take a Phuang Trang (Futa) Bus from Saigon. Buses depart for Can Tho every 30-60 minutes. You can buy your bus ticket (110,000 Dong, $4.83, per ticket) on the day of departure.
We purchased our ticket at the Phuang Trang office location in the first district: 202-204 lรช hแปng phong phฦฐแปng 4 quแบญn 5 (coordinates: 10.759378, 106.677315). They have other office locations in the first district, but they donโt necessarily sell the bus ticket to Can Tho.
Once you purchase your ticket, a free shuttle will take you to the bus station one hour before your bus departs. So, if you want to take the 11:00 a.m. bus, youโll need to be at the ticket office no later than 10:00 a.m. Itโll take about 30 minutes to get to the bus station.
Thereโs an air-conditioned waiting room with a screen displaying the departing bus schedule with bus numbers. Your bus number (which will be on your ticket) matches the last 6 digits of your busโ license plate. The drive took 3 hours and 10 minutes to reach Can Tho.
When you arrive at Can Thoโs bus station, simply walk to the Phuang Trang bus booth inside and ask for a free shuttle to your hotel. Make sure you can show them your hotel name, address, and phone number. Youโll only wait a few minutes before they direct you to a shuttle.
Where to Stay in Can Tho
We stayed at the guesthouse: Minh Vuong Hotel (Address: 25 Phan Dang Luu, An Hoi, Ninh Kieu, Can Tho). Itโs a budget stay, but very clean. The owner is extremely helpful in organizing tours and ongoing transit.
After checking in, we booked our boat ride to the Cai Rang Floating Market through the guesthouse. We paid $25 for two people aboard a 4-person wooden sampan boat.
Another great option is the brand new Adora Central Park Hostel in Can Tho. They also offer tours to the Floating Market.
Look for accommodation in Can Tho.
What to Do in Can Tho

Most people only come to Can Tho to see the Cai Rang Floating Market. But, Can Tho is more than a mere transit stop. Itโs a lovely town worth exploring.
Admittedly, after 5 weeks of traveling throughout Vietnam, we werenโt so giddy about seeing everything. Our main objective in Can Tho was finding food.
After walking around the Hแป Xรกng Thแปi lake, we ate on De Tham (ฤแป Thรกm) street where there are many restaurant and street-food options.
DAY 2: Floating Markets
Cai Rang Floating Market

We booked the 7-hour sampan boat ride without a tour guide (only a driver). Our experience has been hit and miss (mostly miss), when it comes to tour guides in Vietnam, so we opted out. But, if you get a good one, it adds a lot of value to your experience.
The tour began at 5:00 a.m. Our guesthouse organized a free taxi to the pier. At about 5:30 a.m., we departed on a four-seat wooden sampan in the direction of Cai Rang Floating Market.
When we arrived at the market, we made a beeline for the coffee boat. After getting our caffeine fix, we tied up to another boat and ordered breakfast.
The first thing that struck us what the size of the market. It was far smaller than we imagined. We did hear that the marketโs size fluctuates with the time of the month.
So, if you want to see Cai Rang in its full glory, do some research about when to visit.

Phong Dien Floating Market

After navigating through the Cai Rang market, we set off for the second floating market of the day. Phong Dien was even smaller than the first and seemed to be exclusively for tourists. Our driver bought a pineapple and skillfully cut it up for us.
The second half of the boat ride weaves through smaller canals. Here, palm trees arch over narrow waterways and you get a sense of how local people live. We had the opportunity to get out of the boat several times. The first stop was a rice noodle factory.
The second was a fruit garden and restaurant. All the tour boats seem to stop at the same places. The food at the restaurant was mediocre at best, so just order a drink. Heads up: youโll be asked whether you’d like to pay for your driverโs lunch.
Read Next: 5 Things to Experience in Ha Giang Province
Snake Farm

The last stop was something we didnโt expect to see. Because photos were not permitted, let me elaborate. We saw snake skins stretched onto wooden planks and nailed into place. The skins must have been 3 meters in length.
Past the boards, there were four men working amidst inflated snakes. These snakes were blown up to a diameter of about 40+ centimeters (16+ inches). One man was standing on a headless python and using his weight to roll the body back and forth.
Another man was slicing a snake open and skinning it. These men had obviously mastered this skill as demonstrated by their dexterity, composure and indifference. We watched this scene unfold not quite understanding it.
The site was ghastly, yet also morbidly fascinating (before fully processing it). Behind the slaughter, there were crates and crates of living caged pythons. This is a snake farm. The skins are harvested for the European fashion industry.
Luxury brands like Prada, Gucci, Hermes, Dior, Burberry, and Chanel source their skins from farms in Southeast Asia. About 50% of the snake skin fashion products are consumed in the U.S. Of course, the average buyer probably doesnโt consider how the skin is harvested.
Depending on the method used, it’s not uncommon for the snakes to be alive while they’re being skinned. They are definitely alive when they are being inflated by water, or air – this makes the peeling easier. These animals suffer a barbaric slow death after spending their whole life in a tight cage.
The exotic skin market isn’t just limited to snakes. Crocodiles are also harvested for their skins in the Mekong Delta. With consumer demand fueling this industry, more Vietnamese will begin farming animals for their skin. Please consider what you shop for. Diatribe over.
Tran Phu Night Market

We returned to Can Tho around 1:00 p.m. We ate lunch at the โmake your own spring rollsโ restaurant called Nem Nuong Thanh Van (Address: 17. Hoa Binh Avenue, Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho).
In the evening, we went to the Tran Phu Night Market. This place was amazing. Itโs located on Tran Phu road and stretches to the water. There are at least 10 different seafood restaurants to choose from and a number of other food stalls.
The market also houses furniture, appliance, and clothing vendors. Itโs lively, loud, and authentic. We didnโt see any other foreign tourists here.
We settled into one of the seafood market restaurants and ordered seven dishes. The food is all freshly prepared, but avoid the oysters if you have a sensitive stomach.
During the course of dinner, we saw a magic show, listened to karaoke, and watched local life unfold.
DAY 3: Can Tho to Ben Tre
How to Get from Can Tho to Ben Tre

- Taxi to Can Tho Bus Station (Note: this was a different bus station than the one we arrived in)
- Public Bus to Ben Tre
- Taxi (and Tuk Tuk) to Ba Danh Homestay & Kitchen – Ben Tre Mekong
The next day we departed for Ben Tre. To get to Ben Tre by public bus (67,000 Dong per person), you have two options.
You can either take the 8:00 a.m. bus or the 1:00 p.m. bus. (We donโt know how often these times change, so please double-check with your guesthouse).
We took the 1:00 p.m. Bus to Ben Tre. The hotel owner organized a taxi for us to get to the bus station (71,000 Dong). The bus ride was on time and well organized.
Itโs not the most comfortable ride (no air conditioning), but it gets you to your destination. When we arrived in the Ben Tre Bus Station, we got a taxi to our homestay.
Where to Stay in Ben Tre
We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the isolated and peaceful Ba Danh Homestay & Kitchen – Ben Tre Mekong ($16/room). Thereโs not much to do here but listen to coconuts drop, but we loved it. If you choose to come here, make sure to bring a book.
A note about getting to Ba Danh: a taxi canโt take you to the homestay, because the road is too narrow. So, when we booked the night, the owner instructed us to have to taxi driver called them in order to arrange a drop-off.
We got dropped off and picked up by a tuk tuk. This part of the journey is actually the most adventurous. Just remember to duck before banana and palm leaves smack you in the face.
Look for accommodation in Ben Tre.
DAY 4: Ben Tre to HCMC
What to Do in Ben Tre

We took a morning boat ride along the narrow canals of Ben Tre. Unlike the day before, the waterways are only populated with fisherman checking their fish traps, or the occasional local taking a dip.
In true Vietnamese style, we could still hear mid-morning karaoke blasting from one of the restaurants. After the boat ride, we went back to Ba Danh for lunch.
The owner prepared an excellent vegetarian curry. You can rent bikes from the homestay and ride into town if you need something to do.
How to get from Ben Tre to HCMC
Our homestay (Ba Danh Homestay) organized transit to the bus station. We had to inform the homestay a few hours in advance about our departure time. We took a tuk tuk to a shuttle bus to the bus station.
We took a Thinh Phat bus (70,000 Dong per person). We have no complaints, except that we were dropped off in a super random spot in Saigon.
How to Improve this Mekong Delta DIY Tour – Itinerary
Stay one more night in Ben Tre.
There are a lot of transit steps to get between the two destinations and back to Saigon, so it would have been nice to enjoy Ben Tre for another day.
Mekong Delta DIY Tour Expenses (as of December 2017)
Futa Bus Tickets (Ho Chi Minh City): 110,000 Dong per person ($4.83 per ticket)
Guesthouse in Can Tho for 2 Nights: $9 per night ($18 total)
4-seat Sampan Floating Market Tour (no Guide): $25 for two people/boat.
Taxi to Can Tho Bus Station: 71,000 Dong ($3.13)
Bus to Ben Tre: 67,000 Dong per person ($2.95)
Ben Tre Taxi to Homestay: 140,000 Dong ($6.17)
Ben Tre Homestay: $16.20 per night
Ben Tre Homestay Meal: 60,000 Dong per person (vegetarian food)
Homestay to Shuttle Tuk Tuk: 100,000 Dong ($4.41)
Thinh Phat Bus Ticket to Saigon: 70,000 Dong per person ($3.09)
One Person Expenses (excluding meals and assuming one person pays $25 per boat ): $83.78
Two Persons Expenses (excluding meals and assuming youโre sharing a bed): $94.65
More Asia Travel Guides
Vietnam:
Southeast Asia:
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- Bangkok Travel Guide
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- First time in Thailand: A collection of impressions
- Offbeat Island Hopping in the Andaman Sea

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Hi Sabrina, where did you book the sampan ride for floating market?
Thanks
Hi Maggie,
We booked the floating market ride directly through our accommodation.
I just stumbled onto your blog for the first time, this is a really great and useful entry about the Mekong Delta. I read a lot of blogs while travel planning for my partner and I and yours is exceptionally helpful. Thanks!
Thank you so much Sara! I’m glad it’s helpful!
Hi! Thank you very much for this great itinerary. How much did you pay for the Ben Tre boat ride please and how long did it take?
Thank you!
Filip
Hi Filip! Welcome! Unfortunately, I can’t recall how much it was. I remember the boat ride dragging on a bit, so I think exploring the area on a bike would be a nice alternative. – Sabrina
Hi Sabrina, thanks for the info.
Taking a bus from HCMC with a medium size suitcase – would that work? Could I easily move from one lodging to another as I explore the Mekong Delta area? I would appreciate your advice. Thanks so much!
Hi Lindy,
I don’t anticipate it being an issue. A backpack is always easier (when you’re on the move), but you should be just fine :)! Sabrina