DEEPER INTO THE MEKONG 

Three days, two nights of village life, quiet wetlands and river traditions

Make a boutique countryside retreat your home for two nights and discover the Delta with hosts who know it personally. Follow village paths through fruit gardens, explore the green waterways of Mua Xuan and enjoy breakfast aboard a traditional sampan at Cai Rang. Along the way, meet the families behind everyday Mekong crafts, savour regional cooking and enjoy time to settle into the countryside.

Day 1 | Village Paths and a Countryside Welcome

9:00 AM: Depart Ho Chi Minh City

Your driver collects you from your hotel for the journey to Can Tho. Leave the city behind as waterways, gardens and the agricultural landscapes of the Delta come into view.

Early Afternoon: Lunch and Time to Settle In

Arrive at your countryside retreat for a welcoming Southern Vietnamese lunch. Fresh herbs, regional ingredients and dishes served for sharing offer your first taste of the place you will call home.

Check into your room, unpack and enjoy a little time to relax before meeting your local host.

3:00 PM: Mekong Local Life and Rural Village Ride

Explore the countryside by bicycle, following small lanes beside canals, through fruit gardens and past waterside homes. Your host shares a personal understanding of the villages, explaining how the river shapes the land, livelihoods and daily routines around you.

Pause in a fruit garden to discover what is in season and learn how local growers care for their trees. Taste freshly prepared fruit, ask questions and enjoy the conversations that unfold along the way.

Continue past rice fields and village gardens, with time to stop for the details that catch your interest. Return to your retreat with time to freshen up before dinner.

7:30 PM: Dinner With the Flavours of the Delta

Gather around the table for a Southern Vietnamese dinner, where fragrant herbs and familiar regional dishes invite you to taste, share and linger. Enjoy a relaxed evening in the countryside before retiring to your room.

Overnight at your boutique countryside retreat.
Included dining: A welcoming Mekong lunch and a Southern Vietnamese dinner.

Day 2 | Mua Xuan, Into the Living Wetlands

7:00 AM | Breakfast at Your Retreat

Enjoy breakfast before meeting your host at 7:30 AM for a morning discovering Mua Xuan and a nearby basket-weaving community.

Mua Xuan | Green Waterways and Birdlife

Explore by boat through waterways edged with water hyacinth and water lettuce. Your host helps you notice the birds and smaller movements among the vegetation, watching for herons, kingfishers, coucals and swamphens.

Climb the viewing tower for a wider perspective over the wetlands, then follow a forest trail on a gentle walk of approximately 30 minutes. Pause in the shade, listen to the bird calls and take time to observe the landscape around you.

The Basket Weavers | Meet the Hands Behind the Craft

Visit artisans who turn bamboo and rattan into baskets used by local farming communities. Watch as strips are prepared, bent and woven, each movement giving the finished basket its shape and strength.

With your host helping the conversation, discover how the baskets are used and how the craft remains part of village life. The pleasure of the visit lies in meeting the makers and understanding their work.

Lunch | A Table Full of Mekong Flavours

Sit down at a local restaurant for the dishes people here know from home. Fresh herbs, seasonal ingredients and generous plates made for sharing bring the morning to a satisfying close.

Afternoon | Your Time in the Countryside

Return to your retreat for an afternoon at leisure. Relax beside the pool, wander through the gardens or find a shaded corner with a book. There is time to enjoy the setting and the quiet pleasure of having nowhere else to be.

Evening | Dinner at Your Retreat

Enjoy another evening of regional cooking before settling in for your final night in the Delta.

Overnight at your boutique countryside retreat.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Day 3 | The Mekong Beyond the Floating Market

6:30 AM | Meet Your Local Host

Meet your host at your accommodation and set out for a traditional sampan journey to Cai Rang Floating Market.

Cai Rang | Breakfast on the River

From the close perspective of a small boat, discover the produce, trading boats and everyday routines of the floating market. Your host helps you understand the exchanges around you and the lives connected to this stretch of river.

Enjoy warm rice noodle soup and Vietnamese coffee served on the water. Take your time over breakfast as boats pass and the working morning unfolds around you.

Family Rice Noodle Workshop | From Rice to Breakfast

Visit a family workshop to follow the making of rice noodles, from preparing the mixture to forming, drying and cutting the sheets.

Meet the people behind the process and discover the care and skill involved in a familiar bowl of noodles. Your host makes space for questions and conversation, connecting the craft with the breakfast you have just enjoyed.

Quiet Canals | Riverside Life From a Sampan

Leave the wider river behind and continue into smaller waterways bordered by water coconut palms and tropical greenery. Gardens and waterside homes pass slowly into view, revealing how closely daily life follows the water.

Family Cacao Garden | Taste Where It Grows

Walk beneath the trees of a family cacao garden and discover how the fruit is transformed into locally made cacao products.

Taste the results at their source and hear about the family’s work, from tending the trees to processing the harvest.

Seasonal Fruit | A Final Taste of the Delta

Pause for freshly prepared tropical fruit, chosen according to the season. Enjoy a last conversation with your host before returning to your retreat.

Late Morning | Farewell Lunch and Departure Preparations

Enjoy a light lunch before collecting your luggage and preparing for your onward journey. Your team coordinates checkout and luggage arrangements in advance so the final morning flows comfortably.

12:30 PM | Your Onward Journey

Meet your driver for the return transfer to your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, arriving at approximately 4:00 PM, depending on traffic.

If your travels take you elsewhere, we can arrange an alternative transfer to:

• Chau Doc, for a stay before continuing to Cambodia.
• Rach Gia, for your onward journey to Phu Quoc.
• Can Tho Airport, to connect with your confirmed flight (to Ha Noi, Da      Nang, or Phu Quoc)

Alternative transfers are planned around your departure schedule and quoted when you reserve your journey. An overnight stay or adjusted itinerary may be recommended to ensure a comfortable connection.

Meals: Breakfast on the river

Why This Journey

• Make a boutique countryside retreat your home for two nights.
•  Discover secluded waterways and authentic Mekong villages rarely visited by travellers
•  Travel with exceptional local hosts born and raised in the Delta
• Cycle riverside villages and fruit gardens with a local host.
• Explore Mua Xuan’s green waterways, birdlife and forest trails.
• Meet village basket weavers and family noodle makers.
• Enjoy noodle soup and Vietnamese coffee aboard a traditional sampan at Cai Rang.
• Discover a family cacao garden and taste seasonal tropical fruit.
• Savour Southern Vietnamese cooking, with time to unwind between discoveries.

Everything, thoughtfully considered

• Two nights at a boutique countryside retreat.
• Private Hotel pickup in Ho Chi Minh City and return transfer.
• English-speaking local hosts during guided experiences.
• Private transport for all scheduled visits and safety life jacket
• Countryside cycling with a bicycle and safety equipment.
• Private traditional sampan journey and wetland boat excursion.
• All scheduled visits and entrance fees.
• Two breakfasts, three lunches and two dinners.
• Vietnamese coffee with your floating-market breakfast.
• Seasonal fruit and cacao tastings.
• Drinking water during guided experiences.

Alternative onward transfers are available on request and quoted separately.