Riverside Retreats: Mekong Delta Exploration

In the morning: Meet our guide and car at your hotel in HCM city center at 8:00 am. Explore the city starting with the Reunification Palace, a historic site. Visit French colonial structures including Notre Dame Cathedral and the Old Central Post Office. Head to Chinatown to see Thien Hau Pagoda and Binh Tay Market. In the afternoon: Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant. Visit the War Remnants Museum to learn about the Indochina wars. Explore Ben Thanh market for shopping. End of the tour with memorable moments.

After leaving the city, you will make your first landfall in the Mekong Delta area of Vietnam by traveling overland to Ben Tre province, sometimes called the “kingdom of coconuts.” Use the variety of local transportation choices available to spend the day exploring the region. Interact with the locals, discover the cottage enterprises essential to this region’s prosperity, and savor a variety of Mekong foods. Following a filling meal, you will travel to the nearby province of Vinh Long and spend the night. Arrive at your quaint riverfront lodge. You follow a flaming torch this evening to the home of a former soldier who is now a musician. Please listen to his music and the fascinating tales of his travels across this region of Vietnam.

Get up early and have breakfast while taking a Mekong boat to a local market. You’ll go on two feet and tour the region, seeing the odd church, coconut factory, and market. There will be an exciting cycling tour around Cau Ke in the neighboring province of Tra Vinh for the remainder of the day. Being one of the last provinces in Vietnam to have Khmer culture, Tra Vinh has relatively unusual scenery, cuisine, and architecture. En route to the bike trip are expansive vegetable gardens, rice fields, and ornate Khmer-style temples. It is one of the most genuine and stunning regions in southern Vietnam. Enjoying a variety of home-cooked Cambodian cuisines is the tour’s culinary highlight. After that, you spend the night back at Coco Riverside Lodge. You can attempt a few more things, given enough time.

After breakfast, depart from Vinh Long and drive two hours to the harbor town of Cai Be. This is where you’ll get aboard a private sampan and go up the Mekong towards the north. You’ll take a leisurely voyage to Sa Dec on the first day. Narrow paved streets, long promenades, lovely gardens, and magnificent palaces are just a few of the town’s remaining colonial relics. You’ll have supper and sundowners back on board.

These days, the boat travels along a section of the Bassac River and small canals. Today, you have two onshore activities planned, one of which is a tour through a small community.

When the boat reaches Chau Doc, its ultimate destination, you will leave and go to your accommodation. You have free time this afternoon to explore the town and neighboring sights, including Sam Mountain and the well-known Tra Su Bird Sanctuary. Spend the night at the Victoria Hotel.

Following breakfast, you will board a speedboat to leave the hotel, cross the border into Cambodia, and arrive in Phnom Penh. The five-hour boat ride is exciting because of the different scenery between Vietnam and Cambodia. Upon arrival, you will be brought to your hotel so you may change before beginning your tour of Phnom Penh’s contemporary history. This afternoon, you will see some of the most moving locations from Cambodia’s recent tragic past. You are free to explore at your own pace this evening.

See the city through a local architect’s eyes today and note the projects that have significantly influenced the city’s development as it exists now. This evening, you enjoy a tour with your guide, seeing the city’s top speakeasy bars, best-kept secrets, and delicious street food locations. Depending on your preferences, you may tailor the trip to concentrate on craft beer cocktails or both.

Say goodbye to Cambodia and make your way to the airport in time for your next journey.