About this activity

One of the best ways to explore the Mekong Delta is with a Mekong Delta cruise. Cruise the rivers in a luxury boat and enjoy the beautiful views along the way. Stop at various spots for trips to get a closer look at local life.

What to expect during a Mekong Delta Cruise

The Mekong River, which flows into Vietnam, actually starts 4000 kilometers further up in China and runs through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. This makes it the twelfth longest river in the world and the sixth in Asia. Once in Vietnam, the river splits to form a delta, which everyone knows as the Mekong Delta. The rivers are connected with canals, which are then connected with smaller streams.

The people who live in this delta area have completely adapted to the water and their whole lives revolve around this. For example, the water is used for fishing, it provides fertile soil that is perfect for fruit and rice cultivation and the harvested crops are then transported over the water and even sold on floating markets. It is a unique life that you can only see in this part of Vietnam.

Of course, the best way to see this is to take part in getting out on the water. You can arrange a boat trip from every village and city that lies along the water that takes you over the rivers and through the narrower canals. But what might give a much more fantastic experience is a Mekong Delta cruise.

Because how wonderful it is to be able to watch life along and on the water directly from the balcony of your room, the restaurant or the deck. You have luxury Mekong Delta cruises to midrange cruises. But in addition to the class of the cruise, it is important to look at the cruise itinerary, as each cruise may travel a different route and visit different points of interest.

It is true that during a Mekong Delta cruise you can of course enjoy beautiful views directly from the boat, but most boat trips include trips with activities such as visiting villages, cycling and boat trips in small traditional sampan rowing boats that take you to places get where the big boat can’t. Check out some of these Mekong Delta cruise highlights below to better orient yourself on what to see and do, making it easier to determine which river cruise is right for you.

Highlights of a Mekong Delta cruise

Floating markets
For many travelers, the floating markets in the Mekong Delta are the highlight. The many fruit orchards and rice plantations that line the water load their crops directly from a land into the boats in the rivers and canals. Then those boats go to a collection point to trade with each other, creating a floating market, sometimes hundreds of boats. It is unique to see how they negotiate and move goods from one boat to another and then distribute them further. The largest and most famous market on the water is the Cai Rang Floating Market.

Life on the river
When you take a river cruise with Mekong Delta, you can see life on the water directly from your boat. What will stand out the most are the many other ships that are fully loaded with local products. You will see boats full of pineapples, watermelons, coconuts, bananas, sand, bricks and flowers, among other things.

Along the side of the water you will see the ships being loaded. Fishermen sit on smaller boats on the river and use rods and casting nets to catch their fish. Some villages and towns even have houses on stilts in the water.

Stop for activities
Of course you can see a lot directly from a Mekong Delta river cruise, but there is also a chance that you will miss something that does not happen directly along the river. For that reason, most cruises also organize activities on the mainland (included). Think, for example, of visiting a fruit orchard where you can pick and taste fruit yourself, a bike ride through the countryside and visiting a local factory or workshop where they make rice paper, honey, rice wine or coconut sweets. This way you have the best of both a Mekong Delta cruise and a “normal” Mekong Delta tour.