EXPLORE BEN TRE – CAN THO ON MEKONG RIVER CRUISE

Later in the morning, our guide will come to pick you up at your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City to transfer to the Mekong Princess docking at Saigon Port for embarkation. Please give us your hotel name with address and be ready at your hotel around 10:00 A.M – 11:00 A.M to wait for our shuttle service.

Once aboard, a safety briefing as soon as you embark will take place in the Ramvong Lounge. You will be welcomed by your Vietnamese and Cambodian ship’s crew, before embarking on the most extraordinary journey of discovery.

Lunch, with highly attentive oriental hospitality, will be served soon after departure, as we cruise along the Saigon River. Having settled into your luxurious suites, you can relax and enjoy the new scenes and watch the world pass by.

We sail at midday through Saigon river, Soai Rap river, Nuoc Man canal, Vam Co river and Cho Gao canal to the ‘Mighty Mekong River’. Late in the day, we anchor in the heart of the Mekong Delta, time to enjoy crafted cocktails by our skilled bartenders and watch the sun sets, and sampans passing by. A traditional Vietnamese “A La Carte” dinner will be served in the Indochine onboard Restaurant, embracing a subtle fusion of dishes for the most delicate palates.

This morning, sampans take you through a channel lined with mangroves. We will try one of the most popular local transportation named “xe lam” (three-wheeler) to visit a local coconut candy maker.

After watching the candy-making process, walking through the village to visit an orchard where fruits native to Vietnam can be seen in various stages of maturity on the vine. After a fresh fruit tasting, you continue to a pier where you board small, local boats for a trip through the narrow creeks lined with Nipah palm before returning to the ship.

This afternoon, the ship sails through an area of the Mekong Delta barely touched by tourism to Hoang Dieu Harbor next to Can Tho city, known as Tay Do – the capital of the Mekong Delta.

After an early dinner, you will be taken by bus to Can Tho City for a tour of the town & night market with local guide. You will then have time to explore on your own around the charming city before returning to the ship. The ship docks overnight.

*Onboard activity: Lecture of Vietnam, Vietnam’s People, Culture & colonial History.

Early this morning, continental breakfast will be served. Bus ride to the pier in Can Tho to board the sampan for a cruise through the fascinating Cai Rang floating market. The sampan will weave in and out of the many boats that sail into the market each morning to sell produce and other items the residents of the Mekong Delta need in their daily lives.

As they weave through the market, there will be many opportunities for amazing photographs, while enjoying fresh fruit and the Vietnamese “anti-aging drink”, fresh coconut water. We will make a stop as well at a local dry noodle making house, where we witness the amazing process of how they are made.

On the way back to the ship, we will stop at Ninh Kieu Wharf to visit the Zihuang Pagoda (Chua Ong) and enjoying the unicorn traditional dance performed by local teenagers; after that, we will take a short ride the famous “Binh Thuy Ancient House” better known as the “Lover House” from French novelist Marguerite Duras, then return to the Mekong Princess for a well-deserved breakfast.

After completing the port formalities, it’s time to bid farewell to the Mekong Princess and your ship’s crews at Hoang Dieu Harbor. You will disembark at 10:30 A.M.

Have lunch at a local restaurant. After that, our private car will pick you up and transfer to your hotel in Ho Chi Minh city. End trip.