Delta day trips from Ho Chi Minh City
Tours · Day trip
Cai Be in a day, for the river, not the market
An earlier start and a longer drive than My Tho, about 108 km each way, for a quieter stretch of the Tien River: family workshops, a hand-rowed boat to an orchard, and lunch by the water. The floating market here has mostly faded, and we sell the day on that understanding.
At a glance
- Length
- 1 day, about 10–11 h door to door
- Party
- Join-in group or private
- Starts
- Central Ho Chi Minh City
- Ends
- Central Ho Chi Minh City
- Road time
- About 4–5 h round trip
- Price
- On request
Who this day is for
Cai Be suits travellers who have already done a busy day somewhere and want the delta at a slower pace, or who simply prefer fewer groups to a shorter drive. The town sits on the Tien River further along the expressway than My Tho, about 108 km from central Ho Chi Minh City by road, so the drive is 2 to 2.5 hours each way in normal traffic. The river here is wide and busy with working boats, and the family workshops along its banks make the things the delta is known for: coconut candy, popped rice, rice paper, rice wine.
What it is not, any longer, is a floating-market trip. Cai Be once had a large wholesale market on the water. Press reports in 2018 and 2024 describe its decline, and a conservation plan from 2017 changed little. Recent reports describe a handful of trading boats among the tourist boats on many mornings. Join-in schedules still list the market, marked as seasonal. We would rather you knew before you booked.
Sources: OSRM / OpenStreetMap route model, queried 11 Oct 2026; Báo Văn Hóa — floating markets that no longer float, 12 Aug 2024; Tuổi Trẻ — the rise and fall of Cái Bè floating market, 25 Sep 2018; TheSinhTourist — Cai Be 1 day (join-in) · checked .
Join-in or private on this route
| Join-in | Private | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is in the vehicle | Other travellers on the same date; one published schedule runs with at least 6 | Your party only |
| Pick-up | About 07:00 in the central wards; may collect at several hotels | Your hotel, often 06:30–07:30 |
| Back in the city | About 18:00 | About 16:30–17:30 on the standard plan |
| Floating market | A short pass on the way out, if any boats are there | Leave earlier for the few early traders, or skip it |
| Afternoon | Free time or optional cycling on the islet before the 15:00 departure | Longer at the orchard, or an earlier return |
| Lunch | Set menu for the group | Set menu or your own order |
Published join-in schedules for Cai Be leave at 07:00 and set off back at about 15:00, reaching the city around 18:00. The longer day is the price of the longer road. For all four routes compared, see join-in or private.
Sources: TheSinhTourist — Cai Be 1 day (join-in); TheSinhTourist — Mekong tour listing · checked .
The day, hour by hour
Day 1
Ho Chi Minh City to Cai Be and back
The family workshops along the bank: popped rice, rice paper and coconut candy made by hand
Collection is at about 07:00 in the central wards, or earlier from your hotel on a private day. The vehicle takes the Ho Chi Minh City–Trung Luong expressway and continues on the Trung Luong–My Thuan expressway towards Cai Be. With a rest stop, expect to reach the wharf at about 09:00 to 09:30.
A motorboat takes you out on the Tien River past the stretch where the floating market used to gather. If trading boats are there, the guide will point out how each one hangs a sample of its produce from a tall pole so buyers can see from a distance what it sells. Then the boat runs along the bank to family workshops: popped rice, rice paper spread on bamboo racks to dry, coconut candy cut and wrapped by hand, honey and rice wine to taste.
Late in the morning you change to a small hand-rowed boat for a canal to an orchard, where fruit is served with tea. Lunch is at a riverside restaurant at about 12:00. After lunch join-in groups have free time or an optional bicycle ride on the islet lanes before leaving at about 15:00. On a private day you decide: more time in the orchard, or an earlier road back to beat the evening traffic into the city.
Sources: TheSinhTourist — Cai Be 1 day (join-in); Mekong Lodge — Cái Bè boat trips; Báo Văn Hóa — floating-market culture and the cây bẹo pole, 29 Jan 2022 · checked .
Why go this far
The honest comparison is with the My Tho and Ben Tre day. That route is shorter and full of boats, but it is one of the most crowded routes in the delta. Cai Be adds about 37 km, roughly half an hour or more of driving, in each direction. In exchange the river is a working river, the workshops are fewer and quieter, and the orchard boat feels less like a queue. If a calmer day matters more to you than an earlier evening, Cai Be is worth the extra road.
If what you really want is a market on the water, neither day trip will give it to you. Choose the two-day Can Tho trip and see Cai Rang at dawn. A private version of that trip can call at Cai Be on the way down.
Price
| Party | How you travel | Price per person |
|---|---|---|
| Join-in, 1 traveller | Shared vehicle, guide and boats | On request |
| Join-in, 2 or more | Shared vehicle, guide and boats | On request |
| Private, 2 travellers | Car, own guide, own boats | On request |
| Private, 3–4 travellers | Car or small minivan, own guide and boats | On request |
| Private, 5–8 travellers | Minivan, own guide and boats | On request |
How the price is built, and what other operators publish for the same route, is on the pricing page. Steps to confirm are on how to book.
What the price includes
- Collection and return in the central wards, or from your hotel on a private day
- Air-conditioned vehicle for the whole day
- English-speaking guide
- Motorboat on the Tien River and a hand-rowed boat to the orchard, with life jackets
- Workshop visits and tastings
- Lunch, fruit and tea; bottled water
What it does not include
- Drinks other than water at lunch
- Bicycle hire on the islet, where offered
- Tips for the guide, driver and boat crew
- Travel insurance
- Anything you buy in the workshops
Photos from the route
Who this day is not for
- Anyone booking mainly to see a floating market — the Cai Be market has largely gone
- Travellers who want the shortest possible drive: My Tho is about 37 km closer
- Join-in travellers who cannot be ready at about 07:00
- People with an evening commitment in the city: the join-in day ends at about 18:00, later in traffic
- Anyone who cannot manage stepping into small rowing boats
Read more
The Cai Be destination page explains the town after the 2025 province merger, the river, and what the workshops make. Timing, heat and what to carry are on pick-up and timing.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Will we see the Cai Be floating market at all?
Possibly a few trading boats, early in the morning. Recent press describes the market as much weakened. We do not promise it, and the trip is priced and planned without it.
Why does the join-in day leave so early?
The drive is about 2 to 2.5 hours each way. Leaving at 07:00 gets you on the river by mid-morning, before the hottest hours, and still back in the city in the early evening.
Can we cycle on the islet?
On join-in days an optional bicycle ride is usually offered after lunch. On a private day we can build more of the day around it; tell us in the form.
Is Cai Be in Vinh Long or Tien Giang now?
Neither, administratively. Since 1 July 2025 Cai Be is part of the enlarged Dong Thap province, which absorbed the former Tien Giang, and is listed as one of its wards. Vinh Long is across the river.
Related
Read next
Tours · Prices
Pricing
Why prices are on request, published market prices, and what moves a delta day-trip quote.
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Tours · Booking
How to book
The steps from first form to pick-up: what we need, what the confirmation states, payment, changes and rain.
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Destinations · Dong Thap
Cai Be
Cai Be honestly: the faded floating market, river workshops, distance, costs and when to skip it.
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Planning
Join-in or private
Join-in against private for each route: pick-up, group, road time, what changes in the day.
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Example journey
Can Tho and Cai Rang, 2 days
Two days, one night in Can Tho, a boat to Cai Rang before 06:00.
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Example journey
My Tho and Ben Tre day trip
One day, shortest drive, most time in boats: My Tho, Thoi Son islet and the Ben Tre bank.
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Tell us which trip and which day
The trip, the date, how many of you and whether you lean to join-in or private are enough to start. We reply by email with a price per person, the pick-up window and what is included.