Delta day trips from Ho Chi Minh City
Tours · Day trip
My Tho and Ben Tre in one day
The shortest of the delta day trips: about 1.5 to 2 hours on the road each way, then a day in boats on the Tien River and the canals of Thoi Son islet, with a crossing to the Ben Tre side for the coconut workshops. Run as a join-in day with other travellers or as a private day for your party.
At a glance
- Length
- 1 day, about 8.5–9.5 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 3–4 h round trip
- Price
- On request
Who this day is for
This is the day for someone who has one free day in Ho Chi Minh City and wants to spend most of it on the water rather than in a vehicle. My Tho is about 71 km from the city centre by road, the nearest of the delta towns that sit on the main river, and the boats start almost as soon as you arrive. By the time you are back in the city you will have ridden a motorboat across a wide branch of the Mekong, been rowed through a canal too narrow for an engine, and watched coconut candy being cut and wrapped by hand.
It is also one of the most visited routes in the delta. Almost every operator in the city runs a version of it, so the islet wharves, the honey farms and the workshops see many groups each day, especially at weekends. If that bothers you more than a longer drive, read the Cai Be day instead. If you can only spare one day and you have never been on the Mekong, this route gives the most river for the least road.
Join-in or private on this route
| Join-in | Private | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is in the vehicle | Other travellers on the same date; car, minivan or coach depending on numbers | Your party only; car for 1–3, minivan for larger groups |
| Pick-up | Central wards (former District 1), from about 08:00; may collect at several hotels first | Your hotel, at a time you choose; 07:30 is common |
| Back in the city | About 17:00, later in heavy traffic | When you choose; about 16:30 on the standard plan |
| Boats | Shared motorboat and sampans with the group | Your own motorboat; sampans for your party |
| Changes on the day | None: the group keeps to the plan | Skip, swap or extend stops with the guide |
| Lunch | Set menu for the group at a riverside restaurant | Set menu or order as you like at the same kind of place |
Published join-in schedules for this route leave the city at 08:30 and get back at about 17:00; one private listing collects at 08:00 and is back at about 16:30 to 17:00. Neither includes the traffic you may meet at the end of the expressway at weekends. The full comparison for all four trips is on the join-in or private page.
Sources: TheSinhTourist — My Tho–Ben Tre 1 day (join-in); Mekong Smile — shared-minivan My Tho & Ben Tre day; Travelocity listing — private My Tho & Ben Tre day · checked .
The day, hour by hour
Day 1
Ho Chi Minh City to My Tho, Thoi Son islet and the Ben Tre bank
The hand-rowed sampan through the water-coconut canal on Thoi Son
Collection is between about 08:00 and 08:30 in the central wards; on a private day we collect at your hotel at the time you set. The vehicle takes the Ho Chi Minh City–Trung Luong expressway and turns off for My Tho at its far end. Expect 1.5 to 2 hours, with a short rest stop on most join-in coaches.
The first stop is Vinh Trang pagoda on the Bao Dinh canal, described as a 2-hectare site completed in 1850 with a triple gate built in 1933 by craftsmen from Hue and a row of carved wooden arhats. Cover shoulders and knees. From the riverfront a motorboat takes you out onto the Tien River, past the four islets the town names after a dragon, a unicorn, a tortoise and a phoenix, and lands you on Thoi Son, the unicorn islet.
On Thoi Son you walk a short lane to a honey farm for honey tea and seasonal fruit, often with a performance of don ca tai tu, the southern folk music played on stringed instruments. Then comes the part most people remember: a hand-rowed sampan along a small canal roofed by water-coconut palms. Lunch is at a riverside restaurant; in season the menu often includes fish from the river and fruit from the gardens.
In the afternoon the motorboat crosses to the Ben Tre bank, where a family workshop makes coconut candy from coconut milk, malt and sugar. You can taste it and buy it; there is no obligation to do either. The vehicle meets you on that bank or back at the My Tho wharf, depending on the boat route that day, and returns over the Rach Mieu bridge and the expressway. Drop-off is in the same central area at about 17:00.
Why this order
The pagoda comes first because it is on the town side, before the boats, and because the morning is cooler for standing in a courtyard. The big river comes next while the light is still soft. The sampan canal sits in the middle of the day, when its shade is most welcome. The workshop is last because it is indoors and close to where the vehicle can collect you.
On a private day you can reverse or trim this. Families often drop the pagoda and add time on the islet; photographers often ask to be at the river by 09:00. Tell us what you would change when you send the form, and the quote reflects it.
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 |
The pricing page shows what other operators publish for join-in and private versions of this route, and what moves the price. How to book covers confirmation, changes and rain.
What the price includes
- Collection and return in the central wards (former District 1), 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 sampan on Thoi Son, with life jackets
- Lunch, seasonal fruit and honey tea
- Bottled water
What it does not include
- Drinks other than water at lunch
- Tips for the guide, driver and boat rowers
- Travel insurance
- Anything you buy at the honey farm or the coconut workshop
- Pick-up outside the central wards on join-in days
Photos from the route
Who this day is not for
- Anyone hoping to see a floating market — this route does not pass one; the Can Tho trip does
- Travellers who dislike crowds: this is one of the most crowded delta routes, and the islet stops are shared with many groups
- People who cannot step down from a jetty into a small boat; there are several boat changes in the day
- Join-in travellers staying far from the centre who do not want to travel to a meeting point
- Anyone with a tight evening plan: weekend traffic on the expressway can push the return past 18:00
Before you go
What to carry, how the heat feels on the water, and where exactly you are collected are on the pick-up and timing page. For what My Tho and Ben Tre are like as places, rather than as a day out, read the My Tho and Ben Tre pages.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Do we cross the Rach Mieu bridge?
Usually on the way back, depending on where the vehicle collects you after the boats. The old ferry stopped in August 2025 when the second Rach Mieu bridge opened, so the crossing is by road or by our own boat.
Is the join-in group large?
It varies by date. Join-in operators in the city list a bus, a minivan or a car depending on bookings. Your confirmation names the vehicle type.
Can we add the Cu Chi tunnels to this day?
Some operators sell that combination, but it means two long drives and short stops at both. We do not recommend it and do not sell it as a join-in day; a private version is possible if you accept the pace.
What happens if it rains?
Boats run in ordinary rain; they have canopies and ponchos are handed out. In storms the boat operators reduce or stop sailings, and the guide changes the order of the day or swaps a boat leg for a road one.
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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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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Destinations · Dong Thap
My Tho
The nearest delta town: Thoi Son islet, Vinh Trang pagoda, hu tieu, costs and when to skip it.
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Destinations · Vinh Long
Ben Tre
Coconut canals, candy workshops, Cho Lach orchards, the Rach Mieu bridges, and when Ben Tre is not worth it.
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Example journey
Private Ben Tre day
Private only: hotel pick-up, straight to the Ben Tre canals, your pace and your hours.
View this journeyStart planning
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.