The Mekong Delta, delimited by the tributaries of the Mekong River or called River Of The Nine Dragons – enters Vietnam from Cambodia, to divide as it traverses the soggy delta, a fertile area of almost 50,000 square kilometers for the most cultivation of rice and growing trees as coconut, sugar cane, fruit and fish.

The sun shines all year around in the Mekong delta. There is no winter and there are no storms.  This sprawling “rice bowl” is little traveled, yet offers a wealth of sights and experiences for those who care to explore or interested in ecological tourism. The delta is a region of extraordinary energy and market commerce, with burgeoning markets, floating markets, fruit orchards, and more coconuts than you would want to contemplate.

The main towns of the delta are My Tho, Vinh Long, Can Tho and Chau Doc. Driving south from Ho Chi Minh City, My Tho is the first major market town of about 100,000 on the banks of the Tien Giang or Upper Mekong. Its proximity to Ho Chi Minh City has made My Tho the most popular destination for day-trippers to the delta looking for a taste of authentic delta life.  Here visitors can take a sampan along the waterways, visit tropical fruit orchards and try the local delicacy, Elephant’s Ear Fish.  There is Vinh Trang Pagoda, Temple of the Coconut Monk at  Phung Island and to the west of My Tho is small Cao Dai temple.

The other popular destination for day-trippers from Ho Chi Minh City is Vinh Long, another 65km deeper into the delta and faces the Co Chien River – a Mekong tributary to the north side; river and canals on the other side make it virtually an island rather than the town itself. Most of the islands are given over to fruit orchards and the narrow canals are often straddled by flimsy-looking wooden bridges made from the trunks of coconut palms or bamboo and known as monkey bridges. An early morning visit to nearby Cai Be Floating Market offers great photographic opportunities as all manner of produce is traded from boats. To make shopping easier the boats suspend a sample of what they sell from the top of a long pole. On the way back to Vinh Long it is possible to stop off to visit small riverside workshops including blacksmiths, rice huskers and coffin makers!

Just over 30km and a ferry ride away from Vinh Long is Can Tho, is the largest town in the delta by virtue of its central position and its location near the Hau Giang or lower Mekong. Can Tho is a major transport center at the junction of numerous canals and roads; it also has an airport. 

The main attraction from Can Tho is a series of floating markets and the delta’s biggest floating market, Cai Rang Floating Market, is 6km from Can Tho and well worth an early morning visit. A spectacular sight outside of town is the stork garden at Thot Not where hundreds of egrets, herons and cormorants gather in the treetops to roost late in the afternoon.

Organized tour relevant provinces, to take a trip to Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau.  Stop at the Bird Garden at Bac Lieu, taking in mangrove swamps, Dam Doi Bird sanctuary, and fish and shrimp breeding grounds.  Visit the largest town on Camau Peninsula, at the tip of Indochina.

Chau Doc, an attractive town of 80,000 on the banks of hau Giang nestling at the foot of Sam Mountain by the Cambodian border, has a real frontier town feel to it. This busy little town has large Cham, Khmer and ethnic Chinese communities and the distinctive architectural styles of each community can be seeing in their places of worship around the town. Chau Docarea is the seat of the Hoa Hao religion, with a concentration of devotees.  A boat trip on the river is the best way to see the unusual floating fish farms; houses with wooden pens suspended underneath where live fish are kept. Chau Doc’s Sam Mountain is home to dozens of temples and shrines and is a popular pilgrimage site for ethnic Chinese as well as Vietnamese.

The 16-island archipelago of Phu Quoc lies about 40kilometers west of Ha Tien in the Gulf of Thailand, nearer Cambodia than Vietnam.  A mountainous island that is still mostly forested, Phu Quoc is blessed with some beautiful white sandy beaches and clear blue seas. The island is famous throughout Vietnam for the production of black pepper and its fish sauce, said to be the best in the country. Martine sports focus on deep-sea fishing and snorkeling.  There is also bird watching at a rain forest located in the north of the island.  Several small-scale beach resorts have opened over the past few years on Phu Quoc and it is connected by daily flights to Ho Chi Minh City. 

Though not part of the Mekong Delta, Con Dao is another island off the southern coast of Vietnam. Con Dao served as a prison island for political prisoners during the French colonial era, and in later years the Saigon regime imprisoned opponents of the regime in the infamous cells known as the ‘tiger cages’. The old prison buildings are still standing and are open to the public as is a small museum tracing the island’s history. Besides having an interesting history, Con Dao is also an island of immense natural beauty with forested hills, deserted sandy beaches and extensive coral reefs making for some excellent diving.

Mekong Delta Highlights

Take a boat along some of the delta's verdant narrow waterways

Explore the bustling floating markets for a colourful early morning experience

Visit one of the many orchards for exotic tropical fruits straight from the tree

Watch the sun setting over Cambodia from Sam Mountain

Phu Quoc island for relaxing beach break

Camau for recent history