Can Tho
Can Tho is the ideal stop for your first visit to the Mekong Delta. Here, you will get to experience the real life of the Mekong Delta: days on or near the water, comfortable air and delicious food.
In the shade of banana and guava trees, you'll pass through fish ponds, orchards, and canals. Can Tho is surrounded by a quiet canal system. For a small fee, you can rent a rowboat for a few hours to tour these waterways, stopping at small workshops to see how to make handmade rice paper and vermicelli. Some rustic hotels and motels in Can Tho offer rooms where you can relax with stunning views of the water.
Of course, many people come to Can Tho to see Cai Rang Floating Market. The market is an attractive sight in terms of colors and the activity starts around five am. Make sure you are on the boat before 6 am so that you can watch the mist drift over the water and witness the market activity during peak hours.
Photo: Mekong Realism Tours
Chau Doc
Chau Doc is a border town with all the influences blended and the beautiful scenery, sound and taste of a border town.
The Hau River -- sometimes called the Bassac River -- flows just in front of the town. Boats on the river bring agricultural products from far away to sell at the vast market of Chau Doc. The market is a combination of many cultures. In wet markets, flowers, fermented fish, palm kernels, and tamarind are the best-selling items.
Elsewhere, shops with meticulously painted signs sell everything from gold to plastic slippers. The sidewalk outside the market is where you will find the best Chau Doc-style vermicelli. This turmeric vermicelli is made from garlic and fish sauce, river fish, fresh vermicelli, banana flowers, bean sprouts and crispy crazy flowers. This is a perfectly balanced meal prepared this way only in the Mekong Delta.
Photo: vietnam.travel
Cai Be
Not many tourists come to Cai Be, but that may be why this small town is so approachable and authentic. The star of Cai Be district is Tan Phong islet -- a lush drop of land surrounded by the Tien Phong River.
Tan Phong islet is surrounded by canals and planted with many fruit trees. Most of the residents here are farmers, who take care of rambutan, mangosteen, and other tropical fruit trees on the plots around their homes. The best way to see the islet is to take a sampan boat ride or cycle on the narrow roads. You'll find yourself immersed in the flowery foliage and witness firsthand the life of the locals in this part of Vietnam.
If you're running out of things to do, the best thing you can do in Cai Be is to eat. Eat gingerbread with peanuts, eat muffins with chili sauce, eat plain soup in fish broth, and eat all the freshly picked, tanned fruits that invite you. If you need to, you can always take a nap in a hammock afterwards -- that's what Vietnamese people will do.
Photo: vietnam.travel
Sa Dec
The name 'Sa Dec' has a romantic meaning for many tourists. After all, this is where the French writer Marguerite Duras lived and wrote the spectacular novel 'The Lover'. The house of Duras' lover, Huynh Thuy Le, still exists today and is open to the public. The house is a treasure of nostalgia. But in addition to the house on Nguyen Hue Street, Sa Dec also has countless ornate mansions and temples on clean riverside streets. Stroll the streets along the river to admire the town's architectural gems.
The market is the center of activity in Sa Dec and is full of attractive products. The back of the market extends to the water, where boats can easily enter and exit. Just a few kilometers from the city, is another colorful attraction. Sa Dec's vast flower nurseries nurture thousands of species of tropical plants in greenhouses. You can walk through these greenhouses and nurseries or take photos at special stations designed for Instagram users. Sa Dec is one of the quietest towns in the Mekong Delta, but its beautiful flower farms and remnants of colonial influences have a charm for visitors passing by.
Photo: vietnam.travel
Ben Tre
Ben Tre is one of the closest towns to Ho Chi Minh City, and as such, it is an easy place to visit on a day tour. However, like every other Mekong Delta province, Ben Tre has many secret locations that you can easily hide in a riverside homestay for days. Whether you come here for a short trip or a long vacation, Ben Tre brings treasures in every moment. Sailing along the coconut-lined canals is a great way to go. Most boat tours stop at a coconut candy factory where you can taste as many coconut candies as you want while watching the process from harvesting to packaging.
Quiet roads and lanes surround the town, leading into the countryside. Hop on a bike to venture deeper into this tropical wonderland, home to towering palm trees and olive-colored canals. You can take the time to see how weaving is done to create colorful carpets, visit a brick factory to see the bricks being shaped and fired in large kilns, or climb on a boat to relax on a rowboat on the water. The highlight of any day here is, of course, the food. Treat yourself to a classic Ben Tre lunch with fried elephant ear fish, rolled with cucumber, pineapple, herbs and rice noodles, dipped in light fish sauce.
Photo: Impress Travel
According to vietnam.travel