Three days of slow travel through the quieter channels of the Mekong Delta — coconut groves, floating markets, and the Con Ho wetlands — entirely by private vehicle and boat with no fixed group schedule.
Depart from your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City at 7:00 AM by private car. Cross the Rach Mieu Bridge into Ben Tre Province — the heart of Vietnam’s coconut country. Stop at a coconut candy workshop before boarding a small boat through the narrow waterways lined with water coconut palms. After lunch, continue to Tra Vinh Province, home to the largest Khmer community in the Mekong Delta. Visit Ang Pagoda (Hang Pagoda) — a beautifully ornate Khmer temple set in a forested compound — then the nearby Ong Met Pagoda. Check in to your guesthouse.
Meal: Lunch at local riverside restaurant.
Morning visit to Con Ho Islet (Islet of the Stork) on the Co Chien River — a protected wetland that shelters thousands of nesting storks, herons, and egrets. The best viewing is from a small motorboat that edges into the reed beds at dawn. Return to Tra Vinh for the morning market, then visit Ba Om Pond — a sacred 1,000-year-old Khmer reservoir shaded by ancient trees — and the adjacent Ang Pagoda museum. Afternoon free or optional visit to a local Khmer village.
Meals: Breakfast at guesthouse; Lunch at local restaurant.
After breakfast, drive back to Ho Chi Minh City, stopping at a local market in Ben Tre for fresh tropical fruit and coconut products. Arrive in Ho Chi Minh City by early afternoon. Drop-off at your hotel.
Meal: Breakfast at guesthouse.
