Published on Nov, 2024
Let me start off by saying that our guide, Max, was one of the best tour guides I have had! He was very friendly, informative, and facilitated all the unique experiences with the respective local businesses/guides so that it was a seamless and enjoyable experience for our group of 5 friends.
The tour itself was well worth the price overall as it packed so many unique experiences into the span of about 12.5 hours (4:30am to 5:00pm). We learned the process for making various Vietnamese foods such as rice noodles, coconut milk, honey and chocolate. We also got to sample the items at each of these stations as well as others such as the “snake wine,” and a variety of local seafood. A fair portion of the day is spent driving (about 2h either way) but this served as a nice break from the heat in the air conditioned van.
My only word of advice would be to keep realistic expectations for the Cai Rang floating market. Due to the greater accessibility of vehicles and other methods of ground transportation in Vietnam, the once-bustling floating market is no longer the same as what it was 10-20 years ago. Instead of thousands of boats on the river, there were just a few dozen, and while it seemed as though there was some authentic exchange of produce occurring between local farmers, a large part of the market experience seemed to be catered for tourists. That said, it was still very cool to watch and interact with the market vendors and even visit a family on the boat where they live.
The second part of the tour from My Tho was based out of the same village which hosts many other Mekong Delta tours. This was the most action-packed portion of the tour and included an amazing, family-style Vietnamese lunch. If you don’t feel strongly about the floating market, there are many tour options which only go to this village and are a bit cheaper, but either way, you will be getting fantastic value on these tours!
- Aidan (25 y/o from Canada)
