Welcome to Mekong Queen Sampan

6:30 pick up from your hotel in Saigon. Drive to Cai Be (transportation is NOT INCLUDED in the cabin price).

On arrival in Cai Be, boarding your charming wooden boat, the Mekong Queen, you will cruise to a local factory to visit and learn how pop rice, pop corn, rice paper and coconut candies are made. You also have an opportunity to taste these products, served with hot green tea. Returning to the Mekong Queen for a 50 minute cruise to Dong Hoa Hiep island and discover the beautiful and peaceful sceneries together with the typical life of the region along the Mekong river. Stops for visits and photos taken can be made during the excursion.

Taking a 10 minute walk through a local village and fruit gardens, you will be able to stop at a local family scaled Longan process factory, where you have another opportunity to take photo of and interact with the so friendly and hard working local people before coming to an old Mandarin house, built hundred years ago and it is where at least four generations of the family have been living. A so delicious Vietnamese lunch will be served by the owner, Mrs. Kiet. One of the highlights after lunch is to walk around the orchard to get to know what the main contribution to the economy of her family is based on.

Return to the Mekong Queen by walking or taking a small rowing Sampan for another 50 minute cruise on the main river and canals to Mr. Mai Quoc Nam family to visit the orchard and have a talk with the family about the economic growth of the family itself and of the Mekong region. An optional one hour cycling tour to Mr. Sau Giao family to visit his famous Bonsai garden, which he has spent his whole life to train and take care of, then you will have another opportunity to try snake wine and the others while enjoying seasonal fruit.

Back to one of the local families to do check in your home stay, then the balance of the day will be at leisure on your own or take a walk around the village yourselves for more discovery of the area before dinner. The family will be your host for this evening and tell you more about the typical life in the Mekong region. Another option is to go down the kitchen for part of the cooking class if you wish. A traditional music show, called Tai Tu will be performed by the locals after dinner in a quiet Bonsai garden while hot green tea will be served by your hosts. Over night at the local house.

After breakfast, you start walking on a small trail along the river to see the daily life of the locals, and visit the village market which is just held early in the morning for the so busy farmers to buy things for the day. The market is also a place where you can interact with and take photo of the locals.

Afterwards, you bid farewell to your hosts and take your morning boat trip to Vinh Long. Stop on the way to visit Mr. Tam Ho (No.8 Tiger) family and take a walk around his nursery garden to learn how the seedlings of several tropical fruit trees are grown in order to provide to almost all farmers in the area. You then continue the excursion to the handicraft village to visit a ceramic tile factory, a tofu and fish sauce factory, a blacksmith’s, a roof Thatcher’s and a rice husking factory which are all run by the local families and also one of the places where some local people can earn their living.

Getting back to the Mekong Queen to cruise to Vinh Long where you board your vehicle to drive back to Saigon. The excursion will end at the Vinh Long pier around 11:00. The car will take you back to your Hotel.

7.00 pick up from your hotel in Saigon. Drive to Cai Be (transportation is NOT INCLUDED in the cabin price).

Our excursion will begin early in the day after boarding a charming wooden boat, the Mekong Queen,where you can experience all of local peoples activities. Disembark and visit local factories to get to know more about the local business and crafts. Interact with the locals and learn how pop rice, pop corn, rice paper and coconut candies are made. You also have an opportunity to taste these products served with a cup of hot green tea. Re-board your beautiful boat for a 1.5 hour cruise upstream the mighty Cuu Long (local name of the Mekong River which is literally translated as “Nine Dragon” representing for its 9 branches when flowing into the ocean). Lay your back on the boat and be ready for nice shoots when the beautiful and peaceful sceneries eventually pass by. Stop at a local home orchard where you can wander around his fruit plantation to study about the family’s livelihood before enjoying several kinds of tropical fruits in his garden. If you are adventurous people, try to taste the home-made snake wine while listening to Vietnamese traditional music(subject to availability), called Tai Tu and performed by the locals. Our voyage continues its final part with another 2 hour cruise, crossing the Co Chien River toward Sa Dec province. After a sad farewell to your crews, visit an ancient house which is home of the ex-lover of the French writer, Marguerite Duras who turned her love story into the famous novel “The Lovers”. After lunch at this ancient house, hop on local bike for a short leisure ride to visit the local famed “flower farm” for lovely pictures. End the tour around 15:30 or 16:00 pm and board your own vehicle for a drive to your hotel.