Choosing a Mekong river cruise
Mekong river cruises · Vietnam and Cambodia
Two kinds of Mekong cruise. Choose the kind first.
One or two nights on a converted rice barge between Cai Be and Can Tho, or three to seven nights on a ship from Saigon to Phnom Penh and on towards Siem Reap. We compare the boats that sail each route, show where each fact came from and when we read it, and reply by email with the ones that fit your dates.
Start where you are
People reach this site at three different moments. Some already know they want a cruise and are comparing boats. Some know where they want to end up, Phnom Penh or Angkor, and are wondering whether a ship is the way to get there. Others have only just learned that river cruises exist on the lower Mekong at all. Each of those readers needs a different page, so the site is cut three ways.
Four kinds of cruise
A single night between Cai Be and Can Tho, two nights in the delta, Saigon to Phnom Penh in three or four nights, and Saigon to Siem Reap in seven. Each page compares the boats that run that kind of route.
Ports and river stretches
Where you board and where you leave the boat decide half the trip: Cai Be and My Tho, Can Tho, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and the Tonle Sap.
How to choose
Delta boat or Cambodia ship, high and low water and cabins and what is included. Read these if you have not yet decided which kind of cruise you want.
The choice, side by side
The lower Mekong carries two quite different products under the same word. Before comparing ships, it helps to know which of the two you are shopping for.
| Delta boat (Vietnam only) | Ship into Cambodia | |
|---|---|---|
| Nights | 1 or 2 | 3 or 4 to Phnom Penh; 7 to the Siem Reap side |
| Size | 1 to 16 cabins on the boats we track | 14 to about 60 cabins on the ships we track |
| Where you board | Cai Be or Can Tho, two to three and a half hours by road from Saigon | My Tho, Saigon, Can Tho, Phnom Penh or the Siem Reap end, depending on the ship |
| Border | None | Vinh Xuong to Kaam Samnor, on the river |
| Low-water effect | Little: these boats stay on Vietnamese rivers and canals | Large: from about December to July most ships cannot reach Siem Reap by water |
| Examples | Bassac, Le Cochinchine, Mekong Eyes, Song Xanh | Heritage Line, Pandaw, CroisiEurope, AmaWaterways, Viking, Aqua Expeditions and others |
The full comparison explains each row and adds a five-step way to decide.
Sources: Secret Retreats — Bassac cruises; Mekong Eyes (operator site, modified 4 Aug 2026); CroisiEurope — RV Toum Tiou II; AmaWaterways (AU) — AmaMaya; Pandaw — The Classic Mekong guide, 4 May 2026; Royal Embassy of Cambodia, Washington DC — FAQ · checked .
How we work
- 01
You tell us the month and who is travelling
Through the form on any page. A rough month is enough; the water level that month changes which ships can do what.
- 02
We check which boats sail your dates
Operators publish schedules and fares on their own sites and through agents. We read them on the day and note where each figure came from.
- 03
You get two or three options by email
Each names the boat, the cabin category, the route as it will run in that season, what the fare covers and what it does not.
- 04
You decide; the operator's terms apply
Deposits, cancellation rules and changes are set by each operator. We send them to you in writing before anything is paid.
Published fares as a starting point
Fares on the Mekong range from a few hundred US dollars per person for one night on a delta barge to several thousand for a week on a ship with suites. The figures below were published by the operator or an agent and are quoted with their source. They are not our prices, they change often, and some pages show two different numbers for the same cruise.
| Cruise | Published from | Published by |
|---|---|---|
| Bassac, 1 night Cai Be ↔ Can Tho | USD 266 per person | Secret Retreats (undated page) |
| Le Cochinchine, Mekong Delta Panorama 3 days / 2 nights | USD 332 per person | Le Cochinchine |
| Mekong Eyes, 2-day delta cruise | USD 249 per person (another card on the same page: USD 239) | Mekong Eyes |
| RV Toum Tiou II, 9-day port to port | USD 1,754 per person | CroisiEurope, autumn 2026 departures |
| AmaWaterways, 7-night Charms of the Mekong | AUD 3,195 per person (sale fare) | AmaWaterways Australia |
Every figure here was checked on 11 October 2026. Confirm it with the operator before booking; the pricing page explains what usually sits outside these numbers.
Sources: Secret Retreats — Bassac cruises; Le Cochinchine (operator site); Mekong Eyes (operator site, modified 4 Aug 2026); CroisiEurope — RV Toum Tiou II; AmaWaterways (AU) — AmaMaya · checked .
Who we are not right for
- Travellers looking for a day trip or a land tour of the delta. We only deal with overnight cruises.
- Upper Mekong cruises in Laos. Ships such as Heritage Line's Anouvong sail there, but we do not cover that river.
- Anyone who needs a decision today for a sailing in the next few days. Fares and cabins are confirmed by the operator, and that takes time.
- People who want to speak to someone before writing anything down. We work by form and email only.
If one of those is you, the about page says a little more about what we do and do not do.
Ports and river stretches
Most delta boats start or finish at Cai Be or Can Tho. Ships heading into Cambodia usually board near My Tho, about 71 km from central Saigon, and either finish in Phnom Penh or carry on upriver towards the Tonle Sap and Siem Reap. In the low-water months that last stretch is done by road, or for one operator by air, and the water page sets out when.
Sources: OSRM / OpenStreetMap road distances, queried 11 Oct 2026; Pandaw — Saigon to Phnom Penh product PDF (new for 2026); Aqua Expeditions — Mekong river cruise · checked .
A note on the names you will see
Boats and ships on this site are named as public facts, each with the page we read and the date we read it. Mekong Cruiser is not a cruise line, does not operate any vessel and does not speak for any operator. Naming a ship does not mean we hold a contract or an allocation on it; availability and fares are whatever the operator confirms on the day you ask.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Are you a cruise line?
No. Mekong Cruiser compares boats and ships run by other companies and takes enquiries by form. We do not operate any vessel, and we do not speak for any operator.
Which is the cheaper way onto the Mekong, a delta boat or a ship?
Per night the published fares overlap, but a delta boat is one or two nights and a ship to Siem Reap is seven, so the total is very different. A single night on a delta barge was published from USD 266 per person (Secret Retreats, checked October 2026); a 9-day port-to-port sailing on RV Toum Tiou II from USD 1,754 (CroisiEurope, autumn 2026).
Can a ship take me all the way to Angkor?
Only in high water, roughly August to November depending on the operator, and even then many larger ships end at Kampong Cham and finish by road. The rest of the year the last part to Siem Reap is by road, or by air on Aqua Expeditions. The water page explains the months.
How do we start?
Send the form with a month and the number of travellers. We reply by email to the address you give, with the boats that fit and the questions we still need answered.
Related
Read next
Cruises
Cruises
The four kinds of Mekong cruise and the boats that run each one.
View this journey
How to choose
Delta boat or Cambodia ship
How to choose between a delta boat and a ship into Cambodia, and how to combine them.
View this journey
How to choose
High and low water
What high and low water change on Mekong cruises, by operator and by month.
View this journey
Cruises · Prices
Prices
Published Mekong cruise fares, the extras outside them and how to compare two quotes.
View this journey
Example journey
Cai Be to Can Tho, 1 night
One night on a delta boat between Cai Be and Can Tho: four operators compared.
View this journey
Example journey
Saigon to Siem Reap, 7 nights
A week from the delta to the Siem Reap side, more than a dozen ships compared.
View this journeyStart planning
Tell us which cruise you are weighing up
A month, how many are travelling and whether you lean towards a delta boat or a ship into Cambodia are enough to start. We reply by email with the boats that sail your dates and the fares their operators show that day.