Choosing a Mekong river cruise
Ports · Mekong Delta
Cai Be and My Tho, where most cruises board
Two towns on the Tien river, two and a half hours apart at most from Saigon, where most Mekong cruises begin. Cai Be is the usual start for delta boats; My Tho for ships heading into Cambodia. You rarely need a night here, and it helps to know what the towns are, and are not, before you arrive.
At a glance
Sources: Bao Dai bieu Nhan dan, 12 Jun 2025 — Resolution 202/2025/QH15; OSRM / OpenStreetMap road distances, queried 11 Oct 2026; Secret Retreats — Bassac cruises; Pandaw — Saigon to Phnom Penh product PDF (new for 2026); Viking press release, 14 Nov 2023; Bao Van Hoa, 12 Aug 2024 — floating markets · checked .
What these towns are, for a cruise passenger
For most people Cai Be and My Tho are the place where the road from Saigon ends and the river begins. My Tho is the larger of the two and now the seat of the enlarged Dong Thap province; Cai Be, further upriver and further from Saigon by road, is a riverside town that now counts as a ward of the same province (Wikipedia). Neither is a destination you need time in before a cruise. Both are better seen from the deck as you leave.
Be honest with yourself about the floating market. Cai Be's market still exists, but national press described it in 2024 as weakening, with a conservation plan from 2017 having had little effect. A private guide published in 2026 called it nearly gone, with a few trading boats early in the morning; treat it as a glance from the deck. The more useful sight is the orchard country across the river in the former Ben Tre province, which the delta boats reach through side canals on the first afternoon.
Sources: Bao Van Hoa, 12 Aug 2024 — floating markets; OSRM / OpenStreetMap road distances, queried 11 Oct 2026; Bao Dai bieu Nhan dan, 12 Jun 2025 — Resolution 202/2025/QH15; Wikipedia — Dong Thap province (2025 boundaries); vietnamtourism.com (private publisher), 7 Oct 2026 — floating markets · checked .
Boarding day
A delta boat at Cai Be boards after a road transfer from Saigon of two to two and a half hours, so usually around the middle of the day, and lunch is normally the first meal on board; confirm the time for your boat. Bassac's published itinerary does not include the transfer, so check whether yours does.
Ships heading for Cambodia mostly gather passengers at a Saigon hotel and take them by coach to My Tho. On Pandaw's 2026 plan, check-in is at 10:00 and the coach leaves at 10:30; the sampan excursion near Ben Tre starts at 14:30. Viking's river voyage begins or ends at My Tho, and CroisiEurope lists My Tho and Cai Be among Toum Tiou II's ports.
Sources: BestPrice Travel — Bassac 2 days 1 night (reseller); Pandaw — Saigon to Phnom Penh product PDF (new for 2026); Viking press release, 14 Nov 2023; CroisiEurope — RV Toum Tiou II · checked .
Getting there
By road from Saigon on the HCMC–Trung Luong expressway, 62 km of it, then local roads into My Tho or onward to Cai Be. Across the river, the Rach Mieu 2 bridge opened to traffic on 19 August 2025 and the old ferry stopped the next day, which matters only if your boat's excursion or your own plans take you to the Ben Tre side by road.
Most cruise passengers arrive by the operator's coach or a private car. If you travel independently, buses from Saigon's Mien Tay bus station to My Tho were reported at VND 60,000 to 90,000 a few years ago; check the current fare.
Sources: Bao Sai Gon Giai Phong, 20 Jan 2026 — delta expressways; Doanh nghiep Hoi nhap, 19 Aug 2025 — Rach Mieu 2 bridge; Vietnambooking, 2021 — Thoi Son prices · checked .
If you do have time
Some travellers arrive early, or end a delta cruise here with an afternoon free. Two sights are close to the river in My Tho:
- Vinh Trang pagoda, completed in 1850, with a triple gate built in 1933 and eighteen wooden arhat statues from 1907.
- Thoi Son islet, reached by boat from the 30/4 tourist wharf in My Tho: small canals under water-coconut palms, rowed sampans and orchards. It is busy with day visitors.
Neither needs a night. If you want more time in the delta itself, a longer cruise gives you more of it than a hotel in town.
Sources: Wikipedia — Vinh Trang Temple; Mia.vn, 15 Jul 2026 — Thoi Son islet · checked .
When to go
| Months | Weather in the delta | For a cruise |
|---|---|---|
| December to April | Dry season; very little rain in February and March (about 4 and 15 mm in Can Tho) | Calm, hot afternoons; the driest months for deck time |
| May to August | Rain returns; fruit harvest season in the orchards | Afternoon showers; orchards at their fullest |
| September to November | September is the wettest month; rain eases by November; the annual flood upriver | High water in the upper delta; check Chau Doc access |
Figures are for Can Tho, the nearest city with long-run climate records: about 3.8 mm of rain in February against 451 mm in September, and mean highs between about 30 and 34 °C all year. Dengue in Vietnam peaks from June to October; use repellent on shore.
Sources: Wikipedia — Can Tho (climate table); Vietnam National Authority of Tourism — Mekong Delta; WHO Viet Nam — dengue; Pandaw — Saigon to Phnom Penh product PDF (new for 2026) · checked .
Costs on the ground
| Item | Typical cost | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Shared boat from My Tho to Thoi Son | VND 20,000–30,000 per person | Vietnambooking, 2021 |
| Private boat to Thoi Son | VND 300,000–350,000 | Vietnambooking, 2021 |
| Bus Saigon to My Tho | VND 60,000–90,000 | Vietnambooking, 2021 |
| Bowl of hu tieu My Tho | VND 20,000–40,000 | Mia.vn, 2023 |
These are ranges reported by travel publishers in past years, not official tariffs; confirm before you rely on them. On a cruise, most of this is covered by the operator.
Sources: Vietnambooking, 2021 — Thoi Son prices; Mia.vn, 25 Sep 2023 — hu tieu My Tho · checked .
Gallery
When to skip it
- If your ship boards in Saigon itself, as Scenic's sample itinerary and the Mekong Eyes round trips do, you will pass these towns from the water.
- If you expect a working floating market at Cai Be; for that, Cai Rang near Can Tho is the one that survives.
- As a hotel stop before a cruise: boarding is a morning's drive from Saigon, so a night here adds little.
Sources: Cruiseline.co.uk — Scenic Spirit sample departure (agent); Mekong Eyes (operator site, modified 4 Aug 2026); vietnamtourism.com (private publisher), 27 May 2026 — Cai Rang guide · checked .
Cruises that board here
Delta boats: Cai Be to Can Tho, 1 night and two nights in the delta. Ships into Cambodia: Saigon to Phnom Penh and Saigon to Siem Reap.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Is it worth seeing the Cai Be floating market?
Only as a glance from the boat. National press reported it weakening in 2024. Cai Rang near Can Tho is the market that survives, smaller than it was.
Which town is nearer Saigon?
My Tho, about 71 km by road against about 108 km for Cai Be.
Is My Tho still in Tien Giang province?
No. Since 1 July 2025 Tien Giang has been part of Dong Thap province. The town names are unchanged.
Can we leave luggage in Saigon?
That depends on your hotel and the operator. Most cruise passengers take everything on board, since few of these cruises return to the same place.
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