Every question, in one place

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.

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).

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.

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.

On Bassac's published itinerary, Cai Be to Can Tho reaches Cai Rang market on the second morning; Can Tho to Cai Be boards around midday and finishes at Cai Be the next morning. If the market matters to you, sail towards Can Tho.

Usually not. The Bassac itinerary we read excludes it, and Le Cochinchine sells an optional shuttle. We price it as a separate line so you can compare like with like.

Song Xanh publishes child rates through a reseller: ages 4 to 8 pay half, 9 to 11 pay three quarters. Other operators set their own rules, which we check for your dates.

The boats sail in the rainy season, which in Can Tho runs from about May to November. Shore stops may be shortened in heavy rain; ask each operator how much of its deck is under cover.

Upstream, Saigon to Phnom Penh, is the version Pandaw publishes for its new 2026 ship. Heritage Line runs its three-night cruise both ways. Choose by where your flights start and end.

Cambodian embassies list visas on arrival at the Kaam Samnor river checkpoint. The e-visa is not listed for that crossing. Each operator explains how it handles the formalities; ask before you travel.

Mekong Eyes sells a 4-day Saigon to Phnom Penh trip, and Victoria Mekong appears in agent packages with a 4-night ship segment from Can Tho, whose end port we confirm before quoting. Heritage Line and Pandaw publish three nights.

By air or by road. Siem Reap's airport opened in 2023 about 50 km east of the town, roughly an hour and a quarter by car. We list the options with your quote.

Usually because the two quotes cover different things: transfers, drinks, a hotel night, the low-water finish or a different cabin. Send us the other quote and we will set the two side by side, line by line. If the other is simply cheaper for the same thing, we say so.

Your quote shows the total you pay and what it covers. If any part of it is a service charge of ours, it is listed as its own line.

Because that is how the operator or agent published them. AmaWaterways' Australian site and Wendy Wu Tours Australia both price in AUD. We quote in the currency the operator uses for your booking.

No. They are the operator's figures on the day we read them, and many carry no validity date. The fare that counts is the one the operator confirms in writing for your sailing.

Usually not in the delta: boats and ships board after a morning drive from Saigon. Some travellers add a night in Can Tho to see Cai Rang market at dawn on their own.

Most published itineraries we read board at My Tho after a coach from a Saigon meeting point. Scenic's sample itinerary lists Ho Chi Minh City as its first port, and Mekong Eyes runs round trips from Saigon.

Yes. Bassac publishes a two-night Cai Be to Chau Doc cruise, and from Chau Doc a daily speedboat continues to Phnom Penh.

For most travellers it is a place to leave the ship rather than to stay; the road to Siem Reap starts there.

On Bassac's published itinerary, Cai Be to Can Tho. Sailing from Can Tho, you would need a night in the city beforehand to see the market.

Trading is busiest roughly 06:00 to 07:30, and boats from Ninh Kieu take 30 to 40 minutes, so most people leave the hotel at about 05:00 to 05:30.

Domestic flights only, according to the airport's listed routes. For international flights, return to Saigon by road.

Can Tho is a centrally governed city, and since July 2025 it also includes the former Soc Trang and Hau Giang provinces.

Only in high water, roughly August to November, and only on ships that cross the lake. Viking, Scenic and Victoria Mekong end at Kampong Cham and continue by road all year.

It depends on where the ship stops, which changes with the water. The operator sets it; we ask for the figure for your sailing.

For a three-night stay, the 3-day pass at USD 62, valid on any three days within seven. The 1-day pass is USD 37.

Siem Reap–Angkor International (SAI), about 50 km east of the town, about an hour and a quarter by car.

No. The delta, the border, Phnom Penh and much of the Tonle Sap river are still on the water. What you lose is the arrival at Siem Reap by boat.

Their pages do not say. Pandaw's guide even gives two different ranges on the same page, so we ask the operator about your specific sailing.

The operators we read do not say so. What they do note is changed stops: bridges near Chau Doc in October and November, and some villages reachable only at certain levels.

The upper delta floods from about September to November. A two-night cruise towards Chau Doc goes furthest into it, subject to the bridge limits Pandaw mentions.

No. Ships are named as public facts with their sources. We do not speak for any operator.

You do not have to. What we add is a comparison across operators, a season check for your dates and answers to the questions operators' pages leave open. If booking direct suits you better, we say so.

No. Heritage Line's Anouvong and other Laos ships sail a different section of the river.

English, by email.