Choosing a Mekong river cruise
Cruises · Prices
What a Mekong cruise really costs
Every cruise on this site says On request, because operators set fares by date and cabin and change them often. This page shows the fares they publish, the lines that usually sit outside those fares, and the ways two quotes for the same route can differ widely.
Published fares, by kind of cruise
These are the figures operators and agents showed on the pages we read on 11 October 2026. They are per person unless marked, in the currency each page used, and many carry no validity date. They show the order of magnitude, not what you will pay.
| Kind of cruise | Published from | Published by |
|---|---|---|
| Delta, 1 night | USD 206 per person (Le Cochinchine, via a reseller) | Mekong-Delta-Tours.com |
| Delta, 1 night | USD 266 per person (Bassac) | Secret Retreats |
| Delta, 2 nights | USD 332 per person (Le Cochinchine, Mekong Delta Panorama) | Le Cochinchine |
| Delta, 3 nights | USD 427 per person (Le Cochinchine, Amazing Mekong Delta) | Le Cochinchine |
| Saigon to Phnom Penh, 4 days | USD 609 or USD 333 per person (page shows both) | Mekong Eyes |
| 9 days port to port, either direction | USD 1,754 per person (Toum Tiou II) | CroisiEurope |
| 11 days with Angkor, either direction | USD 2,304 per person towards Siem Reap, USD 2,379 from Siem Reap (Toum Tiou II) | CroisiEurope |
| 7 nights, AmaMaya | AUD 3,195 to 3,224 per person, shown as sale fares against AUD 4,695 to 5,024 | AmaWaterways Australia |
| 13-day package with Victoria Mekong, flights included | AUD 7,490 per person | Wendy Wu Tours Australia |
A fare from one operator in US dollars and a package from another in Australian dollars with flights included are not the same thing. The sections below show how to put them side by side.
Sources: Mekong-Delta-Tours.com — Le Cochinchine 2 days 1 night (reseller); Secret Retreats — Bassac cruises; Le Cochinchine (operator site); Mekong Eyes (operator site, modified 4 Aug 2026); CroisiEurope — RV Toum Tiou II; AmaWaterways (AU) — AmaMaya; Wendy Wu Tours AU — Victoria Mekong · checked .
What sits inside a fare, and what sits outside
The useful comparison is line by line. When we send options, each one is laid out like the table below, so you can see which lines a fare covers and which you would pay separately.
| Line | What to check | From a published page |
|---|---|---|
| Cabin and meals | Cabin category, size, balcony or not; which meals | Pandaw includes main meals; Aqua all meals |
| Drinks | Water only, or wine and beer too | Pandaw: local water, coffee, tea; Aqua: non-alcoholic drinks, selected wine and beer |
| Excursions and entrance fees | Guided stops included, and their entry tickets | Pandaw includes entrance fees and English-speaking guides |
| Transfer to the ship | From where, shared or private | Bassac itinerary excludes it; Pandaw coaches from a Saigon meeting point |
| Low-water finish | Road transfer or flight to Siem Reap, and who pays | Aqua flies guests Phnom Penh to Siem Reap at no extra cost |
| Visas | Cambodia, and Vietnam where needed | Pandaw lists all visa costs as excluded |
| Port dues, fuel surcharges | Whether they can be added later | Pandaw lists both as possible extras |
| Tips | Crew, local guides, drivers | Pandaw includes crew tips but not local guides; Aqua excludes gratuities |
| Angkor | Whether temple days and the pass are in | Angkor Pass USD 37 one day, USD 62 three days |
Sources: Pandaw — Saigon to Phnom Penh product PDF (new for 2026); Aqua Expeditions — Mekong river cruise; BestPrice Travel — Bassac 2 days 1 night (reseller); Angkor Enterprise — available tickets · checked .
What moves the price, in order
- Cabin category. On The Jahan cabins range from 30 m² to 51 m²; on Mekong Jewel from 339 to 924 sq ft. The same ship and date can differ by a large margin between the smallest and largest cabin.
- The ship. A 14-cabin boat with no lift and a 60-stateroom ship with a pool are both 'Mekong cruises'. Size, cabin space and inclusions explain more of the gap than the route does.
- The package around the cruise. Viking's 8-day river voyage is sold inside a 15-day holiday with hotels; Victoria Mekong is sold with flights. Port-to-port fares look smaller because they cover less.
- The departure date. Operators publish sale fares on some sailings; AmaWaterways showed both a sale and a full fare on the same page.
- Travelling alone. A cabin for one usually costs more than half a double. We show the supplement as its own line.
- Currency. USD, AUD and other currencies move against each other; we quote in the currency the operator uses and say so.
What we leave out, and why
- Travel insurance. We do not sell it. Buy a policy that covers river travel, medical evacuation and cancellation, and check it covers both countries.
- International flights. You know your own routes and loyalty schemes better than we do.
- Visas. You apply yourself. Vietnam's e-visa is applied for on the official Immigration Department portal, and Cambodia's visa on arrival is handled at the border.
- Tips. Each operator has its own policy; we pass it on rather than add a figure of our own.
How a cheaper quote for the same cruise is usually built
When two quotes for what looks like the same cruise differ by a wide margin, it is usually one of these:
- It is port to port, and the other includes hotel nights or Angkor. Toum Tiou II's 9-day and 11-day versions differ by several hundred dollars for exactly this reason.
- It leaves out the road transfer from Saigon to the boat, which the operator does not include.
- It quotes a sale fare that applies only to certain dates.
- It names 'Saigon to Siem Reap' for a low-water sailing that finishes by coach, without saying so.
- It describes a 60-cabin ship in the same words as a 14-cabin boat, or quotes the smallest cabin by default.
- It includes only water, coffee and tea, where the other includes wine and beer.
- It is in a different currency, or it includes international flights.
None of these is wrong in itself. A port-to-port fare is the right choice if you have already booked Siem Reap. The point is to compare like with like, which is why our options are laid out line by line. For the difference between cabins and inclusions on specific ships, see cabins and what is included.
Sources: CroisiEurope — RV Toum Tiou II; BestPrice Travel — Bassac 2 days 1 night (reseller); AmaWaterways (AU) — AmaMaya; Pandaw — The Classic Mekong guide, 4 May 2026 · checked .
Where to go next
Once you know roughly what you want to spend, the four cruise pages compare the boats: one night in the delta, two nights, Saigon to Phnom Penh and Saigon to Siem Reap. How to book explains what happens after you choose.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Why is your quote higher than one I found elsewhere?
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.
Do you add a fee to the operator's fare?
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.
Why do some fares appear in Australian dollars?
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.
Are published fares guaranteed?
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.
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The four kinds of Mekong cruise and the boats that run each one.
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How to choose
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Cabin sizes, balconies, lifts and inclusions on Mekong boats and ships, as published.
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Example journey
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A week from the delta to the Siem Reap side, more than a dozen ships compared.
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Example journey
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One night on a delta boat between Cai Be and Can Tho: four operators compared.
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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.
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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.