Ho Chi Minh City skyline along the Saigon River with Bitexco tower, Landmark 81 district and a yacht
    Skip to main content
    Chapter 02 · Food & Coffee · Regional Kitchens

    River Cuisine · Mekong Delta

    "Cooking on a boat. Fish straight from the river. Coconut everything."

    Three slow days on the Mekong, eating the way the river has fed people for centuries.

    River Cuisine · Mekong Delta
    Duration
    3 days · 2 nights
    Location
    Can Tho · Ben Tre
    Rating
    5 (164 Reviews)
    Price
    €— per person · Small Group
    About This Tour

    The Mekong cooks slowly because everything around it grows quickly. Coconut, fish, river prawns, palm sugar, fragrant herbs — they're at every table.

    You'll stay on a small wooden river house, wake before sunrise for the floating market, and cook on a boat with a cook who has done it her whole life.

    There is no rush in the delta. The food, the stories, the days — all flow at river pace.

    This is Vietnam's most affectionate cuisine, served by some of the country's warmest people.

    Ready to explore Hanoi through its food?

    Chat on WhatsApp
    Highlights

    What you'll
    experience.

    • ·Sunrise floating market and breakfast on the boat
    • ·Hands-on cooking on a wooden river boat
    • ·Canh chua and ca kho to in a delta family kitchen
    • ·Coconut candy and palm sugar workshop
    • ·Slow river dinner with a Mekong family
    Itinerary

    Example
    schedule.

    Flexible depending on the day and the season.

    1. Day 1 — Afternoon

      Arrive Can Tho. Walk the riverside, snack on banh xeo Mien Tay (the southern version, twice the size). Settle into your river guesthouse.

    2. Day 1 — Evening

      Family dinner: canh chua ca (sour fish soup), ca kho to (caramelized fish in clay pot), and rice from the field outside.

    3. Day 2 — Sunrise

      Cai Rang floating market by sampan. Breakfast bowls of hu tieu handed up from a passing boat.

    4. Day 2 — Late Morning

      Cooking lesson on the boat: three dishes prepared with ingredients you helped pick at the market.

    5. Day 2 — Afternoon

      Visit a coconut candy workshop in Ben Tre, then a slow walk through the orchards.

    6. Day 3 — Morning

      Hu tieu My Tho before transfer. The original — clean broth, fresh river herbs, served by the founding family.

    Why This Experience is Different

    Most Mekong tours rush you through three towns in a day.

    We stay still. We let the food and the river do the talking.

    You eat in homes, on boats, and in markets — almost never in restaurants.

    Reserve

    Join this experience.

    Tell us your dates and group size — we'll confirm availability within hours.

    Chat on WhatsApp
    Saigon Travel Mate

    A Vietnamese collective of guides, hosts and storytellers.

    Saigon Travel Mate is a travel brand operated by Hanoi Travel Mate Co., Ltd.
    © 2026 Saigon Travel Mate · Crafted in Vietnam · By the people who call it home.