Mekong Delta Day Trip with Cooking Class and Cai Be Floating Market Tour
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Rating: 
Trip Type: Day Trips
Duration: 12 hours
Experience rural life in Vietnam with a boat ride on the Mekong Delta! This day trip from Ho Chi Minh City to Cai Be takes you to tranquil fruit orchards, a candy factory and Cai Be Floating Market before a visit to Tan Phong Island for a cooking lesson. You’ll learn the art of Vietnamese cuisine and interact with the locals as you bicycle around the village – a great getaway! Enjoy personal attention from your guide on this small-group tour, limited to 12 people.
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Experience rural life in Vietnam with a boat ride on the Mekong Delta! This day trip from Ho Chi Minh City to Cai Be takes you to tranquil fruit orchards, a candy factory and Cai Be Floating Market before a visit to Tan Phong Island for a cooking lesson. You’ll learn the art of Vietnamese cuisine and interact with the locals as you bicycle around the village – a great getaway! Enjoy personal attention from your guide on this small-group tour, limited to 12 people.
After pickup from your hotel, transfer by air-conditioned vehicle to the town of Cai Be, located approximately 100 miles (160 km) southwest of Ho Chi Minh City. On the way, stop to take photos of the beautiful landscapes and typical farmers working in the rice fields.
Upon arrival in Cai Be, hop on a motorboat with your small group and visit the Cai Be Floating Market, established in the 19th century on the Tien River. Observe locals trading fruit and other wholesale goods, hung from poles aboard boats and rafts, in the bustling floating market. Then, disembark for a short walk to a coconut candy factory and tour the facility to learn how the sweets are produced.
You’ll have the opportunity to purchase some candy before meandering with your guide around the small villages of the Mekong Delta. Visit a fruit orchard and plantation, and listen to traditional southern Vietnamese music called don ca tai tu, which combines elements from court music and folk music.
Afterward, cruise along the Mekong Delta to Tan Phong Island. Here, join your small group in a half-day cooking class with your guide. You’ll learn to prepare Vietnamese dishes from several regions as you discover the many cultural influences at play in Vietnamese cuisine. Try your hand at making savory specialties like fried elephant-ear fish, grilled steak cooked in a bamboo cylinder, grilled fish in banana leaf and fish braised in a clay pot.
Enjoy your delicious creations with your fellow food lovers before hopping on a bicycle to ride along the village path. Pass fruit orchards and a bonsai garden as you explore the neighborhood with your guide and mingle with the local villagers. Your day trip ends with a boat ride back to Cai Be and return transport to your Ho Chi Minh City hotel.
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