Cai Be Mekong Delta, Vietnam
1424
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
AmaWaterways (141 Cruises)
AmaDara
77 Cruises
AmaMaya
64 Cruises
| 1 February | 8 days | One-way from Saigon to Siem Reap |
450-628-6241
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|
| 15 February | 8 days | One-way from Saigon to Siem Reap |
450-628-6241
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|
CroisiEurope (490 Cruises)
RV Indochine
165 Cruises
RV Indochine II
180 Cruises
RV Lan Diep
52 Cruises
| 7 January | 13 days | Round-trip from flight |
450-628-6241
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|
| 19 January | 13 days | Round-trip from flight |
450-628-6241
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|
| 23 January | 13 days | Round-trip from flight |
450-628-6241
Call us
|
Toum Tiou II
93 Cruises
Emerald Waterways (456 Cruises)
Emerald Harmony
228 Cruises
Emerald Liberte
228 Cruises
Lindblad Expeditions (18 Cruises)
The Jahan
18 Cruises
Scenic Cruises (319 Cruises)
Scenic Spirit
319 Cruises
Frequently Asked Questions
Nowhere: river ships anchor mid-stream off Cai Be, and the day begins aboard local craft. In this Tien Giang province in southern Vietnam, everything moves by water, visits included.
Only partly, and it is fair to say so plainly. Trade shifted onto dry land as the roads arrived. The procession of barges loaded with fruit and sand still animates the main branch of the river, but the old market with its tall bamboo poles no longer has its former scale.
A display system: wholesalers moored in the current hung a sample of their cargo from tall poles, pineapples, sweet potatoes or watermelons, to signal their goods to buyers from a distance. It is the delta's most famous image.
A landmark standing out above the tin roofs and coconut palms: a Gothic-inspired bell tower, a legacy of the French presence, its pale outline reflected in the brown water. The scene sums up the delta, a European church set in a landscape of rice fields and canals.
Family workshops along the banks: puffed rice poured while still hot into large wafer moulds, coconut paste cooked slowly then cut into sweets wrapped one by one in rice paper, rice papers drying on bamboo racks. The tastings are generous and need no translation.
The best moment comes when the sampan leaves the main river for the creeks, those narrow canals vaulted with palms. The call offers neither monument nor panorama; it offers immersion in the daily life of one of Asia's most fertile countrysides.
Yes, their domed kilns still smoke along certain banks in the region. These gestures, repeated for generations, can be watched without any staging as the sampan passes.
Early. At dawn the delta wakes in a warm mist pierced by sampan engines, and both light and coolness are at their best. It is also when river traffic is heaviest.
The Vietnamese dong and Vietnamese. The family workshops work in cash: bring small denominations. River cruise guides interpret throughout the day.
December to April, the delta's dry season: more bearable heat, less rain and steady navigation in the creeks. From June to November the monsoon swells the river and can alter sampan routes.
