SAI GON - MY THO - BEN TRE - CAN THO (L, D)

• 08:00am, Picked up at hotel in Ho Chi Minh city to start Mekong Delta Ha Tien Tour 4 Days
• 9:30am, upon arrival in My Tho City, Tien Giang province. Pay a visit to Vinh Trang pagoda. Built in 1849. Once you step into the pagoda's campus you will admire its extremely beautiful architecture and more than 60 precious Buddha statues that are all made of wood, bronze or terracotta.
• After visiting the pagoda, embark on a motor boat to take a leisurely cruise on the Mekong River to Unicorn islet, one of four mythical animals in Southeast Asia: Dragon, Unicorn, Tortoise, and Phoenix. From here, sip a cup of delicious honey tea with kumquat from the bee farm where thousands of honey bees are taking nectar from longan flowers, pomelo flowers to turn into honey. Then take a walk around tropical fruit gardens before heading back to the boat.
• Next, enjoy the melody of “Don Ca Tai Tu” - a genre of traditional folk music which is an indispensable spiritual cultural activity in Mekong Delta people’s lives and officially recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity while tasting some tropical fruits. Meanwhile, you enjoy five types of fruits.
• Troll through the small orchard to get a closer look at delta life on hand – rowed boat, go through the hidden maze of small water palm trees draped canals. You will fall in love with nature, peaceful life, and the friendliness of the locals.
• Board the motorboat again, you will cross the river to Ben Tre province. Go on shore to visit a coconut candy workshop, learn how to make it and try sweet candies. This region is also famous for the production of coconut candies. Then, hop on a Lambro motor - tricycle for special lunch which was once the iconic vehicle and main means of transportation in South Vietnam (dating back to the 1960s) or ride on the horse cart as an option. Watch around peaceful villages and have a better understanding of the life of rustic people in Mekong Delta.
• 12:00pm, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant with many specialties.
• After enjoying a delicious lunch, relax on hammocks or cycling around the village to see what local life is like.
• 3:00pm, back on board, the motorboat will cruise back to the pier before transferring to Can Tho.
• 5:00pm - 5:30pm, check-in hotel and stay overnight in Can Tho.

CAN THO - CAI RANG FLOATING MARKET - SON ISLET COMMUNITY - TRA SU FOREST - CHAU DOC (B, L, D)

• 7:00 am, Have a breakfast at hotel and visit to Cai Rang Floating Market. While crossing the Mekong River, observe the daily activities of local people on the banks, see traditional - style houses in which the local people live as well as beautiful orchards, busy ships - building yards and bustling markets where they make their livelihood.
• After that, our tour guide takes you to some traditional workshops. You have a great time learning how locals make “Hu Tieu” (rice vermicelli). They are soft, flat, slippery and slightly chewy. Then, the boat carries you to another place to enjoy pineapple (known as the queen of fruits) that is fresh and delicious. The seller will peel the pineapple on the spot for you to enjoy right on the boat.
• 10:00 am, after paying a visit to the colorful floating market check-out and disembark before exploring Son islet - an islet in the middle of Hau River which is separated not far away from the mainland with alluvial consolidating green orchids all year round and the honest, lovely and enthusiastic people.
• The first experience in Son islet where you will visit a floating fish farm on the Hau River. The fisherman has a collection of fish. Especially, do not forget to check-in “Foot massage with Koi fish”.
• Walking around Son islet among 80 households, you experience picking the fruit and enjoy it from the tree when you visit the garden with local people. Do not miss the monkey bridge.
• You have the opportunity to make traditional cakes and pop rice by yourself or watch unique snakehead fish performances.
• It’s a good idea and very meaningful with the flying menu. Flying menu” is a unique style of Son islet, each family will prepare one dish and serve it all to you, the benefits from community-based tourism will be shared and filled with inhabitants.
• 12:00 pm, having lunch with many specialties on this islet. After this insightful visit, let's go to Chau Doc for that.
• Coach takes you to Chau Doc. On the way, we will stop at Long Xuyen to visit Crocodile farm (If time permits). And we will continue to Tra Su Forest. You seat on long boat with a motor which allows you through water covered in green lilies. A bit surreal as it almost likes land, enjoy precious moments living in harmony with nature as well as the wholesome atmosphere. You will be flabbergasted by small houses on stilts with rudimentary bamboo ceilings that are firmly tightened to cajuput trees, making an unusual existence in the quiet ambience of the forest.
• You stand on a 23.5m high watch tower in the midst of the forest; enjoy a panorama of the vast greenery spotted with the white of storks below and surrounding countryside.
• You have a BBQ buffet dinner in Chau Doc.
• We stay overnight in Chau Doc.

CHAU DOC – HA TIEN (B, L, D)

7:00am - 7:30am: Visiting the and after breakfast, our guide will take you to travel 3 places: Tay An Pagoda, Thoai Ngoc Hau Tomb, Ba Chua Xu Temple.

• Tay An Pagoda was constructed in 1847 at the base of Sam Mountain in An Giang. Then it was restored extensively in 1958. It is beautifully decorated with many elements from the Cham, Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian cultures. The interior and main gate follows Vietnamese design, having figures of 2 dragons and lions fighting for chrysanthemums, pearls, lotus blossoms and apricots trees on the roofline romp.
• Ba Chua Xu Temple, also known as the Holy Mother of the Realm is a solemn and ancient architecture built in 1820. The layout of the temple looks like the writing of the Chinese characters with the shape of a blooming lotus and 4 blue tiles roofs. According to An Giang Records Book, in 2009, this temple was recognized as the oldest sandstone statue in Vietnam. Legend tells that the Holy Mother helped the villagers to fight back the Siam Army in the past while blessing good weather and rich harvesting seasons to them. Thus, worshippers often come here a lot to touch her statue and ask for her blessing and protection.
• Thoai Ngoc Hau (1761-1829), a mandarin serving Nguyen Dynasty, was the pioneer to exploit this Chau Doc’s virgin soil, establish living settlements as well as dig Thoai Ha and Vinh Te channels. After his death, local people built a tomb to commemorate his dedication of developing agriculture in the 1930s. He was buried with his 2 wives together with a temple in his honor. Thoai Ngoc Hau tomb was designed by a harmonious architecture. There are many thick stone walls around the tomb. In the middle of it, there are temples and tombs for worshipping. Besides, numerous tombs of officials who had supported Thoai Ngoc Hau in the past were also constructed.  

14:00: We continue to visit 4 places this afternoon

• Phu Dung pagoda : This pagoda was founded in the mid-18th century by Nguyen Thi Xuan. Her tomb and that of one of her female servants are on the hillside behind the pagoda. Inside the main hall of the pagoda, the most notable statue on the central dais is a bronze Thich Ca Buddha from China. Behind the main hall is a small temple, Dien Ngoc Hoang, dedicated to the Taoist Jade Emperor. Head up the steep blue stairs to the shrine. The figures inside are of Ngoc Hoang (the Jade Emperor) flanked by Nam Tao, the Taoist God of the Southern Polar Star and the God of Happiness (on the right); and Bac Dao, the Taoist God of the Northern Polar Star and the God of Longevity (on the left). The statues are made of papier mâché moulded over bamboo frames.
• Mac Cuu mausoleum: Not far from town are the Mac Cuu Family Tombs, known locally as Nui Lang, the Hill of the Tombs. Mac Cuu, a Khmer-appointed 18th-century Chinese governor, and several dozens of his relatives are buried here in traditional Chinese tombs decorated with figures of dragons, phoenixes, lions and guardians. At the bottom of the complex is an ornate shrine dedicated to the Mac family. Best with a good guide as the beauty is mostly in history.
• Thach Dong mountain (Stone cave): is located 4km from the center of Ha Tien and only 3km from the border of Cambodia. To the left of Thach Dong entrance is a stone stele, erected to commemorate the southwest border defense war in the last century. During the war, Thach Dong was a strategic defense location. Entering Thach Dong, visitors will see large and small caves formed from geological changes. Inside Thach Dong is Tien Son pagoda, believed to be built in the late 18th century to worship Shakyamuni Buddha and Bodhisattva Avalokitevara. The cave’s large main entrance has stone stairs. There are also three small gates linked to the upper part and a small gate connecting to an underground path which is called the “door to hell". On the walls of the caves, there are protruding rocks that are now home to hundreds of pigeons. The cave has many stalactites of varying shapes. At the front gate of the cave, tourists can see a three-meter stalactite in the shape of an eagle’s wing. Thach Dong is also the place where the Thach Sanh fairy tale came from. There is a small corner to the east of the cave which leads to “heaven”, as legend has it. Thach Sanh got through this corner to kill the monster and rescue princess Quynh Nga and the son of Thuy Te king. Thach Dong is a famous tourist attraction because it was chosen as the background for various films, including late director Do Quang Hai Au’s Thach Sanh Legend, and director Nguyen Vinh Son’s Southern Land.
• Mui Nai beach: The best of the Gulf of Thailand beaches, Mui Nai is 8km west of Ha Tien. The water is incredibly warm and becalmed, so great for taking a dip, and the beach is much improved thanks to several tonnes of sand from Phu Quoc Island, all set beneath a canopy of lofty palms. There are beaches on both sides of the peninsula, lined with simple restaurants and guesthouses.

Have dinner and stay overnight in Ha Tien.
 

HA TIEN – SAI GON (B, L)

• Today, after breakfast at the hotel, we will discover Tinh Bien Market. It is a large wholesale market of the Western region. This place borders Cambodia, so its goods are quite cheap and unique. You can find a variety of quality goods that are not available everywhere at Tinh Bien market.
• We go down Long Xuyên for lunch at restaurant
• After lunch, we will stop at Long Xuyen to visit Crocodile farm (If time permits).
• Arrive Sai Gon around 18:30