When we were planning our trip (I didn’t do much, but asked around a bit), I heard that Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City is not really a touristy city and you have to get outside. At the same time, it was our first time to visit Vietnam and we felt that we needed to see Saigon. My husband and I decided to spend 4 days in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, which was a good decision. As we traveled with two young kids, it slowed down our activities, so I was glad we scheduled 4 days there. The Mekong Delta Tour, which my friend who went to Vietnam in December recommended, topped off our stay in Saigon beautifully and I highly recommend taking a trip to Mekong Delta.
We met some very neat foreign tourists from Holland, Canada, Japan, Australia, South Africa and Austria on the tour, which made our tour experience so fun. You spend a whole day, so you get to know each other a bit and you can also get scoops or exchange information.
There are several different types of Mekong Delta Tour. Our friend in Ho Chi Minh City says if you do a two-day trip, it is more interesting as you get to see how local people live in Mekong Delta. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time, so we signed up for a day trip.
For a day trip we picked, we had 2 choices.
Come Back To Sai Gon River by Boat 23 USD/person
Come Back By Bus 9 USD/person
Although it was 14 dollars more to come back by boat, it was well spent. It was faster and pleasant. We got on a tour bus close from the tour agent to go to My Tho, the Mekong Delta Area. The ride was about an hour and a half I think. It was a very bumpy ride which made some people decide to take a boat back.
MEKONG DELTA TOUR ITINERARY (from my memory with help of a flyer)
7:15 am Departure For Mekong Delta Tour By Bus
Unicorn Island
Short trekking
A rowing boat ride
Lunch
Ben Tre province
Python
Handmade coconut candy workshop
(I apologize that I don’t have good photos from the workshop.)
Small Motor Boat Ride
Turtle Island
fruits and music
Boat Ride Back To Saigon
7:00 pm Arrives In Saigon
HOW WE RESERVED OUR TOUR
There are heaps of tour companies on the street called Pham Ngu Lao, which is the street that runs parallel to Le Lai on which the Asian Rubi 3 Hotel where we stayed is located. I just picked one that appealed to me. It’s a branch office on Pham Ngu Lao, SAGOTOUR. The people who helped us at this location were very personable and friendly. The guy in the photo below speaks English very well which was helpful. Initially we were looking for a tourist agent to book our train tickets to go to Hoi An. Then we saw their ad for a Mekong Delta Tour. Since we liked the people there and their price was much less than the price we saw at our hotel, we chose their tour. I imagine that the price at the hotel was more because of the commission you’ll be paying to the hotel. I recommend booking a Mekong Delta Tour through a travel agent as it is very easy to find one, but if you stay at a place where you don’t find any tour agent around you, then you can book a tour through your hotel, I’m sure.
SAGOTOUR
221 Pham Ngu Lao, Dist. 1
Ho Chi Minh City
Tel: (84-8) 39203479 – 38385557
Fax: (84-8) 39203480 – 38385556
Email: sagotour171@yahoo.com
Website: www.sagotour.com
*84 is a country code for Vietnam when calling from outside of Vietnam.
Oh, just looking at the pictures of the python, I keep shivering !
Your girls look really cute by the way !
How come I don’t see a picture of you with the python wrapped around you neck?! hahaha…
Oh you know! I would wet myself!! I touched the python, but that’s the closest I could get to it!!!! Its head kept moving with curiosity when others were holding and I could not remove my silly imagination of being bitten by it although I knew it would not happen! I don’t do well with reptiles. The python was smooth and dry and I was surprised how nice it felt on my palm though.
Smooth and nice enough for a purse? 😉 Awesome photos! We wish we had done the Mekong Delta tour but didn’t have enough time. How did P like the cobra wine? I’m curious as to what it tastes like.
I thought about that! Haha. I only use fake and fabric purses. He did not like it at all and said it tasted bad. I can imagine.
your daughters are so beautiful! oh my goodness, that cobra wine freaks me out! i’m impressed your husband drank it!
I shivered when I saw the phyton…… but I did try it once when I went to the circus many years ago, hubby and I have a photo with a phyton around our shoulders ( I think it was sedated because it didn’t move much) snakes still freak me out though.
I loveeeeeeeeed the black and white photo of the lady on the boat (the photo next to the ox?)
thumbs up to your hubby for trying something new, but I still have to say eewwwww .cobra wine. LOL.
Hi Friend.
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Thank you for your compliment and asking about my photos! Could you please email me which photos you would like to use in your website at chuzailiving[at]gmail[dot]com. Thank you!!
Thanks you so much. You are very kind. Please send your images to deluxegrouptour945@gmail.com.
Many Thanks & Best Regards.
Quang William