Mekong River Cruises from Vietnam to Cambodia
Sail with us from the Mekong Delta to Phnom Penh
With our cruises you can travel from Saigon to Phnom Penh covering the distance by boat to explore the fantastic scenery of the Mekong Delta. Along the way you pass fascinating Mekong Delta landscapes with an abundance of rice paddies and fruit orchards, life along the shores, playing children, Buddhist pagodas and colorful Cao Dai temples.
We offer different tours of different lengths. Depending on the chosen tour and vessel we have daily departures. With our new Mekong Eyes Explorer as well as our private house boats Gecko Eyes and Dragon Eyes you can travel from Saigon to Phnom Penh spending 2, 3 or 4 days en route on the boat. With tours on Mekong Eyes Classic, you spend one or two nights on board and a night in the Victoria Hotel in Chau Doc.
The Upstream Itinerary to Cambodia of Mekong Eyes Explorer
The following routing is for Mekong Eyes Explorer but can also be booked on Gecko Eyes and Dragon Eyes (daily departures).
In the morning we pick you up at your hotel in Saigon (District 1 and parts of District 3) and take you to your port of embarkation in Can Tho (3 nights to Phnom Penh), Cai Be (2 nights to Phnom Penh), or Cao Lanh (1 night). The transfer takes between 2 to 3.5 hours depending on the embarkation port. After a refreshing welcome drink, we show you our on-board facilities and your cozy cabin.
Thursday: Can Tho – Cai Be
As lunch is served, the boat starts cruising. Sit back and watch the fantastic scenery and the daily life of the Mekong people. In the afternoon you can disembark for a guided leisurely stroll through a village and the surrounding fruit orchards or rice fields. Meet the friendly locals and taste the local produce and fruits.
Get back on board and enjoy a drink at the bar or relax on deck as the sun sets over the magnificent water landscape of the Mekong River. The cruise boat anchors for the night. The day ends with a delicious on-board dinner.
Meals: Lunch (L), Dinner (D)
Friday: Cai Be – Sa Dec – Cao Lanh (optional embarkation in Cai Be)
Wake up well rested to the sound of the river and get ready for another exciting day of sightseeing in the Mekong Delta. At 6:30h the cruise vessel sets off for a sunrise cruise. Watch the locals go about their daily work drying exotic fruits and building ships on the wooden yards while enjoying an early breakfast.
After breakfast, we enjoy a rowing boat excursion through the hidden small canals of Tan Phong Islet on a sampan. We also visit some of the local candy or rice cake making production or boat through the green water landscape to see local villages, verdant orchards or rice paddies.
In the afternoon we arrive in the laid back town of Sa Dec for a city tour. There you can see the busy and colorful local market, enjoy a coffee on the nice riverside promenade or visit a nearby flower village with orchards. The charming town still has a lot of colonial architecture, in particular the old market, the church and many old villas and traders’ houses. We visit one of them, a beautifully renovated traditional house of a Chinese trader’s family. This sumptuous building belonged to the main character of the novel „The Lover” and indeed to the lover of Marguerite Duras.
In the late afternoon we return to the Mekong Explorer vessel and enjoy a sunset cruise with more fantastic photo opportunities from aboard.
Meals: B, L, D
Saturday: Cao Lanh – Tan Chau (optional embarkation in Cao Lanh)
The boat arrives Cao Lanh in the morning. After breakfast on the top deck, you can enjoy the the visit to Tan Thuan Dong Islet, which is famous for its orchards full of mangoes, longans, and ambarellas. It is totally off-the-beaten track and rarely visited by tourists.
As the boat maneuvering through the scenic Cho Vam Canal, you are invited to a sunset cocktail party on the top deck, which also allows you to fully enjoy one of the most magnificent moments that Mekong river has to offer.
Meals: B, L, D
Sunday: Tan Chau across the border to Phnom Penh in Cambodia
After breakfast the tour with Mekong Eyes Explorer ends. For the transfer to Phnom Penh you embark our speedboat for an exciting ride to Cambodia. You pass the first Cambodian style pagodas and a slowly changing landscape from the plains of the delta to a river landscape. A Mekong Eyes guide accompanies our passengers all the way to Phnom Penh to facilitate the immigration procedures into Cambodia and ensure your safe transfer from the jetty in Phnom Penh to your local hotel. Arrival in Phnom Penh around lunchtime.
The trip ends here. Please contact us if we can help you organize your tour to Angkor or any further trips. Of course we will also be happy to arrange your transfer to Ha Tien for connecting to Phu Quoc or an excursion to Chau Doc and its fascinating surroundings with Sam Mountain and the magic forest of Tra Su or back to Saigon.
Meals: B, Snack on board of the speed boat
This is the programme of Mekong Eyes Explorer (please note that you can start the tour in Can Tho (Thursdays), Cai Be (Fridays) or Cao Lanh (Saturdays); arrival in Phnom Penh on Sundays (for other departure dates contact us here).
Price per person in a double or twin cabin:
Boat Cabin Low season(April — September) Peak season(October — March) Mekong Eyes Explorer3 Day Tour — 2 Nights Superior Cabin US$ 485 US$ 549 Enquiry Suite Cabin US$ 582 US$ 658 Enquiry Boat Cabin Low season(April — September) Peak season(October — March) Mekong Eyes Explorer4 Day Tour — 3 Nights Superior Cabin US$ 675 US$ 771 Enquiry Suite Cabin US$ 810 US$ 952 Enquiry
For our private Tours on our 2 cabin boat Dragon Eyes and on our one cabin boat Gecko Eyes, click here
Our tours include
- Road transfer from Saigon to the embarkation port
- Accommodation in cosy double or twin bedded cabins
- Guided excursions as mentioned in the itinerary
- English speaking guide
- Speed boat from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh with Mekong Eyes guide
- Transfer from from the jetty to the hotel in Phnom Penh
- Meals as mentioned in the itinerary
- Mineral water placed in your cabin on your cruise boat
- Free flow of tea and coffee
Exclusions
- Visa fee for Cambodia (you can get a visa for Cambodia at the border crossing where the speed boat stops for immigration; for this you need to bring 35 USD in cash and 02 passport photographs
- Private transfer from Saigon available
- Drinks (except mentioned in inclusions)
- Tips
Route and excursions may be subjects to changes without prior notice.
Other Routings and Extensions Tours in Cambodia
Our other boats have different routings and embarkation points and are the option to chose when you cannot join the itinerary above or would like to spend a night in the Victoria Hotel Chau Doc. See the tours below or contact us for more details.
Extend your stay in Cambodia and visit Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh and other exciting places with us. See some of our extension tours in Cambodia below or contact us contact us for more details.