Be ready to be met by your guide at the hotel and depart south into the Mekong Delta region. After 1.5 hours, you will stop in Ngu Hiep village, Tien Giang, where you'll hop on your bikes and take a great way to see local life on Ngu Hiep Island and Tan Phong Islands, where the primary transport to the mainland is by ferry boats.
The islands have small communities that make a living by growing fruits. You have the unique opportunity to visit the village, meet some villagers, and understand the local lifestyle. This personal interaction will give you a deeper insight into the local culture. We padel well-maintained paths, ride along the Mekong River, experience the local culture of locals, visit the homes of locals and small markets, and escape the island with another small ferry to Tan Phong island. Tan Phong is a beautiful island with a small charming town, and the fruit-courching market only opens in the early morning.
We explore the island on small paths, pass some beautiful hamlets. After 5 km, we relax on the next ferry to Phu Phung village, enjoy dirt track cycling along the waterways to Binh Hoa Phuoc, and enjoy an extensive lunch booked by locals. Taste Vietnamese coffee and fresh fruits and continue biking along the lively river Cai Cuong Ancient House. It's one of the Mekong typical ancient in the Mekong Delta. Take a short break, visit the place, admire the old structure designed, carry on the ride, and pass schools, markets, and vibrant villages. You'll bike through An Binh Island, which has water channels; the busiest waterway is Dong Phu Canals. We continue biking through the island to An Binh Ferry Dock and enjoy today's last ferry to Vinh Long town. Take a rest, rest your legs on the vehicle driving to Can Tho.
Today's tour starts with a visit to Cai Rang's colorful floating market. The boat ride starts from Ninh Kieu Pier, and the cruise along the riverbank, among local sampans, arrives from all over the Mekong Delta region, which is full of seasonal fruits and farm products. After visiting this floating market, you will see the local factory of rice paste, rice paper, rice noodles, and rice vermicelli before the day's ride to Sadec in the morning.
The rural villages from Binh Minh to Sadec are steeped in history and culture, offering a unique experience that is different from the previous days. As we journey, we learn about the rich cultures of Vietnam and China, explore numerous family farms cultivating sweet potatoes, tapioca, and rice paddy fields, meander on country lanes, and stop at a family workshop making rice and sticky rice powders. Our lunch stop in Sadec is a perfect opportunity to visit The "Lover's House", a place made famous in the film" The Lover". This house was where Marguerite Duras, the renowned author, lived between 1928 and 1932 when her mother ran a school there. It was in Sadec that Duras, as a 15-year-old schoolgirl, met Huynh Thuy Le, 27, the son of a wealthy Chinese family. Their love affair, which began in Sadec, inspired Duras's 1984 Prix Goncourt-winning best-selling novel, The Lover (L'Amante), a literary masterpiece that has been translated into 43 languages and has sold 2.4 million copies.
Following lunch, take a leisurely ride, following the paths by the Mekong River to the flower village of Sadec- a great place for plant & flower lovers. Explore some gardens before we resume riding through scenic countryside to the Cao Lanh ferry. From the further side of the Mekong River, we'll bike through Mago orchards to the city center.
Dong Thap experiences a dramatic yearly flooded season, marking the last annual rice harvests before rising water levels. After breakfast, we'll quickly transfer to the cycling point, pick up our bikes, and explore local life in the wetland, travel through lush mango orchards, sometimes ride along the Mekong River, pass stilt houses, and have a ferry crossing the Mekong River to the Gieng islands which is considered one of the largest and oldest parishes in the Mekong Delta.
The morning's ride takes you through this fascinating area of rich French colonial architecture and sees its bustling market flooded with tropical fruits displayed by women in cone-shaped palm leaf hats. Break and explore the first Monastery building site in Indochina, established in 1874 in the Mekong Delta's Vietnam. There is a one-hour transfer to the next place for the afternoon's ride. Follow scenic back roads through charming villages, pass stilted houses along Cham Muslim villages, and small markets as we reach Chau town. Tour Ends!