Excursion
Cycling Mekong Delta to Con Dao Island
The usual to travel to Con Dao Island are by plane and boat. Travelers usually take speed boats from Vung Tau or Mekong Delta. Back to the mainland by plane after a couple of days or a week. It is so dull if there are no other adventures before or after. Vietnam Backroads highly recommend traveling to this Island through Mekong Delta by bicycle. The authentic region has excellent cycle routes, beautiful scenery, and Khmer communities in Soc Trang province. However, it takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes from Tran De dock, Soc Trang to Con Dao Island. Just a couple of days cycling through the mighty Mekong delta gives you a moment of your journey to Vietnam. Cycling to Cong Dao Island
Depart from the hotel at 8:00 am, relax, and watch the bustling Ho Chi Minh as you move throughout the city. Your guide will inform you about the rules of the roads and how your daily ride is going! Arrives in Tan An outskirts around 9:00 am, and we ride along scenic paths, enjoy picturesque hamlets, pass primary schools, and stop at the home of locals making hats and fruit bags from grasses. We ride towards My Tho, passing the vast vegetable farmlands with an irrigation system. We will stop for lunch in My Tho city. Rest on the vehicle for 30 minutes and transfer to Ham Luong Bridge to explore the home of coconut trees. The countryside of Mo Cay is the most beautiful rural District for traveling by bicycle. The routes are smooth concrete paths, crisscrossing through the villages with lush green water palms and crossing small rivers by ferry and small suspension bridges, just for bicycle mopeds only.
The ride in the afternoon is more on shady paths, on narrow country lanes, along villages hide the water palms and lush waterways. Take a small ferry boat crossing the rivers, and stop at some families running small businesses. There will be plenty of time to pause along the country roads and experience local life. We will hop on support vehicles at Co Chien River for a 30-minute transfer luxury homestay - at Coco Riverside Lodge.
Most daily life activities of locals take place early in the morning. It's the best time to experience and see locals in surrounding areas; kids start going to schools, the elderly take farm products to markets by mopeds, and sampan boats move up and down the rivers. Then go back to the homestay for breakfast.
We start to ride from the homestay, bike through lush farmlands of vegetables, stay on gravel paths, and stop at some small home businesses before across the rice paddy fields on opened smooth air paths. Passing Khmer pagodas, views the stunning rustic landscape, and ride on river trails along creeks to Huu Thanh. There will be many stops along the country roads; visit fruit orchards and vegetable farmlands with endless photos.
Break for lunch at a local restaurant before continuing cycling to Tra On. Take a publish ferry, cross the river to Luc Si Island, see the farmers' life on the islands, taste seasonal fruit at local orchards, and take another ferry to the mainland, where we ride on trails alongside the Mekong River, the Can Tho suspension bridge. We hop on the van for a short transfer to Can Tho City.
The famous Cai Rang floating market is in action from 6:30 to 8:30 am every day. Locals often bring their farm products to this market by boat. Locals could find sellers and buyers that they get more profit as they wish. After an early breakfast at the hotel, and check out for a boat ride takes us to a floating market. Then we leave the boat behind for a morning ride to Phung Hiep. Option with a transfer you Phung to avoid heat. It is the lovely countryside for cycling, so we take it easy as we could ride slowly and stop along with the ways for photos. There are more Khmer live here than Vietnamese and Chinese. By cycling, you can see locals using waterways as a means of transport in the area. The lovely bike routes in the afternoon are so beautiful; smooth concrete paths, windy single tracks through tiny villages, lakes, and offer you pleasure time to enjoy on your own. We also cycle across the green farmland and stop at some colorful Khmer temples before we have a break and visit Bat pagoda.
The Super Dong speedboat operates daily speedboats to Con Dao Island, and all are modern- wifi, air-conditioned luxury speedboat. One in the morning departs at 8:00 am and the other at 1:00 pm. Tourists get there by air before and today by boat as well. After an early breakfast at the hotel, enjoy one-hour private vehicle driving through seaside villages to Tra De dock. Get on board at 7:45 am from Tran De Dock, and you will arrive at Ben Dam dock around 10:20 am. You can relax on sandy beaches as long as you wish! Our team spends four hours driving back to Saigon.
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta, Vietnam, has complicated rural path network systems, well-developed and maintenance by governments. The region comprises 12 provinces: Long An, Dong Thap, Tien Giang, An Giang, Ben Tre, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Hau Giang, Kien Giang, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, and Ca Mau, along with the Mekong Delta Capital of Can Tho. All country back roads are asphalt, concrete paths connecting villages to villages as it's a rural transports. The rest are dirt tracks, so do not worry about exploring the Mekong Delta by bicycle, even you are a beginner. Depending on each province's regions, lowlands, or jungles, and rural villages, our hand-picked routes are the best for your biking trips. Mekong Bike Tours
Flexible route - The most important key is to your trip
You do not have to ride the exact kilometer distance as it's showing on the daily biking of each itinerary. It will be flexible as you want. Even you could choose the longest distance that more than 80km per day if a whole day ride. You could spend more time cycling if you think the biking distance is too short! Or you can enjoy short routes and spend more time taking photos, stopping at villages/ small markets, or the home of locals to find something interesting.
Throughout the Mekong Delta and its rivers with thousand branches! You will ride on various roads; flat trails, paths, rural roads, and country back roads where they are too small for vehicles. However, the Mekong Delta River network has natural creeks and canals that small ferry boats are such essential ways of travelling in the countryside, and riders have no choice!
Cycling routes
We tailor-make unique bike trips depend on the specific route and terrain of your tour. Vietnam Backroads is the first cycle tour operator to explore and build up many adventure trips to Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Rach Gia, Vi Thanh, Cao Lanh, and Sadec and remote villages. Our top cycle tour operator and the pathfinder are Mr Van, nicknamed "Van the man" Each cycling route has to be meticulously well-scouted, investigated, scouted out, and mapped out beforehand by Mr. Van the man. Our guides are licensed, well trained in bike maintenance and navigation and know all routes as they are on their hands. All bike guides can tailor a custom route suitable to your wish and levels of cycling skills.
How were the backup vehicles support cyclists on the trip?
Most routes are small, narrow, just wide enough for two bicycles OR mopeds. There are vehicles to support riders on the entire trip (van/minibus to take up all cyclists and truck to carry all bikes and spare bikes), but they are too big to drive on, follow riders along through the countryside. Do remember! All support vehicles are permanently closed and not far from the group. Where are the support vehicles during the trip? Depends on routes, vehicles sometimes move along the high roads, second highways, or country roads as close to riders as possible. If one of the riders wants to relax on A/C vehicle, the tour leaders will find the shortest route that leads he/she to the support vehicles that are always on standby. That is very easy and also the way Vietnam Backroads organized.
- The weather in Mekong Delta has two distinct seasons. Rainy season from May to last November, and the dry season from May to last April. The weather will be more relaxed from November to February. In general, the preferred travel time is from August to April in both the dry and wet seasons. It will be more humid, a little bit hot from May to July, and farmers start to make rice crops this time of the year. Travellers can take bicycle tours in the wettest months from the last of May to August because the rains usually come in short, heavy showers, mainly in the afternoon, and only lasts for an hour, then sunshine turns back to normal.
Private Support Vehicles
We organize cycling holidays, cycling adventure trips and mountain biking tours. All are flexible with luxury, fully air-conditioned vehicles to support riders on the entire journey. It depends on how many riders are in the group, and the vehicle support services will be well-arranged to satisfy your travels. There are air-conditioned 16-seat van/minibuses to take up all riders, luggage, and a truck to hold all bikes during the trip.
Every morning, the vehicles will transfer you out of the bustling city, and then you will ride to explore the stunning countryside, and you will back on the vehicles to avoid traffic in town when the daily's ride ends in the late afternoon.
Every 20 - 25 km, the support vehicles will be waiting at the high road if you are tired and really would love to ride on A/C van. Your guide will escort you to vehicles easily because many country back roads are linked to the main roadways where keeping vehicles are on standby.
Then you can relax on a support vehicle when others in the group can continue cycling as long as they wish! You will meet the others at the next point/ destination where you love to re-join the group and continue to ride.
All your luggage/ suitcase and day bags are safe on the vehicles and well kept by the company's drivers and its team.
2 to 4 riders in a group
There is only one A/C 16 seater van to take up all riders, luggage & suitcases, and bikes. There are four rows of seating for passengers on the A/C 16 seater van. Two people sit on each row. The third row is for luggage and suitcases. The last row of seats will be folded up, so all bikes will be uploaded here.
A medium group tour: from 5 to 7 people
There will be two vehicles to support riders on the entire trip. One 16 seater van to take up all riders, luggage & suitcases. Another truck to carry all bikes, spare bikes, tool kits, icebox to keep cold drinks, and so on
A large group tour: 8 to 14 people
One minibus to take up all riders, including luggage & suitcases, and one truck to carry all bikes, spare bikes, water, cold drinks, and snacks...Iceboxes
A group has more than 15 riders and more than 20 people
We provide two vans and one minibus, and one truck to escort large groups of riders and help ensure their safety. Our pro guide will motivate a team with support vehicles to bring the best services to riders.
Giant MTB & Trek Hybrid MTB Bikes & Gears
Trek Hybrid MTB Bikes - Wheelsize 700c x45/1.95 - Gravel tires
Giant MTB Bikes - Wheelsize 27.5 x 1.95
“BRIDGE! LOW GEAR! LOW GEAR!”
We were keen to spend a few days in HCMC before a few more in Con Dao. Vietnam Backroads provided the perfect way to bridge the time and distance in between. We did a four-day cycling tour from HCMC to Soc Trang. Mr Cong and Van the Man were the perfect guides, providing a well-planned trip, insightful commentary, thorough service and great care – “BRIDGE! LOW GEAR! LOW GEAR!” A Mekong Delta local, Mr Cong provided wonderful insights into the country. The ultimate organiser, Mr Van charted the perfect course and helped us to renegotiate our travel plans when our ferry trip to Con Dao was cancelled due to bad weather – even letting us hitch a ride with them back to HCMC. As we were a small group, the program was very flexible and relaxed. A constant highlight was the extraordinary food that would be prepared for us in the small villages we’d pass through – often with no warning of our arrival. The bikes were modern and well set up and maintained. Our driver Mr Nghia was never far away with an endless supply of chilled water, refresher towels and his welcoming air-conditioned van! We certainly had a great time travelling and exploring another side of Vietnam with Vietnam Backroads, and recommend them to anyone keen to experience the country at the perfect pace and perspective of a bicycle. 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 Dec, 2017
Mekong Delta Cycling to Con Dao Island
The guide and driver were excellent and very service minded. They were very good to be flexible. The hotels and food were not that impressive. It would have been nice with a map. 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 Feb 2019