Semi Bike Tours
Cycling to Soc Trang - Explore Lung Ngoc Hoang Nature Reserve
Explore an unexploited Mua Xuan forest by boat and by bike. Mua Xuan is a part of the Lung Ngoc Hoang Natural Reserve. It covers an area of about 130m hectares, and it's great for natural lovers in Hau Giang, Mekong Delta. The thick Melaleuca forest covers an area of 2,800 hectares and is surrounded by vast pineapple plantations. The forest waterways are filled with hyacinth, duckweed, and lettuce. The wetlands and flooded forests are home to many species of birds, fish, bees, bats, storks, egrets, cormorants, peafowl, and kingfishers, etc.
Vietnam Backroads Bike Tours always offer impressive itineraries with new destinations and hand-picked up routes. Soc Trang in the Mekong Delta is a non-tourist city, and tourists seldom visit rustic rural areas. Soc Trang is the most populated by Khmer people, whose ancestors lived there when it was part of the Khmer Empire during the 12th and 13th centuries. This is a different part of Viet Nam – the people, the food, the pace, the architecture, the temples, ‘the vibe’ are all far remote hamlets from what happens up in the big community. The Clay and Bat pagodas are well-known landmarks in the Mekong Delta.
Depart at 8:00 am. We'll transfer you 2.5 hours to Ben Tre. You will board a short cruise along the Ben Tre River, make a stop, and visit a traditional brick mill where people still make bricks by hand. Then, you will embark on a motocart/ Lambro 550, riding along the country roads through lush orchards; you will stop at the fruit garden and taste seasonal fruits. Here is a chance to interact with the villagers and learn about their way of life. Afterward, you'll visit a local home belonging to Mr Sau Khanh. He is an antique collector. His house has numerous antiques, and he has stories to tell you about!
Break for lunch at a local restaurant; you then get back your vehicles for an hour driving to Mo Cay, where you'll take an easy ride, roll onto vibrant villages, cycle on smooth-lined- coconut paths through lush water palms, stop workshops that produce oily and jelly products and coconut fiber from coconuts. The afternoon's ride is about 15km, and it will finish at Co Chien Bridge. we'll transfer you 30 minutes to Coco Riverside Lodge.
After a leisurely breakfast, check out for an hour's transfer to Tra Vinh, which has a large Khmer population living here as their homeland. In the morning, you'll explore scenic villages and peaceful countryside in the Khmer community, ride across stunning rice paddies, visit colorful Khmer temples, and have an opportunity to interact with Theravada monks. The morning ride is about 25 km as you reach Tieu Can Township. Then, you'll transfer to Cau Quan for lunch at a local restaurant.
Following lunch, another transfer and 2 vehicular ferries crossing Hau Rivers to Soc Trang. Arriving at the Bat Pagoda is an excellent time when bats return to their home- the garden compound of the pagoda. Called Mahatúp Pagoda and referred to as a complex of eye-catching structures. The peaceful Khmer monastery compound with a resident colony of fruit bats, and hundreds of these creatures hang from the trees – the largest weigh about 1kg, with a wingspan of about 1.5m. After the visit, take a short transfer to the hotel.
The morning ride is fabulous on rural paths, 25km leading you through remote Khmer hamlets, cross agricultural canals, and visit little markets along the winding creeks and fertile farmlands, with a verdant lush sense along the way to Mangrove forest. The Undiscovered part of Lung Ngoc Hoang Nature Reserve is about 130 hectares. It is considered the “green lung” of the Mekong Delta and is currently the site of Vietnam's most unique biodiversity conservation. Tourists can explore unique flora and fauna and immerse themselves in the wetland of the Melaleuca forest.
After lunch, you'll spend 2 hours exploring this eco-flooded forest for natural lovers. Take a boat ride to experience the wildlife and nature and see many species of birds, fish, snacks, wild bees, bats, storks, egrets, cormorants, kingfishers, and watercocks. Walk through some areas, and climb up the tower, watch the stunning landscape. We’ll transfer to Can Tho in the late afternoon.
After leisurely breakfast, take a 40-minute boat trip from Ninh Kieu Pier to Cai Rang. Enjoy lively scenery on waterways to Cai Rang, see numerous small boats moving in different directions to find a good dealer. Your boat gets through the market slowly, and you can watch it get close up. Every bigger boat has a long upright pole at its bow on which samples of the goods for sale hung on the bamboo sticks with bananas, pineapple, sweet potatoes, watermelons, etc. The sampans are small and long, equipped with a long tail engine to quickly navigate the market and on shallow canals and rivers from home.
Then we disembark from the boat for the last half-day explore Phong Dien's countryside. The area has a network of small rivers that crisscross the lush fruit orchards and villages. Lunch en route before a 3.5 hours transfers back to Ho Chi Minh City. End of Services!
Jakub Bielikowski party from Poland
Dear Vietnam Backroads, Thank you for the trip - it was a real highlight of our stay in Vietnam. I posted review on Tripadvisor. We really enjoyed the trip immensly. I was thinking of what to do during 4 days around Tet (Vietnamese New Year) in Saigon and then found the vietnambackroads.com website. The Mekong delta tour - Ben Tre - Tra Vinh - Soc Trang - Can Tho, 4 days, 3 nights. Van offered us to run that trip despite Tet holidays, when everyone takes time off with family. So Van himself was our guide (we were just with another English guy) on that most unforgettable experience. Van's knowledge of the area, his ability to select lovely by-roads, and tracks, tell stories about the places we visit and local customs, and care he took of us as customer was really a key success factor. This is THE way to see Delta - you pass different landscapes (coconut region of Ben Tre, Tra Vinh rice fields, Khmer villages near Soc Trang, channels near Can Tho) and beautiful places where white guests are still a novelty. Delta people are very friendly and helpful, fruits fresh and very tasty and whole experience is almost surreal. Mekong Delta in the spring is immensely beautiful and interesting. Trip is organized extremely professionally, with back up vehicle that takes all you stuff and also takes you on boring (i.e. very busy roads) stretches, bikes new and durable, everything ready when we arrive. We stayed in hotels - and all except Soc Trang were located very well and good quality. Van arranged food (everything except for beer is included in price) - and his choice of restaurants was very interesting, though I would probably prefer more street food. It was my first that close experience with Vietnam - and for me close to trip of my lifetime. Not cheap (we paid premium because of Tet holidays), but worth every 2014
Explore Mekong rural remote villages
Hi, It was fantastic experience for my 2 boys and myself. Dat we could not rate more highly. He was very engaging and very informative on the Vietnam history. That we were traveling through. The fruit stop we all enjoyed. We would highly recommend Vietnam Backroads Bicycle Tours. The bikes we could not fault nor the hotels. However, I would strongly state that our fantastic experience came about through our excellent guide Dat. This attention to hygiene was brilliant. We wish Dat and your company all the very best for a successful future. Don, Ben, same Robinson 21 - 22- -23 - 24 Dec, 2014
Explore Mekong rural remote villages
This was our first time in Vietnam and we had a great time - fantastic way to see the countryside. We definitely preferred local restaurants and back road sites (esp the coconut + processing plants). Our guide really made it special for the children in the group age 12. The amount of rice was satisfactory. Great routes, Loc was excellent with our 12 year old daughter - He organized kite flying and a boat trip. We chose to do the trip like this to avoid anything too touristy. Eating local food and fruits is the most enjoyable part! Not really worried about temples and museums but the coconut factory was very interesting. 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 Mar, 2016
Explore Mekong rural remote villages
Hi Vietnam Backroads, Dạt is an excellent bike guide. He is very informative helpful but not pushy at all. He clearly loves the Mekong and loves sharing it with people. He made sure we had a lots of different experiences- The different areas the route went through, the different food styles/restaurant styles and the different fruit that taught us to eat. We really like the route selection- road types as well as the culture types and culture types that we bikes through. We like not seeing foreigners while riding.26 - 27 - 28 - 29 Dec, 2015
Explore Mekong rural remote villages
Hi Thuy, I hope you are well. Yes, we had an absolutely great time and there is no better way to see Vietnam on a bike with Vietnam Backroads. We decided to go with Vietnam Backroads because their tours are focusing on a lot of back roads and small villages. Dat, the guide, took us to all the back roads from Tan An - Tra Vinh - SocTrang - CanTho and finished at TT CaiBe for our 4 days 3 night tour. The friendliness, knowledge of Dat, and more importantly the routes designed by Mr Van, made the whole riding an incredible and memorable experience. We were able to stop anywhere and anytime we like for photos or just a quick rest. Dat also bought some local fresh fruits for us to try, we love the fresh mango and the fresh whole coconut drinks! We rode pass a Rambutan farm and the friendly farmers gave us some FRESH rambutan to try. One of the restaurants we stopped for lunch in a small town, they were serving broken rice with charcoaled pork rips. The pork rips were charcoaled on side and they were so tasty that we ordered more. We would definitely choose Vietnam Backroads for our next Vietnam trip. Dat told us about a tour in a highland or mountain, he said some day he will not see a single person on the road. I think it is called Vietnam or HCM Trial (maybe check with Dat). Can you please send us the information about this tour? We would like to find out more hence to plan for the next trip. Look forward to seeing you next time. Thank you so much. 26 Feb to 01 Mar, 2017
Explore Mekong rural remote villages
Wow! I have visited Vietnam before but this was by far the best trip ever. We spent 4 days Cycling the Backroads (trails in meandering through jungle) with our spectacular guide Dat. Dat was a wealth of knowledge and a really fun young man. He took us places that we would never have considered venturing to on our own. The food was fabulous, the hotels were excellent and we are very happy people. Vietnam Backroads is a well organised business. The bikes are very well maintained and Dat knows how to fix anything. Do it!!! You will have the trip of a lifetime. 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 May, 2017
Explore Mekong rural remote villages
We're just back from Vietnam, part of our trip involving a 4 day tour of The Mekong Delta with Vietnam Backroads. My wife and I, along with our 14 & 11 year old sons had the most amazing 4 days touring the countryside of the Mekong Delta. From pick up at our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City to drop off at the airport, nothing was too much trouble for the team. Loc the driver, was always just where you needed him with a cool drink and Huy, who's only been with the company a short time, but was extremely knowledgeable about Vietnam and its history made an excellent team along with Mr Van himself, who's the man responsible for all the great routes we rode. While it was great to see the countryside, the highlights for us were the interactions we had with the amazing Vietnamese and Khmer people, who were extremely welcoming and friendly, if a little bit bemused by our presence. My youngest son in particular attracted lots of female attention due to his 'long nose' and white skin. Thanks to Mr Van and his team we were able to communicate with the local people and visit areas well off the beaten tourist track, where English is spoken by hardly anyone. Huy was of great help at mealtimes helping us to sample the local cuisine without getting too far out of our depth. The payback for visiting areas where there are no tourists is that you shouldn't expect luxury hotels. This was a small price to pay and all the hotels we stayed at were clean and comfortable with hot showers, which was all we were looking for. The bikes were all in great working order and we never experienced any mechanical problems. If you want to experience some of the real sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Southern Vietnam we could think of no better way of doing it than with Mr Van and Vietnam Backroads. The four days we spent with Loc, Huy and Mr Van were truly memorable and were the highlight of our 2 weeks in Vietnam. We can't wait to return and see some more of this wonderful country. 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 April, 2017
Explore Mekong rural remote villages
We did a 4 day Mekong cycling trip with Dat, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Trip was well organised, nice hotels, good and plenty local food with lots of new experiences, good hard tail mountain bikes. Best of all though was Dat, who grew up in the area an thus knows it very well and willingly shared his knowledge. The cycling is certainly pleasant, and it’s hard to keep your eyes on the trail as there’s so much to see left and right. But having a perfect guide who can point out things that you’d otherwise miss, makes the trip special. Thanks again Dat for a wonderful 4 days! 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 June, 2013
Explore Mekong rural remote villages
Hi Van, My apologies for our delay in response but we have been traveling all this time and have just returned home to Australia. This has given us time to reflect on our Mekong Delta Bike ride. It was absolutely fantastic from the quality of the cycling equipment, and the deluxe van and highly professional guide and driver. Dat, as our guide, was exceptional and made this tour a highly memorable, enjoyable and challenging trip. His knowledge of the area, his ability to personalize for our interests, the food and the different bike routes. Our driver, Mr Loc, was very professional, punctual and drove very safely through some very busy parts of the Mekong and Ho Chi Minh City. Please pass onto Dat our regards and gratitude – tell him that Jim will never forget the shave and haircut and that he now looks 10 years younger. We have already passed on your information to people in Australia so hopefully when they go to Vietnam they use your company. WE will definitely put something up on facebook and give a very high rating. 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 April, 2017
The man responsible for all the great routes we rode
We're just back from Vietnam, part of our trip involving a 4 day tour of The Mekong Delta with Vietnam Backroads. My wife and I, along with our 14 & 11 year old sons had the most amazing 4 days touring the countryside of the Mekong Delta. From pick up at our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City to drop off at the airport, nothing was too much trouble for the team. Loc the driver, was always just where you needed him with a cool drink and Huy, who's only been with the company a short time, but was extremely knowledgeable about Vietnam and its history made an excellent team along with Mr Van himself, who's the man responsible for all the great routes we rode. Vietnam Backroads is a well organised business. The bikes are very well maintained and Dat knows how to fix anything. Do it!!! You will have the trip of a lifetime. 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 May, 2017
Fantastic way to see the countryside
This was our first time in Vietnam and we had a great time - fantastic way to see the countryside. We definitely preferred local restaurants and back road sites (esp the coconut + processing plants). Our guide really made it special for the children in the group age 12. The amount of rice was satisfactory. Great routes, Loc was excellent with our 12 year old daughter - He organized kite flying and a boat trip. We chose to do the trip like this to avoid anything too touristy. Eating local food and fruits is the most enjoyable part! Not really worried about temples and museums but the coconut factory was very interesting. 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 Mar, 2016
A fabulous trip
Mr Van, we are back at our hotel after a fabulous trip. We thoroughly enjoyed it. The tour was exactly what it said in the notes which suited us very well. Thank you for a well managed and very interesting tour and also for booking the train tickets. Malcolm and Shona Thomas. 01 - 04 February 2023