Excursion
The Real Nga Nam Floating Market - Soc Trang
The floating markets are the places for purchasing local products of the feature culture region of Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Nga Nam floating market is of significantly different from others in the Delta. Visitors come to experience more about routine business from locals. The locals move on the river by rowing boats and small boats with tiny long-tailed engines, but the engines are off at the market. There are more bamboo poles to hang farm products for advertisement than in others floating markets. Who loves to benefit from this non-tourist place? Please contact: Vietnam Cycling Tours - Vietnam Backroads
After 1. hour, transfer from Ho Chi Minh to the south of Saigon, to the gateway to Mekong Delta. You'll be ready for the morning ride on canal paths and narrow countryside lances alongside small villages—bike through agricultural farms, fruit orchards, rice paddy fields and vegetation plantations. Stopping at local markets and home businesses along the way and break for lunch in My Tho City.
The after-ride is more relaxed, and we continue in Ben Tre. Take your time pedalling through peaceful villages, ride through the coconut palms swaying in the breeze, cycle on many small bridges, cross the small rivers, and share space on paths with locals on pushbikes and mopeds. Settle into the hotel where your first night in the Delta.
Tra Vinh and Soc Trang are home to the Khmer Ethnic group in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Two provinces are divided by the Lower Mekong River, and two ferry boats take us to Soc Trang through Dung Island.
The routes from Tra Vinh to To Soc Trang are opened-air gravel and dirt lanes, venture out through this iconic landscape and discover the life of Khmer people. There are several colourful Theravada pagodas to stop and visit along the routes. See the daily life of the Khmer people in rural villages; working on farmlands with simple agricultural tools, bare feet, raising ducks on paddy fields, and using pushbikes and mopeds as the local transports. The morning ride is about 30km, and we hop on the support vehicle transfers to Cau Quan for lunch. After lunch, take ferries crossing the Lower Mekong River via Dung Island to Soc Trang's outskirts, where we continue biking.
In the afternoon, we ride across the rice paddies to Nga Nam. Take your time pedalling through rice paddies and quiet dense vegetation, and cycle along and across rivers and canals on the flat route, and they are complicated routes. We sometimes take pedalling along rivers, mostly along agriculture canals and rivers, and pass by many small markets, cajuput forests, Chinese pagodas and Khmer temples. It is a good time for an easy ride and to enjoy stunning rural settings in the afternoon when the sun gradually drops. Check in the homestay.
Get up early, taste coffee and tea, then pick up the bikes on smooth concrete paths alongside the river to Nga Nam (Nga 5) floating market. It's about 4km from the homestay. Take your ride easy and watch many small wooden sampans rushing to the floating market. Here is your opportunity for photo endless along the way to Nga Nam. As you reach floating markets, drop your bikes at the local coffee, get on a rowing boat, and paddle slowly through the bustling market. Nga Nam floating market is the only one in Vietnam's Mekong Delta with small sampans and rowing boats coming for daily business. Then we get off the sampan boats for the land market by the river, taste some local snacks, fruit and cold drinks, and visit this market before we return to the homestay by support vehicles.
Have breakfast, check out and ride to Nga Bay. The routes to Nga Bay are incredible, smooth concrete, open air through fertile farmlands, then heading to winding paths by the rivers. Ride past several small markets by the rivers; the local transport in these removed villages is by boats. Cross the river by ferry, and ride to the former headquarters Viet Cong Base. Today is Can Tho Provincial Party Committee Base Relic. Your guide will tell you how Viet Cong's hard life during the war. Afterwards, we bike through rustic villages, passing many season fruit orchards. Continue biking to Nga Bay lunch en route. Lunch en route. Today's ride will end up at Nga Bay, and have a transfer to Can Tho city, check-in at the hotel, and spend the rest at the swimming pool.
Do check out for 1-hour transfer to Vinh Long City, jump back to the bikes, and have a ferry crossing to An Binh Island; experience local lives through the island Dong Phu where the second ferry takes us to the Cai Be township. Then we ride to Ba Kiet, the ancient house built in 1838, which is quite a beautiful traditional house. The house itself was made of wood and filled with antiques and belonged to landlords for more than 130 years- before 1975. Enjoy local speciality lunch cooked by the host, and taste Vietnamese coffee-cafe sữa da. Following lunch, we continue to bike to Cay Lay. Pedal alongside the river, passing many local businesses, primary schools and fruit orchards. Afterwards, get on a support vehicle for 2.5 hours driving back to Ho Chi Minh. Tour End!
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
