Mekong Delta Travel Guide: Floating Markets and River Life

The Mekong ends its 4,000-kilometre journey in southern Vietnam, splitting into many branches before reaching the sea. Vietnamese call the area miền Tây (“the West”) or Cửu Long (“Nine Dragons”), after those branches. It is flat, green and watery, and the people here are known across Vietnam for their hospitality and easy humour.

Where to go

• Cần Thơ. The delta’s largest city and the base for Cái Răng floating market, where wholesalers sell produce from boats. Each boat hangs a sample of what it sells from a tall pole (cây bẹo).
• Bến Tre. Coconut country. Cycle shaded lanes, visit coconut candy workshops and paddle through narrow water-palm canals.
• Mỹ Tho and Cái Bè. The closest delta towns to Saigon, with island orchards and boat trips.
• Châu Đốc and Trà Sư. Near the Cambodian border, with Sam Mountain pilgrimage sites, Cham and Khmer communities and the flooded Trà Sư cajuput forest.

River life and identity

Life in the delta follows the river. Children once went to school by boat, markets meet on the water and houses face the canals. The region is also the home of đờn ca tài tử, Southern amateur music recognised by UNESCO, often played at family gatherings with a guitar, zither and moon lute.

Local tip: homestays in orchards along the river are the best way to experience the delta. Expect a home-cooked dinner and a very early, very quiet morning.

What to eat in the Mekong Delta

• Bánh xèo. Huge, crispy turmeric-coconut pancakes filled with shrimp, pork and bean sprouts, wrapped in mustard greens and herbs.
• Lẩu mắm. A pungent fermented-fish hotpot served with a mountain of local vegetables and flowers.
• Cá lóc nướng trui. Snakehead fish grilled whole over straw. It is rustic and smoky.
• Fruit. Mangoes, rambutans, longans, durian and pomelos, depending on the season. Orchards often let you pick your own.

When to go

December to April is dry and pleasant. The flood season (August to November) is wetter, but it is when the delta feels most alive, and some dishes, such as fresh linh fish and water lily stems, only appear then.