Xin Chao and welcome to Vietnam! Upon arrival to Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International or Domestic Airport, a Topas representative will welcome you to the land of the ascending dragon before heading straight to your hotel in the heart of the city. The day is at leisure to discover Saigon on your own, wandering the pulsating streets of District 1 along the river.

Included meals: N/A
Transfer distance and activities:45’ drive

Leave the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City behind today, heading into the fertile rice bowl of Vietnam: the Mekong Delta. Watch the lush land of palm trees and great rivers pass you by on a 3-hour ride to Vung Liem, a remote and rural area in the deep lower Mekong.

Grab a bicycle and explore the remarkably flat area, cycling on flat paths through rice paddies and alongside small streams to a tropical orchard for a fruit and tea sampling. Then, visit a local family’s farm and house to learn how to make “pop rice”.

Finally, stop by a coconut farm to see how locals use every part of the coconut to create coconut oil, brooms and artwork, and sample xu dua, a famous coconut candy made in the area.

In the late afternoon, check into the Coco Riverside Lodge, a contemporary set of bungalows made in the traditional way between Ben Tre and Can Tho. Relax at leisure this afternoon until a traditional music show during the welcome dinner.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Distance and activities: 3h transfer – 3h cycling tour

Wake up to a delicious breakfast and fill up on some Mekong specialties before exploring area by traditional rowing boat through exotic lanes fringed with water palms and thick jungle. Return to Coco Riverside just in time to join a traditional cooking class, mixing local ingredients with some popular local dishes.

Enjoy the rest of the day free at leisure.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Distance and activities: 2h rowboat tour – 2h cooking class (lunch)

Spend your last morning at Coco Riverside free at leisure until a mid-morning departure to the epicenter of the Mekong, Can Tho. Roughly translating in English to “the river of poems”, Can Tho is the largest city in the Mekong and famous for its gigantic floating markets and charming canals.

Enjoy the day at leisure to explore the city on your own. Check out the Museum of Tarot, established in an ancient aristocratic hotel designed in the Vietnamese Renaissance style to learn more about ancient belief systems from a French and English-speaking guide with a PHD in artificial intelligence. Or, visit the Truc Lam Meditation Center to learn more about Buddhism in Vietnam.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Distance and activities: 2h transfer

Wake up at sunrise this morning and board a traditional sampan for a breakfast cruise to Cai Rang, the biggest wholesale floating market in Southeast Asia. Peruse the colorful assortment of items and fruits for sale and watch as locals haggle before returning to land to catch your ride back to Ho Chi Minh City. Drop-off can be arranged at either Can Tho or Ho Chi Minh City airport for onward booked travel, or your next hotel.

Included meals: Breakfast
Distance and Activities: 3.5h transfer