Learning trips that explain the Mekong Delta
Tours · Booking
How to book
The steps from a first message to a confirmed trip, what we need from you at each stage, the timeline schools usually need, the Vietnam e-visa, and how to check that a payment request is genuine.
From form to field
The steps
- 01
Send the form
Dates or a month, the number of travellers, and whether you are a private party or a school or university group. A line about what you want to understand helps.
- 02
Questions by email
If the trip needs it, we reply with a few questions: ages, mobility, food, the topics a class is studying.
- 03
A draft programme
Day by day, with the stops, the hotels by name, the hours on the road and the price per person, with every inclusion listed.
- 04
Changes
You change what you want. Each version is priced again in full, so you never see a total that does not match the plan.
- 05
Written confirmation
When you are ready, we confirm the trip in writing with the payment schedule and the terms for changes and cancellation.
- 06
Before you travel
The field notes, the briefing outline, a packing list and the dress code for religious sites, a week or two before departure.
What we need from you
- Dates or a month, and whether they can move. Floating-market mornings are more typical on ordinary weekdays away from the run-up to Lunar New Year.
- Who is travelling: adults, teenagers, a class, and the ages of any students.
- Where you start: a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, a hotel in Can Tho, or Can Tho airport.
- What you want to understand: rice, trade, salt, communities, or a mix. One sentence is enough.
- Anything that could spoil the trip: mobility limits, fear of small boats, dietary needs, a strong dislike of early starts.
Timeline for schools and universities
Schools usually need more time than private travellers, because the trip has to pass internal approval, parents have to consent, and the risk assessment has to be written. A workable sequence:
- Send the form with the topic, the level and a rough date range.
- We send a draft programme and outline briefings for the teacher's review.
- The school confirms numbers within a range; we hold the plan on those numbers.
- We send the activity descriptions the school needs for its own risk assessment.
- Final numbers, rooming list and dietary list a few weeks before travel.
- Task sheets and field notes for printing, and a short pre-trip briefing for the students if wanted.
The field-trip planning page covers ratios, consent, food and safety on the water in more detail.
Visas
Vietnam issues e-visas to citizens of all countries and territories, for stays of up to 90 days, through the Immigration Department's own portal, evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn. Some nationalities are visa-exempt for shorter stays; the list changes, so check it for your passport before you book flights. Apply only through the official portal.
For school groups travelling on several passports, each student needs the right document for his or her own nationality. We cannot apply on your behalf.
Sources: Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, visa requirements · checked .
Paying safely
Payment details, the schedule and the terms for changes and cancellation are written on your confirmation. We never ask for card details by email.
If a message asks you to pay to an account that is not on your written confirmation, do not pay. Send the form and ask us first.
On the day
Your guide meets you at your hotel at the time on the programme. On the first morning the guide hands out the field notes and explains the day: where you are going, how long each drive takes, when the boat leaves and what to look for. On market days that conversation happens the evening before, because the boat leaves at 05:00 or 05:30 and nobody wants a lecture at that hour.
Bring a hat, sun cream, insect repellent, a light rain jacket from May to November, shoes you can take off easily at pagodas and on boats, and clothes that cover shoulders and knees for religious sites. A small notebook helps; so does a phone with space for photographs of the field-note tables you will want to keep. Cash in Vietnamese dong is useful for small purchases and donations.
Changing your mind
Plans change, especially for schools. Before you confirm, the written terms show what happens if numbers fall, if dates move or if the trip is cancelled. Read them; ask about anything that is unclear. During the trip, the guide can change the order of stops for weather, tides or a farmer who is busy, and will explain why.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
How far ahead should we book?
Private parties can often travel within a few weeks, outside the Lunar New Year period. Schools should start several months ahead because of approvals and consent.
Do you hold hotel rooms before we confirm?
We check availability when we send the draft. Rooms are confirmed when you confirm the trip in writing.
Can we book only a guide?
Our trips are sold as a whole: guide, transport, boats and briefings together. If you want only a guide for one morning, tell us; we answer honestly whether we can help.
What happens if a boat cannot run?
The boat crew and the guide decide on safety on the day. If a boat stop cannot go ahead we replace it with a land stop on the same theme, and the quote explains how unused costs are handled.
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Example journey
Delta Study Programme
4-day field programme with three briefings for school and university groups.
View this journeyStart planning
Tell us what you want to understand
A month, the number of travellers and one line about what interests you are enough to start. We reply by email with questions or a draft programme with stops, hotels and road hours.