Learning trips that explain the Mekong Delta
Tours · Pricing
How our trips are priced
Every trip on this site says On request, because the same route costs very different amounts per person for two travellers and for thirty students. This page shows what goes into a quote, the published costs on the ground you can check yourself, and how cheaper quotes for similar trips are usually built.
Why On request
A learning trip has a few large costs that do not depend on how many people come — the guide, the vehicle, the boat, the time spent preparing briefings — and a few that do, such as rooms, meals and entrance fees. For two people the fixed costs dominate; for a class of thirty they almost disappear per head. Any single price on the page would be wrong for most of the people reading it.
So we quote each trip after you send three things: the dates or month, the number of travellers, and whether it is a private party or a school or university group. The quote is per person, names the hotels and the boats, lists every inclusion and exclusion, and is confirmed in writing before you pay anything.
What a quote is made of
| Part of the trip | How it is charged | Scales with group size? |
|---|---|---|
| Guide | Per day, including the briefing preparation | No — shared by the whole group |
| Vehicle and driver | Per day, by vehicle size | In steps: car, minivan, minibus, coach |
| Boats | Per boat, by hours on the water | In steps: one boat per so many people |
| Hotel rooms | Per room per night | Yes |
| Meals | Per person | Yes |
| Entrance fees and visit contributions | Per person | Yes |
| Briefing materials and field notes | Per group, more for a tailored school programme | Mostly no |
Your quote shows these as lines, so you can see where the money goes and compare it with another offer line by line.
Costs on the ground you can check
These are published figures from third parties, with their dates. They are useful for checking that a quote is reasonable, and for travellers who prefer to arrange part of a trip themselves. They are not our prices, and they change; confirm them before relying on them.
| Item | Published figure | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Bus, Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho, one way | About 170,000–260,000 VND | redBus Vietnam route page |
| Hotel in central Can Tho (Ninh Kieu), per night | About 500,000–800,000 VND on average | VnExpress, Oct 2023 |
| Boat to Cai Rang from Ninh Kieu, 2 hours | About 200,000–300,000 VND (per person or per boat not stated) | vietnamtourism.com guide, May 2026 |
| Private guided boat trip, 4–5 hours, per person | About 500,000–800,000 VND | vietnamtourism.com guide, May 2026 |
| Shared boat to Cai Rang, per person | About 80,000–100,000 VND | VnExpress, Oct 2023 |
| Binh Thuy ancient house, Can Tho, entry | 15,000 VND per adult | VnExpress, Oct 2023 |
| Tra Su forest entrance, Chau Doc area | 120,000 VND, with boat rides extra — check on arrival | Vietnam Coracle, Jul 2026 |
Ticket prices at Tra Su were reported by a travel publication and may have changed. We confirm current fees when we issue your quote.
Sources: redBus Vietnam, Saigon–Can Tho route page; VnExpress, 27 October 2023; vietnamtourism.com price guide, 27 May 2026; Vietnam Coracle, modified 28 July 2026 · checked .
Variables
What moves the price, in order
- Group size. By far the largest effect. The guide, vehicle and boats are shared, so the cost per person falls quickly from two to six travellers and keeps falling for a class.
- Starting point. Starting in Can Tho instead of Ho Chi Minh City removes about six to seven hours of driving and a day of vehicle hire from the two-day trips.
- Season. The weeks before Lunar New Year are among the busiest of the year on delta roads and in hotels, and prices rise accordingly.
- Hotel level. We use town hotels chosen for location and early breakfasts. A higher category is possible in Can Tho; in Ben Tre, Tra Vinh and Chau Doc the choice is smaller.
- Tailored materials. A school programme matched to a syllabus takes more preparation than the standard briefings, and the quote says so.
What is not included, and why
- Travel insurance. You or your school know what cover you need; we ask to see that you have it.
- Tips. Customary in Vietnam for guides, drivers and boat crews, but your decision.
- Donations at pagodas, mosques and temples. They should come from you, not from a line in a quote.
- Drinks and purchases. They vary too much between travellers to price fairly in advance.
- International flights and visas. Booked by you; the how-to-book page explains the Vietnam e-visa.
How cheaper quotes are usually built
If you compare our quote with a cheaper one for a trip that looks similar, these are the usual differences. None of them is dishonest in itself; they simply produce a different trip.
- A driver who also guides, instead of a separate guide who interprets at every stop
- A shared boat with other travellers, arriving at Cai Rang after the wholesale trade has finished
- A stop at a shop or workshop that pays the operator a commission on what you buy
- No briefing and no field notes — the stops are the same, the understanding is not
- A day trip from Ho Chi Minh City that spends most of its hours on the road
- Hotels described by star rating rather than by name
If a cheaper version suits you, say so in the form. We will tell you which of these changes we would make and which we would not. The how-to-book page covers what happens after you send it.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Why is your quote higher than a day tour I found online?
Usually because of the guide and the hours. Our guides interpret at every stop and prepare a briefing, and our boats leave early enough to see trade rather than its aftermath. Many day tours share a boat and a guide between dozens of people and arrive later. The pricing page lists the usual differences.
Is there a discount for students?
The group price for a class already reflects the shared costs, which is a larger saving than a percentage discount would be. Accompanying teachers are shown on separate lines.
Which currency do you quote in?
US dollars by default. Ask if you need another currency for your school's budget, and we tell you what is possible.
Can we pay part of the trip locally?
Some items, such as drinks, are paid locally by you. The core of the trip is paid in advance on the terms written on your quote.
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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.