… We felt like superstars during a bike trip in southern Vietnam. Anywhere we passed, locals were waving at us and greeting us, some motorbikes even followed us to chat with us…
This is a long post… those looking for a guide to independent cycling in southern Vietnam will find it below the photos in this post.
For the last week of our vacation we decided to go cycling in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam. There are expensive guided tours on offer but to get as close as possible to the heartbeat of the country we wanted to go cycling independently. Organizing a do-it-yourself trip was a little bit tricky but definitely worth the hassle. This trip was one of the definitive highlights of our tour in southeast Asia. To get more information on self-guided biking jump to the bottom of the page.
After having organized rental bikes, private transportation and maps we were ready for some fun. Cycling in the Delta is one of the best we have done anywhere in the world. The smaller backroads are fringed with coconut palms and banana plants. There is a never-ending network of Mekong canals and we crossed it on hundreds of rickety bridges and on small ferries.
We were the only tourists on the road and were treated like little celebrities. A highlight was a visit to a primary school near Tra Vinh – when school kids spotted us they started running towards us and the headmaster invited us to visit his school. We got to practice basic english with a few of these kids and the headmaster thanked us for spending time with the school children. We were even more thankful than them and could not believe our luck. Other nice memories are the canal boat trip in Ben Tre, homestay on an island in Vinh Long and the floating markets of Can Tho.
The weather was sizzling hot and we tried to cool of with iced coffee and iced sugarcane juice at one of the many drink stalls. Dani guided us through rice paddies and village backroads on some nice single trails. The 2-day bridge spotting contest ended with a draw (Dani won day 1 with 19:17, Marian won day 2 with 22:20).
So this was it… We only have 1 day left in Saigon and then we’re flying back to Switzerland. See you soon!
Guide: Cycling the Delta independently
Guidebooks do not offer any description how to organize a do-it-yourself bike trip in the Mekong Delta. There are some tricky parts but altogether it is well manageable and definitely worth it – so DO IT if you get the opportunity to be there!
We put together a short guide to share our experiences with you.
The bikes: If you don’t bring your own bikes, it might be difficult to get proper bicycles in the Delta or even in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). There are a few interesting single trails and the roads might be bumpy, so a hardtail mountainbike or a suspension tour bike are preferable.
Vietnam Bike Tours () offers excellent Trek mountainbikes ($10 per day) and cheaper Chinese bikes ($7 per day). It is very expensive but probably worth investing as this is the single most important part of equipment – we did not find a better or cheaper alternative during our short stay in Saigon. Contact them by email in advance to book the bikes and pick the bicycles up in HCMC or let them bring the bikes to your guesthouse in HCMC.
The map: Get the highest resolution map of Southern Vietnam. There might be some good maps available, but we did not find any during our stay in HCMC. All maps on offer had a terrible resolution only displaying big roads. Forget that – you need to ride the smallest roads to make your trip worthwhile.
We used our smartphones for guiding and it worked flawlessly. Get Google Maps on your GPS-enabled smartphone and download the necessary maps to your device for offline use (here is how to do it: ). The map has a great resolution and shows even smaller roads (not all of them but many). Most importantly, by using the GPS location services on your smartphone, you won’t get lost.
The plan: Try to avoid big roads, they have a lot of traffic and are less scenic (try to ride as little “yellow” roads in Google Maps as possible). The smallest roads are most fun and are still fine to ride with a good bike. But remember, you will need much longer on these little roads in the countryside. But this is the charm of riding the Mekong Delta: little trails fringed by coconut palms and banana plants, never ending water canals, hundreds of rickety bridges and small ferry crossings and all those locals greeting you and waving at you. You will be the star of the road!
Bike transportation: You don’t want to start biking in HCMC. You really don’t – the traffic is hellish and the real fun starts south of My Tho. So try to get a transportation for you and the bikes to the Delta. However, this might be tricky. Big busses might accept bicycle transport, but these stop only in Can Tho or Vinh Long along Highway Nr. 1. As far as we know only small busses operate for My Tho or Ben Tre and they did not accept our bicycles.
We were forced to rent a private van to take us and the bikes from HCMC to My Tho ($57 for 2 person + 2 bikes). Coming back from Can Tho was much easier – just hop on a big bus or minibus ($10 per person+bike) heading to HCMC.
Other advice: start your days early, take the small roads and never stop smiling, waving and having fun with friendly locals. Accept invitations of locals, visit their factories, schools and homes if they invite you. Drink a lot of Ice coffee with milk and Sugarcane juice at all those stalls next to the road.
Here is our itinerary for 5 days.
Day 0: HCMC
Get everything organized in HCMC, it may take a while.
Day 1: My Tho to Ben Tre, approx. 20km
Start early with a transport from HCMC to My Tho. Get a small drink for refreshment in My Tho and then start your trip south to Ben Tre. The ferry has been closed down after a new bridge was built so the first few kilometers are on a busy road. But just after the bridge take the turn to arrive on a small road leading south beneath coconut palms and along water canals.
After you arrive in Ben Tre, get lunch and head straight to an afternoon 3 hour boat trip along the canals – this is the highlight here.

Day 2: Ben Tre to Tra Vinh, approx. 60km
Visit a coconut candy factory in the morning (212B Dai Lo Dong Khoi street) and then continue over the bridge to Mo Cay. The road is busy but we did not find any better option. After Mo Cay you can finally take a small backroad and the scenery is pure bliss.
Tra Vinh is a nice city to stroll around and has a very lively coffee scene. The fresh fruit shakes are memorable!

Day 3: Tra Vinh to Vinh Long, approx. 80km
This is the longest day but the roads are all very scenic and the traffic is light. Espescially the Tra Vinh peninsula is wonderful. After arriving in Vinh Long, get a ferry straight to a Mekong island and get accommodation in a homestay.

Day 4: Vinh Long to Can Tho, approx. 50km
Take an early morning boat ride along the islands of Vinh Long. Then saddle your bikes to head to Can Tho. The first kilometers are very busy but you can detour on smaller roads later on. This day is less scenic compared to the other days.
After arrival in Can Tho, enjoy local food at the great food stalls (grilled quail eggs with mango were fantastic). Get a hotel as near to Phong Dien as possible – we stayed at Anh Bin Hotel.

Day 5: Can Tho to Phong Dien, approx. 30km
Get up very early in the morning and ride to Phong Dien at 5am to visit the floating market. You can arrange a paddle boat there to drive you around. At 7:00 locals start to wrap up the shopping and they eat Pho soup for breakfast – join them and get a soup from one of the “soup-boats”, it’s delicious. After you’re finished, head back to Can Tho and stop at Cai Rang floating market. Cai Rang is much bigger than Phong Dien, but not so traditional and less scenic (big motorised boats, big tourist boats). You can have a panoramic view of the market from the Cai Rang bridge and a more close-up view from one of the riversides.
In the afternoon, take a bus back to HCMC. Finish the trip with a cool beer and a nice meal in town.

Hey this is a very nice Blog with some very handy advices!
We Are recently in HCMC heading to the Delta tomorrow by public Bus.
Thank you, we Are Open for any suggestions 😊
Best wishes,
Elena + Roland
Thanks Elena, enjoy your time in the delta!
Marian
this looks amazing. did you lock the bikes up when walking around? or always brought them with you?
Thanks Ian! We have always left the bikes at the guesthouse and then walked around in the afternoon/evening. Except in Phong Dien – we locked the bikes there and then went for the floating market tour.
Thanks! One more question – did you book sleeping in arrangements in advance, or did you figure them else as you go?
I’m also trying to figure out if there is a bus to My Tho that might be willing to take a bike as well. I’ll post here if I find something.
Hi Ian!
No we did not book in advance. As far as I remember we went at the end of high-season and there were still plenty of vacancies. This part of Vietnam is not visited frequently and you have good chances of finding good accommodation there.
Good luck with the bus to My Tho! Let me know how you liked the trip!
Marian
Hey Marian,
Just amazing what you did! We are going to Vietnam next year in February. We weren’t sure how to travel the Mekong delta, your posts changed that:-). Thanks for this!
Just one question, can you give any indication on how to arrange that transport from Ho Chi Minh to My Tho? Do you have any references?
Thanks in advance!
Br,
Kristof
Thanks Kristof!
We arranged transport through a random booking office in Ho Chi Minh. However, try asking around. Things might have changed and there might be a different (cheaper) option to transport the bikes to My Tho.
Just as an example, on our way back from Can Tho we simply boarded a minibus and they put the bikes in the trunk. It might be worth stopping by the minibus station in Ho Chi Minh and asking around – you might get transport for a fraction of the price of booking your private car.
Good luck and enjoy the trip!
Marian
Thanks for the info Marian!
Thanks a lot for this great blog!! Your blog convinced us to bike the mekong delta, and it’s was one best things we did in Vietnam! Thanks :).
In HCMC our hostel arranged a big taxi to My Tho (7 person taxi). It was possible to take the bikes in the back of the car (we took the front wheel off). The price was around 50-60 dollar. The taxi was the cheapest way we found for transportation.. a private car was around 85 dollar.
We did almost the same trip by bike, a little bit different. Just for three days. From My Tho – Ben Tre, Ben Tre- Tan Phong Village (near Vinh Long) and from there to Can Tho. We rented our bikes in HCMC, Vietnam Backroads. It was possible to rent the bikes for 10 euro’s a day a person, and even leave them in Can Tho (we went to Phu Quoc after this trip). It took some time to convince the owner of the store, he discouraged us to go without a guide.. but do not listen, it’ s easy to bike by your own through the Mekong, you just need offline Google Maps. Some roads or bridges are not on the map, it is a little bit of a gambling for the right way and the nicest roads!
Excellent comments Lotte, thanks for sharing your experiences!
Beautiful photos .. thanks for sharing. I’m going to try this route in 2 weeks!
Hi Marian and Dani
Just wanted to say a big thank you for this guide. It gave me the interest and confidence to do some solo cycling in the Delta and I enjoyed it immensely.
I had a week in southern Vietnam before meeting up with my wife and daughters in Cambodia. After a couple of days in Saigon, I decided to base myself in Can Tho and do some day trips from there. The absolute highlight was a day I rode out into the Tra Vinh peninsula. I first rode about 30km to Tra On, then after there as I headed deeper into the peninsula it was just as you have said: smaller roads, rickety bridges, water canals, roads that end to ferry crossings, stunning scenery and all the locals greeting you with a ‘hello’ and a wave. I did feel the star of the road. I didn’t see another foreigner all day. I overdid it a bit, riding another 20 or 30km beyond Tra On, then looping back to Tra On via other backroads, so by the time I got back to Can Tho it had been about 120km – more than ideal for my 50yr plus body, but it was the most special riding day I have ever experienced.
The next day I took it a little easier, 40km or so out northwest of Can Tho, again finding never-ending canals and dozens of bridges and more friendly locals. And the following day I followed closely your Day 5 above, riding in the very early morning to the Phong Dien floating market, and then back via the Cai Rang floating market, a fascinating morning being part of the activity on the river. Then it was on the Chau Doc by bus and then the next morning a ferry through to Phnom Penh to meet the family.
Thanks for the recommendation to use offline Google maps. The maps made it so easy to find your way around, even when the roads got small. And when the map showed the road ended, but it looked like there was water, you could punt on there being a boat to take you on a river crossing and I was never disappointed!
Thanks again for your guidance, it made for a very special adventure!
Graham
Amazing! Thanks Graham for you kind words. So happy you enjoyed your trip. Marian
Hello! I’m considering doing this tour based on your advice (currently in Hoi An, going to head to HCMC tomorrow or the day after). I have a few details I’m unsure of.
1. Carrying your things: we have 50L ish backpacks (not very full, maybe 30-40L of stuff), was that reasonably comfortable while riding? I suppose there aren’t really other options, haha. We could try to find panniers?
2. Water: we have a filter that can be used to clean tap water or river water, and we have about 6L of capacity, which wouldn’t be really enough to make it through the day for 2 people…maybe we will filter river water. What did you do?
3. Food: did you pack a lunch and snacks each day? That’s what I’m thinking of doing.
4. Homestays: you just asked around? I know it’s a simple question but it’d be nice to have some reassurance that it’ll be straightforward before venturing out.
Thank you so much!!!
Dear Connie,
Thanks for your interest in the blog! I am sure you are going to enjoy your trip. I would leave the backpacks in HCMC (either in your hotel or in the bike rental agency). You will only need small backpacks on the road. Don’t worry about water, food, etc. The area is populated and you will encounter plenty of cafés, shops, small eateries etc. Bring a bottle of water for the road and keep rehydrated with iced sugarcane juice at roadside cafés. Regarding accommodation we followed advice given in the Lonely Planet but you could use any other guidebook or recommendations website.
Have fun!
Marian