Vietnam Mekong Delta

Day 1 - Home Country - Departure

Day 2 - Arrival - Ho Chi Minh City
You will be picked up at Ho Chi Minh airport by a local contact person who will bring you to the hotel in the center of the city. In the hotel you will meet the tour guide. During lunch or dinner the tour guide will tell more about the details of the trip.

Day 3 - Ho Chi Minh City - Cat Tien
After picking up the motorbikes, we ride out of town at the busiest moment of the day. In the beginning the roads are totally crowded with small motorbikes and scooters. To ride through this chaotic traffic is an adventure in itself. On the outskirts of the city it gets busier with trucks. We will follow the main road until lunch. Immediately after lunch we leave the main road and follow a network of narrow roads and paths along the border with the Cat Tien National Park. We take two small local ferries and follow some rather difficult off-road tracks before arriving at our destination.

Day 4 - Cat Tien - Phan Thiet
This is the only real mountain leg of the trip. After a taking another small ferry, we ride into the mountainous region of the Central Highlands. There are wonderful views over the lake created by a dam. In this mountainous area, one comes across a number of different peoples and even some Hmong people from the north. However, today is mostly all about the magnificent views. At the end of the day, we descend to the coast and stay overnight in Phan Thiet.

Day 5 - Phan Thiet - Vung Tau
From Phan Thiet to the coastal town of Lagi we more or less follow the coast line. Just before our coffee stop in Lagi, we take some challenging small dirt roads. After the coffee stop we follow the scenic coastal route until lunch. You will notice that the beautiful coast of Vietnam has been discovered by mainly domestic investors. The number of beach resorts is growing very fast. We try to arrive on time in the port city of Vung Tau, so that you still have time to go to the beach. Vung Tau is the oil capital of the country. Post Vietnam war mostly Russian companies have been active here. This city is a real port city with many cafes, restaurants and, evidently, night clubs.

Day 6 - Vung Tau - Ben Tre
In the morning we take the boat to the Mekong Delta. The motorcycles are taken on board via a narrow ramp and we sit in the back of the boat. The crossing is two and a half hours long. On arrival, it is instantly evident that you have arrived to another part of the country. This is the Mekong Delta. The land is flat and everything revolves around the water. We ride almost immediately onto the narrow trails through the paddy fields, crossing over the distributaries of the Mekong River by several small ferries. We eventually arrive via narrow paths in the town of Ben Tre. It is a lively town with a bustling night market near our hotel.

Day 7 - Ben Tre - Long Xuyen
We start the day again immediately with narrow roads along the river. The support vehicle cannot follow most of the time. We stop in the city of Vinh Long for lunch. Before this, however, we need to take a number of ferries. In the afternoon we once again follow narrow paths through rice fields and small villages. These paths are usually surfaced but some are unsurfaced and difficult to tackle when it has rained. We also cross over dozens of small bridges. At the end of the afternoon we arrive in the larger town of Long Xuyen. At first sight, there does not seem much to do here. As one gets closer to the river, however, the importance of it becomes apparent.

Day 8 - Long Xuyen - Chau Doc
After breakfast we take the ferry to one of the many islands in the Mekong river. Here we follow a narrow path to the next ferry and continue our way along the little tracks. After the third ferry, we will visit a local brick factory. We take another ferry and stop for a coffee break at the local market. After the coffee break, we follow a beautiful dirt road along a canal. In case we still have time after arrival in Chau Doc, we can take a boat trip to the colourfull floating villages nearby.

Day 9 - Chau Doc - Ho Chi Minh City
After a couple of large ferries, we take another a scenic route along narrow paths. Here, too, there are countless bridges to cross and we are always greeted by friendly people who are very surprised to see us. It is totally enjoyable to ride your bike through this beautiful countryside. After lunch, we come to the larger road back to Ho Chi Minh City. Just before the city another challenge begins...the busy traffic. Through the chaos, we reach our hotel in the center of town.

Day 10 - Ho Chi Minh City – Departure
You will be taken to the airport for your flight back home.

EXTENSION

Day 10 - Ho Chi Minh - day trip to Cu Chi 
Today you will visit the Củ Chi tunnels in a van with a local English-speaking guide. You  wille be impressed by the ingenuity of the corridor system and the way in which people lived here.

Day 11 - Ho Chi Minh City - Overnight stay
This is an extra day in Ho Chi Minh City; there is still much to see here. You will, of course, visit the War Crimes Museum for a different look at all the wars which have ravaged Vietnam. You will visit the Reunification Palace too where the South officially surrendered to the North in 1975. The Ben Than market is also one of the places not to be missed.

Day 12 - Ho Chi Minh City - Departure