With traditional wooden boats, plenty of bustling local industry, vast emerald rice fields and lush back-waterways – Cai Be is an idyllic spot within the Mekong Delta. After a two hour drive from Saigon, you will have the opportunity to cruise the many tributaries of the Mekong River, spending time in tropical fruit gardens as well as visiting cottage industries making ‘pop’ rice.

As all trips to the Mekong Delta should, you begin with a boat trip. This is then followed by a visit to some home factories that produce rice paste, rice popcorn and coconut candy. Continue to several evergreen islands set among the many branches of the Mekong River, through a large network of meandering tributaries, crisscrossed with countless arroyos.

Getting off your boat, it takes just 10 minutes to walk through a local village (with plentiful fruit gardens) before arriving at a preserved ‘Mandarin’ house. Built centuries ago, at least four generations of the same family have lived here. Mrs. Kiet, the current owner of the house will serve you an authentic Vietnamese lunch. Take a stroll back to a local rowing boat waiting to take you back through the small canals, before returning to Cai Be and ultimately back to Saigon by road.