Chau Doc Mekong Delta, Vietnam
1606
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Avalon Waterways (139 Cruises)
Avalon SaigonSM
139 Cruises
CroisiEurope (273 Cruises)
RV Indochine
162 Cruises
RV Indochine II
21 Cruises
RV Lan Diep
52 Cruises
| 7 January | 13 days | Round-trip from flight |
450-628-6241
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| 19 January | 13 days | Round-trip from flight |
450-628-6241
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| 23 January | 13 days | Round-trip from flight |
450-628-6241
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Toum Tiou II
38 Cruises
| 21 September | 11 days | One-way from Saigon to Siem Reap |
450-628-6241
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|
| 21 September | 9 days | One-way from Saigon to Siem Reap |
450-628-6241
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|
| 11 January | 11 days | One-way from Saigon to Siem Reap |
450-628-6241
Call us
|
| 11 January | 9 days | One-way from Saigon to Siem Reap |
450-628-6241
Call us
|
| 28 February | 9 days | One-way from Saigon to Siem Reap |
450-628-6241
Call us
|
| 28 February | 11 days | One-way from Saigon to Siem Reap |
450-628-6241
Call us
|
Emerald Waterways (1176 Cruises)
Emerald Harmony
587 Cruises
Emerald Liberte
587 Cruises
Lindblad Expeditions (18 Cruises)
The Jahan
18 Cruises
Frequently Asked Questions
Landing is generally by sampan or small craft, because everything here is visited by water. Chau Doc sits on the Hau river, one of the Mekong's branches, a few kilometres from the Cambodian border.
Because the town lies on the route linking Vietnam to Cambodia along the Mekong. River cruises between the two countries call here, and the stop plunges travellers straight into an amphibious world.
A shifting village of floating houses lined along the banks, each hiding beneath its floor cages where catfish and carp are raised. The community has lived from aquaculture for decades, and the boat ride reveals a daily life governed by the river.
Yes, the fish farmers happily welcome visitors: a handful of pellets thrown through the hatch sets off a spectacular boiling of hundreds of fish beneath the floor. It is often the first image people keep of Chau Doc.
A Muslim minority settled on the opposite bank, keeping their traditions around small mosques and weaving looms. The welcome is gentle, exchanges happen through smiles, and the coloured fabrics make a souvenir with real meaning.
The only relief in a perfectly flat horizon: a 230-metre hill west of town whose slopes gather temples and pagodas kept alive by local pilgrimage. Shore excursions drive up, stopping at the main shrines.
The canals, the chequerboard of rice fields and, on a clear day, the nearby Cambodian plain. In the rainy season the flooded paddies turn the panorama into a giant mirror reflecting the clouds.
The floating village and the Cham villages by boat in the morning, then Sam Mountain by vehicle: that sequence fills the half day. Taking time to watch a weaver at work, shuttle in hand in the cool gloom of a stilt house, is worth more than adding another stop.
The Vietnamese dong and Vietnamese; Cham is still spoken in the villages on the opposite bank. Bring cash in small denominations for the weaving and the stalls: cards are not accepted outside hotels.
December to April for the dry season, more comfortable and steadier for navigation. The flood months of September to November, on the other hand, deliver the spectacle of flooded rice fields seen from Sam Mountain: the choice depends on what you come for.
