Enquire
A boy stands on a wooden plank walkway beside a muddy canal lined with thatched houses in the Mekong Delta.

Southern Vietnam

A night on An Binh island with a delta family

An Binh sits in the river opposite Cai Be, with no through traffic and more bicycles than motorbikes. You sleep in a family house and eat what they cook.

Overview

What a homestay here actually is

An Binh is a large river island in Vinh Long province, reached by boat from the Cai Be side of the Tien river. Families here grow longan, rambutan and pomelo, and a number of them have added two or three rooms to the house and a bathroom out the back. You are a paying guest, not a cultural exhibit: the family cooks dinner, you eat with them if you want to, and the evening ends when the insects get loud.

The rooms are simple and we say so on purpose. Expect a mosquito net, a fan or basic air-conditioning depending on the house, hot water that may be solar, and a shared or private bathroom that is clean but not a hotel bathroom. What you get in return is a night without traffic, a sunrise over the canal and a morning with people who live here.

Two men fish from a wooden boat beside a stilted floating house on the Mekong Delta waterways.
Passengers with conical hats and motorbikes crowd a blue ferry boat in the Mekong Delta.
The kind of house you stay in. · Ten minutes across the river from Cai Be.
Length
2 days, 1 night
Road each way
About 2.5 hours
Island access
Boat from Cai Be
Room
Private, simple
Back in Saigon
around 16:00

Nights

Where you sleep

Ho Chi Minh City0Pick-up from your hotel in District 1, 3 or Binh ThanhAn Binh island, Vinh Long1A family house with guest rooms among the orchardsHo Chi Minh City0Drop-off at your hotel

Day by day

Day by day

Day 1

Across the river and onto the island

The lanes by bicycle in the late afternoon light

We collect you at 08:00 and drive about two and a half hours to Cai Be, on the Tien river. From the landing a boat takes you across to An Binh, first along the main river and then into a canal narrow enough to touch the water palms on either side. Your bag goes to the house; you go to lunch.

Lunch is at the house, around 12:00: elephant-ear fish if the family has one, a soup, rice, and fruit from the garden. After a rest through the hottest part of the day, we set off at about 15:00 on bicycles along the concrete lanes that link the island, which are flat, shaded and wide enough for one bicycle and one scooter to pass politely.

Towards 17:30 you help with dinner if you want to, which usually means rolling spring rolls and being corrected. Dinner is at the family table around 18:30. There is nothing to do after that, and that is rather the point.

StayFamily homestay on An Binh island, private roomMealsLunch, dinnerTravelAbout 2.5 hours, plus 20 minutes by boatOn footAbout 12 km by bicycle, flat

Day 2

The canals at sunrise, back to Saigon

Two hours on the small canals before the heat

Early risers can walk the lane at 05:45 as the island wakes up. After coffee and breakfast with the family, a sampan collects you at 07:00 for two hours on the small canals, rowed or with a quiet outboard depending on the water level, stopping at a workshop and a garden along the way.

We cross to Vinh Long town at about 09:30 for a walk through its market, which is a wholly local affair: fish still moving, herbs in heaps, and nobody selling souvenirs. Lunch is in Cai Be or on the road, and we have you back in Saigon at around 16:00.

If you would rather not return to the city, this is an easy place to join a longer route: Can Tho is about an hour and a half further on, and we can take you there instead.

MealsBreakfast, lunchTravelAbout 2.5 hoursOn footAbout 2 km
PDFPrint this itinerary, or save it as a PDFopens a print-ready page in a new tab

Price

Price

TravellersTier 1 — simpleTier 2 — comfortableTier 3 — the good ones
2 travellingfrom 175from 220from 330
4 travellingfrom 145from 180from 275
6 travellingfrom 130from 160from 245
Per person in US dollars, private trip, sharing a double or twin room. The three hotel tiers are the ones described on our How we book page. High season and single rooms cost more; your quote is itemised.

Homestays have one standard, so the three columns in the table differ mainly by the car and the guide we assign rather than by the room. A family or group of four or six brings the per-person figure down noticeably, because the car, the guide and the boats are shared costs. If you want air-conditioning or a private bathroom, tell us early: not every house has both, and the good ones fill at weekends.

Included

What is included

What the price includes

  • Private car and driver from Saigon and back
  • English-speaking guide for both days
  • Boat crossings and the two-hour sampan on day two
  • One night in a family homestay with breakfast
  • Lunch and dinner on day one, lunch on day two
  • Bicycles, entrance fees and drinking water

What it does not include

  • Drinks beyond water and tea
  • Tips for the family, the boat crew and your guide
  • Travel insurance and visas
  • Anything not on the list, such as a cooking lesson beyond the evening meal

Practical

Practical notes

December to April is dry and the lanes are pleasant for cycling. September to November brings high water, when some lanes flood briefly at the top of the tide and the gardens are at their greenest. The rainy months from May to August are fine, with a shower in the afternoon that usually passes in an hour.

Pack light: a small bag is easier in the boats. Bring insect repellent, a torch, a pair of sandals and something with long sleeves for the evening. Children usually love this trip, and the families are used to them; tell us ages when you book so we can choose a house with the right beds.

A concrete path lined with green hedges and trees runs through a rural village in the Mekong Delta.
The lanes are flat and shaded.
A woman washes coconut shells in a red bucket at an outdoor kitchen in the Mekong Delta.
Dinner is a joint effort if you want it to be.
A conical-hat wearing rower sits at the bow of a wooden boat gliding through a narrow, palm-shaded Mekong Delta canal.
The small canals after breakfast.
Woven baskets filled with fresh small fish sit on a boat by the riverbank in the Mekong Delta.
Vinh Long market on the way back.

Not for everyone

Who this does not suit

Skip this if a hotel bathroom matters to you, if geckos on the wall will keep you awake, or if you need Wi-Fi strong enough to work. It is a family house on an island, and it is quiet in a way that some people find restful and others find long.

It is also not the trip for floating markets. Cai Be’s market has faded almost completely, and the one worth rising for is Cai Rang, which needs a night in Can Tho instead.

Common questions

Questions travellers ask most

Do we share a room with the family?

No. Guest rooms are separate and private to your party, usually at the back or side of the house. Bathrooms may be shared with other guests at some houses; we tell you which before you book.

Is there air-conditioning?

At some houses. If you need it, say so and we will book one that has it.

Is it suitable for children?

Very. The lanes are quiet, the bicycles come in small sizes, and the families have grandchildren of their own.

Related

Read next

A rower in a conical hat paddles a boat along a narrow water coconut palm-lined canal in the Mekong Delta.

Southern Vietnam

Mekong Delta

Canals, floating markets and orchards — done properly.

View this journey
Wooden boats gather on the water at Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho at dusk.

Mekong Delta

Can Tho

The delta base: Cai Rang, canals and a real night market.

View this journey
2daysA vendor in a conical hat prepares pineapples on a river boat while a tourist reaches for the produce near Can Tho.

Example journey

Can Tho, two days

Sleep in Can Tho, be on the water at half past five, back in Saigon mid-afternoon.

View this journey
2daysA landscaped park with manicured hedges and shady trees leads to a school gate in Ben Tre, Mekong Delta.

Example journey

Cu Chi and the delta

Cu Chi one morning, the Ben Tre channels the next, a river night between.

View this journey
Aerial view of terraced fields and a small hamlet nestled on steep green mountainside in Ha Giang.

Tours

Tours

Day trips, regional routes and full-length itineraries.

View this journey
A boy stands on a wooden plank walkway beside a muddy canal lined with thatched houses in the Mekong Delta.

Start planning

Tell us about the trip you have in mind

Dates, party size and the places you care about are enough to start. You get a draft route and an indicative price, not a brochure.

Or talk to us:+84 766 045 399

Add more detail optional — the more you tell us, the closer the first draft lands

First reply within 8 working hours

WhatsAppEnquire