7:00am departure from your hotel. After 2 hours driving from Saigon, you will arrive Cho Gao District of Tien Giang Province. Transfer to a wooden boat to discover Tam Hiep Island in Ben Tre Province on an excursion which crosses two branches of the Mekong. We’ll arrive at Giao Hoa village, 30 km from the sea.

Walk to a local house to observe the production of sticky rice cake wrapped in banana leaves. Later, we’ll return to our boat and cruise to Long Thạnh village where we’ll visit a local factory where many kilns produce charcoal from coconut shells. The boat will then take us to Tam Hiep Island, where you can bike on small village paths through huge orchards before arriving at a special farm where they produce La sam – a leaf which we will pick for making and tasting special herbal jelly. Next, you’ll bike to a local house located in the middle of green orchards to enjoy an exotic lunch.

 

After lunch, you can relax on a hammock before observing the family making brooms from coconut leaves. Next, the rowboat will take you deeper into the countryside on smaller canals to enjoy the peaceful time under the shade of water coconut trees. Then cruise back to the mainland, pick up by car and drive to Sa Dec late in the afternoon. The town has a “Little Venice” atmosphere with numerous narrow canals and various activities on its banks. You will disembark at Sa Dec Market, one of the biggest of the delta. Sa Dec is a charming and peaceful town with narrow streets, beautiful old houses dating from the last century, old Chinese temples, as well as the primary school of the famous writer Marguerite Duras (author of the novel turned into a movie, “The Lover”). Enjoy the various kinds of flowers and bonsais dating from 100 years at Sa Dec’s flower village. Then it’s on to Kien An Cung Pagoda, one of the most beautiful pagodas of the region. The excursion will end at Sa Dec town. Pick up and transfer to Dong Thap Province (1hr drive) and arrive at Dong Thap. Check in at Cu Tu Ca Linh local house and relax and enjoy dinner at your guest house. Overnight at the house of a local family.

 

After breakfast, transfer to Tram Chim National Park, with a stopover en route to have some traditional Vietnamese coffee. Arrive at Tram Chim National Park Information Center to learn general information about the area. You will then embark on a solar powered boat to explore the park – one of four Ramsar sites in Vietnam (an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands) – where you will be introduced to a wide-range of animals, birds and plants whose habitat is here in southern Vietnam. There are 200 types of birds here – a quarter of the bird population of Vietnam. The most typical and well-known is the Red-headed Crane, one of the last 15 crane pieces in the world. After that you’ll continue experiencing the eco-system by rowboat, as well as by walking along trails inside the reserve. Later, have lunch at the home of a local family, and try fishing on a lotus field and enjoy local products made out of lotus such as milk and lotus seed soup (chè sen). Continue to explore Dong Thap town until your return to Saigon, where you’ll arrive around 17:30 – 18:00. End service.