"My Tho Boat Tour" My Tho by Ewingjr98

My Tho Travel Guide: 34 reviews and 204 photos

Joe and Vince on a Mekong canal - My Tho

Vietnamese woman, My Tho

While in HCMC, we took a day trip to My Tho along the Mekong River. My Tho makes a good day trip because it is just a few hours down Highway 1 from HCMC.

We arrived and negotiated for a private boat tour, just my friend Vince, me, our boat driver, and two English speaking tour guides. I think we paid too much at about US$60 for 8 hours on the water, but it was worth every penny.

We left My Tho around 1200 and went directly to Turtle Island. There, we went to a small shop where the locals make coconut candy and banana nut wine. There is also a little souvenir shop on the island.

Next we went to a tourist area down a small canal called something like Bung Tat. Being a week day, the village was utterly deserted except for us and our guides. We ordered elephant eared fish and fresh tropical fruit, along with a few beers. The fish was delicious and we napped for a few minutes on the comfortable hammocks.

The Mekong River

We then took a few side trips down small canals and saw men fishing in the river and collecting mud from the river bottom.

Our last stop before dark was Unicorn Island. This long island has several tourist pavilions with food, drink, and live music. We decided to take a walk on the island just before dark. The small paths with bicycles reminded by of movies about the Ho Chi Minh Trail. School was just getting out when we walked past, and the children were thrilled to see Americans. The air was filled with shouts of "Hello!"

We walked back to the boat and our driver took us back to the docks near My Tho where we had started our Mekong River sightseeing journey.

Last visit to My Tho: Sep 2003
Intro Updated Jan 14, 2007
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Reviews (8)

Rent a Private Boat Off The Beaten Path (1)

By renting a private boat, you can see what you want rather than going straight from one tourist trap to another. You... more travel advice

Qui Son Canal Things to Do (4)

We took a side trip down Qui Sohn Canal. In this area of narrow canal with thick vegetation, you could really image an... more travel advice

Turtle Island Things to Do (4)

At Turtle Island, you can see the Vietnamese making coconut candy over an open fire made from coconut shells. They also... more travel advice

Resemblance to the Ho Chi Minh Trail? - My Tho

Unicorn Island Things to Do (4)

Unicorn Island was the highlight of our trip to My Tho. We stopped at a tourist pavilion, but decided to go for a walk... more travel advice

Restaurants (1)
Bung Tat Village restaurant

Transportation (2)
See All Rent a Boat at My Tho

Travelogues (1)

Written Mar 28, 2008

7 photos

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Comments (3)

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atufft Mar 1, 2009 at 6:59 PM

Seems like you got a good deal on the Mekong Delta to me. A boat on the SF Bay Delta region would cost a lot more, and probably be a lot less interesting :-)
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bpacker Mar 7, 2005 at 11:45 PM

A bike-ride from Saigon to MyTho! Adventurous but wasn't the road kinda pot-holey;)?? The bus journey was torturous enough, I called it a 2hr bum-rotting ride in my page..
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AyurinHiro Jun 22, 2004 at 7:53 AM

Yes, I & my husband ate elephant-eared fish :-) I could find my memories in your My Tho photos Thank you! And thank you for visiting our My Tho page.