Getting around the Mekong Delta
Independent travel guide · Checked October 2026
Getting around the Mekong Delta, leg by leg
The delta is a web of rivers that bridges and expressways have stitched together only recently. This guide shows how its towns connect today — by bus, van, boat and plane — with the source and check date behind every timetable line.
Contents
How the delta fits together
Most journeys in the Mekong Delta follow a handful of corridors. Once you know which corridor a town sits on, you know roughly how you will reach it, where you will change, and what can slow you down. The table below is a map in words: read across to see what each corridor connects.
| Corridor | Main towns on it | Usual way to travel | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| The expressway spine | Ho Chi Minh City – My Thuan – Can Tho – Ca Mau | Coach, limousine van, private car | Expressway now runs the whole way; Can Tho–Ca Mau opened in full on 19 Jan 2026. |
| The coconut provinces | My Tho – Ben Tre – Vinh Long – Tra Vinh | Coach or van, short hops | Rach Mieu 2 bridge opened in Aug 2025 and the old ferry there stopped. |
| The border arc | Can Tho – Long Xuyen – Chau Doc – Ha Tien | Coach on national highways | The Chau Doc–Can Tho–Soc Trang expressway is still under construction beyond An Giang. |
| The river to Cambodia | Chau Doc – Phnom Penh | Daily speedboat | About 6.5 hours including the river border post. |
| The coast and islands | Rach Gia / Ha Tien – Phu Quoc, Hon Son, Nam Du | Fast boat, car ferry | Crossings are weather-dependent in the south-west monsoon. |
| The air links | Can Tho, Rach Gia, Ca Mau, Phu Quoc | Domestic flights | Ca Mau airport has been closed for upgrading since late 2025. |
The distances involved are modest — Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho is under 200 km by road — but the rivers are wide. Until the bridges and expressways built since 2000, ferries set the pace. Now the pace is set by where buses stop, how far the bus stations sit from town centres, and the few corridors where new roads are still being built.
Sources: Sai Gon Giai Phong — Mekong Delta expressway overview, 20 Jan 2026; Tuoi Tre — Can Tho–Ca Mau expressway fully open, 19 Jan 2026; Doanh nghiep Hoi nhap — Rach Mieu 2 bridge opens, 19 Aug 2025; Tap chi Cong Thuong — Chau Doc–Can Tho–Soc Trang deadline, 29 Dec 2025; Hang Chau Tourist — official site; VinWonders — ferries to Phu Quoc, 19 Jul 2025; Soha / Doi song Phap luat — Ca Mau airport upgrade, 5 Aug 2026 · checked .
Three ways into this guide
Plan by leg
The route planner lists the legs most travellers use: Ho Chi Minh City to each delta town, and town to town. Each line gives the road distance, a usual journey time and what that time is based on.
Plan by hub
Three towns do most of the connecting: Can Tho, Chau Doc and Rach Gia and Ha Tien. Each hub page covers stations, piers, the airport and where to sleep if you leave early.
Plan by way of travel
Buses and vans, boats and ferries, airports and flights, and the expressways and bridges that changed journey times.
Put it together
Sample independent routes of three, five and eight days, with where to sleep each night and what breaks each route.
Place names changed in 2025
On 12 June 2025 Vietnam's National Assembly passed Resolution 202/2025/QH15, which merged provinces across the country; the new provincial governments started work on 1 July 2025, and the district level of government was abolished at the same time. In the delta, Tien Giang joined Dong Thap; Ben Tre and Tra Vinh joined Vinh Long; Kien Giang joined An Giang; Soc Trang and Hau Giang joined Can Tho city; Bac Lieu joined Ca Mau; and Long An joined Tay Ninh. Phu Quoc became a special zone of An Giang province.
Bus companies and maps still use the old names, and so do most travellers. This guide uses the familiar town names — My Tho, Ben Tre, Chau Doc, Rach Gia, Ha Tien — as place names, and gives the current province where it matters, for example "Rach Gia (An Giang province)". A former district is written as "the former Cai Be district".
Sources: Dai bieu Nhan dan — Resolution 202/2025/QH15, 12 Jun 2025; Sai Gon Giai Phong — Phu Quoc becomes a special zone, 1 Jul 2025 · checked .
When a private car makes more sense
Public buses cover every leg in the planner, and for one or two travellers they are usually the simplest choice. A car with a driver starts to make sense in a few specific situations:
- Three or four people travelling together, with luggage, on a leg where the bus drops you at an outer station and you would need a taxi at both ends anyway.
- Days with stops on the way — for example Sa Dec between Vinh Long and Can Tho — where a bus would mean two separate tickets and two station transfers.
- Connections that start before the first convenient bus, such as reaching the 07:00 Chau Doc speedboat from another town on the same morning.
- Travelling with small children or someone who finds a sleeper berth or a full van hard.
A car does not make the river crossings faster than a bus — both use the same bridges and expressways. What it saves is the time spent getting to and from stations, waiting for departures and changing vehicles.
Mekong Travel Links does not sell tours, tickets or car hire and does not take bookings. Operators are named because travellers use them; check fares and times with them directly before you travel.
Common questions
Questions readers send
Is the Mekong Delta easy to travel independently?
Yes, for most of the main towns. Coaches and vans leave Ho Chi Minh City through the day for Can Tho, Chau Doc, Rach Gia, Ca Mau and many smaller towns, and the main hubs are linked to each other by road.
The harder parts are the last few kilometres — bus stations outside town centres — and the boat legs, which depend on weather and water levels.
Which town makes the most convenient base?
For transport, Can Tho is the most connected: buses to most of the delta, an airport with domestic flights, and an expressway south to Ca Mau. Chau Doc is the base for the Cambodian border by river, and Rach Gia or Ha Tien for the islands.
Do I still need ferries to cross the Mekong?
On the main corridors, no. Bridges such as My Thuan, My Thuan 2, Can Tho, Vam Cong and Rach Mieu 2 carry the road traffic, and the temporary Rach Mieu ferry stopped in August 2025. Small local ferries still serve islets and side roads.
Does this site sell tickets?
No. Mekong Travel Links is an information site. We point to the official operator pages so you can book directly with the company that runs the service.
Related
Read next
Plan · Legs and times
Route planner
Distances and usual journey times, leg by leg, with the basis for each figure.
Ways to travel · Road
Buses and vans
Bus stations, sleeper coaches versus limousine vans, tickets and arrivals.
Ways to travel · Water
Boats and ferries
Chau Doc–Phnom Penh speedboat, fast boats to the islands, local ferries and life jackets.
Hubs · Can Tho city
Can Tho
Bus stations, the airport, the Ninh Kieu wharf and how long it takes to go on.
Plan · Routes
Independent routes
Sample routes of three, five and eight days with transport and overnight stops.
Start planning
Write to the Mekong Travel Links editors
Ask about getting around the Mekong Delta, tell us when something on a page is out of date, or suggest a source we should list. Mekong Travel Links does not sell tours or tickets and does not pass your details to any company.