Getting around the Mekong Delta
Plan · Roads
Expressways and bridges that changed the delta
Since 2000 the main delta crossings have moved from ferries to bridges, and in the last three years an expressway spine reached Can Tho and then Ca Mau. This page records what is open, what is still being built, and what that means for your journey times.
Contents
The spine: Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho
Three expressway sections and one bridge now link Ho Chi Minh City with Can Tho in a continuous expressway. The first section, Ho Chi Minh City – Trung Luong, is the oldest; newspapers give different lengths and opening years for it, so we do not repeat either here. The other two are newer:
| Section | Length | Lanes and limit | Open since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trung Luong – My Thuan | 51.5 km | 4 lanes, max 90 km/h | 2022 |
| My Thuan 2 bridge (Tien River) | 6.61 km with approaches | 4 lanes | end of 2023 |
| My Thuan – Can Tho | 23 km | 4 lanes, max 80 km/h | December 2023 |
By early 2025 newspapers were reporting that, with the My Thuan – Can Tho section open, the drive from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho took about two hours by car. Buses take longer: listings on 12 October 2026 ran from just under three hours to about four and three-quarter hours, because coaches stop and leave from the western edge of the city.
Sources: Sai Gon Giai Phong — Mekong Delta expressway overview, 20 Jan 2026; Sai Gon Giai Phong — expressways in the west, 10 Feb 2025; Tuoi Tre — My Thuan–Can Tho expressway, 26 Dec 2023; redBus Vietnam — Saigon to Can Tho listings · checked .
South to Ca Mau
The Can Tho – Ca Mau expressway has a main line of 110.85 km with four lanes, a maximum speed of 80 km/h and a minimum of 60 km/h. The Can Tho – Hau Giang section opened on 22 December 2025, and the Hau Giang – Ca Mau section opened at 11:00 on 19 January 2026, completing the route. Tuoi Tre reported that the drive from Can Tho to Ca Mau fell to about 1.5 hours from about three; Sai Gon Giai Phong put Ho Chi Minh City to Ca Mau at about 4.5 hours, against nearly ten before, along a corridor of nearly 270 km.
At opening, some guardrails in the Ca Mau section were not yet installed. That is a reminder that "open" on a new delta road can mean open with work still going on around it.
Sources: Tuoi Tre — Can Tho–Ca Mau expressway fully open, 19 Jan 2026; Mekong ASEAN — Can Tho–Ca Mau through-route opening, 19 Jan 2026; Sai Gon Giai Phong — Mekong Delta expressway overview, 20 Jan 2026 · checked .
The border arc: Chau Doc – Can Tho – Soc Trang
This expressway, about 188 km from National Highway 91 at Chau Doc to Tran De port, broke ground on 17 June 2023. The section in An Giang had a technical opening on 19 December 2025, and the Prime Minister asked for the whole route to reach technical opening by 30 June 2026; at the end of 2025 the works were reported at about 49% complete.
A later report, from around May 2026, said the 132.4 km part through Can Tho city is planned to come into use from late 2027, with sand and stone shortages slowing the work. The sources therefore differ on timing, and we could not confirm which parts are open to ordinary traffic in October 2026. Until they are, plan Chau Doc – Can Tho and Chau Doc – Soc Trang on the national highways, as in the route planner.
We list this road as under construction beyond An Giang. If you have travelled on an open section, tell us where it starts and ends and the date.
Sources: Sai Gon Giai Phong — Chau Doc–Can Tho–Soc Trang groundbreaking, 17 Jun 2023; Tap chi Cong Thuong — Chau Doc–Can Tho–Soc Trang deadline, 29 Dec 2025; Dai bieu Nhan dan — Chau Doc–Can Tho–Soc Trang reports, May 2026 · checked .
Planned and under construction
- My An – Cao Lanh (Dong Thap): 26.6 km, four lanes in phase 1; ground broken on 26 July 2025, completion planned for 2028.
- Ha Tien – Rach Gia – Bac Lieu: about 175 km, at the planning stage in early 2025 with construction expected from 2026. We have not confirmed that work has started.
Neither changes journey times yet. They are listed so that you can recognise the names on signs and in news reports.
Sources: Sai Gon Giai Phong — My An–Cao Lanh groundbreaking, 26 Jul 2025; Sai Gon Giai Phong — expressways in the west, 10 Feb 2025 · checked .
Bridges that replaced ferries
| Bridge | River | Opened | What it links |
|---|---|---|---|
| My Thuan | Tien | 21 May 2000 | Cai Be side and Vinh Long |
| Rach Mieu | Tien | 2009 | My Tho side and Ben Tre |
| Can Tho | Hau (Bassac) | 24 Apr 2010 | Vinh Long side and Can Tho |
| Vam Cong | Hau (Bassac) | 19 May 2019 | Thot Not (Can Tho) and Lap Vo (Dong Thap) |
| My Thuan 2 | Tien | end of 2023 | The two expressway sections |
| Rach Mieu 2 | Tien | 19 Aug 2025 | My Tho side and Ben Tre |
The Rach Mieu 2 bridge is the most recent change for travellers: it opened to traffic on 19 August 2025, the project route is about 17.5 km with approaches, and the temporary Rach Mieu ferry stopped the next day. Vam Cong, 2.97 km long, gives a direct road between the Can Tho and Dong Thap banks of the Hau River.
One crossing to check before you rely on it is Dai Ngai, on National Highway 60 between the former Tra Vinh and Soc Trang provinces. Construction started on 15 October 2023; we could not confirm an opening date, so check locally before planning a Tra Vinh – Soc Trang leg that depends on it.
Sources: Sai Gon Giai Phong — bridges replacing ferries, 16 Oct 2023; Sai Gon Giai Phong — Vam Cong bridge opens, 19 May 2019; Doanh nghiep Hoi nhap — Rach Mieu 2 bridge opens, 19 Aug 2025; Sai Gon Giai Phong — Mekong Delta expressway overview, 20 Jan 2026; Wikipedia — My Thuan Bridge; Wikipedia — Rach Mieu Bridge · checked .
What the new roads change — and what they do not
The expressways shorten the long legs: Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho and Ca Mau most of all. They change much less for short legs between towns off the spine, for the last kilometres to an outer bus station, or for the border arc, where buses still use National Highway 91 and the roads around Long Xuyen.
They also do not make the delta immune to water. In the flood season, high tides in October and November flood riverside streets in Can Tho and Vinh Long; in 2025 the authorities asked residents to limit travel during the high-tide windows of 05:00–08:00 and 16:00–19:00. If you are driving in those weeks, avoid riverside roads at high tide.
Sources: Ministry of Agriculture and Environment — 2025 Mekong flood outlook, 3 Oct 2025 · checked .
When a road plan is a bad idea
Building a trip around a road that is "due to open" is the most common mistake we see. Opening targets in the delta move, sometimes more than once, and a technical opening is not always open to everyone. Plan on what is open today, and treat the new road as a bonus if it opens before you travel.
This page calls a road open only when a national newspaper or official body reports it open to traffic. Targets are shown as targets.
Common questions
Questions readers send
Is there an expressway from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho?
Yes. Since December 2023 the Ho Chi Minh City – Trung Luong, Trung Luong – My Thuan and My Thuan – Can Tho sections, with the My Thuan 2 bridge, form a continuous expressway to Can Tho.
Is the Can Tho – Ca Mau expressway open?
Yes. The full 110.85 km main line opened at 11:00 on 19 January 2026, with a speed limit of 80 km/h.
Is the Chau Doc – Can Tho expressway open?
Only partly, as far as we can confirm. The An Giang section had a technical opening in December 2025, but reports differ on when the rest will open, with one giving late 2027 for the Can Tho part.
Is there still a ferry at Rach Mieu?
No. The temporary ferry stopped on 20 August 2025, the day after the Rach Mieu 2 bridge opened.
Related
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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.
Hubs · Can Tho city
Can Tho
Bus stations, the airport, the Ninh Kieu wharf and how long it takes to go on.
Hubs · An Giang
Chau Doc
Buses, the Phnom Penh speedboat, Sam Mountain and the road to Ha Tien.
Plan · Routes
Independent routes
Sample routes of three, five and eight days with transport and overnight stops.
Start planning
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