Two countries, five days, one river
The short one. Three days working up the Vietnamese delta from Ho Chi Minh City, then the river border at Vinh Xuong and a boat into Phnom Penh.
At a glance
- Days
- 5 days, 4 nights
- Party size
- 1 to 8, private
- Start
- Ho Chi Minh City
- End
- Phnom Penh
- Effort
- Easy
- From
- USD 780 per person
Who this route is for
People joining two longer trips together, and people with a spare five days at the end of a Vietnam holiday who would rather cross into Cambodia on a boat than fly. It is the shortest thing we sell and the only one under a week.
It is a transfer with a delta in the middle, and we describe it that way rather than pretending it is a comprehensive tour of either country. What it does well is the Vietnamese delta — three days of it, at water level, which is more than most two-week Vietnam itineraries manage.
Day four leaves Chau Doc on the water, clears Vietnam at Vinh Xuong and Cambodia at Kaam Samnor, and reaches Sisowath Quay in central Phnom Penh about five hours later. It is the pleasantest international border in Southeast Asia and it costs about the same as the bus.
Day by day
Ho Chi Minh City to Ben Tre
Leave the city at 08:00, two hours south into the coconut country. Out into the small canals by sampan, the ones a motorised boat cannot enter, and a coconut-candy workshop that is a workshop rather than a stop with a shop attached.
A night at a riverside lodge or a homestay depending on your style, with dinner cooked in the house.
Ben Tre to Can Tho
East and south through Vinh Long to Can Tho, the capital of the delta, breaking at a brick kiln and a rice-paper village on the way. Both are working operations and neither charges admission.
Afternoon free in Can Tho, which is a real city of a million and a half people and not a tourist town.
Cai Rang, then Chau Doc
On the water at 05:45, because Cai Rang is a wholesale market and it is finished by 08:00. Boats sell in tonnes; the vegetable tied to the pole is the shop sign. Get there at nine and you get a souvenir stall.
Back for breakfast, then three and a half hours north-west to Chau Doc. Sam Mountain in the late afternoon, looking out over the Cambodian border you will cross tomorrow.
Chau Doc to Phnom Penh by river
Board at 07:30 at the Chau Doc pier. Ignore the fixers offering visas — yours is already arranged. Out of Vietnam at Vinh Xuong, into Cambodia at Kaam Samnor, about five hours in total including both posts.
Nobody will charge you a dollar for a thermometer, because our staff will have declined it. Into Sisowath Quay in the early afternoon, walking distance from the riverside. Afternoon at the National Museum, whose pre-Angkorian sculpture is the best collection in the world.
Phnom Penh
Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek in the morning if you have time before your flight; a hard morning, and we will say so. Otherwise the Royal Palace and the riverside.
Techo International opened in September 2025 and is 20 kilometres out, 45 to 60 minutes and longer in the evening peak.
What it costs
| Party size | Simple | Comfortable | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 travellers | USD 780 | USD 1,190 | USD 2,070 |
| 3 - 4 | USD 640 | USD 990 | USD 1,840 |
| 5 - 8 | USD 550 | USD 860 | USD 1,690 |
What the price includes
- 4 nights as described, twin share
- Chau Doc – Phnom Penh speedboat with our staff at both immigration posts
- All delta boats: Ben Tre sampans, Cai Rang, Vinh Long
- Private vehicle and driver in Vietnam
- Vietnamese and Khmer guides, each in their own country
- National Museum, Sam Mountain and all fees named above
- Breakfast from day 2 plus the meals named day by day
What it does not include
- Flights into Ho Chi Minh City and out of Phnom Penh
- Vietnam and Cambodia visa fees
- Travel insurance, which we require
- Drinks, laundry, and meals not named
- Tips for guides and drivers
Photographs
Who this trip is wrong for
- Anyone expecting to see Angkor. Siem Reap is six hours north of where this trip ends; add three days for it.
- Travellers who want a comprehensive tour of either country. Five days is a crossing, not a tour, and we would rather be clear about that.
- People who dislike heat and humidity. The delta is humid every day of the year and the sampan has no air conditioning.
- Anyone with a very early flight out of Phnom Penh on day five. Techo is an hour out in traffic and the morning is tight.
- Parties who want to do this in a single day. It exists as a bus — six to seven hours via Bavet–Moc Bai — and it skips everything worth stopping for.
Practical notes
Visas
Vietnam: visa-free for 45 days for most European passports, otherwise a USD 25 eVisa, which is valid for exit at the Vinh Xuong river port. Cambodia: eVisa at USD 30 from evisa.gov.kh, valid at Kaam Samnor. Arrange both before you fly; do not buy either at the pier.
The bus alternative
Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh direct is six to seven hours by bus via Bavet–Moc Bai, USD 13 to 20, with Giant Ibis and Mekong Express the two operators worth using. It is a perfectly good way to move if the delta is not the point.
Direction
We prefer south to north because the boat leaves Chau Doc at 07:30 from a town you have already seen, rather than from Phnom Penh at midday. Reversed, it is the same price and the delta comes at the end.
Questions travellers ask most
Is five days really worth it, or should I just take the bus?
If the delta is not interesting to you, take the bus. It is cheap, it works, and it takes seven hours.
The five days exist for the delta, which is the most densely populated agricultural landscape in Southeast Asia and reads completely differently from a boat than from a road.
What is the border like?
Two small riverside posts, roughly forty minutes each, with the boat waiting. It is orderly. The only friction is the unofficial extras, which our staff decline before you have to.
Can I add Angkor at the end?
Yes. Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is six hours by road, and three nights there gives you the three-day pass properly used. That turns this into an eight-day trip.
Is Cai Rang worth the 05:45 start?
Only at 05:45. It is a wholesale market that starts before dawn and thins out by eight; the nine o'clock version is a handful of boats selling drinks to tourists.
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