Mekong Delta homestays, 2 to 4 days
Tours · How to book
From the form to the house
Booking a homestay trip takes a few emails. Most of them are about the room, because that is the part people regret not asking about. Here are the steps, what we need from you, and what you receive before you pay anything.
The steps
- 01
Send the form
Trip, month, how many of you, and anything about rooms, food or mobility we should know.
- 02
We check houses
We ask households for the room you need on your dates and collect current photos of it.
- 03
You get a quote
A per-trip price as a list of lines, the house named, the room and bathroom described.
- 04
You confirm in writing
We confirm the house and the room, and send payment instructions on the written quote.
What we need from you
- Dates, or a month. Households fill up for weekends and before Lunar New Year.
- Who is travelling. Adults, children and their ages, anyone who needs a separate room or a ground-floor room.
- Your line on bathrooms. 'Private only', 'shared is fine' or 'advise me'. This changes which houses we ask.
- Food. Vegetarian, no pork, allergies, no fish sauce. Delta kitchens use fish sauce in most dishes; a household can cook without it if it knows the day before.
- Mobility. Riverbank steps, small boats and monkey bridges are part of many days. We can avoid them if we know.
- Where you start. A hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho or elsewhere.
What you see before paying
A written quote with each line priced, the name of the household, the room type, whether the bathroom is private or shared, whether there is air conditioning or a fan, and recent photos of the room itself. If a house cannot send photos, we visit or we propose another house.
We also tell you about the night itself: whether other guests are booked, what the family does for a living, and anything that might surprise you, like a karaoke wedding in the neighbourhood the same evening, if we hear about it in time.
Holds, payment and changes
Households do not take formal reservations the way hotels do. When you confirm, we confirm with the family by phone and in writing on our side, and send payment instructions on your written quote. Do not pay to any account that is not shown on your written quote.
Changes are easy up to a few days before travel: dates, rooms, an extra night. After that, what the household has already prepared is paid for. The cancellation terms that apply to your trip are on your written quote.
If a message asks you to pay to an account that is not shown on your written quote, do not pay. Send the form and ask us.
While you are on the trip
- Your guide is with you through the day and stays overnight near the house.
- If the room is not what the quote said, tell the guide that evening; we move you or adjust the price.
- If anyone is unwell, the guide takes you to the nearest clinic in Vinh Long or Can Tho; both are short drives from the houses we use.
- Boats: everyone wears a life jacket. Vietnamese rules require them on cross-river passenger boats and at Can Tho tourist piers.
Sources: Circular 15/2012/TT-BGTVT (vbpl.vn); Can Tho Department of Transport, letter 1781, 22 Aug 2019 · checked .
Before you go
Read what a homestay night is like and the short etiquette guide. Both answer most of the questions people ask us after booking. Ready to start? The form is at the bottom of this page.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
How far ahead should we book?
Four weeks is comfortable; two is often possible. Around Lunar New Year, book two months ahead.
Can we book only the homestay, without a guide?
Not through us. The guide is what makes the evening work in a house where nobody speaks your language, and it is how we keep an eye on the room and the boats.
What if the household cancels?
It is rare but happens, usually for a family event. We offer a comparable house nearby and show you its room before you accept, or refund that part of the trip.
Do you need our passport details?
Yes, a copy before travel, so the household has your details for the night, as a hotel would.
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Contact
Contact
How to reach us through the form and what to put in a first message.
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Example journey
An Binh, 2 days
One night with an An Binh family: garden, canal, kitchen, and a ferry back to Vinh Long.
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Tell us which family home you have in mind
A trip, a month and how many of you are travelling are enough to start. We reply by email with questions or a first suggestion that names the house, the room and the bathroom.