MY THO

First Mekong town from Saigon gets bulk of daytrippers

Worth It? Vinh Long is better day trip material, but if you stay the night though, you can get Ben Tre’s canals to yourself on a sunset boat trip
What to Do Boat trip of river islands and Ben Tre’s atmospheric canals
Best Time to Go October to March
How Long? A day
Gateway My Tho is on the road between all of the Mekong and Saigon, 75km away
Fact Older than many Mekong towns, My Tho was founded by immigrants from Formosa in the late 1600s

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For far too many Mekong travelers, My Tho – 75km southwest of Saigon, on the northern lip of a Mekong splinter river, the Tien Giang – is all anyone reaches. Daytrippers from Saigon stream in daily, taking boat trips to quirky islands and canals across on Ben Tre island to see coconut candy be made and bee farms. If you’re looking for a slice of Mekong life, it can be entertaining – its riverfront promenade lined with blow-up animals and faded French villas is as nice as many Mekong towns. But you won’t get any of the local wide-eyed looks unless you linger longer than the Saigon hordes do.