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Is Ben Tre worth visiting?
Ben Tre is the delta as people imagine it: coconut palms, narrow brown canals, orchards, and a slow river. It lies on a series of islands between branches of the Mekong, so there’s water everywhere and fewer roads, which keeps the big tour buses out. If My Tho feels like a day out, Ben Tre feels like the countryside.
Since July 2025 it has been part of Vinh Long province (the merged province also takes in Tra Vinh). Booking sites may show either name; it’s the same place.
How long from Saigon to Ben Tre by car?
A private car takes 1¾-2½ hours, about 90 km: the Trung Luong-My Thuan expressway south, then across the river by the Rach Mieu bridge towards Ben Tre. Two hours is a fair planning figure on a normal weekday.
Traffic leaving Saigon is the unknown. An early start gets you there well within two hours; a Friday evening or Sunday afternoon can add a lot. Our prices include tolls.
Ben Tre by car, bus or tour?
The bus is cheapest, and it’s workable if you’re alone and light. It takes longer, from a bus station, and leaves you at the town with no transport to the orchards and canals, which are where the interest is.
A group tour from Saigon usually combines My Tho and Ben Tre in a single day with set stops and a shared boat. It’s an easy introduction and the price per person is low.
With a private car you set the day. You know the driver and car before you leave, the price is fixed, and we hold drivers to a standard of calm driving, a non-smoking cabin, working seatbelts and no overpowering air freshener. For a day trip, add wait-and-bring-me-back. If you’re staying in a homestay, the car takes you and your bags right to the door, which matters because many sit down narrow lanes. Ask for a stop on the way if you want a coffee or a fruit stall.
Meeting your driver
- Book in the box at the top of the page and you get an email confirming your booking, with the driver’s name, photo and number plate the evening before.
- For an airport pickup, give us your flight number: the driver tracks it and waits up to 90 minutes after landing.
- For a day trip, add the wait-and-bring-me-back extra and say how long you want in Ben Tre.
- Pay the driver in dong or by VietQR transfer. Tolls and parking are included.
Things to do in Ben Tre
Coconut candy workshops
Coconut candy is Ben Tre’s best-known product, and workshops let you watch it being cooked and cut, then taste it warm. It’s a short stop and the samples are free.
Con Phung island
Con Phung sits in the Tien River at the edge of Ben Tre. It has boat rides, a horse-carriage ride, a honey farm and a monument linked to the Coconut Religion, a short-lived local sect. Entry has been quoted at about 40,000₫ for adults (2026).
Canals and rowing boats
The signature experience is a rowing boat through a coconut-palm canal, with a local woman at the oar. It’s quiet, and the palms close over your head.
Orchards at Cai Mon and Cho Lach
Cai Mon and Cho Lach are the fruit-growing districts: durian, rambutan, mangosteen and longan in season, plus the nurseries that supply the rest of the country with plants.
Homestays
The reason to stay a night is a homestay in the orchards: a simple room, a meal cooked from the garden, a ride at dawn along the canal. Book a room that has air-conditioning if the heat bothers you.
When to go
Ben Tre can be visited all year. December to April is the dry season, comfortable and with less mud; the rainy months are green, with showers mostly in the afternoon. Fruit season is roughly May to August, and Tet (early February in 2027) and weekends are busy.
Onward from Ben Tre
My Tho is across the river and easily added to a day. Vinh Long and Cai Be are the next step for more homestays, and Can Tho for the floating market. To book any of these legs, change the From and To in the booking box.