mekong delta august

For the boat ride, you can just head to the Ninh Kieu Boat Dock and find one to your liking.  Remember to bargain, though.  As for the homestay, I know a guy who is working on it.  But, I am not too sure how far along he has gotten.  You can look him up at the Nam Mon Hotel, right on the Can Tho side of the Hung Loi Bridge.  They are on agoda and tripadvisory.  His name is Bryan Lam.  If this is what you guys want to do and you intent on getting in touch with Bryan, then tell him that I sent you...

Sorry, I can't offer you any more assistant than that.  I will still be in California, when you guys are there. 

Best,
Howie

bargain a lot and rember you get what what you pay for make sure price includes return home , not 1 way

My friend tried this service for his Melkong Delta trip, it provides local tour guide. The service is quite good from his comment. 

triip.me/can-tho/mekong-delta-tours-63/

if u need any advices for food, places to go, drink.....etc...when u are here, i'm willing to help
@Wild: when u goin to come back for a coffe, or beer? haha

Cang, not until the middle of Septenber.

Hi thanks for the info. A friend of a friend who is a 20 year old vietnamese female student at HCMC university has offered to accompany us if we pay her expenses. she has never been to the delta but says we will be fine with her. what do you think? or do you recommend booking a tour with all the other millions of tourists? my daughter is studying international development so wants to see real vietnam not the commercial stuff!
thanks so much for taking the time to reply, i appreciate it,
anita

good one! thanks for the recommendation, yep i must remember to get a lift back too!!

Anita,

If she has never been there herself, then aside from being able to communicate with others, she will be just as good as you guys.  She will not know where to go or how much things will cost.  But, if she is sharp, then she can talk your way into or out of a lot.  So, make sure you give her a good look.

Be safe. Not everyone is out to help you. Tours are good to see what is around. Huge tip make  contacts before you do the whole live like the locals. Get info on how much stuff cost. I did a $21 tour which was I must say was great for the price, yes the hotel was horrible but $21 for a 2day 1night tour nam style wa s amazing. On our tour we got to can toe and the so called room which was horrible but we read up on this tour and knew what it was like so we hit  the  water front fork beers and the room didn't seem that bad after a few $1 beers. Never assume always ask and don't agree if you don't understand something. Knowledge is power.

Anita,

I think Bryan is a good guy for you to look up.  He is Singaporean; and his wife is Vietnamese.  They own and operate 2 hotels, right on the river edge.  Their hotels are new and of the up-scale variety; and they have worked very hard on putting up the so-called homestay thing.

I used to help them set up tours and introduced them to the locals, who were interested in tourism.  But, I have been busy with other stuffs, thus have not been able to keep up with them and their progress.  I am sure if you let Bryan and his wife know ahead of time, he will be able to help you. 

Look them up.

hi anatipineda is your friend ok for late september, 25th , thinking of doing some overnight trips then to can tho and more, mark

It's surprisingly easy to avoid tourist traps: don't book tours. Thing is if you only have a couple of days, you can only do a few things because transport on your own takes time.

If you really can't stretch your time, go with the more established route Vinh Long - Can Tho. People are more familiar with foreigners so will be easier to look for what you want. Plenty of "homestay" on islets in Vinh Long (check tripadvisor). Remember these are more like b&b than homestay. You can visit the floating market in Can Tho. Plenty of boats to choose from.

If you have more time, I'd suggest Ben Tre - Tra Vinh - Soc Trang. Most tourists stop at Ben Tre. Tra Vinh and Soc Trang has a large Khmer ethnic population, beautiful scenery, and stunning temples (Khmer style). There's a few floating markets in this region too. Takes a while to get to, but they're very local.