The Festival Journey, 6 days

Day 1

Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho

Pick-up at 08:00 for the drive of about 171 km to Can Tho — three to three and a half hours on the expressway and over the Can Tho bridge. Lunch on arrival, then a rest.

Late afternoon on the Ninh Kieu riverfront: Ông pagoda, the Cantonese assembly hall built 1894–1896, where Guan Gong presides over coils of incense. It is a calm start before the crowds of the coming days, and it shows one of the four communities that take part in the festival at Chau Doc.

Day 2

Can Tho to Chau Doc: arriving before the peak

About 120 km north-west along the Hau River to Chau Doc, two to two and a half hours. We arrive a day or two before the main rituals, when the town is filling with pilgrims but hotels and roads still work.

Afternoon by boat on the Hau River past the floating fish-farm houses, a way of life VNAT dates back about fifty years. In the evening your guide walks you through the festival programme and where to stand for the procession.

Day 3

Sam Mountain at first light

Tây An pagoda before 07:00

We are at the mountain by 06:30. Tây An pagoda, built in 1847 in the Thiệu Trị reign, mixes Vietnamese, Indian and Islamic forms in one façade. Nearby is the tomb of Thoại Ngọc Hầu (Nguyễn Văn Thoại), built in 1822. Then the temple of Bà Chúa Xứ itself, before the heat and the queue.

If the crowds allow, the cable car of about 900 metres runs up the mountain; the summit is also reachable by road. Afternoon at the hotel. In the evening the temple grounds are lit and full; your guide takes you back if you want to see them.

Day 4

The main festival day

The palanquin procession

This day follows the festival programme published by the organisers for your year — the procession of the goddess’s palanquin and the ceremonies around the bathing of the statue. We place you where you can see without blocking pilgrims and keep a meeting point in case the crowd separates the group.

Expect heat, noise and a great many people; that is the festival. Lunch is late and simple. The afternoon is free to rest.

Day 5

Across the river to the Cham villages

A small boat across the Hau River to Chau Giang, a crossing of fifteen to twenty minutes. The Mubarak mosque dates from 1750 and was rebuilt several times, the last in concrete in 1965; it is the only mosque in An Giang listed as a national relic. Jamiul Azhar, nearby, dates from 1959. We visit outside prayer times; women bring a headscarf.

Then a walk through the Cham stilt houses and weaving workshops of Chau Phong, asking before entering any home. Lunch at a halal Cham eatery. The afternoon is free for the market or the hotel pool.

Day 6

To Phnom Penh by river, or back to Ho Chi Minh City

Option one: the Hang Chau speedboat leaves Chau Doc at 07:00 and reaches Phnom Penh at about 13:30, crossing the border at Vinh Xuong; a 2024 travel guide reports that staff collect passports and visa paperwork on board. The operator’s published fare for June 2026 to June 2027 is VND 1,640,000 per person, included in your price.

Option two: the drive back to Ho Chi Minh City, about 235 km and four and a half to five and a half hours, arriving mid-afternoon.