The Four Cultures, 7 days

Day 1

Ho Chi Minh City to Tra Vinh

Pick-up at 07:30; about 127 km south-west through Ben Tre to Tra Vinh, two and a half to three hours. Lunch in town and a rest.

At 15:30, Ao Bà Om — the square pond of the Khmer legend, ringed by old trees with roots above ground — and Chùa Âng beside it, which local tradition dates to the tenth century. The Khmer culture museum on the same site holds more than 800 objects, images and documents; we go in if it is open.

Day 2

Nodol’s egrets, then across the Hau to Soc Trang

Early to Chùa Cò (Nodol) in Tra Cu, founded in 1677, while the egrets are still in the trees. Then west across the Hau River to Soc Trang — by ferry on the shorter road of about 63 km, or over the Can Tho bridge if the ferry queue is long.

Afternoon at Chùa Dơi, the Bat pagoda, where fruit bats hang in the grounds. Its main hall burned in 2007 and was restored in 2009; the founding is dated to the sixteenth century, though sources give different years.

Day 3

Kh’leang at dawn, then the Cantonese of Can Tho

Chùa Kh’leang at 07:00, its founding dated to the mid-sixteenth century and its main hall rebuilt in 1918, while the monks are at their morning duties. Then about 63 km north to Can Tho, an hour to an hour and a half.

After lunch, Ông pagoda on the Ninh Kieu riverfront: built 1894–1896 by families from Guangzhou and Zhaoqing, listed as a national relic in 1993. Then the Bình Thủy ancient house, built in 1870 by the Dương family, open 08:00–12:00 and 14:00–18:00 according to a 2023 guide.

Day 4

Can Tho to Chau Doc and Sam Mountain

About 120 km north-west along the Hau River, two to two and a half hours. Lunch in Chau Doc.

From 15:30, Sam Mountain as the day cools: Tây An pagoda (1847), the tomb of Thoại Ngọc Hầu (1822) and the temple of Bà Chúa Xứ, whose festival UNESCO inscribed in 2024. Late afternoon is quieter than the morning pilgrim rush. The mountain is about 284 m high; a cable car runs up it, and the summit can also be reached by road.

Day 5

The Cham villages of Chau Giang and Chau Phong

Mubarak mosque and the Chau Phong weavers

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

A walk through the stilt houses and weaving workshops of Chau Phong, lunch at a halal eatery, then back by boat past the floating fish-farm houses on the Hau. Free late afternoon.

Day 6

Oc Eo – Ba Thê: the Funan port

About 66 km south to the Oc Eo – Ba Thê site, an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half. Louis Malleret began excavating here in February 1942 and found a port city occupied from roughly the first to the seventh century AD.

Morning on the slopes of Ba Thê mountain and the excavation areas, then the exhibition house. Your guide sets the site against the Khmer pagodas you saw earlier in the week. Back to Chau Doc in the afternoon.

Day 7

Up the river to Phnom Penh

The Hang Chau speedboat leaves Chau Doc at 07:00 and reaches Phnom Penh at about 13:30, crossing the border at Vinh Xuong – Kaam Samnor. A 2024 travel guide reports that boat staff collect passports and visa paperwork on board and that the boat has no fans or air conditioning. The operator’s published fare for June 2026 to June 2027 is VND 1,640,000 per person, included in your price.

If you are not continuing to Cambodia, the drive back to Ho Chi Minh City is about 235 km, four and a half to five and a half hours.