Husband and I returned from an 18 day stay in Vietnam November 18. We visited Saigon, Hue, Hoi An, Da Nang, and Can Tho in the Mekong Delta.

We booked all hotels in advance through www.vietnamstay.com. We were very pleased with their service, and it turned out to be a very good idea to be booked in advance, as prices were much more reasonable online, and some hotels had no vacancies.

Did you do a private tour in the Mekong Delta? If so, did you book that through vietnamstay as well?

s_rk, yes we did a private tour of Mekong Delta booked through vietnamstay, the overnight to Can Tho. But you need not really book ahead. There will be plenty of tourist agencies you can book through once you get to Saigon.

On another thread in this forum, somebody mentioned going to the Mekong Delta by boat, and that might not have been a bad idea.

I was thinking the Mekong Delta would be a very rural, isolated area. Not so. It is traffic congestion all the way there, and Can Tho is a major city. Still, it is worth the trip however you go. Don't miss it.

just out of curiosity, how much was the private tour? right now, i'm being quoted rates of about $130/person for a private, 2 person, overnight Mekong tour with transportation to/from HCMC. do you get a better rate if you just wait to book once you get there? thanks!

s_rk, ours was $95 US per person, but we had four people. I checked the price just before we left for Vietnam, and it had gone up to $109 per person, apparently for high season. Again, that was for four.

$130 per person for a private 2 person tour is probably not out of line. You will no doubt have a driver AND a guide. As you will come to appreciate, driving in Vietnam is no amateur feat. You NEED a professional at the wheel.

I expect you could probably find a bit cheaper trip once you are in Saigon. Maybe you could even hook up with some other tourists doing the same trip and lower the cost that way. Everybody pretty much does the same trips.