Depart Ho Chi Minh City
7:30 Meet your private Travelmates guide and driver at your hotel. As you leave the city behind, the scenery slowly transforms into quiet villages, lush fields, and winding canals — the gateway to the Mekong Delta.
Traditional Altar Village & Family Visit
Your first stop is at a 100 years-old handicraft village famous for traditional ancestral altars, where skilled artisans hand-carve intricate wooden designs. You’ll be invited into a local craftsman’s home -also their workshops - to learn about their work that has been passed down from generation to generation.
Visit the Royal Mausoleum of Go Cong
Continue on to the Go Cong Royal Mausoleum, a graceful 19th-century monument dedicated to the Nguyen dynasty’s southern lineage. Its architecture blends Hue imperial style with southern craftsmanship — elegant, serene, and steeped in history.
Doc Phu Hai Mansion
Next, step into the elegant Doc Phu Hai Mansion, a beautifully preserved French-Vietnamese home that once belonged to a high-ranking official. Walk through its timeworn corridors and carved wooden details — a living museum of Go Cong’s noble past.
Go Cong Market
Continue on to visit the Go Cong Central Market, where local people shop for fresh produce, spices, seafood, and daily essentials. Although the early afternoon is quieter compared to the bustling morning rush, it’s the perfect time to walk through the aisles at a relaxed pace and observe the local activities. Established decades ago as the main trading hub of Go Cong, this market has long been the heart of local commerce. Afterward, enjoy a leisurely stroll through the old shophouse streets, where Kinh and Chinese families live and work side by side, creating a vibrant blend of local business activities.
Lunch
Stop and enjoy a local Vietnamese lunch with local specialities.
Experience Cocoa farm and chocolate workshop
After a local lunch, continue to a local cacao farm, where you’ll walk among cacao trees and learn how this tropical fruit is transformed into chocolate. From harvesting and fermenting to roasting and tasting, the workshop offers a hands-on experience led by passionate local chocolatiers.
Try making your own small chocolate bar — and enjoy the sweet reward right on-site!
Return Ho Chi Minh City
After the experience, sit back and relax as you travel through Cho Gao District, passing lush coconut groves, rice fields, and quiet waterways. This peaceful drive offers a window into rural life beyond the main tourist trail.
Relax on your drive back as the sunset fades behind the rice fields. You’ll arrive at your hotel in the late afternoon, carrying with you new stories, flavors, and memories of a truly authentic Mekong experience.
