Mekong Delta to Angkor by bike, 9 days

Day 1

Ho Chi Minh City to Ben Tre

Pick-up from your hotel at 08:00. The drive to Ben Tre takes about two hours, depending on traffic leaving the city. After lunch we fit the bikes and ride a loop of about 25 km on the lanes between coconut groves and canals.

The first ride is deliberately short. Delta lanes are narrow, often barely wider than a scooter, and the first hour is for learning how to pass a scooter on a concrete strip with water on both sides.

Day 2

Ben Tre to Vinh Long by lanes and ferries

The longest day: about 65 km, flat, with three or four small ferry crossings that break the ride into sections. We start at 06:30 and aim to have most of the distance done by 11:30, then ride the last stretch after a long lunch in the shade.

Vinh Long's river islands are a maze of orchards and canals. The van cannot follow every lane, so it leapfrogs to meeting points; your guide carries water, tubes and a pump between them.

Day 3

Vinh Long to Can Tho

About 45 km through fruit orchards and along the Hau River side of the delta to Can Tho, the region's largest city. The afternoon is free: after the long day before, most riders sleep.

If the heat is high we cut the ride at the half-way village and use the van for the busy approach into Can Tho, which is less pleasant to ride.

Day 4

Cai Rang at dawn, then to Chau Doc

The wholesale boats at Cai Rang before the tour boats arrive

A boat leaves at about 05:30 for the Cai Rang floating market, where wholesale boats trade fruit and vegetables at first light. Back by 08:30 for breakfast, then a drive of about three hours, depending on traffic, to Chau Doc on the Cambodian border.

In the late afternoon a short ride of about 20 km crosses the river by ferry to the villages opposite town and back.

Day 5

Up the Mekong to Phnom Penh

The speedboat leaves Chau Doc at 07:00; be at the pier half an hour before. The operator quotes about four hours on the water plus about two hours for border formalities. Cambodia's e-visa is not accepted at this river crossing, so you buy a visa on arrival at the border; the boat operator quoted USD 37 including its service fee for 2026.

Our Vietnamese van and bikes stay in Vietnam. A Cambodian guide team meets you at the Phnom Penh pier with a fresh van and bikes fitted from the measurements we took on day 1. The afternoon is free.

Day 6

Mekong islands by bike (weather reserve)

A ferry takes us to the islands in the Mekong just outside Phnom Penh, where we ride about 35 km on flat village roads among silk-weaving houses and riverside farms. Back to the hotel by early afternoon.

This day is the trip's weather reserve. If the river crossing on day 5 was cancelled, we cross by road on day 5 and the island ride shortens; if a storm hits, the ride simply moves within the day.

Day 7

Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, riding the middle

A long day on the road: roughly 5 to 7 hours of driving depending on traffic. We break it in the middle with a ride of about 40 km on rural roads through rice country, away from the main highway.

Arrival in Siem Reap is in the late afternoon. We buy your Angkor pass that evening so the next morning starts at the gate.

Day 8

Angkor by bike

Riding the forest track behind Ta Prohm in the early morning

The temple park opens at 05:00. We ride from Siem Reap to Angkor Wat for the early light, then on to the Bayon, Ta Prohm and Preah Khan, about 45 km for the day including the return to town. The hops between temples are short, on shaded roads and forest tracks.

The riding is easy; the temples are not. Steep stone stairs, uneven paving and heat add up to more effort than the kilometres suggest. Lunch and a rest at the hotel break the day in two.

Day 9

A last loop, then departure

A morning loop of about 25 km through the villages and smaller temples on the edge of the park, back by 10:00. Transfer to Siem Reap airport for your onward flight.

The three-day Angkor pass we buy is valid for seven days, so this morning uses its second day.