The fullest telling, with days at rest
Three days when the yacht stays put — Cần Thơ, Châu Đốc, Phnom Penh — and a night inside the kiln country of Thầy Cai canal. Slow travel for people who love nature, birdlife and the rhythm of working rivers.
For slow travellers, birdwatchers and nature lovers.
Overnight anchorageDay visit, no overnightPassed
Every day follows a day card. The voyage also runs in reverse, Siem Reap to Saigon; open a day for the shore options: A with your guide, or B free time and rest aboard.
Boarding Guests board at Tân Cảng in the morning: safety briefing and cabin handover.
One hour ashore at Cần Đước — either Nhà Trăm Cột, a timber house of over a hundred columns, or Vạn Phước temple and the Nàng Thơm Chợ Đào rice fields — then through the Chợ Gạo canal, dug by hand in 1877.
Bạch Công Tử mansion: a 1920s Franco-Vietnamese house and the story of a Cochinchinese dandy, with your guide.
Walk the Bảo Định riverbank near the port, or rest aboard.
A morning on the Tiền River: past Cái Bè and beneath the Mỹ Thuận bridge. Deck time and the Water Log.
Old Sa Đéc: the Huỳnh Thủy Lê house and the Indochinese shophouse row, on foot with your guide.
Tân Quy Đông flower village by electric cart, with a stop at a prawn-cracker workshop; or rest aboard.
Good to know If the canal is too shallow, the yacht anchors at its mouth and guests go in by small boat.
At first light — Sa Đéc market and a rice-flour kiln at first light, while the kiln is working.
The red-brick kingdom of Mang Thít: walk among domed kilns and meet a brick-making family.
Paddle a rowing boat along Thầy Cai canal in the late afternoon, or rest aboard.
At first light — The kilns at dawn, when mist and kiln smoke merge — about 30 minutes.
Cồn Sơn until dusk: cross by small boat to orchards and riverside garden homes.
Rest aboard; walk Ninh Kiều quay in the evening.
A day without weighing anchor in Cần Thơ: Cái Răng floating market at daybreak, the old Bình Thủy house for those who wish, Cồn Sơn in the afternoon.
Cồn Sơn until dusk: cross by small boat to orchards and riverside garden homes.
Rest aboard; walk Ninh Kiều quay in the evening.
At first light — Cái Răng floating market at daybreak by small boat.
Thoại Hà canal and Núi Sập: drive from the Ô Môi ferry, see the canal, visit the temple of Thoại Ngọc Hầu and the Thoại Sơn stele; ride to the summit if you wish.
Cù lao ông Hổ by small boat: fish rafts and an egret garden; or rest aboard.
Good to know Vàm Nao carries strong eddies: no swimming, no drifting.
At first light — Long Xuyên floating market at daybreak, watched from the deck as the yacht slips past.
Cá tra nursery rafts: step onto a raft where fingerlings are raised for farms across the delta.
Rest aboard; early night before Tràm Chim.
At first light — Tràm Chim National Park at first light: a drive of about 50 minutes, then a rowing-boat along the Năng Ống route through flooded grassland and melaleuca forest; breakfast on the boat.
Châu Đốc raft village right at the mooring: cross by small boat and step onto a fish-farm raft.
Rest aboard; walk Châu Đốc market in the evening.
Good to know Entering Vĩnh Tế depends on the water level and border-guard permission that day.
At first light — Châu Đốc market at first light: fermented fish, dried fish, palm-sugar cake.
Núi Sam: the mausoleum of Thoại Ngọc Hầu at the foot of the hill, where he is buried with his two wives; climb for a view over the canal and the border plain.
Stay aboard in the canal or at anchor; walk Châu Đốc market in the evening.
Good to know Dress modestly (shoulders and knees covered) at the mosque; no visits during prayer.
At first light — Châu Đốc market at first light: fermented fish, dried fish, palm-sugar cake.
Tân Châu silk village: Lãnh Mỹ A silk dyed with mặc nưa fruit and woven on looms; the town market.
Rest aboard.
Good to know A long day under way; the tour leader holds passports during the crossing.
A border crossed by river, at the Vĩnh Xương – Kaam Samnor checkpoint. Guests stay aboard during formalities.
The Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, with your guide.
Rest aboard; an evening tuk-tuk ride along Sisowath Quay.
A day at anchor in Phnom Penh. At sunrise the yacht makes a short loop on the four-way river junction of Chaktomuk.
Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda in the morning; National Museum of Cambodia in the afternoon.
Rest aboard; an evening tuk-tuk ride along Sisowath Quay.
Silver workshops at Koh Chen, then the hill of Oudong — a former royal capital — before the run up to Kampong Chhnang.
Andong Russei pottery village: women shape clay without a wheel, beneath their stilt houses.
Rest aboard.
Good to know At 04:30 the captain measures wind and visibility. Above 15 knots of wind, or under 2 km of visibility, the crossing waits a day — and Calypso Mekong covers the cost of the waiting day.
The Tonle Sap lake, crossed in the morning while the water is still calm.
The floating village by local boat: floating pagoda, water market, Khmer and Vietnamese quarters.
Rest aboard.
Good to know At 04:30 the captain measures wind and visibility before the crossing, as on the previous leg.
A long morning on open water, among fresh water with no shore in sight.
Sign the Blank Chart before leaving the yacht. Cars take guests to the partner resort in Siem Reap, about 30 minutes.
Kampong Phluk stilt village, a half day from the resort (optional extra).
Check out of the resort. Angkor extension available if booked.
Boarding Guests board at Chong Khneas in the early morning; cars collect guests from their Siem Reap hotels.
Good to know At 04:30 the captain measures wind and visibility before the crossing, as on the previous leg.
A long morning on open water, among fresh water with no shore in sight.
The floating village by local boat: floating pagoda, water market, Khmer and Vietnamese quarters.
Rest aboard.
Good to know At 04:30 the captain measures wind and visibility. Above 15 knots of wind, or under 2 km of visibility, the crossing waits a day — and Calypso Mekong covers the cost of the waiting day.
The Tonle Sap lake, crossed in the morning while the water is still calm.
Andong Russei pottery village: women shape clay without a wheel, beneath their stilt houses.
Rest aboard.
Silver workshops at Koh Chen, then the hill of Oudong — a former royal capital — before the run up to Kampong Chhnang.
The Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, with your guide.
Rest aboard; an evening tuk-tuk ride along Sisowath Quay.
A day at anchor in Phnom Penh. At sunrise the yacht makes a short loop on the four-way river junction of Chaktomuk.
Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda in the morning; National Museum of Cambodia in the afternoon.
Rest aboard; an evening tuk-tuk ride along Sisowath Quay.
Good to know A long day under way; the tour leader holds passports during the crossing.
A border crossed by river, at the Vĩnh Xương – Kaam Samnor checkpoint. Guests stay aboard during formalities.
Tân Châu silk village: Lãnh Mỹ A silk dyed with mặc nưa fruit and woven on looms; the town market.
Rest aboard.
Good to know Dress modestly (shoulders and knees covered) at the mosque; no visits during prayer.
The Xáng canal between the Hậu and Tiền rivers, and the Cham village of Châu Phong with its mosque on the Hậu bank.
Châu Đốc raft village right at the mooring: cross by small boat and step onto a fish-farm raft.
Rest aboard; walk Châu Đốc market in the evening.
Good to know Entering Vĩnh Tế depends on the water level and border-guard permission that day.
At first light — Châu Đốc market at first light: fermented fish, dried fish, palm-sugar cake.
Núi Sam: the mausoleum of Thoại Ngọc Hầu at the foot of the hill, where he is buried with his two wives; climb for a view over the canal and the border plain.
Stay aboard in the canal or at anchor; walk Châu Đốc market in the evening.
At first light — Châu Đốc market at first light: fermented fish, dried fish, palm-sugar cake.
Cá tra nursery rafts: step onto a raft where fingerlings are raised for farms across the delta.
Rest aboard; early night before Tràm Chim.
Good to know Vàm Nao carries strong eddies: no swimming, no drifting.
At first light — Tràm Chim National Park at first light: a drive of about 50 minutes, then a rowing-boat along the Năng Ống route through flooded grassland and melaleuca forest; breakfast on the boat.
Thoại Hà canal and Núi Sập: drive from the Ô Môi ferry, see the canal, visit the temple of Thoại Ngọc Hầu and the Thoại Sơn stele; ride to the summit if you wish.
Cù lao ông Hổ by small boat: fish rafts and an egret garden; or rest aboard.
At first light — Long Xuyên floating market at daybreak, watched from the deck as the yacht slips past.
Cồn Sơn until dusk: cross by small boat to orchards and riverside garden homes.
Rest aboard; walk Ninh Kiều quay in the evening.
A day without weighing anchor in Cần Thơ: Cái Răng floating market at daybreak, the old Bình Thủy house for those who wish, Cồn Sơn in the afternoon.
Cồn Sơn until dusk: cross by small boat to orchards and riverside garden homes.
Rest aboard; walk Ninh Kiều quay in the evening.
At first light — Cái Răng floating market at daybreak by small boat.
The red-brick kingdom of Mang Thít: walk among domed kilns and meet a brick-making family.
Paddle a rowing boat along Thầy Cai canal in the late afternoon, or rest aboard.
Good to know If the canal is too shallow, the yacht anchors at its mouth and guests go in by small boat.
At first light — The kilns at dawn, when mist and kiln smoke merge — about 30 minutes.
Old Sa Đéc: the Huỳnh Thủy Lê house and the Indochinese shophouse row, on foot with your guide.
Tân Quy Đông flower village by electric cart, with a stop at a prawn-cracker workshop; or rest aboard.
At first light — Sa Đéc market and a rice-flour kiln at first light, while the kiln is working.
Bạch Công Tử mansion: a 1920s Franco-Vietnamese house and the story of a Cochinchinese dandy, with your guide.
Walk the Bảo Định riverbank near the port, or rest aboard.
One hour ashore at Cần Đước — either Nhà Trăm Cột, a timber house of over a hundred columns, or Vạn Phước temple and the Nàng Thơm Chợ Đào rice fields — then through the Chợ Gạo canal, dug by hand in 1877.
Leave the yacht after signing the Blank Chart, with the captain's hand-drawn route and the red lines of the canals.
Sold by the cabin on scheduled departures. Prices are per cabin for the whole voyage, up to 2 adults sharing. Select a departure to continue to booking.
| Boarding | Arrives | Cabins | Price from | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct 2027Saigon → Siem Reap · English | 15 Oct 2027 | 3 cabins left | US$ 28,455 / cabin | Select |
| 18 Oct 2027Siem Reap → Saigon · English | 1 Nov 2027 | 3 cabins left | US$ 28,455 / cabin | Select |
One guest alone in a cabin pays 75% of the cabin price. Cabins are for guests aged 12 and over; families with younger children ask about a private charter. The booking form shows the exact price for your party. Want the whole yacht on your own dates? Ask about a private charter.
Every leg runs in daylight and the yacht anchors each evening.
Wind above 15 knots or visibility under 2 km postpones it by a day. A local pilot joins the lake legs and Calypso Mekong covers the waiting day.
Anchored off Kampong Luong, more than an hour from the nearest hospital. Please tell us about any medical conditions beforehand.
Vĩnh Xương – Kaam Samnor. Guests stay aboard during formalities; the tour leader holds passports.
You may travel with other guests. Book all three cabins for a private voyage. One language per voyage.
Roughly mid-August to December, following the lake's depth. Water levels also shape which canals the yacht can enter that day.
