Chau Doc and Sam Mountain, river below, hill above

Chau Doc is a market town at the edge of the country. The Hau River runs past its waterfront toward Cambodia, boats leave each morning for Phnom Penh, and the town's market is known across the delta for mam, fermented fish in many varieties. Across the river at Chau Giang and Chau Phong live Cham Muslim communities, with stilt houses and mosques; the Mubarak mosque was first built in 1750 and rebuilt in 1922. On the river itself is a floating fish-farm village around fifty years old, with catfish raised in cages under the houses.

Behind the town rises Sam Mountain, about 284 m, its slopes covered with temples and shrines; the national tourism authority counts about two hundred religious sites there. At its foot is the temple of Ba Chua Xu, the Lady of the Realm, centre of a festival inscribed on UNESCO's intangible heritage list in December 2024. About thirty to forty minutes away by road is Tra Su, an 850 ha melaleuca forest that stands in floodwater from about September to November.

It is not a quiet town: the waterfront is a working market area, and the temple at the mountain's foot is the focus of a major festival. The quiet is up the hill, which is why one of the two stays is there.

At least two, and three if you can. From Saigon the drive is four and a half to five and a half hours each way. With one night you arrive tired in the afternoon, rise at dawn for Tra Su and leave by mid-morning; the hill lodge is wasted. Two nights give one full day: Tra Su early, the pool at midday, Sam Mountain at the end of the afternoon. Three nights add the river morning with the Cham villages and the fish farms.

From Saigon by road: about 235 km, the expressway to Can Tho and then the river road through Long Xuyen; four and a half to five and a half hours. The lodge itself gives about five hours.

Via Can Tho: fly to Can Tho from another Vietnamese city and drive about 120 km, two and a half to three hours. Or include Chau Doc after two nights in Can Tho, as our four-night journey does.

From Phnom Penh by boat: the Hang Chau boat leaves Phnom Penh at 12:30 and reaches Chau Doc at about 18:30. In the other direction it leaves Chau Doc at 07:00 and arrives at 13:30, crossing at the Vinh Xuong river border.

• You have two nights or fewer in total for the delta. Stay in Can Tho instead.
• You want quiet over everything else and are travelling at festival time.
• Long drives are the part of travel you dislike most; there is no fast way here except via a flight to Can Tho.

Chau Doc, hills and river spends all three nights here. Can Tho and Chau Doc and Saigon, the delta and Phu Quoc give it two nights each.