Mystic Sampans
Our services
Breakfast buffet for a group on board a Mystic sampan on the way to the floating market
TransMékong offer day cruises from our restaurant on the Cần Thơ river, the Sao Hôm, in the old market hall, which is the most comfortable base for tours to the floating markets and around Cần Thơ. Please see our Mystic sampans picture gallery.
The cuisine served on board day cruises departing from Cần Thơ, be it for breakfast, lunch or dinner, is entirely prepared and cooked by our care, and in the morning, the bread, croissants and chocolate bread are hot off the stove.
The Mystic sampans are all able to run the medium-range cruise and to link the cities and towns of teh delta through the maze of canals and tributaries to the Mekong, with visits on shore.
We are operating four large sampans with a total capacity exceeding 100 passengers at one time. Contact us if you wish to go on journeys a la carte.
The sampans
17m Mystic sampans, 26-30 passengers
The 17m, 56′-long Mystic sampans accommodate 26 and some of them up to 30 passengers, seated at their tables with a buffet service for breakfast, or even for a service at the table on the occasion of a lunch or dinner. The roof is made of light bamboo thatch, and the sampan provides warm lighting for a party cruising at night. We brought attention to every detail, to the best marine tradition.
The sampan is built so as to allow the passengers a level access to the sellers and buyers at the floating market, in comfort and with utmost stability even in high wind. The hull was designed for speed, the framework is rugged and strong to fend into the floating market and offers a wide view to the outside, whether sitting or standing, and the inside volume allows the passengers to stand and move freely around the sampan.
A toilet cabinet and stylish washbasin are available at the aft, extending the comfort of a hotel room throughout the excursion, making short cruises available to elderly passengers or l en join-inarger, inexperienced groups.
The large sampans were designed with short-to-average leisure stroll in mind, yet have proven very efficient in middle-range cruising, being able to reach with a full party from Cần Thơ to Cái Bè in half a day.
Mystic Cái Răng, 13m, 16 passengers
The 13m, 42′-long Mystic Cái Răng comfortably accommodates 16 passengers, free to stand and move around the sampan to the aft and buffet, or sit at their table to taste their breakfast. It follows the traditional shape of the floating market carriers, yet is open enough for everyone to enjoy the sights freely.
The whole hull and framework are made of wood and built according to tradition, making the Mystic Cái Răng into a multi-purpose sampan, designed for buffet and service, but also fit as a heavy-duty shuttle or as the carrier for kayaking parties.
Its flat, low-shape bow and flanks allows even elder passengers to board the sampan and disembark at unprepared banks, making it easy to face program changes and pick up the party or bring it to shore at unscheduled places.
Cruises and promenades
Breakfast cruise to Cần Thơ’s floating market 07:00 – 09:45
Breakfast is available as soon as the sampan departs at 7 a.m from the Can Tho old market. It blends some vietnamese tasty dishes like banh bao, banh cuon and the Western menu with home-baked breads, chocolate breads, croissants, croque-monsieurs, ham, cheese, sausages, crepes, and grilled tomatoes. For drinks, we offer hot tea, milk, coffee, juices, mineral water and fruits for the dessert.
During breakfast, you can enjoy the scenery of local daily life on the banks comfortably, thanks to the broad view and the spacious accommodation on the Mystic sampan.
After the breakfast, the Mystic sampan cruises into the heart of Cai Rang floating market. There you will see a maze of boats loaded with fruits, vegetables or groceries for trading. You may also join the market by calling for fruits or a drink.
Leaving the floating market, the Mystic sampan takes you to a husking factory where you have a chance to discover how rough rice is made into white rice in Vietnam. Or we may pay a visit to a local ochard instead for fresh fruits. Then the Mystic cruises back to Can Tho city to arrive at the old market before 10 a.m.
Lunch cruise 12:00 – 14:00
We are happy to accommodate parties for a lunch on board, on a round trip to greener areas. Please contact us to establish the detailed program and menu for lunch promenades: we can prepare Generic Vietnamese, specialities and even continental lunches.
The meal is prepared at the premises of the Sao Hôm restaurant, just at the boarding point, and makes the best of the professional kitchen and bakery.
Sunset cruise 16:30 – 19:00
The Mystic sampans will also take passengers at 4:30PM for a sunset cruise.
Take a snack and a drink while cruising about the river at the photographer’s golden hour. A stop in a shaded arroyo for a stroll gives you a unique opportunity to come near the rural life of the Cần Thơ area.
The cruise will take you up the Cần Thơ river and into arroyos, or on another route of your choice. The preferred destinations may be into the floating market as night falls, or along a lively canal in the green.
The open bar includes punch and a selection of home drinks, and of course juices. Cocktails, alcohols and beer are also available at a premium.
Inclusions
Breakfast cruise
* Home-baked bread, croissants, chocolate bread;
* Butter, jam and honey;
* French-style crèpes;
* Fruit, yoghurt;
* Ham, cheese, hot-dog sausages, croque-monsieurs, grilled tomatoes;
* Salad: tomatoes, cucumber, salad;
* Vietnamese: Bánh cuốn, bánh bao1;
* Hot tea, coffee, cocoa;
* Fruit juices.
Sunset cruise
* Snacks: vegetarian or shrimp spring rolls, green bananas with shrimp, assorted snacks on bread, vegetable snacks;
* Rhum punch;
* Fruit juices.
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Tags: boat mekong, cruise mekong, mekong boat, mekong cruise, Mekong Tour, tour mekong
