TransMékong

Home of the Bassac cruises and Mystic sampans.

Discover the Mekong delta's intense life and spend the night on the river
while enjoying all the comfort of elegant wooden boats.

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Cruise the Mekong delta [up]

Explore the Mekong delta : [picture] Rice barges run through the Mekong delta day and night

The Bassac take you into the greener areas of the Mekong delta, overnight on the river and into the middle of the life about the river. The Mystic Sampans take you to the floating market with a breakfast, or to a daytime excursion.

We offer a truly authentic discovery of the Mekong delta and a cruise in comfort.

    In a few moments, our availabilities for tomorrow and the day after.

For these departures, we offer you a 20% late booking rebate.

Without compromising on your comfort, be it accommodation or cuisine, you will be able to get a glimpse of the tremendous activity of the floating markets, of the peaceful life in the countryside and of the bountiful nature in the delta, earning it to be called the rice bowl of Vietnam.

The Mekong delta - a world of riversfilm

Our crew are discreet and caring, and their professionalism translates into simple and personalized attention. The visits we offer are typically strolls into the real delta landscape, as far away as possible from the touristic areas.

A call in Cần Thơ

Should you wish to stay in Cần Thơ, we can recommend restaurants and a hotel. All are right on the pier, and you will find there the same attention as on board the Bassac and Mystic sampans. Read more

Let us take care of you when you are in Cần Thơ: here are some of the better ports of call for the discerning traveler.

from restaurants...

With our double culture, we are happy to be able to offer Vietnamese, but also European quality meals.

the Nam Bộ restaurant

Nam Bộ restaurant

The oldest family restaurant, established in 1998. Vietnamese classic and Mekong delta cuisine, and for the travelers weary of Vietnamese food, western cuisine and espresso.

1 Ngô Quyền, Cần Thơ
restaurant@nambocantho.com
0710 382 3908

the Sao Hôm, in the old market hall

Sao Hôm

Right in the middle of the old market hall, facing the river, the Sao Hôm: classic Vietnamese cuisine and Mekong specialties, and also western cuisine and pizza, a must if you have kids.

Nhà lòng chợ cổ, bến Ninh Kiều, Cần Thơ
saohom@transmekong.com
0710 381 5616

Salad with a view from l'Escale

l'Escale

l'Escale, the port of call, our gourmet restaurant on the terrace of the Nam Bộ hotel. Breakfast, coffee, jazz bar, and a breathtaking view.

1 Ngô Quyền, Cần Thơ
lescale@nambocantho.com
0710 381 9139, ask for l'Escale

the new Nam Bộ in the morning light

...to the Nam Bộ Boutique Hôtel

The family's latest venture, the Nam Bộ Boutique Hotel is a tiny 7-suite hotel, focusing on caring hospitality.

1 Ngô Quyền, Cần Thơ
reception@nambocantho.com
0710 381 9139

Our boats [up]

[picture] Two Bassac boats at sunset on one of the Mekong's tributaries

the Bassac

The Bassac are three cabin cruisers entirely built of wood in the Mekong delta and according to the local marine traditions, without compromising on the standards or comfort and safety. They are built for short- to medium-range cruises and are particularly adapted for discovery cruises, open to outside and offering an immediate contact with the green surrounding of the ship.

Life on boardfilm

If you already know your dates, see the availabilities: .

    In a few moments, our availabilities for tomorrow and the day after.

For these departures, we offer you a 20% late booking rebate.1 Call 0710 382 9540 or inquire.

[picture] Mystic sampan departing to one of the Mekong's floating markets with a breakfast buffet

the Mystic sampans

The Mystic Sampans are day-cruise sampans meant to bring their passengers into the meanders of the smaller rivers of the delta and into floating markets, in comfort, with a meal served at the table or as a buffet, and with all amenities on board. They are designed for the floating markets, but can even run the medium-range route and navigate and serve by night, with some lighting on board.

Floating marketsfilm

Cuisine [up]

[picture] A table is set with Mekong fresh-water prawns on board Bassac II during a cruise

Be it in our restaurants, Sao Hôm and Nam Bộ in Cần Thơ, on the Mystic sampans or on board the Bassac, cuisine is one of our better assets, as we offer meals cooked and baked afresh including the bread and pastry for breakfast. As the Bassac have their own galley, they are very reactive to meet the needs and tastes of your passengers, even in case a surprise cake would be de rigueur.

Rice specialities: nem rế: from rice flour to dishfilm

BBC chef Rick Stein made the Bassac one of the first stops of his culinary series Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey, broadcast in 2009.

Read more

[picture] Ánh and Rick Stein on a longboat, towards fish pens on the Northern Mekong delta

We are very proud to announce that the BBC just broadcast the first few episodes of Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey, where he goes from Cambodia into Vietnam and the Mekong delta on board the Bassac II. If you are in the UK, you may see episode 1 and episode 2 on the BBC iPlayer. He took TransMékong's Nguyệt Ánh as his personal guide into the markets and into the Mekong delta's specialities.

[picture] Rick Stein eating phở on board the Bassac during the filming of his Far Eastern Odyssey

Several dishes presented in his book, Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey, he discovered on board the Bassac II, where he himself cooked a phở for the TV series. Among the delicacies he wrote about is the shrimp cooked with mango, Ánh's own creation that makes the reputation of our restaurant Sao Hôm in Cần Thơ.

[picture] Denham's TV made breathtaking images of the Bassac

Rick Stein's series are one of the very top cuisine programs in Europe, and we are very proud he chose us among all for his introduction to Vietnamese cuisine.

The film was made at Tết 2008, when Rick and his 7-strong Denham production team boarded the Bassac II towards Vietnam. Episode 1, in Cambodia, ends with the Bassac as a hint of what is coming next, whereas episode 2, in Vietnam, gets into the heart of the Mekong delta on board, with cooking sessions, market visits and the exploration of fisheries.

Who we are [up]

[picture] Thanh, our French-speaking cruise director, and the shipowners on board a Bassac on a Mekong cruise

TransMékong is a family company established in 2003 in Cần Thơ, in the heart of the Mekong delta, by a franco-vietnamese couple. We both had a few years' prior experience managing projects and SMEs and the urge to escape from it all.

Our team is locally recruited and trained, and we learn from the newcomers as much as from the experience we build together. We foster personal development in a happy team, and many on board took part themselves in the construction of the boats.

We are independant and work very well with all the best receptives and agencies in Vietnam.

We originally bought the hull of an existing rice barge, stripped it bare and built Bassac I, with which we learned much about what building and running a cruise boat entails. Since then we designed ourselves and built Bassac II and III and the Mystic sampans according to the same tradition.

The Bassac pioneered cruises in comfort in the Mekong delta, and we strive to deserve remaining the reference on the region.

Contact us [up]

TransMékong
144 Hai Bà Trưng
P. Tân An, Q. Ninh Kiều
TP. CẦN THƠ, VIỆT NAM

Phone: +84 (710) 382 9540
Fax: +84 (710) 382 9541
e-mail: bassac@transmekong.com

Administrative address

Cty TNHH Xuyên Mékong
97/10 Ngô Quyền
P. An Cư, Q. Ninh Kiều
TP. Cần Thơ

MST / Tax code 1800503195

News from the Mekong delta

Visit our Mekong delta newsletter on line. It addresses delta news, but also matters of society, history and more general matters. You will also find there news of our services and of navigation on the Mekong delta.

You may also subscribe to our news in English. RSS feed

Contact us

Booking

Would you like to book a trip with us?

The message you send to us should include: the departure date of the trip you are considering, the number of passengers, whether there are children or not, the number of nights and the places of departure and arrival. We shall recontact you with an offer, and for further information. (or send us an e-mail, to the or to the )

Feedback

Did you take a journey with us, and would you like to ? Your encouragements and comments are very important to us.

Please especially don't hesitate to let the crew know if you liked their service: this is a powerful encouragement for them to keep up the good work.

If you are looking for third party reviews of our services, or do you wish to give us a review on a third party's web site, please check our courtesy links page.

Professional contact

. Are you a tour operator, a local relay to TOs, a tourism professional? We wish to know you as well as your products. Who knows, with a view to a partnership?

Web site

Should you like to and its contents, please do not hesitate to contact us directly. We publish this web site ourselves, and would thus reply shortly.

Legal notes [up]

This website is copyright © TransMékong 2004-2012 and was developed in-house entirely with open-source software. It is better viewed with a standards-compliant browser, like most open-source browsers.

Terms of use

We wish you a happy discovery.

The TransMékong team.

Site map & Footnotes

Home : : en français | TransMékong | Mekong delta | Nine Dragons | A historic Bassac | Gallery | Courtesy links |
Mystic Sampans : : en français | Mystic | gallery |
Jobs : : en français | management | sales-marketing |
Bassac : : en français | our services | the ships | departures | programs | terms | availabilities | booking |

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  1. We guarantee departure for all bookings except for late booking. We offer a 20% late booking rebate for all bookings within 48 hours of departure, but cannot guarantee availability or departure in case the ship would not have enough passengers. Call 0710 382 9540 or get a quote. ↩