Mekong Vietnam-Cambodia River Travel

[Steevo]

Is it possible to travel the Mekong from Saigon or HCMC to Siem Riep with multiple stops? I am not interested in a tour or a fancy cruise. I'd be more interested in see if I can charter a boat and crew. Kind of like my own private guide.

I did this on the Rio Negro in Brazil a few years ago, so thought I would check if anyone had a similar experience on the Mekong.

Thanks

[phuketrichard]

u'd be better go the other way ( SR- PP 5-6 hours) PP-Saigon there are a few boats making this trip overnight

easy to do on public transport not sure about private but ...$$$ talk

[craigt3365]

I did SR to PP several years ago. It was pretty fun, but on one of those "tube" type boats. The weather was good, so I sat on the top. A bit rough inside.

[dddave]

The Siem Reap-Phnom Penh route is usually mostly via the TONLE SAP, not the river. I did PP to SR 10 years ago when they still ran speedboats and "Express" riverboats from Sisawath Quay on the PP riverfront.. I do not know if that service is still offered. The riverboats were crowded, suffocatingly hot and had little view from inside. Treacherous to ride on top because the boat has to frequently swerve rather sharply to avoid fishing nets. There used to be constant problems between boat operators and fishermen. My journey was in April when the water is low. I was on a twin outboard speedboat and we bottomed out a number of times but we finally got to SR is about 6 hours. The larger express boats got stuck and we passed one with passengers in the water trying to push it off the sand bar.

Despite the problems, it was a fascinating trip. At that time, the Tonle Sap was the worlds most productive fresh water fishery. Unfortunately, huge overfishing by Vietnamese factory boats granted a fishing concession by Hun Sen has now severely depleted the fish population.

There are several floating villages along the way. We stopped at one for fuel and it was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

If you can afford to charter a boat just for yourself with a skipper you can communicate with, then I would go for it.I can guarantee the trip will be memorable.

There are also many really interesting areas for boat travel in the Mehkong Delta around Cao Dok, Vietnam. Google it for a ton of information.

[JeremyBowskill]

Best to start in Chang Kong, Thailand and go the whole length down. Haven't done it in a long while though.

[keeniau96]

Wife and I did the downriver cruise from Tonle Sap down to Saigon on one of the Pandaw riverboats. Very enjoyable, many stops to do local touring and photo ops. Superb accommodations and food, modeled on the old British Burma riverboats. Cost about US$1k each and we thought it good value.

[craigt3365]

Interesting article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/riversandcanals/11050949/The-Mekong-river-cruise-guide.html