Getting there and away

Bus

My Tho's bus station is around four km outside town and you'll need to bargain hard to get a reasonable motorbike fare (10,000 VND) from the bus station into town. From My Tho bus station, buses run to all major provincial capitals in the Mekong Delta along with Saigon (21,000 VND), though if you're going to Ben Tre (7,000 VND), cross on the Rach Mieu car ferry (one kilometre west of town) as a foot passenger and get a bus from the other side. As with most places in the Delta, big buses leave first thing in the morning, with minibuses running throughout the day.

Boat

From the pier a couple of km west of My Tho, occasional freighters leave for the town of Tan Chau which is the closest town to Chau Doc on the Mekong River. If you want to travel to the Cambodian border by freighter, this is the way to go. We were told departures were a few times a week with the trip taking two days. Fares varied from 70,000D to 150,000D (for the same boat!) so ask around, bargain hard and pack a hammock!

There is a small ferry pier on the canal that runs by Trung Trac St. From there you can catch boats to Dragon, Tortoise and Unicorn Islands.

Getting Around

My Tho is small enough that you can walk to any of the points of interest -- the furthest out of town, Vinh Trang Pagoda is about a thirty minute walk from the riverbank. Otherwise there's the occasional cyclo (keep an eye out for Mr Nip -- he'll most likely find you -- a cyclo driver who speaks excellent English and is a fountain of knowledge about My Tho) and xe-oms about. Short trips shouldn't cost more than 5,000 VND.