Originally known as Tay Do – the capital of the Southwest region more than a hundred years ago, Can Tho is one of the most attractive destinations in the South. Can Tho is located in the center of the Mekong Delta, in the lower Mekong River region. Despite the rapid economic development, “Tay Do” still retains the typical cultural features of the river region. Below are suggestions for visitors to comfortably explore all the famous destinations of the Western capital.
Which season is beautiful in Can Tho?
Can Tho is less affected by storms and has pleasant weather all year round, although there are distinct rainy and dry seasons. The most ideal time to travel to Can Tho is in the summer from May to August, when the fruit gardens are in harvest.
September to November is the flood season, suitable for tourists to experience the rustic life of the Western people and enjoy specialties only available when the flood comes. From December to February, the season approaching Tet, Can Tho is filled with colorful flowers.
Move
From the capital Hanoi and Da Nang, you can buy airline tickets from Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways and Vietjet Air… Round-trip ticket prices are about 1,700,000 to 2,000,000 VND.
From Ho Chi Minh City, visitors can ride a motorbike or car and follow National Highway 1A to Can Tho. The travel distance is about 170 km, taking 3 to 4 hours during the day.
If you take a bus, you can go to the Western bus station or the bus companies on Le Hong Phong Street, District 10 to buy a ticket. The price of a bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho is about 130,000 – 180,000 VND per ticket.
Hotels, resorts
Visitors can choose to stay at a homestay in the city center or a riverside resort depending on their budget. Some high-end accommodation spots are Azerai Can Tho Resort and Victoria Can Tho Resort, priced from about 1,200,000 to 5,000,000 VND per night.
Can Tho is not too developed in terms of homestay accommodation, you can rent a hotel near Ninh Kieu wharf for convenient travel. Average room price is 300,000 VND per night.
Where to play?
You can spend 2 days and 1 night or 3 days and 2 nights in Can Tho. Below is a suggested schedule.
Cai Rang floating market
Floating markets are a specialty of the West. If you come to Can Tho and have not gone to Cai Rang floating market, that is truly a big mistake. The market usually operates from dawn, so you have to get up early if you want to fully enjoy the bustling atmosphere of the market. The most ideal time to go to the floating market is around 5am – 7am.
Cai Rang floating market is about 6 km from the city center. You can get here by waterway or road. The market is located near Cai Rang bridge, everyone here knows this famous market so you can ask about getting around.
After hundreds of years of change, people here still maintain the habit of buying, selling and exchanging goods on boats and canoes. Over time, floating markets have become an interesting form of tourism in the river region. Visitors can go to the wharf, buy tickets, and board a boat to stroll around the most famous river market in Can Tho. If you go in a large group, you should rent a whole boat, costing about 350,000 – 400,000 VND. If you go alone, you can buy individual tickets, costing about 30,000 VND per person.
If you go when the market is crowded, visitors will witness bustling scenes on boats and under boats. Most of the goods are fruits, specialties of the Mekong Delta. The special thing about the floating market is that visitors hardly hear the calls, invitations or bargaining as often seen in markets on land.
Here, if there is any kind of goods to sell, the boat owner will hang the goods on a high pole. Many poles hang an array of fruits including bananas, pineapples, grapefruits, mangoes and all kinds of vegetables. Large boats often sell wholesale. Smaller canoes and boats are sold to retail customers.
In addition to fruits and vegetables, many small boats also sell breakfast, drinks and snacks to serve merchants and tourists. Enjoying a hot, steaming bowl of noodles or crab vermicelli on a dinghy bobbing on the water, surrounded by bustling trading scenes, is an unforgettable experience for visitors.
The market will start attracting people around 9 am. At this time, tourists can return to the mainland and continue exploring other attractive destinations of Tay Do.
Binh Thuy ancient house
The hundred-year-old house near Binh Thuy canal is one of the most beautiful architectural works in the West. From the city center, you can rent a motorbike or take a taxi to Bui Huu Nghia street, Binh Thuy ward to visit the old house. Entrance ticket is 15,000 VND per person.
The old house is designed in European style, from the outside it looks like a French mansion, but the architecture inside is completely pure Vietnamese. It shows the harmonious East-West cultural interference of the wealthy class in the Mekong Delta in the late 19th century.
Binh Thuy ancient house is increasingly famous after filming many famous movies such as: Alluvial Roads, Tay Do Beauty, Life Debt, Lover. Many tourists come here because they are curious about the lavish architecture from hundreds of years ago but still preserved intact today.
Bang Lang stork garden
This is an ideal destination for tourists who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. About 50 km from the city center, Bang Lang stork garden is a garden eco-tourism area loved by many people.
The best time to go to the stork garden is from August to January of the following year. This is the breeding season, many species of storks gather. In peak season, there are up to tens of thousands of storks coming together to nest, creating an impressive scene.
To avoid disturbing the storks, passenger cars must stop at the beginning of the road, visitors can walk, rent bicycles or motorbikes to enter the garden. Along the way are green old bamboo bushes, providing shade. In the garden, there is an observation deck with a spiral staircase, where you can enjoy panoramic views of the stork garden from above.
You should stay at the observation deck until dusk, at which time hundreds of flocks of storks of all colors and sizes return to their nests, making many visitors overwhelmed.
Ninh Kieu Wharf
After a long day of traveling, in the evening you should go to Ninh Kieu wharf, go to the love bridge, go to the night market to fully feel the rhythm of Can Tho life. Ninh Kieu wharf was built into a park with an area of about 7,000 m2. In the evening, this place attracts many tourists and local people to admire the scenery and enjoy the cool air.
Ninh Kieu Wharf is located at the junction of Hau River and Can Tho River, near the center of Can Tho city. From Ninh Kieu wharf, visitors can see Can Tho bridge, this was the bridge with the longest main span in Southeast Asia in 2010.
If you have time, you can buy a ticket to board a cruise ship to fully experience the magnificence of Ninh Kieu wharf when it lights up.
Walking to the end of Ninh Kieu wharf, visitors will see a pedestrian bridge spanning the Hau River. Young people in Can Tho call this the bridge of love because of the romantic scene. In the middle of the bridge are two large lotus flowers with a stylized design. Along the bridge is a multi-colored LED light system. On important holidays such as September 2 or Lunar New Year, many people gather here to watch fireworks displays.
A few steps from the pedestrian bridge is Tay Do night market. This place sells many items from food, clothes to handicrafts and souvenirs. Tay Do night market will surprise you with its airy space and stalls neatly located on clean asphalt.
The night market has many other entertainment activities to serve tourists such as outdoor music stages, electronic games…
Truc Lam
The monastery is in My Nhon hamlet, My Khanh commune, Phong Dien district. The monastery was built in the architectural style of the Ly – Tran dynasties. The main gate is curved arches with stylized dragon heads and wooden doors. Through the main gate is a large brick yard. From here, visitors will see firsthand the majesty of the Main Hall (Dai Hung Buu Dien).
Drum Tower, Bell Tower, Main Hall and One Pillar Pagoda are the most impressive items of Truc Lam Phuong Nam Zen Monastery. The peaceful beauty of the monastery attracts many tourists to visit and pray for peace.
Hick
Some famous fruit gardens that tourists can refer to are: My Khanh, 9 Hong, Rach Ke, Vam Xang. Visitors can choose and pick fresh fruits themselves and enjoy them right in the garden. Entrance ticket is about 20,000 VND per person, fruit prices will be calculated according to each type and depending on the time.
Con Son
To get to Con Son, the only way is to rent a boat and take a ferry at Co Bac wharf in alley 13, Le Hong Phong street. Each person only costs 5,000 VND to cross the river. Boats and ferries here operate from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Con Son is a community tourism village, with each household having its own product for visitors to enjoy. Con Son people still preserve Southern culture, calling each other by cute names like Mr. Ba, Ms. Be Bay, baby Nam… They always smile and treat guests like family. Half-day to one-day tour prices here range from 300,000 – 600,000 VND/person.
Fish rafts are one of the attractions at the gateway to Con Son (Binh Thuy district, Can Tho city). The first fish rafts here were built nearly 20 years ago. To get on the raft , visitors must travel by boat or ferry. Departures at Co Bac wharf (alley 13, Le Hong Phong street), from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., cost 5,000 VND per trip.
Some houses currently raise freshwater fish specialties such as red snapper, burbot loach, barb fish, eel fish, lentil fish, damselfish fish, striped carp… Many other strange fish species visitors can see. Observations here include duck-billed red-tails, tiger fish, five-colored Koi fish, pink catfish, and Hoa Long (fire loach). Here, visitors are guided to feed the fish and learn about raising fish on rafts. The rafting villages in Con Son charge an entrance fee of 10,000 VND per guest.
Watching snakehead fish fly is one of the new experiences that attracts visitors to Con Son . In order for the fish to jump to the surface of the water when there is a sign from the owner, even when the fish are small, the people here have to gradually train them and start with their eagerness to eat.
Only fish under 5 or 6 months old jump. Larger fish will be released into the river to ensure aquatic resources. The fee to visit the performing fish school is 25,000 VND per person.
Another popular activity among tourists on Con Son is baking. With the help of the people, you will make your own cakes from wheat flour and rice flour and enjoy them immediately after completion. You will try making jackfruit leaf cake, Phu The cake … A tray of cakes here costs 210,000 VND, including two types of cakes, sweet and salty.
Three-generation noodle oven
Chin Cua noodle oven is located near Cai Rang floating market. You can arrange to come here by boat right after visiting the floating market. Or if you go by road, you can go to Lo Vong Cung (Road 923), turn into alley 476, drive a little further to get there.
This spot does not charge an entrance fee. Visitors not only learn about the process of making noodles, but also experience making cakes and buying products as gifts. The price per kilogram of noodles starts from 40,000 VND, depending on the type.
In addition, some other craft villages are Thuan Hung rice paper village, Thom Rom net weaving village, Thoi Nhut flower village, Thoi Long bamboo weaving village, hammock face cake village…
Muoi Cuong cocoa garden
Coming here, in addition to enjoying products from cocoa beans, guests can also experience the production stages with the homeowner. This cocoa factory began operating in the 1960s. Currently, Muoi Cuong cocoa garden has an area of more than 1.2 hectares with more than 2,000 cocoa trees.
You can visit the garden between 7am – 12pm every day. The garden sells many products made from cocoa for visitors to buy as gifts such as powder, candy, chocolate, juice…
Eat what
Bun goi da : The dish tastes quite similar to vermicelli with fish sauce. The sour broth tastes like tamarind and has the characteristic smell of soy sauce. This is the highlight that makes the dish more recognizable. In addition to white vermicelli, a bowl also has red peeled shrimp. Many places add a little grated coconut or balut to make it more flavorful. The price of a bowl is 30,000 VND.
Noodle pizza: This is the name of the deep-fried noodle cake. Before processing, the noodles are dried, marinated with seasoning powder and pepper for aroma. Submerge the noodles in a pan of boiling oil, flip both sides to brown and sprinkle green onion on top. Suggested address is Sau Hoai noodle shop, area 7, An Binh ward, Ninh Kieu district.
Grilled spring rolls cake: Banh hoi is served with grilled spring rolls, raw vegetables of all kinds such as sour star fruit, cucumber, pineapple, green banana, banana flower, kale root, chili, lemongrass… Pick up a little bit of each and roll it into a roll. Banh hoi, grilled spring rolls, crushed roasted peanuts, dipped in a bowl of dipping sauce mixed with enough sour, spicy, salty and sweet flavors, you can enjoy right away. In Ninh Kieu, diners can eat at Thanh Van restaurant at 17 Hoa Binh Avenue; Co Rom restaurant at 14 Tran Khanh Du or Anh Map at 18 Nguyen An Ninh.
Duck cooked in congee: In addition to porridge, duck salad, roasted duck, duck braised with lemongrass, duck fried in coconut water… duck cooked in congee is also a famous delicacy in Can Tho. Usually the restaurant will serve a pot of duck broth and meats at the customer’s request, along with vermicelli, noodles and vegetables like hot pot. In Can Tho, Thanh Giao restaurant on Ly Tu Trong street is one of the famous addresses for this dish. Price from 150,000 VND for a meal for 2 people.
Fried field mice with fish sauce: Quite a popular dish in Can Tho, especially restaurants specializing in Western specialties in the city center for about 75,000 VND per plate.
Shrimp and egg salad: The salad is especially attractive when it combines shrimp, eggs and pork skin. When customers call, the seller in turn adds grated papaya, a few shrimp, pork skin, a few slices of egg, and a little dried shrimp. Sprinkle with some herbs, crushed peanuts and finally add a few tablespoons of lemon fish sauce, garlic, and chili.
In addition to fruits and seafood, Can Tho also has a number of specialties you should try such as: rice noodles, banh tet with green leaves, banh xeo with coconut jars , Cai Rang grilled spring rolls, banh tam ta, Phu Sa hotpot, banh culm. …
What to buy as a gift?
Specialties that you should buy as gifts in Can Tho include fruits, especially Ha Chau mulberries in Phong Dien; banh tet with camphor leaves; Cai Rang spring rolls; Muoi Cuong cocoa; Pangasius fish sauce on Tan Loc island; snakehead dry; Sau Tia plum wine or Sa Dec dry noodles. In addition, there are souvenirs and handicrafts from craft villages.
Estimated cost
The total estimated budget for 2 days of fun in Can Tho ranges from 1 – 2 million VND, depending on each person. Not many services report price increases on September 2nd, so visitors can comfortably explore the Western capital without worrying too much.
Above are the famous Can Tho tourist destinations and the most attractive dishes. If you are planning to travel, don’t hesitate any longer, the wonderful experiences and discoveries from this land are guaranteed not to disappoint you.