Can Tho is a major city in the Mekong Delta, which is a beautiful combination of the dense river system, the busy Cai Rang Floating market in the early morning, the branches leaden with fruits in fruits gardens, and the ancient house with original architecture. The beautiful combination is a unique beauty of the river lands, featured by the poem: “Can Tho, white rice - clear waters/ All who comes wish never to leave”/.

Time

Can Tho with its mild climate and comfortable weather welcomes tourists all year round. However, summer would be nice as various kinds of delicious fruit are ripe, ready to be served.

Can Tho Bridge at dawn. Photo by: Men Nguyen.

Transportation

There are 2 main kinds of transportation:

By air: 2 airlines provides air travel service from Ha Noi and Can Tho.

Vietnam Airlines: Prices varies from 2, 400,000 to 4,500,000 VND (about $110-$200) for a roundtrip. In addition, it also offers back and forth flights to Phu Quoc and Con Dao.

Vietjet Air: Prices varies from 1,800,000 to 2,700,000 VND (about $80-$120) for a roundtrip. Tourists from central Viet Nam also have an easy access as the Can Tho-Da Nang route has been in service since July, 2014.

By land: Cars are the main transportation in the southwest. It takes about 3 hours to drive from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho. There are well-known transportation companies connecting Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City, such as Thanh Buoi and Phuong Trang…(both companies have the shuttle vans within a radius of 10km. Prices varies from 130,000 to 140,000 VND (about $6) per trip.

Accommodation

To have a pleasant and economical vacation, you should make a reservation right after you finish planning and before you set off. 2-3 stars hotels may cost you about 400,000 – 1,000,000 VND ($18-$45) per night. Besides common accommodations, Can Tho homestay service is available with 420,000-1,000,000 VND ($19-$45) per night.

Dishes

Da Ly fish sauce hot pot (Lau mam Da Ly): Located at 3/2 Street, the restaurant has much experience in serving fish sauce hot pot. It is thought that visitors cannot tell that they visited Can Tho without enjoying Da Ly fish sauce hot pot. It costs about 350,000 – 400,000VND (about $16-$18) for a 4-person meal.

Muoi Xiem Vietnamese pancake (banh xeo): is made up by a golden mixture of turmeric, rice flour, coconut cream, chicken eggs and chopped shallots…In different regions, people may use different ingredients for the dressing: beansprouts, manioc, cork cotton, bacon, chicken cloves, finely minced duck meat ... Vietnamese pancake is often served with vegetables such as broccoli, lettuce, basil, perilla, lettuce, sesame bud, Lagerstroemia leave, mango bud, and other kinds of leaves. The sauce makes a great contribution to the delicious taste of the cake. It must be a combination of sour, sweet, and spicy, enhanced with shredded radish and carrots. Address: 13/3, 917 Street, Tra Noc Ward, Binh Thuy District, Can Tho City.

Delicious golden Vietnamese pancake. Photo by: Muoi Xiem Vietnamese pancake.

Duck hot pot (Vit nau chao) is usually served together with noodle, tofu, and eggs. There are other toppings available to order, but you should make extra payment for those. The soup is served free. It costs about 150,000 – 180,000 VND ($7-$8) for a 4-person meal. Recommended restaurant: Kim Lien Restaurant and Thanh Giao Restaurant, 1st Alley, Ly Tu Trong Street, Can Tho.

Grilled rolls (Nem nuong) are made of kneaded pork with a little extra diced fat, garlic, sugar, and salt. Sellers impale fingertips-crumpled pork dices with skewers or bamboo sticks, and grill them with embers. The leaking fat delivers a delicious smell. Price varies from 45,000 to 60,000 VND (about $2-$3). Address: Thanh Van Grilled Rolls, 17 Hoa Binh Avenue, Can Tho.

Grilled fish (Ca loc nuong trui):  is one of the original dishes that have ever existed since the first days of exploring the South region and that many tourists visiting Can Tho long to enjoy (best tasted when grilled over straw). It is served with vegetables, rice papers and rice noodle. A piece of fish may cost 150,000 – 190,000 VND (about $7-$8) depending on its size. Address: Xang Thoi Lake, Hoang Van Thu Street.

Grilled snails with pepper (Oc nuong tieu):is the popular dish of the Southern people due to its easy-to-find ingredients and simple way to make. It costs about 50,000 – 80,000 VND (about $2-$4) for two-person serving. Address: almost every grilled restaurant in Can Tho City.

Tourist attractions

Cai Rang Floating Market: after travelling about 30 minutes along Hau River by motor boat from Ninh Kieu Quay, tourists may enjoy the busy Cai Rang floating market at dawn-a view that anyone would like to see. Boat hire is about 300,000 – 700,000 VND (about $14-$32) depending on the number of passengers. The market is active between 5.am-9.am, mostly trading produce, fruits, goods, and foods. People gather on the river by different kinds of boats, using a pole (namely “cay be”) to introduce the goods they are trading. This is a cultural feature in the Mekong Delta, attracting lots of foreign tourists.

Bang Lang Stork Sanctuary: is about 50km from the city, along Highway 91 heading to Thot Not. Established in 1983, the sanctuary inhabits thousands of storks in different species within an area of 1.5ha. Visitors may be amazed by numerous storks flying and they may feel relaxed by a pleasant natural view. 

White stork flying in Bang Lang Stork Sanctuary. Photo by: Thinh Duy Quach.

Fruit orchards: Can Tho has fertile soil and warm weather all year round, therefore, many kinds of fruits blossom in this area like milky apples, plums, label, Ha Chau berry, durian, mangosteen, rambutan, Vietnamese apple, tangerine, etc. mostly located in Phong Dien District and Tan Loc Isle. Due to the diversity of fruit crops, visitors may enjoy fruits where it was picked at any time in the year. Some recommended orchards: Vam Xang, Con Au, Giao Duong, My Thom, My Khanh, Vu Binh, My Thuan longan orchard, etc.

My Khanh Eco Tourism: Located in Phong Dien District, about 10km from Can Tho City center, My Khanh is a typical destination of Can Tho City. In fact, it has the convergence of the river-lands culture with many kinds of special fruits and Southern cuisine. Guests will be delighted with activities such as dog racing, pigs racing, “a day as a landlord”, slapped-ditch fishing, rowing, fishing, visiting traditional trade villages, listening to “Don Ca Tai Tu”-a feature music of the south, monkeying…

Ong Pagoda: Opposite the poetic Ninh Kieu Quay, the pagoda is a destination for many visitors in Can Tho City. Featuring “Quoc” Chinese word (meaning “country”) in bright colors, Ong Pagoda still preserves its ancient look with perpendicularly closed buildings. Large round incenses are hung beneath the roof of the pagoda where people send their wishes to gods all year round. Ong Pagoda was recognized as a national historic heritage sight in 1993.

Binh Thuy Ancient House: was built as the house for worshiping the Duong family in 1870. Its structure is an Asian - European style fine combination. The five-compartment house was built with the materials imported from France. It served as the backdrop for dozens of popular films such as That Horizon, The Paths of Sediment, The Prince of Bac Lieu, Hundred-Section Bamboo, The Western Capital and The Dawn, Cactus of Can Tho, The Lover...

Binh Thuy Ancient House  on Bui Huu Nghia Street, Can Tho. Photo by: Huong Chi.

Can Tho Bridge: connects the two river banks of Hau River belonging to Vinh Long and Can Tho, the swing bridge with the longest main span in South East Asia (550m).

Truc Lam Phuong Nam Zen Monastery: Covering an area of over 4ha, the monastery is considered as the largest in the Mekong Delta. Located at My Khanh Commune (near My Khanh Eco Tourism), it has the Buddhism architecture in Ly-Tran Dynasty. The entire structure has tiled roofs, Lim wood frame columns. Its brick walls, floors and walkways are paved with red tile. The total construction value is 145 billion VND.

Traditional Festivals

Ong Pagoda Festival: is held on the fifteenth day of each month to worship the gods. However, the most typical festival in the pagoda is the “Dau Den” ceremony (lanterns exhibitions) which takes place every decade. It is a significant local cultural activity to raise money to build charity houses, schools, cemeteries, etc. The ceremony takes place right in the main hall of the pagoda, and everyone can join this ceremony in order to own their favorite lantern. According to the point of view of the Chinese, possessing a lantern from this once-a-decade festival symbolizes good luck, success and glory.

Festival of Binh Thuy Temple: In addition to the offerings on the fifteenth day of each month and the Lunar New Year, the temple also holds other 2 large festivals which are associated with agriculture production. The Beginning ceremony (le Thuong dien) honors the God of Earth at the beginning of a crop on the fourteenth and fifteenth of April (lunar year) and the Harvests ceremony (le Ha dien) thanks and worships filled fields on the fifteenth of December. The greatness of the ceremony is indicated by the wealth of the village and the crop yield of the year.

Souvenirs

Tourists may easily purchase the following gifts for their relatives and friends: fruits (orange, berries, durian, jack fruit…), plum wine,  glutinous rice cake (banh Tet), Southern bandannas, dried rice noodle, and dried fish.