Known as Tay Do - the capital of the Southwest region for more than a hundred years, 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. Despite the rapid economic development, "Tay Do" still retains the typical cultural features of the river region. Below are some suggestions for visitors to comfortably explore all the famous destinations of the capital of the Southwest.
Best Time to Visit Can Tho
Can Tho is less affected by storms, the weather is pleasant all year round although there are distinct rainy and dry seasons. The best time to travel to Can Tho is in the summer from May to August, when the fruit gardens are in harvest season.
September to November is the flood season, suitable for tourists to experience the rustic life of the Western people and enjoy specialties that are only available when the flood comes. From December to February is the pre-Tet season, Can Tho is brilliant with flowers.
How to Get to Can Tho
From the capital Hanoi and Da Nang, you can buy air tickets from Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways and Vietjet Air... Round-trip tickets cost about 1,700,000 to 2,000,000 VND.
From Ho Chi Minh City, visitors can travel by motorbike or car, following National Highway 1A to Can Tho. The distance is about 170 km, taking 3 to 4 hours during the day.
If you take a bus, you can go to Mien Tay bus station or bus companies on Le Hong Phong street, district 10 to buy tickets. The bus fare from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho is about 130,000 - 180,000 VND per ticket.
Hotel, resort
Tourists can choose to stay at a homestay in the city center or a riverside resort depending on their budget. Some high-end accommodations are Azerai Can Tho Resort and Victoria Can Tho Resort, with prices ranging from about VND1,200,000 to VND5,000,000 per night.
Can Tho is not very developed in homestay accommodation, you can rent a hotel near Ninh Kieu wharf for convenient travel. The average room price is 300,000 VND per night.
Top Attractions in My Tho
You can spend 2 days 1 night or 3 days 2 nights in Can Tho. Below is a suggested itinerary.
Cai Rang Floating Market
Floating markets are a specialty of the West. If you come to Can Tho and do not visit Cai Rang floating market, it is a big mistake. The market usually opens from dawn, so you have to wake up early if you want to fully enjoy the bustling atmosphere of the market. The ideal time to visit the floating market is around 5am - 7am.
Cai Rang floating market is about 6 km from the city center. You can get here by water or road. The market is located near Cai Rang bridge, everyone here knows this famous floating market so you can ask about transportation.
Over hundreds of years of change, the people here still maintain the habit of buying and selling, exchanging goods on boats and canoes. Over time, the floating market has become an interesting form of tourism in the river region. Visitors can go to the pier, buy tickets, board a boat to stroll around the most famous river market in Can Tho. If you go in a large group, you should rent the whole boat, the price is about 350,000 - 400,000 VND. If you go alone, you can buy individual tickets, the price is about 30,000 VND per person.
If you go when the market is crowded, you will witness the bustling scene on the boats and on the boats. Most of the goods are fruits, specialties of the Mekong Delta. The special thing about the floating market is that visitors almost never hear the cries, invitations or bargaining as is often seen in markets on land.
Here, if there is any kind of goods for sale, the boat owner will hang the goods on a high pole. Many poles hang a whole array of fruits such as bananas, pineapples, grapefruits, mangoes and all kinds of vegetables. Large boats usually sell wholesale. Smaller boats sell to individual customers.
In addition to fruits and vegetables, many small boats also sell breakfast, drinks and snacks to serve merchants and tourists. Enjoying a bowl of hot, steaming noodles or crab vermicelli soup on a sampan bobbing on the water, surrounded by bustling trading scenes, is an unforgettable experience for tourists.
The market will start to empty around 9am. At this time, visitors can return to the mainland and continue exploring other attractive destinations of the Western Capital.
Binh Thuy Ancient House
The hundred-year-old house near the mouth of 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 ancient house. The entrance fee is 15,000 VND per person.
The ancient house was designed in European style, the outside looks like a French mansion but the architecture inside is completely Vietnamese. It shows the harmonious East-West cultural exchange of the wealthy class in the Mekong Delta in the late 19th century.
Binh Thuy ancient house has become more and more famous after filming many famous movies such as: Nhung duong duong phu sa, Nguoi dep Tay Do, No doi, Nguoi tinh. Many tourists come here because they are curious about the lavish architecture from a hundred years ago but still preserved intact to this day.
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 popular eco-tourism area.
The best time to visit the stork garden is from August to January of the following year. This is the breeding season, when many species of storks gather. During peak season, tens of thousands of storks come together to nest, creating an impressive scene.
To avoid disturbing the flock of storks, the bus must stop at the beginning of the road. Visitors can walk, rent a bicycle or motorbike to enter the garden. Along the way are old green bamboo bushes, providing shade. In the garden, there is an observation tower with a spiral staircase, where you can enjoy a panoramic view of the stork garden from above.
You should stay at the observation deck until dusk, when hundreds of flocks of storks of different colors and sizes return to their nests, overwhelming many visitors.
Ninh Kieu Wharf
After a long day of playing, in the evening you should go to Ninh Kieu wharf, go up the love bridge, go to the night market to feel the whole life of Can Tho. 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 locals to come to sightsee and enjoy the cool breeze.
Ninh Kieu Wharf is located at the confluence of Hau River and Can Tho River, near the center of Can Tho city. From Ninh Kieu Wharf, visitors can see Can Tho Bridge, which 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 to fully experience the splendor of Ninh Kieu wharf when the lights come on.
Walking to the end of Ninh Kieu wharf, visitors will encounter a pedestrian bridge spanning the Hau River. Can Tho youth call this the love bridge because of its romantic setting. In the middle of the bridge are two large stylized lotus flowers. 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.
A few steps from the pedestrian bridge is Tay Do night market. Here, many items are sold, from food, clothes to handicrafts and souvenirs. Tay Do night market will surprise you with its airy space and neatly arranged stalls on clean asphalt roads.
The night market has many other entertainment activities to serve tourists such as outdoor music stage, video games...
Truc Lam Zen Monastery
The Zen Monastery is located in My Nhon Hamlet, My Khanh Commune, Phong Dien District. The Zen Monastery was built in the architectural style of the Ly - Tran Dynasty. The main gate is curved roofs with stylized dragon heads and wooden doors. Through the main gate is a large brick yard. From here, visitors will admire the majesty of the Main Hall (Dai Hung Buu Dien).
The Drum Tower, the Bell Tower, the Main Hall and the One Pillar Pagoda are the most impressive items of Truc Lam Phuong Nam Zen Monastery. The peaceful beauty of the Zen monastery attracts many tourists to visit and pray for peace.
Garden
Some famous fruit gardens that tourists can refer to are: My Khanh, 9 Hong, Rach Ke, Vam Xang. Tourists can pick fresh fruits and enjoy them right in the garden. Entrance fee 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, you can only rent a boat or take a ferry at Co Bac wharf in alley 13, Le Hong Phong street. Each person only has to pay 5,000 VND for one trip across the river. The boat and ferry here operate from 6am to 10pm.
Con Son is a community tourism village, with each household having its own product for visitors to enjoy. The people of Con Son still preserve the Southern culture, calling each other by cute names such as Mr. Ba, Ms. Be Bay, Be Nam... They always smile, treating guests like family. The price of a half-day to one-day tour here is from 300,000 - 600,000 VND/person.
The 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 to the rafts , visitors must travel by boat or ferry. Trips depart from Co Bac Wharf (alley 13, Le Hong Phong Street), from 6am to 10pm, costing 5,000 VND per trip.
Some houses are currently raising freshwater specialty fish such as red water fish, loach, giant catfish, octopus, catfish, spotted bream, striped scad, etc. Many other strange fish species that tourists can visit here include duck-billed red tail, tiger fish, five-color Koi fish, pink catfish, and Fire Dragon (fire loach). Here, visitors are guided to feed the fish and learn about how to raise fish on rafts. The raft villages in Con Son charge an entrance fee of 10,000 VND per visitor.
Watching flying snakehead fish is one of the new experiences that attracts visitors to Con Son . In order for the fish to be able to jump to the surface of the water when there is a sign from the owner, when the fish are still small, the locals here have to train them gradually and start with their appetite.
Only fish under 5 or 6 months old will jump. Larger fish will be released into the river to ensure aquatic resources. The entrance fee to the fish show is 25,000 VND per person.
Another activity that tourists love on Con Son is to practice making cakes. With the help of the locals, you will make cakes from wheat flour and rice flour and enjoy them right after finishing. You will try making jackfruit cakes, phu the cakes ... A tray of cakes here costs 210,000 VND, including two types of sweet and savory cakes.
Three generations of noodle oven
Chin Cua noodle factory 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, go a little further and you will arrive.
This place does not charge an entrance fee. Visitors not only learn about the process of making noodles but also experience making noodles and buy products as gifts. The price of each kilogram of noodles is 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 basket weaving village, hammock-matted rice vermicelli village...
Must-Try Local Cuisine
Bun goi da : The dish tastes quite similar to bun mam. The broth is sour with tamarind and has a characteristic smell of soy sauce. This is the highlight that makes the dish more recognizable. In addition to white noodles, a bowl also has red peeled shrimp. Many places add a little grated coconut or duck eggs for more flavor. A bowl costs 30,000 VND.
Hu Tieu Pizza: This is the name of a crispy fried Hu Tieu cake. Before processing, the Hu Tieu cake is dried, seasoned with seasoning powder and pepper to make it fragrant. The Hu Tieu cake is submerged in a pan of boiling oil, flipped evenly on both sides until the cake is golden brown and sprinkled with chopped green onions on top. The suggested address is Sau Hoai Hu Tieu oven, area 7, An Binh ward, Ninh Kieu district.
Rice vermicelli with grilled spring rolls: Rice vermicelli served with grilled spring rolls, various raw vegetables such as star fruit, cucumber, pineapple, green banana, banana flower, pickled shallots, chili, lemongrass... Pick up a little bit of each, roll it in rice vermicelli, grilled spring rolls, crushed roasted peanuts, dip in a bowl of sauce mixed with sour, spicy, salty, sweet flavors and you can enjoy it 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 with fermented bean curd: In addition to porridge, duck salad, roasted duck, lemongrass duck, duck fried with coconut water... duck cooked with fermented bean curd is also a famous delicacy in Can Tho. Usually, the restaurant will serve a pot of broth for duck cooked with fermented bean curd and various types of meat according to 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 mouse with fish sauce: A popular dish in Can Tho, especially in restaurants specializing in Western specialties in the city center, priced at about 75,000 VND per plate.
Shrimp and egg salad: This salad is especially appealing when combined with shrimp, eggs and pork skin. When customers order, the seller adds shredded papaya, a few shrimp, pork skin, a few slices of egg, and some dried shrimp. Sprinkle some herbs, crushed peanuts and finally pour a few spoons of fish sauce, lemon, garlic and chili.In addition to fruits and seafood, Can Tho also has some specialties you should try such as: Hu Tieu Go, Banh Tet La Cam, Banh Xeo Co Hu Coconut , Nem Nuong Cai Rang, Banh Tam Bi, Banh Ban Phu Sa, Banh Cong...
What to buy as a gift
The specialties to buy as gifts in Can Tho include fruits, especially Ha Chau strawberries from Phong Dien; purple sticky rice cake; Cai Rang spring rolls; Muoi Cuong cocoa; Tan Loc island tra fish sauce; dried snakehead fish; Sau Tia plum wine or Sa Dec dried noodles. In addition, there are souvenirs and handicrafts from craft villages.
