5 best places you should visit in Can Tho, Vietnam

Cai Rang floating market

Cai Rang Floating Market is the main wholesale and most frequently visited a floating market in Can Tho. It takes place before and around dawn every day. From early in the morning, hundreds of boats gather to sell fruits and agricultural products of the whole region. To advertise what they sell, traders hang their product samples on the top of a long bamboo (called Cay Beo) in front of the boats. Observing water commerce as well as life on the boat of the locals while enjoying specialties of this place like banh mi, bun rieu, coffee, coconut water would be unforgettable experiences for tourists.

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• Address: Cai Rang river, 6 km away from the center of Can Tho
• How to get there: Rent a boat from local tour agents in Ninh Kieu Pier – prices begin at 100 000 VND. Another way is to go to An Binh Market, a small local riverside market near Cai Rang Floating Market and join a motorboat tour for 50 000 VND per person
• Opening hours: From 5 am till noon, although the market is most crowded and busiest from 6 am to 7 am

Some tips for traveling Cai Rang floating market:

•  The best time to visit this market in the early morning when the weather is still cool and the sun is not too harsh. Therefore, try to get there before 7 A.M. because you may not want to miss the time when it is at its best – when the market is busiest.
• Also, remember to take on your cap and sunblock because the temperature will rise very quickly.

Bang Lang stork garden

Another should-not-miss place when visiting Can Tho is Bang Lang  Stork Garden. This magnificent 2-hectare garden is home to thousands of storks as well as many other kinds of bird, and it is the largest sanctuary in Mekong Delta. It is an appealing and unique attraction of ecotourism.  Bang Lang Stork Garden was established naturally in 1983. By 1994, there were more storks inhabiting there. At first, Nguyen Ngoc Thuyen, who is also referred as Mr. Bay Co, the owner of Bang Lang Stork Garden, just wanted to save some storks stuck in fishing traps but more and more storks chose to make their home at this place and the garden kept spread with the current area of about 2 hectares and the number of storks ranging from 100,000 to 150,000 of more than 20 species.

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On the way to the sanctuary, visitors will pass grassy green rice paddies and interlacing canals. They will be amazed by the lively and gorgeous scenes of nature when watching storks hovering in the sky, twitter together and land gracefully on bamboo branches everywhere.

• Address: Thot Not District, about 52km away from the center of Can Tho City.
• How to get there: You have to travel by boats in the rainy season, while in the dry season you can get there by motorcycles, or on foot.
• Price: Locals VND 10,000;  foreigners VND 20,000 .
• Opening hours: 5am – 6pm

Binh Thuy Ancient House

The family home of the Duong family, Binh Thuy ancient house in Can Tho has long been acclaimed for its antique beauty along with its exclusive Western and Eastern architecture. Antiques and traditional cultural features have been still deliberately preserved and protected by the descendants. With French influence and elements, as well as a distinct East Asian charm, the house is a wonderful destination for any architecture lover who wants to explore the unique architecture.

• Address: 142/144 Bui Huu Nghia Street, Binh Thuy District
• Price: Free
• Phone: +84 710 3826 395

Ong Pagoda

Located right in the center of Can Tho city, Ong Pagoda, also known as Quang Trieu (Guang Zhao), was formerly the spiritual gathering place for the Hoa ethnicity in Can Tho. Built in 1894, it has existed so far with the architecture remained almost intact from the appearance to sculpt features. Almost materials such as wood and stone pillars as plinths, parallel sentences, beams, copper bells, incensory… were taken from Guangdong, China. The pagoda overall is an outstanding architecture with the system of trusses elaborately carved, harmonizing well with numerous spectacular bas-reliefs whose diverse contents is derived from Chinese legendary and history, for instance, Records of the Three Kingdoms, Bat Tien,… or convention symbols, orchid, daisies, bamboo, 2 dragons flanking the moon, Phoenix…  There is a space in the middle of the pagoda which is called “the sky well” courtyard

• Address: 32 Hai Ba Trung Street, Tan An Ward, Ninh Kieu District

Ninh Kieu Quay

Ninh Kieu Quay, one of the most famous places in Can Tho, located right on the bank of Hau river. With its glamour, the image of Ninh Kieu quay has gone into poetry and become an icon of the city. In the past, Ninh Kieu quay was a busy trading port of the city. Nowadays, it has become a 7000m2 park attracting numerous local people and visitors. In the morning, you can take a leisurely walk along the park to sightsee and enjoy the fresh air. Local people usually come here every morning to do exercise or play sports. Also, this is where you can join your trip to the Cai Rang floating market by renting a boat that can be found everywhere along the quay. In the evening, there is Ninh Kieu night market in the park where the food stalls are always ready with a lot of Vietnamese foods, which you cannot miss. The tables are put along the quay so you can enjoy Vietnamese cuisine while watching the city by night. Every night, Can Tho bridge becomes more lively and charming with sparkling and colorful lights and tourists can easily contemplate it from the park.

• Address: On the right side of Hau River, Hai Ba Trưng Street, Tan An Ward, Ninh Kieu district
• Opening hour: 5 am – 10 pm every day