--- title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Can Tho, Vietnam (2026 Guide), Wimup" description: "The 10 best things to do in Can Tho, ranked. How to time Cai Rang floating market, which temples to see, where to eat banh xeo and lau mam, and the day trips into the delta." url: https://wimup.com/city/can-tho type: City guide updated: 2026-10-12 publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com) --- # Top 10 Things To Do in Can Tho Can Tho, Vietnam · Asia · By Wimup Editorial, 12 min read Can Tho is the Mekong Delta's working capital, a city built where the Can Tho River meets the Hau. Its markets still float, its noodles are still cut by hand, and its best hours start at five in the morning on a boat. Since its 2025 merger with Hau Giang and Soc Trang, it reaches from the Hau to the sea. ## Quick answer The best things to do in Can Tho are Cai Rang floating market at dawn, the quieter Phong Dien market upriver, the 1870 Binh Thuy ancient house, Ong Pagoda on the waterfront and an evening on Ninh Kieu wharf. Give it two days: one on the river from 5am, one for the temples, the old market and banh xeo. ## Quick facts - **Best months:** Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar - **Ideal length:** 2 days - **Budget per day:** $30–60 - **Language:** Vietnamese - **Getting around:** By boat, by Grab, on foot - **Tourism board:** [Official site](https://www.cantho.gov.vn/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ## The 10 best things to do in Can Tho ### 1. Cai Rang Floating Market Floating market · Cai Rang, Can Tho River, Can Tho The largest floating market in the delta and still a wholesale one: each boat hangs what it sells from a tall pole and buyers pull alongside. It peaks from about 5:30 to 7am, half an hour by boat from Ninh Kieu wharf. - **Time:** 3 hours - **Cost:** Boat hire - **Best at:** 5:30 to 7am - **Tip:** Book the boat the evening before and agree the route, the stops and the price before you board. ### 2. Ninh Kieu Wharf Riverfront · Hai Ba Trung Street, Ninh Kieu, Can Tho The city's front room, a riverside park where the Can Tho River joins the Hau, with the boat pier, the old market and the footbridge. Come at dusk, when families take the promenade and the bridge lights come on. - **Time:** 1 hour - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Sunset - **Tip:** The market boats leave from here. Book through your hotel if you would rather not haggle on the pier. ### 3. Binh Thuy Ancient House Heritage house · Bui Huu Nghia Street, Binh Thuy, Can Tho Built by the Duong family in 1870 and still lived in by their descendants: a French facade over a Vietnamese plan of carved hardwood and ancestral altars. Jean-Jacques Annaud filmed scenes of The Lover here. - **Time:** 45 min - **Cost:** Small entry fee - **Best at:** Morning - **Tip:** Binh Thuy communal house is a short ride away, so see both on one trip. ### 4. Ong Pagoda Chinese temple · 32 Hai Ba Trung Street, Ninh Kieu, Can Tho Not a pagoda but a Cantonese assembly hall, built from 1894 to 1896 and dedicated to Guan Yu, the deified general. Spiral incense coils hang from the beams and burn for days. It faces the wharf, five minutes from the river. - **Time:** 30 min - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Late afternoon - **Tip:** Dress modestly and leave the altar side to worshippers. ### 5. Phong Dien Floating Market Floating market · Phong Dien, Can Tho Smaller than Cai Rang and far less visited, with more hand-rowed boats than motor ones. It is mostly over by 7am. Go by road, about 17 km from the centre; the boat from town is long. - **Time:** 1 hour - **Cost:** Boat hire - **Best at:** 5:30 to 7am - **Tip:** Truc Lam Phuong Nam monastery is nearby, so make it one morning. ### 6. Truc Lam Phuong Nam Zen Monastery Monastery · My Khanh, Phong Dien, Can Tho The largest Zen monastery in the delta, built in under a year and inaugurated in May 2014 on about four hectares of grounds. The northern Truc Lam style looks unlike anything else here, and the gardens are calm after the market. - **Time:** 1 hour - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Morning - **Tip:** Cover shoulders and knees. My Khanh's orchards are a few hundred metres away. ### 7. Munirangsyaram Pagoda Khmer temple · 36 Hoa Binh Avenue, Ninh Kieu, Can Tho A Khmer Theravada temple from the 1940s on the city's main avenue, with tiered, curving roofs and carvings from Khmer myth. It is the centre of Can Tho's Khmer community and a good primer before Soc Trang. - **Time:** 30 min - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Morning - **Tip:** Shoes off in the main hall. Monks are usually happy to let you look around. ### 8. Ninh Kieu Pedestrian Bridge Landmark · Ninh Kieu Wharf, Can Tho A 199-metre S-curved footbridge that opened in February 2016, linking the wharf to Cai Khe. Unremarkable by day; after dark its lights make it the city's evening walk and the best view back over the river. - **Time:** 30 min - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** After dark - **Tip:** Cross to Cai Khe and walk back for the view of the lit-up wharf. ### 9. Sau Hoai Rice Noodle Workshop Craft workshop · Lo Vong Cung, An Binh, Can Tho A family workshop that makes hu tieu the old way: rice ground to batter, steamed into sheets, dried on bamboo racks in the sun, then cut. It sits a few minutes by boat from Cai Rang, so most market trips stop here. - **Time:** 45 min - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** After the market - **Tip:** Ask your boatman to include it. A separate trip is not worth the fare. ### 10. Binh Thuy Communal House Communal house · Le Hong Phong Street, Binh Thuy, Can Tho A village dinh built in 1844 and rebuilt around 1910, listed as a national monument in 1989. Its carved altars and tiled roofs are the reason to come, and the Ky Yen festival fills it twice a year. - **Time:** 30 min - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Morning - **Tip:** About 5 km from the centre on Highway 91, on the way to the Binh Thuy ancient house. ## Best river trips in Can Tho Two floating markets, a noodle workshop and an islet of fish farms, all reached by boat. 1. **Cai Rang Floating Market** (Dawn · Cai Rang, 6 km): The big wholesale market. Go by 6am, gone by nine. 2. **Phong Dien Floating Market** (Dawn · Phong Dien, 17 km): Smaller, quieter, more rowing boats. Best reached by road. 3. **Sau Hoai Rice Noodle Workshop** (Craft · An Binh): Hu tieu made by hand, a short hop from Cai Rang. 4. **Con Son Islet** (Islet · Binh Thuy): Fish farms and homestays on the Hau, by boat from Co Bac wharf. ## Best riverfront sights in Can Tho Where the city meets the Hau, best seen at dusk. 1. **Ninh Kieu Wharf** (Park · Ninh Kieu): The promenade, the pier and the city's evening crowd. 2. **Ninh Kieu Pedestrian Bridge** (Footbridge · Ninh Kieu): The lit S-curve to Cai Khe, opened in 2016. 3. **Can Tho Bridge** (Bridge · Cai Rang): A 550-metre main span over the Hau, opened in 2010. Best from a boat. ## Best temples & heritage in Can Tho Cantonese, Khmer and Vietnamese, within a few kilometres of each other. 1. **Binh Thuy Ancient House** (1870 · Binh Thuy): The Duong family's 1870 house, and a set for The Lover. 2. **Binh Thuy Communal House** (1844 · Binh Thuy): An 1844 village dinh, a national monument since 1989. 3. **Ong Pagoda** (1894–1896 · Ninh Kieu): The Cantonese hall for Guan Yu, on the wharf. 4. **Munirangsyaram Pagoda** (1940s · Ninh Kieu): The city's Khmer Theravada temple, on Hoa Binh Avenue. 5. **Truc Lam Phuong Nam Zen Monastery** (2014 · Phong Dien): The delta's largest Zen monastery, opened in 2014. ## Best restaurants in Can Tho Delta cooking, from pancake counters to a table on the water. 1. **Banh Xeo 7 Toi** (Banh xeo · Ninh Kieu): Crisp, overfilled banh xeo, eaten with fistfuls of herbs. 2. **Nem Nuong Thanh Van** (Nem nuong · Ninh Kieu): Grilled pork rolls on Hoa Binh, a city standard. 3. **Lau Mam Da Ly** (Lau mam · Ninh Kieu): Fermented-fish hotpot, pungent and piled with greens. 4. **Sao Hom** (Vietnamese · Ninh Kieu): In the old market hall, on a deck over the river. 5. **Spices** (Riverside dining · Cai Khe): The Victoria resort's riverside dining room. The smart option. ## Best markets & orchards in Can Tho The old market hall, the night stalls and a fruit garden upriver. 1. **Can Tho Old Market** (1915 · Ninh Kieu): The 1915 market hall on the wharf, restored in 2005. 2. **Ninh Kieu Night Market** (Night market · Ninh Kieu): Street food and stalls behind the wharf, every evening. 3. **My Khanh Tourist Garden** (Orchard · Phong Dien): Orchards, a century-old house and fruit picked off the tree. ## Best neighborhoods in Can Tho Four parts of the city, and what each gets you. 1. **Ninh Kieu riverfront** (Centre · Ninh Kieu): Hotels by the wharf. Walk to the boats, the market and dinner. 2. **Cai Khe** (Centre · Cai Khe): Across the footbridge: newer hotels, the Victoria and river views. 3. **Binh Thuy** (North · Binh Thuy): North of the centre, with the old house and the communal house. 4. **Cai Rang** (South · Cai Rang): Down by the floating market. Stay here to be on the water first. ## Best day trips in Can Tho Khmer temples, storks and Duras country, all within a morning's drive. 1. **Soc Trang pagodas** (Full day · 60 km south-east): The Bat Pagoda and the Clay Pagoda, the delta's Khmer heartland. 2. **Bang Lang Stork Garden** (Half day · About 50 km north-west): Thousands of storks fly home to roost at dusk. 3. **Sa Dec** (Full day · About 50 km north): The flower town, and the house of Huynh Thuy Le, Duras's lover. 4. **Chau Doc and Sam Mountain** (Long day · North-west, by the border): Pilgrim temples on the Cambodian border. ## Festivals & annual events in Can Tho (2026) - **Tet Nguyen Dan** (Jan/Feb): Lunar New Year. The floating markets stop for the first days and much of the city shuts. - **Chol Chnam Thmay** (Apr): Khmer New Year in mid-April, kept at Munirangsyaram and across the Soc Trang pagodas. - **Southern Folk Cake Festival** (Apr/May): Hundreds of stalls of southern cakes, timed to the Hung Kings' anniversary. - **Ky Yen at Binh Thuy** (Apr/May): The communal house's spring rite for the new crop, in the fourth lunar month. - **Vu Lan** (Aug/Sep): The Buddhist festival of filial piety. Pagodas fill and families wear a rose for their mothers. - **Mid-Autumn Festival** (Sep/Oct): Lanterns, lion dances and mooncakes across the city for the full moon. - **Ok Om Bok** (Oct/Nov): The Khmer moon festival, with ghe ngo boat races on the Maspero River in Soc Trang. - **Ky Yen at year's end** (Dec/Jan): The communal house's second rite, closing the rice year in the twelfth lunar month. ## Must-try dishes in Can Tho, Vietnam - **Banh xeo**: A crisp turmeric pancake of pork, shrimp and sprouts, wrapped in mustard greens. - **Lau mam**: Fermented-fish hotpot, eaten with a basket of delta greens and flowers. - **Vit nau chao**: Duck braised with fermented tofu and taro. On Vietnam's 100 delicacies list. - **Banh tet la cam**: Sticky rice cake dyed purple with magenta leaf, salted egg yolk inside. - **Banh cong**: A deep-fried cup of rice flour, mung bean and prawn, eaten with herbs. - **Nem nuong Cai Rang**: Grilled pork, rolled in rice paper with green banana and herbs. - **Hu tieu**: Rice noodle soup, with noodles from the workshops around Cai Rang. - **Ca loc nuong trui**: Snakehead grilled whole in burning straw, rolled with rice paper. ## Can Tho transport & airports - **Can Tho International Airport** (VCA): About 8 km north-west of the centre, 15 to 20 minutes by car. One terminal handles both domestic and international flights. - **The road to Ho Chi Minh City** (Bus and car): About 170 km. Buses from Mien Tay station take around four hours to the central bus station on Highway 1 in Cai Rang. - **Boats** (From Ninh Kieu wharf): Market boats, sampans and evening cruises leave from the wharf. Agree the stops, the hours and the price before you board. - **Around the city** (Grab and on foot): The centre is walkable along the river. Grab, Be and Xanh SM cover everything else, including the airport and Binh Thuy. ## Can Tho at a glance - **Country:** Vietnam - **Region:** Mekong Delta; a centrally-run city, merged with Hau Giang and Soc Trang on 1 July 2025 - **Population:** About 4.2 million across the merged city (2025) - **Founded:** Organised as Tran Giang under the Ha Tien lords in 1739 - **Nickname:** Tay Do, the western capital - **Language:** Vietnamese, with Khmer in the south - **Currency:** Vietnamese dong (₫) - **Time zone:** ICT (UTC+7) - **Calling code:** +84 292 - **Airports:** Can Tho International (VCA), 8 km north-west - **Power:** 220V, plug types A, C and F - **Emergency:** 113 police, 114 fire, 115 ambulance ## Interesting facts - Can Tho Bridge opened in 2010 with a 550-metre main span over the Hau River. - Ong Pagoda was built by Cantonese merchants from 1894 to 1896, and is not a pagoda at all. - The 2025 merger with Hau Giang and Soc Trang made Can Tho a city of 6,360 square kilometres. - Binh Thuy ancient house has been in the Duong family since 1870, six generations on. - The old market hall dates from about 1915, the same era as Ben Thanh in Saigon. ## Can Tho travel FAQ ### How many days do you need in Can Tho? Two. The first starts on a boat at 5:30am for Cai Rang, the noodle workshop and the canals, then the wharf at dusk. The second covers Binh Thuy's two old houses, Ong Pagoda, the Khmer temple and the old market. A third day buys Soc Trang or the storks. ### How do you visit Cai Rang floating market? Hire a boat at Ninh Kieu wharf, ideally booked the evening before, and leave by 5:30am. The market is about 30 minutes downstream and busiest until around 7am. Agree the route, the stops and the price before you board. ### Cai Rang or Phong Dien floating market? Cai Rang if you only see one: it is the biggest in the delta and still trades wholesale. Phong Dien is smaller and quieter, with more rowing boats, and suits a second morning. Go by road; the boat ride from town is long. ### How do you get to Can Tho from Ho Chi Minh City? By bus or car, about 170 km. Buses leave Mien Tay station through the day and take around four hours to the central bus station in Cai Rang; a private car takes two to three. There is no railway. ### When is the best time to visit Can Tho? December to March, when it is dry and the mornings are cool. The rain runs from May to November, usually in late-afternoon bursts, and the floods from September bring the delta's high-water season. Avoid the first days of Tet, when the markets stop. ## Nearby guides - [Phnom Penh](https://wimup.com/city/phnom-penh.md): Cambodia · 10 picks - [Da Lat](https://wimup.com/city/da-lat.md): Vietnam · 10 picks - [Siem Reap](https://wimup.com/city/siem-reap.md): Cambodia · 10 picks - [All of Asia →](https://wimup.com/asia): 83 cities Part of the [Vietnam guide](https://wimup.com/country/vietnam.md) · [Asia](https://wimup.com/asia.md) ## Sources - [Can Tho tourism board](https://www.cantho.gov.vn/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.