Four days in Can Tho – from Ho Chi Minh City
Mostly known for the Cai Rang floating market Can Tho has so much more to offer! Despite being planned as a quick two day stop I spend several days in Can Tho at the beginning of the year. Sometimes when things go wrong, they actually go right. Here is my overview of what to do during four days in Can Tho.
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Overview of four days in Can Tho from Ho Chi Minh City
- How to get to Can Tho from Ho Chi Minh City
- Where to stay in Can Tho
- What to do in Can Tho
- Where to eat & drink in Can Tho
- Map of my four days in Can Tho
How to get to Can Tho from Ho Chi Minh City
There are several options on how to get to Can Tho from Ho Chi Minh City, but all of them are via road. When you look at 12Go* you have all of your options in one list, easy to compare. While the platform has reviews, I compared them to the google reviews of the companies and then picked one.
MEKO Limousine
I booked both trips with MEKO Limousine*. They were not the cheapest, but they offer more room than the big busses, clean cars, drivers that aren’t on the phone while at the wheel (like some others) and they drop you off at your accommodation in Can Tho!
Where to stay in Can Tho
I had booked my first nights at De Rivé Homestay 2, then I was supposed to continue on to Chau Doc. Since that fell through I booked some nights on short notice at the newly opened Lion 17 Hotel.
De Rivé Homestay 2
De Rivé has two houses in Can Tho, all in the same street. It was a bit confusing trying to find the correct one I had booked and a bit annoying since it was raining a lot and I had to zigzag between the houses with my luggage. My room at De Rivé Homestay 2 (on Agoda* / on Booking*) was affordable, clean, quite big and the bed was comfortable. If you need darkness at night: the door did not block the light from the hallway, which stayed on all night, since it has windows that were just painted over. The bathroom is also the wet kind.
Lion 17 Hotel or Lion 6 Hotel
When I had looked at accommodations from Germany, I had marked Lion 6 Hotel (on Agoda* / on Booking*) as my “Plan B”. Since they had no rooms left I ended up booking at the Lion 17 Hotel (on Agoda* / on Booking*) instead, which had just recently opened. The room was spotless, though less spacious and quite dark, since the only window looked out at a 20cm space, before a wall. The bed was very high quality and the bathroom was modern and had a clear wet/dry separation.
What to do in Can Tho
Cai Rang Floating Market
The Cái Răng floating market is a wholesale market, meaning that the minimum amount to buy something is quite high. From the early 20th century it was an important trading point where goods from all along the river were sold and redistributed.
Over the last few decades more roads have been built and, more importantly, bridges. Cars and lorries are more practical and faster nowadays to transport goods and food. The river is loosing one of the aspects that made it the lifeline of many cities.
You can visit the Cai Rang floating market either by negotiating with a boat captain or by joining a tour. I joined a small-group tour and learned a lot. Not just about the market, but about life in the Mekong Delta, local myths and legends and Mekong style Vietnamese cooking.
Tours that aren’t the Cai Rang Floating Market
Can Tho Museum
The Can Tho Museum is one of several in the city. This one covers the history of the province and the city Can Tho, the ethnic minorities who live here and every day life to this day. On one of the floors a traditional house was fully rebuild, complete with family altar, intricately carved wooden furniture and life sized mannequins engaged in making folk music on traditional instruments. A wall of pictures from the French Colonial times shows how Can Tho looked back in the day.
Historic Prison Can Tho
Can Tho Prison was built by the French colonial forces from 1876 and 1886 as “Prison Provinciale”. 1954 it was renamed to “Reeducation Center” and remained open until the end of the US-Vietnam war. In 1996 it was officially recognized as a National Historic Site by the Vietnamese Government. Today it serves as a museum to remind everyone of what cruelty humans are capable of. Walkways lined with barbed wire fences still remain and a fraction of the reality of prison life is depicted with statues of people inside the reclaimed real cellblocks.
One of the buildings was repurposed into a small exhibition on artifacts that belonged to former prisoners, with informations about their stories, how they came to Can Tho Prison and how their life continued afterwards if they survived the brutal prison conditions.
Muniransay Khmer Buddhist Temple & Chùa Phật Học
These two religious sights are almost across the street from each other. Muniransay Khmer Buddhist Temple is the one depicted here and in the posts main picture. Build in 1948, extended in 1988 and renovated during the following decades into the colourful and strikingly golden temple complex you see today. The temple itself is based on Khmer architecture, with a strong resemblance to Angkor Wat. It makes you think how that temple looked like during its (literal) golden age.
Chùa Phật Học on the other hand is a multi level building directly at a road crossing. It was built in 1951 and renovated in 2014 into the building you see today. Despite its location and being a well known religious and tourist destination it is calm and quiet inside. Though considerably fuller than the Khmer version across the street.
Can Tho Love Bridge
The Ninh Kieu pedestrian bridge got the nickname Can Tho love bridge, since it is often chosen as a date-spot and for some time couples put locks on the railings of the bridge.
The bridge itself is built with an s-shaped curve in the middle and two flowers on either end of said curve. During dusk, night and dawn the flowers are illuminated with colourful lights.
Tours that aren’t the Cai Rang Floating Market
Where to eat & drink in Can Tho
Coco Mangrove Brunch – Tapas & Bar
The first time I went to Coco Mangrove it was in the evening of my second day, to visit the bar. They were close to the homestay and looked very clean and inviting from the outside. The “Tapas” almost made me reconsider, but in the end I am glad I went. During my first visit I tried their Basil Smash (gin, lime juice, sugar syrup, basil leaves) and a Passion Daiquiri (passionfruit juice, rum, lime juice, sugar syrup). During my second visit to the bar I had a Penicillin (scotch, lime juice, honey, ginger), since it is my go-to cocktail. And during my last visit I had a Negroni (Gin, Campari, Sweet Vermouth) and last but not least a simple Gin & Tonic with Vietnamese Sông Cái Dry Gin.
That is more alcohol than I usually consume in several months, packed into a single week. But as they say “you only live once” and the cocktails were all really well made. The barkeeper is also the owner of Coco Mangrove and his experience behind a bar really shows. Not just through the cocktails, but also in his demeanor as a barkeeper. You can easily spend hours here.
You can also spend hours here if you don’t drink. In the mornings Coco Mangrove is a Café and Brunch spot. I had breakfast here: crepes with caramelised banana, with the best latte in the city. Then a few days later I spend quite a while here on the day were my plans fell apart, with my luggage, cancelling some things, rebooking some others until it was time to check in at the hotel. During that time I tried their homemade cheese scone with butter and strawberry compote for breakfast and later a scrambled egg and bacon sandwich for lunch.
Ngon Vegan
Ngon Vegan is a plant based restaurant in Can Tho City. While I went there to get my favourite vegan meal in Vietnam, garlic friend morning glory with rice, I also ordered the tempura enoki mushrooms, which were incredibly crunchy and still tasted like enoki mushrooms, not just like frying batter and oil.
Xoài Coffee
Away from the tourist- and tour-crowds, accessed through a small alley, is Xoài Coffee. A huge courtyard lined with mango trees and fairy lights invites to stay a while, with a coffee or in my case a passion fruit lemonade.
Chicken Banh Mi 37
In every city I will find a favourite Banh Mi spot. And when the first one I try is already everything I want: fresh bread with a crunchy outside and fluffy inside, delicious pate and a fresh fried egg every time? I don’t go looking further. I think I went to Chicken Banh Mi 37 at least once every day.
Nem Nướng Thanh Vân
Nem Nướng Thanh Vân was recommended to me by the reception staff at Lion 17 Hotel and it is in walking distance of the hotel (450 meters). I went for the Nem Nướng (pork sausage) set, with rice vermicelly, herbs, salad, some green veggies, rice paper and dipping sauce. It was a good dinner. Nothing incredibly special, but a solid option.
Map of my four days in Can Tho
How to read the map: Black are hotel / homestay recommendations, purple museums, green places to eat orange cafes and bars and blue places to visit.
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