'''Can Tho''' (or Cantho; Vietnamese: ''C?n Th?'') is a relatively large city in the heart of the Mekong Delta, in Vietnam.

Understand

Can Tho has a tremendous reputation for being a welcoming place, where everybody is smiling and welcoming. Indeed the Vietnamese in the Mekong Delta are making good a saying that goes:

"C?n Th? g?o tr?ng n??c trong<br> Ai ?i t?i ?o long khong mu?n v?"

"Can Tho has white rice and clear water<br> Once being there, your heart won't leave."

Can Tho has a population well in excess of 1 million and is the biggest city in the Mekong Delta. Although developing fast (about 10% growth in 2004), it retains its charm as the center of a rural area, as the urban development is taking place in a rather orderly manner.

Get in

By road

By road, allow about 1.5 hours from Soc Tr?ng, about 3 hours from Chau ??c, about 3.5 hours from R?ch Gia, about 5 hours from Ho Chi Minh City (85,000 dong), about 6 hours from Ca Mau and about 1.5 hours from Long Xuyen.

It is possible to rent a car for US$110-130 for a return trip for 2-3 passengers from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho; or move by local minibus, which offer better and better services; for about US$5-8, and departing every hour or so from the Ho Chi Minh City western bus station (''B?n Xe Mi?n Tay'', ''Xa C?ng''). Phuong Trang company is offering a more confortable service providing a large coach with room for luggages and waiting lounge in the bus station. Price is a bit lower than "express" minibuses that are only few minutes faster indeed.

It is also possible to rent a taxi for about almost the same price than a car for 1 way from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho. Try hiring a Vina Taxi outside of the tourist areas (District 1) for this kind of traveling, you will be surprised about the rate differences a trip outside of district makes.

By boat

Victoria Hotel speedboats provide services to reach Chau Doc or Ho Chi Minh City, but restricted to guests of the Victoria Hotel chain, and other multi-day tour options. All other companies have closed these routes. (''Please check this information as Victoria Hotel does not run boats on his own but using third party companies services --Ca Phe Da 04:22, 26 September 2008 (EDT)'').

Thanh Nhan and Lan Anh Express also run between Ho Chi Minh and Ninh Kieu pier-Can Tho (250,000 dong as of early 2009) and will take you 3.5 hours. Both companies provides morning and afternoon departures (6-7am and 1-2pm depending on the company). Check availability before departure since they are used to cancel trips if sales are low.

Ticketing Booth for Thanh Nhanh: Can Tho: 2 Hai Ba Trung Street 0710 817817 Ho Chi Minh: 2 Ton Duc Thang Street 08 914 7979

By air

Tra Noc Airport ({{IATA|VCA}}|{{ICAO|VVCT}}) is currently being expanded and upgraded to international status, with completion for international flights due in 2010.

As of 2009, the airport is connected only to Hanoi, with daily flights on Vietnam Airlines and four times weekly service on Jetstar/Pacific.

Get around

Can Tho is a regional hub, so it is rather easy to get to and from all the surrounding provinces.

  • by bus or minibus, from the bus station, now located at the crossroads of Nguyen Trai (''Nguy?n Trai'') and CMT8 (''Cach M?ng Thang 8''), but soon to be relocated to 91B 3/2 (''Chin m??i m?t B Ba thang hai'')
  • by boat, there are rather affordable services of speedboat
  • by xe loi
  • on foot (?i b?)
  • See

  • The Khmer pagoda of Munirangsyaram, on Hoa Binh street, where you will always be welcome.
  • Local markets

    The main market of Can Tho used to be located on Ninh Ki?u pier, and be mostly an open market. Today, the only original building left is the beautiful old market hall, now surrounded with a garden along the river.

    New markets have been built to host the increasing activity, on Cai Kh? peninsula and further upstream the Can Tho river.

    Floating markets

    The floating markets are a very lively scenery, accommodating much of the goods exchange on the area, and can be quite freely visited on board smaller boats, for about US$3/hour per small boat. You may take a tour from the Ninh Ki?u pier, in front of the Nam B? restaurant, where the "boat ladies" are always eager to charm you into taking theirs.

  • '''Cai Rang''' (''Cai R?ng'') floating market is the main wholesale floating market near Can Tho. Go there early (start no later than 06:00), and come back through the small tributaries to Can Tho river; about 3-4 hours. The '''Mystic sampans''' offer higher-end breakfast cruises to Cai Rang floating market.
  • '''Phong Dien''' (''Phong ?i?n'') is further upstream the Can Tho river, and worth seeing as it is a retail market. It is very active at dawn, but slows down early too, so you may like to go there on the land. The arroyos back from there to Can Tho are also very much worth a ride on a small boat.
  • '''Phung Hiep''' (''Ph?ng Hi?p'') is much farther away, in the neighboring H?u Giang province, but deserves a trip if you are going to stay more than a few days, as it is always bustling with activity.
  • '''Tra On''' (''Tra On''), in Vinh Long province, is just over an hour downstream the Bassac (the lower Mekong branch, also called ''H?u Giang'' or ''Song H?u''). It is a small floating village's market anchored near the clouds' island (''Cu Lao May'').
  • Canals

    The canal system around Can Tho is a fascinating travel network, much more relaxed than the bustling roads. Hire a small row boat (probably with a small diesel motor as well) that can take you through the small canals that the larger tour boats can't. Tours from 6am to 2pm, including two floating markets and various sites along the canals, can be found for under 250,000 dong per person.

    Do

  • '''The Bassac''' [http://www.transmekong.com] wooden cruisers run regular overnight trips between Can Tho and Cai Be, and provide high-end services including non-stop air-con and all meals cooked on board.
  • Buy

    There are many supermarkets in Can Tho such as : Coopmart (Hoa Binh Street), Metro Hung Loi (91B)[you need a special registration card to shop here], Citymark, Maximark, Vinatex Plaza...

    Can Tho main market at Cai Kh? is a really typical and colored place where you will find a true Vietnamese market.

    Eat

    Can Tho is famous for delicate cuisine and extra-fresh fruit and vegetables, and a good place to try and eat the fruit you would not usually like: you may well find they are very tasty and enjoyable.

    Among the local produce, you may like to try mangoes, oranges, jackfruit, pomeloes, grapefruit, but also custard apple, corossol, longans or even durian.

  • Starry. 02 Hai Ba Trung Street, Ninh Kieu District. 710 820434. Cheap, English menu, great pizza and probably the cheapest Tiger beer in the city - 13,000 dong for 650ml bottle. In the middle of a market so a great place to watch locals go by.

  • Nam Bo. am B?. Seated in an old French-era building of the Comptoirs d'Indochine, and serves very tasty Vietnamese as well as some Western cuisine such as pizza and spaghetti. The service is nice and efficient, and a surprising variety of languages is spoken there, from English to French to Dutch and even some Japanese.

  • Sao Hom. ao Hom. Located in the central market's hall, facing the Can Tho river, and serves a large palette of Vietnamese cuisine, as well as some western food, too. The ambiance at night is unique.

  • Golf Hotel. uffet lunch 35,000 Dong. The place is not really pleasant but quiet and air conditionned. More important, quality and choice for the meals are OK.

  • '''Cafe N?m Sao''' (''3/2 street, after the crossing with 91B national road'') and '''Cafe Th?y M?c''' (''3/2 street, in front of the Foreign Languages Center at the Campus 2 of Can Tho univerisity'') offer quiet places in a green and nature atmosphere. Lot of drinks and meals available at good prices for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The first is recommended if you want to relax and the second one if you want to have a good quality meal.
  • In Cai Kh? ward:

  • Ph? Cali. r?n V?n Keo Street. lose to the central market in front of the Exhibition Centre and the Citimart supermarket. offers good vietnamese and western meals in clean and air conditionned places for reasonnable prices.
  • Fast Food. guy?n Trai street, inside the Citimart Supermarket, at the crossing with Tr?n V?n Keo street.
  • There is a brand new Shopping Mall in the Exhibition Centre area called '''Champs Elysees - La petite France'''. It features a good french and vietnamese style bakery and a nice bar. Try it...
  • Some restaurants more aimed at serving vietnamese guests but that can offers a more exotic and delightful experience to foreigners have recently appeared. The '''Song H?u''' on the 3rd February street close to the University (''???ng 3/2'') or the '''Alo 100''' on CMT8 road not far from the ferry (''???ng Cach M?ng Thang 8'') provide a nice environment, varied meals and affordable prices for a service that is still improving.

  • '''Dat Phuong Nam ''' (''Black Beer Restaurant in Can Tho - Address : 132/11 Ba Thang Hai Str , Can Tho City '') is a first Germany Beer Restaurant in Can Tho - Very Good but more aimed at serving vietnamese guests since located in a small lane of a remote area.
  • '''Goat Specialties''' (''L?u De Thanh Thuy'') is a little aside of the city, and run by a French person who settled in Can Tho who offers a variety of dishes revolving around savory goat meet.
  • There are also a variety of other restaurants, the quality and service of which spans the whole range from poor to great.

  • '''Dog meat''' (''Th?t c?y Tr?n V?n Hoai''), ngon h?t bi?t !!!
  • '''Duck soup''' (''V?t n?u chao H?m 1''), ngon h?t s?y !!!
  • Drink

    Vietnamese people are used to enjoy drinking coffee (in fact sugar, strong coffee and a lot of ice), fresh coconut juice, or other drinks (lemon juice, orange juice) in one of the many small bars along the streets or the markets.

    If you want to spend some hours just as Vietnamese would do, the best places certainly are on the river side. The most famous ones could be near the Ninh Ki?u peer. Just in front of the three stars '''Ninh Ki?u hotel''', there is a popular and really affordable place but it is sometime crowded, especially when students have free time.

    A bit more difficult to reach, but really typical, the '''Bai Cat''' pier (former beach on the Mekong) is a really good spot to have an eye on the boats cruising on the main river.

    There's a good family owned and operated Cafe, locally known as "Cafe Buu Dien" (Post Office Cafe). They have the best coffees, and an interesting atmosphere. The servers holler your orders to the back, and in a couple of minutes you get fresh coffee in a warm mug. Its extremely fast paced, but at the same time very relaxing. They have locations throughout Can Tho, but hop on any xich lo or taxi and just tell them to take you to a "Cafe Buu Dien" and they'll know where to go. My favorite location is the one in Cai Khe ward, known as "Cafe Bich Phuong".

    Sleep

    There is a wide range of services, from the very local KS Tay H? (on Ninh Ki?u pier, a good choice for US$12-15), to the state-owned (and state-like) International Hotel, US$25-35, to the recent and more elaborate Ninh Ki?u 2 Hotel, on Hoa Binh street, owned by a military company.

  • Hien Guest House 1. 18/10 Phan Dinh Phung Street. 71 812718, Mobile 091 3973320. 2 noon. ouble: fan-$6, a/c-$8. Small guest house that almost feels like a home stay. Great value, great location. Shared bathroom.

  • Kim Th?. hotel offers a 3 star accommodation close to the Ninh Kieu peer which is the town center where are most of the restaurants, bars and tourstic places of interest. It is clean, cosy, recent and located in a quiet street (''Ngo Gia T?'') not far from the speed boat peer.

  • Green Hotel. 1 Chau van Liem Street, Ninh Kieu dist. 913 764 994. S$15-25. Friendly and comfortable. Here, you can relax and take care of your health for spa, massase, bar and drink coffee. Or walking by foot to Ninh Kieu Quay and sight seeing of Hau poetic river- Mekong delta with 2 minutes.

  • Spring Hotel. 2 Khu Dan Cu So9 Duong 30/4. 710 839723. SD$10. Have to recommend this *very* clean and friendly place. Rooms maintained and bed sheet changed daily during stay. Enjoy meals any time you want at the nice sitting area by the big windows on each floor.Try their coffee once you are there! The "only" downside is distant from the river (40mins by feet) but free bikes to ride around as well as motorbike rental. Staff are genuine nice! Thumbs up!

    A different way is to try bed and breakfast accommodation in the Can Tho surroundings. Hanh and Yannick from [http://www.nature-mekong.com Nature-Mekong] offers accommodation services and their house is located close to the famous Cai R?ng floating market.

    Splurge

  • Victoria Can Tho. 1.810111. 1.829259. ooms from US$108, river view suites from US$175. ttp://www.victoriahotels-asia.com/eng/hotels-in-vietnam/can-tho-resort. Luxury resort on Cai Kh? island, including a swimming pool, a spa, a ballroom, and a rice barge for a scenic breakfast, lunch or dinner.

    Get out

    From Can Tho you can easily reach other peaceful cities of the Mekong Delta such as Soc Tr?ng, Chau ??c, Sa ?ec R?ch Gia and Ca Mau.