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.
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.
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
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.
Can Tho is a regional hub, so it is rather easy to get to and from all the surrounding provinces.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In Cai Kh? ward:
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.
There are also a variety of other restaurants, the quality and service of which spans the whole range from poor to great.
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".
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.
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.
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.