Mekong Delta itinerary: how to spend 1 or 2 days from Can Tho

How many days

• 1 day: Day 1

  One day covers Cai Rang floating market at dawn by boat, the Cantonese assembly hall, the Binh Thuy ancient house and the Ninh Kieu riverfront, and leaves out the islets.

• 2 days: Days 1 to 2

  Two days add a morning on Con Son islet, with its orchards, fish ponds and lunch with a local family, and an evening at the old riverside market.

Day 1

Cai Rang floating market at dawn and the Binh Thuy ancient house

05:00 to about 18:30 · 7 stops

1. 05:001

   

   Travel · 30 min

   Boat from Ninh Kieu Wharf

   Cost: No official fare. Dai Viet Tourist's 2026 prices: shared boat from VND 80,000 a person; private small boat VND 600,000 or 10-seat boat VND 750,000 for the market, a noodle raft and a coconut-candy workshop.

   The market boats leave from Ninh Kieu Wharf in the centre, and the ride out to Cai Rang takes 30 to 40 minutes, so be on the boat by 05:00. There is no official fare: agree the route, the stops and the price before you set off, and pay at the end. One company, Dai Viet Tourist, runs a shared boat from Ninh Kieu at 05:00, which suits people travelling alone or as a couple. Ask for a life jacket before you leave the wharf.

   Image: Christophe95 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓By boat, 6.1 km. About 30 to 40 minutes upriver to Cai Rang, by the boat company's own figure.

2. 05:452

   

   Market · 1 h 30 min

   Cai Rang floating market

   Cost: Pineapples and drinks are sold boat to boat; ask the price first.

   The market trades every day from dawn until about 08:00 or 09:00. Sampans load produce from the bigger wholesale boats to sell at markets on land, and families live aboard, cooking on small stoves and washing dishes in the river. It is smaller than it was, with just over 200 trading households in 2025, and tour boats make up much of the traffic. Have breakfast on the water: hu tieu, a pork and tapioca noodle soup, served from a boat.

   Image: Christophe95 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓By boat, 6 km. Back to Ninh Kieu by about 09:00, usually stopping at a noodle-making raft and a coconut-candy workshop on the way.

3. 09:153

   

   Sight · 40 min

   Chua Ong, the Cantonese assembly hall

   Cost: Free; donations welcome.

   Back at the wharf, cross the road to Chua Ong, at 32 Hai Ba Trung Street facing the river: the Quang Trieu assembly hall, founded in 1894 by Chinese families from Guangzhou and Zhaoqing in Guangdong. It honours Quan Thanh De Quan, the deified general Guan Yu, and the bodhisattva Quan Am. People come in through the day to light incense, so stand aside for anyone praying, dress modestly and keep your voice down.

   Image: Bùi Thụy Đào Nguyên / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

   ↓About 5 min by taxi or Grab, 7.7 km. About 8 km north-west to Binh Thuy; Grab car or taxi.

4. 10:154

   

   Sight · 1 h

   Binh Thuy ancient house

   Cost: Can Tho's tourism portal lists VND 20,000 to 50,000; pay at the house.

   Built in 1870 on Bui Huu Nghia Street, this house has been home to several generations of the Duong family and mixes French and Asian architecture: look for the yellow facade, the green shutters and the curved double staircase in front. Can Tho's tourism portal lists it as open 08:00 to 16:00, so come in the morning after the boat. It is still a family home, so keep to the rooms you are shown and ask before taking photographs inside.

   Image: Thuydaonguyen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

   ↓About 10 min by taxi or Grab, 8.1 km. About 8 km back to the old market; Grab car or taxi.

5. 11:455

   

   Eat · 1 h

   Lunch by the old market

   Cost: Riverside eateries; prices on the menu.

   Eat by the old market on Hai Ba Trung Street, on the riverfront near the wharf. Delta favourites to look for are banh xeo, a crisp rice pancake eaten wrapped in mustard greens and herbs, and lau mam, a fermented fish hotpot with a heap of river vegetables. Order fruit juice from whatever is in season. Then rest through the early afternoon; you have been up since before five.

   Image: Ser Amantio di Nicolao / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 10 min walk, 0.8 km. About 800 m along the riverfront to the walking bridge.

6. 17:156

   

   View · 45 min

   Ninh Kieu walking bridge at sunset

   Cost: Free

   The pedestrian bridge at the north end of Ninh Kieu park is where Can Tho comes out to walk in the evening. Cross it and back as the sun goes down over the Hau River, then stroll the riverfront park. You will see the market boats from the morning moored along the wharf, ready for the next dawn, and the riverside cafes filling up as it cools down.

   Image: Christophe95 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 10 min walk, 0.7 km. About 700 m back along the riverfront to the night market.

7. 18:307

   

   Market · 1 h 30 min

   Dinner at the Ninh Kieu night market

   Cost: Street food; ask the price before you order.

   The night market a block back from the river, by Vo Van Tan Street, fills with food stalls in the evening. Eat grilled skewers, snails or a bowl of noodles at the plastic tables, and finish with whatever fruit the delta is picking that month; the orchards are at their best from May to August. Ask the price before you order, and go to bed early if you are doing Day 2 tomorrow.

   Image: Christophe95 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Day 2

Con Son islet's orchards and the old riverside market

07:30 to about 16:30 · 4 stops

1. 07:301

   Travel · 20 min

   Ferry from Co Bac pier

   Cost: A short ferry ride; pay the boatman, or it is included if you book a tour with a host family.

   Con Son is a river islet off Binh Thuy, and small ferries cross to it from Co Bac pier, down an alley off Le Hong Phong Street. Take a Grab car from the centre. Book a community-based visit with a host family on the islet the day before: Vietnam's tourism site suggests just such a tour around Can Tho, with lunch at a family home, rice paper villages and fruit orchards. The crossing is short.

   ↓By boat, 0.9 km. A short crossing to the islet.

2. 08:002

   

   Do · 3 h 30 min

   Con Son islet: orchards and fish ponds

   Cost: Priced by the host family or tour; agree what is included in advance.

   Walk or cycle the lanes between fruit gardens and fish ponds, the way Vietnam's tourism site suggests exploring the islets around Can Tho, by bicycle or sampan. Families here show visitors how they raise fish, and the islet is known for its leaping snakehead, fed from a pole above the pond. You can pick fruit in season; the orchards are at their best from May to August. Ask your host whether a small floating market is trading nearby.

   Image: Phương Huy / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

   ↓Walk. Lunch is at your host family's house on the islet.

3. 11:303

   

   Eat · 1 h

   Lunch with a host family

   Cost: Usually part of the host family's price; ask when you book.

   Lunch on the islet is home cooking: fish from the ponds, perhaps grilled or in a sour soup, with rice, river greens and fruit from the garden. It is one of the things Vietnam's tourism site picks out for a community-based tour around Can Tho. Say if you do not eat something when you book, not at the table. Afterwards, take the ferry back and rest through the hottest hours.

   Image: Phương Huy / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 5 min by taxi or Grab, 7.4 km. Ferry back to Co Bac, then about 8 km to the riverfront by Grab car.

4. 16:304

   

   Market · 1 h 30 min

   Can Tho old market and the riverfront

   Cost: Free to walk round.

   The old market building on Hai Ba Trung Street sits on the river by the ferry landing, with cafes and eateries round it. Walk through, buy fruit or dried goods for the road, and sit by the water for the end of the day. If you are moving on to Chau Doc or Ben Tre, both over 100 km by road, this is the evening to sort out your bus; they work better as overnight stops than as day trips from here.

   Image: Christophe95 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Tips for Mekong Delta

Getting there, where to stay and the weather by month are on the Mekong Delta page. Plan checked 24 October 2026.