Things to do in Can Tho

A visit to Lam The Cuong Cacao Farm is both a fun and educational experience as it exposes you to the process of producing organic-certified chocolate from cacao seeds. The plantation also serves as a comfortable homestay surrounded by lush cacao trees.

Experience the bustling Cai Rang Floating Market, the biggest floating market in the Mekong Delta. Packed with merchants and vendors from all over the riverside region, the water bazaar serves as a wholesale market where smaller traders in Can Tho come to buy goods and sundry for their business. (Check out the stuff tied to the poles to know what each boat sells.) You can also buy cooked food, Vietnamese coffee and fruits from the boat vendors, but sharpen your bargaining skills before your part with your money.

The Mekong Delta is one of the main providers of fruits to all of Vietnam, and it’s quite an experience to see the trees on which these fruits grow. Situated along the quiet Long Ong canal, the Ba Cong orchard is one of Can Tho’s biggest, supplying fruits to the vendors in the city and its surrounding areas. Owner Dang Van Cong opened up his orchards so visitors can explore the gardens and learn about the various fruits grown onsite. (Did you know that jackfruit trees are separated into male and female?) There’s also a cafeteria where you can savor the fruits grown at the garden.

French, Chinese and Vietnamese architecture blend harmoniously at the Binh Thuy house, an ancient structure belonging to the Duong Family. The house offers an insight into the life of Vietnamese billionaires, and is also famous for being one of the locations for the The Lover, the film based on the popular novel by Marguerite Duras.

Noodles are a staple in Vietnamese cuisine, and a trip to a family-run noodle factory provides an insight into how they are made. Lo Hu Tieu Chin Cua shows you how rice noodles are made from scratch, and lets you sample their “pizza noodle,” which is actually fried rice noodles with sweet and salty sauce. Meanwhile, Ut Dzach shows you the process behind making banh hoi mat vong or hammockshaped vermicelli.