Important updated on 17th August 2023: The nature itself is still stunning like before. After ending the pandemic Vietnam in 2021, this place took 2 years to attract more birds back to the forest like TODAY. Now This place is the best non-touristy green boat trip canal as a secret gem to visit from Can Tho with 1 hour drive, not 3 hour drive like Tra Su. You can do “Can Tho Wildlife Tour & Forest” as a halfday tour from Can Tho.
The 2,800-hectare forest is an ideal destination for nature lovers. Explore and weave in the untouched wetland of the Mekong delta by boat gives the best experience about wildlife and nature. Visit and study about home-made chocolate at the organic cacao farm on the same day will be great. vemekong.com is the best company designed the unique and exclusive way to explore Can Tho nature & wildlife with bird experts and a perfect experience.
By Thomas Vietnam at vemekong.com | Official Can Tho Visitor Guide
1. Better to Know as a Tourist
Ticket: 50,000VND (visit a part) or 100.000VND
Spend-time: An hour (approx) or stay overnight
Hours: Dawn – dusk
Food: Yes, local restaurant
Shop: Not really
Parking lot: Yes for coach
Blog: https://vemekong.com/can-tho-bird-sanctuary/
Address: 927 Road, Hoa An, Phung Hiep, Hau Giang, Vietnam. About 40km to the South of Can Tho City.
Recognition(s): Lung Ngoc Hoang Nature Reserve is known as the “green lung” of the Mekong Delta But also one of the most unique biodiversity conservation areas of Vietnam.
Added values: Birdwatching or birding in Mekong Delta, Lung Ngoc Hoang forest is one of the most beautiful places for birding in the early morning and afternoon, in the dry and the wet season.
Nearby attractions and hidden gems: Looking for places to stop on your way to and from Can Tho Wildlife & Nature & Bird Sanctuary? Or maybe you found it too crowded here? We’ve got some ideas! Check out our list: Cai Rang floating market (45 minutes away), Can Tho Giant Ficus Tree – Secret VC base (45 minutes away)…
2. Travel Guide to Can Tho Wildlife & Nature & Bird Sanctuary
About 40 kilometers from Can Tho city, the wetland conservation is one of Can Tho hidden gems for anyone who loves to see a real Mekong Delta beside Can Tho floating market. Only best way to explore this place is to take the boat! Wonderful natural green canals and feeling like nowhere in Vietnam. Top tip: Trekking or staying overnight will bring you chances to explore nature & wildlife.
If you are a true nature lover, you would love to be in nature any time like us! Best time for Mekong is in the dry season from December to April, but the best time to visit this wetland is in the flooding and raining season when the fish, foods, birds come back & wake up nature and wildlife. When the flood comes, the water lettuce covers the whole area of the forest and wild canals, this makes the destination such unforgettable landscapes. For other times of the year, especially during the dry season, visitors will see nature’s beauty in different ways as true nature explorers… Since 2016, 2017 the forest has attracted tourists. However, it wasn’t until 2019 the local bridge and road official upgraded so much better. Top tip: The first week of November is top-notch.
Is it safe to visit it during the wet season? The more you know about wildlife the more you respect nature and our rainforest in Mekong Delta. Totally fine! The forest opens all year round! There are even more elements to see during the wet time! As a real traveller, we believe that you will love nature at any time of the year.
3. What to Do and Eat at Can Tho Wildlife & Nature & Bird Sanctuary
There are two local jungle restaurants here where you can consider on fish, Mekong River specialties, rice rats (taste like… rabbit?), snakehead fish, frog, sesbania sesban flower – bong dien dien, water lily, river morning glory…are some “forest” foods you may give a try in the forest and nature.
Book Can Tho Daily Tours:
Can Tho Wildlife Tour & Boat Trip in the Forest AM or PM (include the binocular for birding)
Can Tho Floaing Market & Wildlife 5am-12noon tour (include the binocular for birding)
Hotline/WhatsApp/WeChat/Zalo +84939888559
hello@vemekong.com
Birdwatching or birding in Mekong Delta, this forest is one of the most beautiful places for birding in the early morning and afternoon, in the dry and the wet season. Scientists estimate that it is home to over 76 species of waterfowls and birds like asian openbill (dull bill with gap between mandibles, dirty greyish-white plumage with black tail, lower scapulars and flight feathers), milky stork, indian cormorant (relatively small, short, stubby, mostly pale bill, short neck, all dark with whitish chin), yellow bittern, chinese pond-heron, white-breasted waterhen, grey-headed swamphen, short-toed coucal, collared kingfisher (blue upperside with variable turquoise wash, white collar and underparts, faint creamy-buffish wash on lower flanks, mostly dark bill) and the most endemic species of any country in southeast Asia. Top tip: Contact vemekong.com for a perfect birdwatching tour with a local travel expert.
4. Free Itineraries from VeMekong
As a local travel expert, we have some ideas for you to think about.
From Can Tho city center:
Route 1: Hotel in Can Tho center – boat station – floating market – small canal – the forest [half day]
Route 2: Hotel in Can Tho center – cacao farm or rice noodle factory – the forest [half day]
Route 3: Hotel in Can Tho center – Can Tho Giant Ficus Tree – Secret VC base – the forest – hotel in Can Tho center [half day]
Route 4: Hotel in Can Tho center – boat station – floating market – small canal – rice noodle factory – the forest – Can Tho Giant Ficus Tree – Secret VC base [long tour]
If you do not have much time left, it is easy to check out spots in one full day by boat or with bike or with motorbike and car. Make sure you have more time to feel and explore more about the hidden gems and the culture, food, night life. Top tip: If you are looking for the customized package Can Tho day tour with local, you can contact www.vemekong.com or Hotline/WhatsApp/WeChat/Zalo +84939888559; email: hello@vemekong.com
5. Google Maps of Can Tho Wildlife & Nature & Bird Sanctuary
Google Maps made a name for itself helping people travel from one place to another, avoid traffic (You probably know the route from your hotel to the gas station by heart, but what you can’t be sure about is gridlock), measure a distance, get back to the hotel on time, share the location…
6. Visit Can Tho Wildlife & Nature & Bird Sanctuary by yourself
Solo traveller? Travelling on your own means you will get out of any difficult situations by yourself. This, in turn, leads to more satisfying travel experiences and helps you improve your problem-solving skills. These days we rarely get the chance to sit with ourselves and simply be. That’s why you should consider the time you spend alone on your trip as a gift.
Book Can Tho Daily Tours:
Can Tho Wildlife Tour & Boat Trip in the Forest AM or PM (include the binocular for birding)
Can Tho Floaing Market & Wildlife 5am-12noon tour (include the binocular for birding)
Hotline/WhatsApp/WeChat/Zalo +84939888559
hello@vemekong.com
Visiting the forest by yourself is very okay. Budget travellers and adventure tourists can reach and visit it by motorbike as well. If you can, we do recommend doing so, because Hau Giang motorbike tours or Can Tho motorbike tours are very chill and off the beaten paths and can stop to explore some hidden gems along the way as well. You will enjoy it more than other ways so much. Making it in the dry season will help more. If you have no guided tour, you need to know that the ticket for forest entrance has no local guide and rarely english speaking staff in this spot. Sometimes it takes more time to work out how to spend time each spot with the translation app. Top tip: The wifi and internet in the forest is not stable enough to use online translation app. Take some water if you want to do light trekking with the locals!
7. Responsible Travel and Advice to Visit Can Tho Wildlife & Nature & Bird Sanctuary
We are glad to see a lot of foreigners, expats and Vietnamese tourists paying a visit to nature and forest instead of the theme park or malls. This forest itself means a lot for responsible behavior and nature values. As a local expert travel guide, we would take a friendly-reminding of you that “leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures, kill nothing but time”. Top tip: One of the first local travel companies in Mekong Delta thinking, acting and running responsible travel is vemekong.com (very exclusive Mekong), feel free to support and book eco, responsible tours with them.
8. Amazing Video flycam/drone of the forest (4k)
If a picture says a thousand words, it stands to reason that the video says many times more.
9. Incredible Tips for Photography, Specialists, KOLs, Media and Influencers
To get the best of the best for your unique writing, featuring, photo, video and insider’s stories. We do recommend you to have a local travel expert, the one who always gets more ground information and makes sure every single element is solved perfectly. Vemekong (very exclusive Mekong) team is your priority choice. Email and have a private talk with them to customize your journey smoothly, personal and the most ultimately amazing. You can contact www.vemekong.com or Hotline/WhatsApp/WeChat/Zalo +84939888559; email: hello@vemekong.com
10. Pro Tips
Can Tho Trekking or staying overnight will bring you chances to explore nature & wildlife.
If you plan to extend your travel to Can Tho homestay, do not forget to bring mosquito repellent cream.
Visit Can Tho or do any customized tours, please choose reputable providers with boat trips equipped with lifebuoys, jackets, motorcycle and cycling tours with the helmets and. Safety is a priority! Choose Can Tho responsible tours which help you give back while traveling. It’s a cliché, but it’s true.
Can Tho food & drink guide ranges from street food, authentic, fancy to fusion foods. As a tropical land of many fresh vegetables and homegrown gardens, which always make Can Tho cuisines fresh, close to nature and very traditional. If you are a food lover, don’t hesitate to put other bites onto your food lists such as Cong cake in Can Tho, Ut Dzach Fine Rice Vermicelli…
Bring your hat, sunglasses, and sunblock, scarf to wear when visiting temples, pagodas, and the cathedral.
Bring the raincoat if you’re planning a trip to Can Tho in the rainy season, as Can Tho always looks fantastic in the full rain and full sun.
Can Tho tourist attractions are magnificent itself, but if you have enough time, don’t forget to put other places onto your bucket lists such as Binh Thuy Ancient House, Organic Cacao farm, Can Tho Floating Markets, Can Tho Small Canals & Sampan Ride, Can Tho Fruit Garden, Can Tho Paddy Rice Fields, Can Tho Giant Ficus Tree – Secret VC base, Can Tho Rice Noodle Factory, Cai Rang floating market, Can Tho Old Market, Phong Dien floating market, Truc Lam Phuong Nam Zen Monastery, Can Tho to Con Dao – Express boat, Son Islet – Community-based Tourism…
Hopefully, the above tips will help you to come up with a great plan for your adventure in Can Tho, Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Have a safe trip!
“Sleep less, travel more, respect more” – Thomas Vietnam – Local travel expert.
Thank you
