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Can Tho Floating Market & Tra Su Forest Tour 1 Day
  • ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 180 reviews
  • Can Tho, Tra Su, Chau Doc, Can Tho
  • By Team Vemekong
05:00 AM – 05:30 PM Car, Boat, Lunch, Sampan Up to 10pax Can Tho floating market and Tra Su forest English speaking tour guide Veggie-friendly

This tour starts and ends in Can Tho and free drop off in Chau Doc. The tour includes the Can Tho floating market by the 5am-sampan river tour and visit Mekong’s Fish & Farmer market and more and then get on the car for the 845-hectare Tra Su cajuput forest (planted from the 80s) and more on the way. It is a great combination of 2 tours in ONE DAY.

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Highlights
Start & end in Can Tho. Free dropoff in Chau Doc Enjoy an authentic small boat to the floating market Visit the lively Mekong's Fish & Farmer Market Tra Su forest with a rowing sampan & a boat trip Visit: sugar palm & best rice field, Khmer pagoda Explore the river culture and Mekong's life
Itinerary
  • Pick-up
    05:00 AM, our English speaking tour guide and car will pick you up from your hotel and transfer to the Ninh Kieu pier for embarking the authentic small boat (sampan).
  • Can Tho floating market and the sunrise (sometimes) sampan ride
    Arrive at Cai Rang floating market – a must see in Can Tho, Mekong Delta. Your guide will explain and tell you why "early market" "why floating market here" and "why floating market is getting smaller after every 365 days" "why we should see it in real life, real smell before it disappears" and more. The experience includes the best noodle soup on the river tour. Even our guide will take care of your vegetarian breakfast as well. Find a reason to interact with the river life and enjoy the fresh seasonal tropical fruits at the floating market as well.
  • The Mekong's fish and farmer market (no-touristy)
    Visit the Mekong's fish and farmer market (no-touristy) lets you see the Delta's true heartbeat. It's where locals trade fresh fish, fruits, and produce in a lively, authentic setting untouched by mass tourism. You'll witness real daily life, colorful scenes, and the spirit of community that sustains the Mekong.
  • Around 7:30 AM, get in the car in Can Tho and depart for Tra Su forest.
    07:30 AM, finish the morning floating market & Mekong fish and farmer market and local life and Mekong river culture. The car will pick you up in the Can Tho’s countryside and keep going to the Tra Su forest.
  • Tra Su Melaleuca Forest
    Arrive at Tra Su Melaleuca Forest. You will have a motor boat in the forest, go and spot as many birds as you can with your now trained eyes and the directions of the guide. Pay attention to the sounds of the forest to grasp a better idea of this mesmerizing place, declared one of one of the area’s most peaceful spots in Southern Vietnam. After getting to the 25-meter observation tower to enjoy the fascinating view over the mountain in the area, the expanses of cajeput forest and the white dots of flying storks. Your tour will slow down by taking the hand-rowing sampan for a close-up birdwatching and enjoy the most beautiful flooded forest in Vietnam as well as SE-Asia. Take an amazing bamboo walking bridge in the forest in Vietnam which gives you much time to feel the beauty of nature.
  • The local authentic lunch is included on tour
    About 3 hours in the forest included the authentic lunch in the restaurant in the forest.
  • One of the best paddy rice fields in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
    On the way, you will see hundreds of hectares of green and yellow rice fields and the tour guide will stop at one of the best rice fields to visit to learn all about the Mekong Delta Rice Fields (rice fields are seasonals in the dry & wet season).
  • Sugar palm fields
    Of course, on this trip, you also can taste the sugar palm fruit juice at the sugar palm fields which may bring you some scenic pictures of the countryside views of Mekong region near the border of Vietnam in Chau Doc Tinh Bien.
  • An ancient Khmer pagoda
    Surrounded by the small minority Khmer village, The Khmer ancient pagoda, 300-hundred-year-old, has a very tranquil setting and is one of the oldest ancient Khmer-style pagodas in Mekong Delta. Walking around the pagoda, you will feel the relaxation, airy but no less ancient thanks to the pleasant complex of peaceful compound with elaborate stupas and ornate painting of spiritual scenes with the Buddha on the outside of the main building.
  • End the tour
    Around 02:30 PM, head back to Can Tho city. Arrive Can Tho around 5:30pm. Or free drop off in Chau Doc around 3:30pm.
  • P/s
    This tour offers a free drop off at a hotel in Chau Doc city for your next day to Cambodia by speed boat. We can provide you a transfer service from Tra Su forest to Ha Tien or Rach Gia for Phu Quoc island. Please contact us if you would like to book this extra transfer.
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180 reviews on “Can Tho Floating Market & Tra Su Forest Tour 1 Day”

  1. Elsa Meyer. from Switzerland said:
    Verified ✓
    A Day That Touched Every Sense

    Duy started our day with warmth and local pastries in hand. As we stepped onto the boat, the Mekong greeted us with golden light and the gentle chaos of the floating market. Boats bumped, vendors called, and we tasted the freshest pineapple I’ve ever had.

    But what I remember most wasn’t the market—it was the soft canals afterwards. We switched to a smaller boat and entered a world of green reflections and birdsong. Time felt slower there, and my breath deepened.

    The noodle-making stop brought laughter and learning. Duy translated as the elderly couple joked and shared stories of noodle-making through decades. Their kindness stayed with me.

    After lunch in the middle of Tra Su forest—crispy elephant ear fish, fresh herbs, and rice—we climbed the watchtower. Below us was a sea of green treetops and winding waterways. Stunning.

    But the moment that gave me goosebumps came last—standing barefoot in a Khmer pagoda, hearing the bell echo in the wind. For a second, everything stopped.

    Thank you, Duy, for crafting a day that touched not only our senses but our spirits too.

  2. Julien Martel. from France said:
    Verified ✓
    Beyond the Postcards: The Real Mekong

    I thought I knew what to expect—boats, rice fields, temples. But what Chris gave us was far deeper.

    We didn’t start with the market. Instead, we glided silently through narrow canals first, in a wooden sampan. The world was still waking up, and birds danced above us. No motors. No noise. Just the water, our paddler, and Chris whispering stories of the Delta.

    Then came the floating market—vibrant but fading. We had coffee from a tiny boat, and bun rieu that tasted like family. There was no tourist show here—just life.

    After a short ride, we joined a local family in their rice noodle business. Julien, my partner, even tried stretching the noodle sheets (and failed hilariously). The noodle “pizza” they served us? Genius!

    In the heat of the day, Tra Su welcomed us with cool shadows and whispering trees. We watched storks and egrets flutter overhead, then drifted through flooded cajeput forest in near silence.

    And finally, the Khmer temple—unassuming yet profoundly peaceful. I left barefoot and speechless.

    Chris didn’t just show us the Mekong. He helped us feel its heart.

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