Tinh Bien Market is a large wholesale market of the Western region.  This place borders Cambodia, so its goods are quite cheap and unique.  You can find a variety of quality goods that are not available everywhere at Tinh Bien market

By Thomas Vietnam at vemekong.com | Official Chau Doc Visitor Guide

1. Better to Know as a Tourist

Ticket:  Free

Spend-time: One and a half hour (approx)

Hours: Dawn – dusk

Food: Yes

Shop: Yes

Parking lot: Yes

Blog: https://vemekong.com/tinh-bien-market-an-giang/

Address:  Xuan Hoa Hamlet, Tinh Bien Town, Tinh Bien District, An Giang.

Added values: Visiting Tinh Bien Market, in addition to owning rich, quality products and unique foods, you also increase your understanding of the life and activities of the people in the border areas.  Although it is only a small and medium-sized commercial area, Tinh Bien is very proud of being at the top of the top famous tourist destinations in An Giang.

Nearby attractions and hidden gems: Looking for places to stop on your way to and from Tinh Bien market? Or maybe you found it too crowded here? We’ve got some ideas! Check out our list: Tra Su Cajuput Forest (20 km), Sam Mountain (20 Km), Cam Mountain – Forbidden Mountain (30 km), Chau Doc Floating Market (28 km), 30 Thang 4 Park in Chau Doc (25 km)…

2. Travel Guide to Tinh Bien Market

As a wholesale market between Vietnam and Cambodia, so many tourists come here, when visiting the market, visitors also need to pay attention to the following issues: Visitors to the market remember to pay attention to money, furniture, phones and personal belongings; Don’t forget to ask for the price before choosing to buy something; Do not be afraid to haggle (bid) before buying, if the seller does not agree, gradually increase the amount; When entering the market, don’t find the goods are too cheap but buy a lot, just buy as gifts the outstanding specialties here such as Chau Doc fish sauce, May fruit, Thai tamarind…

Located on an important trade route between the two countries, Tinh Bien is a strategic location of the southwestern border region.  The market is often a stopover for tourists to eat and shop after traveling to Chau Doc and surrounding areas. The whole market consists of adjacent stalls selling a variety of domestic and foreign products at relatively cheap prices such as towels, blankets, clothes, cosmetics,… High-end watches  Imported, and diverse designs are also sold a lot.

Prominent in the food area are the delicious and beautiful dried fish sauce that is loved by many tourists such as Linh fish sauce, dried catfish, dried fish, Thai fish sauce, choke fish sauce, catfish sauce, snakehead fish sauce, etc…all of them have attractive distinctive flavors for only a few tens of thousands of dong.

Tinh Bien An Giang Market is always crowded with buyers and sellers because it is considered a large wholesale market for the entire Mekong Delta region, with an abundant, diverse and cheap source of goods.  But the most crowded is on the occasion of the Ba Chua Xu festival, the scene of the market becomes full of people, people have to squeeze to get inside to buy goods. 

3. What to Do –See – Eat at Tinh Bien Market

After shopping, right in the market, visitors can stop by snacks, drinks, and tea shops to enjoy delicious and special dishes such as Sugar palm cake (Thot Not cake), tea, and other dishes, cool water, specialty dishes made from insects are also sold here.

Sugar palm fruits are fresh and delicious. Not only are reptiles a specialty, but Tinh Bien market also has a shop selling delicious sugar palm juice.  Right at the beginning of the market on the left, looking in from the outside, you will see a shop selling palm juice. That place for decades has been considered the best place to sell this juice in the region.

The fish sauce smells all over the market. Fish sauce is a typical specialty of the whole Chau Doc region.  Therefore, in Tinh Bien market, this specialty is indispensable.  You will see plastic bowls filled with different kinds of fish sauce: choke fish sauce, Linh fish sauce, snakehead fish sauce, shrimp paste, shrimp paste and even different types of vegetarian fish sauce, … This place also sells many types of dried fish to eat such as: dried stingray, dried snakehead fish, dried pangasius, dried beef, dried shrimp.

Clothes at Tinh Bien market – The famous fabric selling area. Most of Tinh Bien market clothes are brought from Cambodia.  But the special thing is that their origin is mainly from China and Thailand.  Therefore, the quality of the fabric is quite good, but the price is cheaper than outside.  Thereby creating a great advantage for fabric wholesalers when visiting Tinh Bien market to shop. Good quality chiffon and spandex fabrics cost only from 20,000 VND to 40,000 VND/meter of fabric.  Not to mention buying in bulk, the price is much cheaper. 

Cosmetics at Tinh Bien market. Go to Tinh Bien market bordering Cambodia to buy Thai goods.  It sounds funny, but it’s the truth here.  The items here are mostly of Thai origin.  Although there are also low-quality products, if you know the product well, you will definitely have great quality products. Most of the small traders in Tinh Bien market have been in business for many years.  You will definitely be more assured about the reliability of the cosmetic quality here.  The price is extremely good for those who buy and resell. 

Cheap second hand electronics. The electronics here are interesting! The good ones are very good, the bad ones are also very bad.  There are also electronic products originating from Vietnam, China is not lacking, but the quality is similar to Thai and Japanese goods.

4. Free Itineraries from VeMekong

As a local travel expert, we have some ideas for you to think about.

From Chau Doc city center:

Route 1:

Route 2:

Route 3:

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. But there are much more than tourist sites like these in An Giang. Make sure you have more time to feel and explore more about the hidden gems and the culture, food, night life, wildlife and forest as well. Top tip: Stay in a homestay nearby, so you have more chances to visit it and surroundings. If you are looking for the package An Giang daily tours with local, you can contact www.vemekong.com or Hotline/WhatsApp/WeChat/Zalo +84939888559; email: hello@vemekong.com

5. Google Maps of Tinh Bien Market

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 Tinh Bien Market 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.

It is possible for solo travellers to use google maps and do it alone. But sometimes they need to update local maintained roads and bridges which close and lead you a longer road than the road from Google maps. It is just about the time. It takes more time to find the correct garden to come. Adventure is always fun. Wifi is strong in An Giang village! The locals find it hard to speak English as well. Top tip: Sticking to one canal and keeping going along it which gives you more things to see and avoids getting lost. Contact vemekong.com to hire a car, scooter with English-speaking-guide or cycling tours in An Giang 

7. Responsible Travel and Advice Tinh Bien Market

Don’t get us wrong. But we assure you that you totally agree with us. “Do not give candy and things to the children when you plan to visit any local villages”, the kids will leave the school and follow the sweets and later they find some things to give you or sell to you. The garden is a little forest, don’t pick and touch the flowers or fruits without the local’s smiles. We deal with traveling green and leaving green behind, not plastic. Top tip: Vemekong.com are some of the companies that care a lot about responsible travel and local respectation.

8. Amazing Video flycam/drone of Tinh Bien Market (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. The 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 

Best time to visit Chau Doc floating market, Long Xuyen floating market is from 5:30am-6:30am. I hope you have an amazing sunrise on the Mekong Delta river.

You can stay in a homestay which is near the floating market, this will help you out the best option. Then you can hire a scooter, car or bike and explore it by yourself, but you still need to hire a boat for the floating market tour.

If you plan to extend your travel to Chau Doc homestay, do not forget to bring mosquito repellent cream.

Visit Chau Doc 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 Chau Doc responsible tours which help you give back while traveling. It’s a cliché, but it’s true.

Chau Doc 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 Chau Doc 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 Bun Ca Chau Doc (the soft noodle is cooked with fish), Banh bo cake of Chau Doc, Sugar palm fruit, Caramelized and Braised Catfish, Grilled Rice-field Rat with Salt and Chili, Long Xuyen Broken Rice, Nui Cam Pancake, O Thum’s Chicken Grilled with Lime Leaves, Sour Soup with Siamese Mud Carp Soup & Sesbania Flower, Stir-fried Shrimp with Sesbania Flower, Phu Huong Beef Noodle Soup, Basa Fish Hotpot, Mam (Fermented Fish)…

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 Chau Doc in the rainy season, as Chau Doc always looks fantastic in the full rain and full sun.

Chau Doc tourist attractions are magnificent itself, but if you have enough time, don’t forget to put other places onto your bucket lists such as Tra Su Cajuput forest & Birdwatching, Chau Doc Floating Village, Fish Farm & Cham Minority Village, Chau Doc floating market & small canal, Sam mountain, Tuc Dup hill, Chau Doc river tour, Chau Doc cycling tour, Chau Doc photography tour, Ta Pa Rice Fields, Vinh Te Canal, Seven-Mountain Ox Racing Festival, Tay An Pagoda, Chau Doc Market, The Lady Temple – The Ba Chua Xu Temple, Phuoc Dien Pagoda – Hang Pagoda, Thoai Ngoc Hau Tomb,

Hopefully, the above tips will help you to come up with a great plan for your adventure in Chau Doc, An Giang province, Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Have a safe trip!

“Sleep less, travel more, respect more” – Thomas Vietnam – Local travel expert.

Thank you