From the moment we arrived to the day we left, Cần Thơ treated us to the most beautiful weather we could have asked for. Sure, hot and humid, but in a nice way that makes you want to spend time outside.
Alex had some memories from his last visit, and not the most pleasant ones. Three years ago, while walking through the town with our friends, a bunch of silly teenagers started throwing bricks at them — most likely because of the heat of teenage blood, but perhaps also because young tourists were fairly rare in these parts of Vietnam. We will never know for sure and we don’t need to, but the memory was there, and Erika had low expectations of the “unfriendly” Mekong capital. The truth is that this time, it ended up being one of our biggest Vietnam highlights.
We stayed at the Tru by Hilton (the former Sojo hotel) close to the city center. What drew us in was that the price was super cheap, plus we still had some points to use. Location-wise it’s unbeatable, plus, in hindsight, the advice we got from our receptionist shaped the rest of our Mekong trip.
Our initial plan was to stay in Cần Thơ for three nights, then one night in Sóc Trăng and from there make our way to Trần Đề — the port city where we’d catch the ferry to Côn Đảo — early in the morning. The receptionist looked at us with concern: “Are you sure you want to do that? You’d be going to the deep Vietnamese countryside,” she questioned, and suddenly, we were not that sure of our plan anymore. Since nothing was booked yet, we left the topic open with the promise to come back to it after some food.
Quick unpacking, shower, and out we go. We headed toward the iconic Ninh Kiều Wharf and found a lovely local stall just outside of the port that served stir-fried pork belly and coconut coffee, just what we were in the mood for. Combined with the view of the Cần Thơ Bridge, Vietnam’s first cable-stayed bridge that’s just as interesting during the day as it is at night when it comes to life with the colorful LED lights, it was the perfect welcome combination.
The port was busy that afternoon, as it is almost every day. Probably even more so lately, since Vietnam merged Cần Thơ with two neighboring provinces last summer and it woke up as the biggest city in the Mekong Delta. The next morning we would experience it in the light of the sunrise, because we decided to start strong and do the famous Cái Răng Floating Market on the first possible day. We were super excited about everything except the 4:00am alarm.
We used the rest of the evening to plan our next stop. Our preferred way would have been to take the Mai Linh Express ferry directly from the city center and cruise down the Mekong River all the way to Côn Đảo. Sadly, the ferry company did not survive the Covid-19 pandemic and went bankrupt in 2025 — so no ferry. The bus to Sóc Trăng or to Trần Đề would have been the next best option, but booking things in Vietnam is not always that easy and we couldn’t find a bus that would arrive in Trần Đề early enough to make it to the 10:00am ferry, and the hotel options in Sóc Trăng didn’t look great either. Fortunately, the receptionist at our hotel could arrange a driver for us to take us directly to the ferry port.
Having gained one extra day, we decided to give Cần Thơ our maximum attention! Happy about our solution, we walked down the promenade to the beautiful Ninh Kiều Pedestrian Bridge, also called the Love Bridge because of its lovely night setup with lights, its gorgeous lotus-shaped platforms, and the padlocks couples leave there promising each other love till the end. Cần Thơ at night has an undeniable charm.
4:00am, one of us grumpier than the other, we hopped into a cab, hoping the “this was totally worth it” feeling would arrive sooner rather than later. It came quickly: practically the moment we boarded our small six-person tour boat, we started cruising down the river just as the sun began to rise.
Cái Răng is the biggest (and one of the last surviving) floating markets in the Mekong Delta, running for over a hundred years as a proper wholesale market — farmers bring their produce on big boats, smaller boats buy it up and carry it to the markets on land. The vendors don’t shout what they sell — they show it. Each boat has a tall bamboo pole with the goods hanging from it. A pineapple on the pole means pineapples are being sold on that boat. Simple and genius. We’re really glad we got to see it while it still exists, because the sad truth is the market is shrinking massively — from around 500 boats a few years back to about 200 today, with more and more of the trade moving onto the land. You could see it yourself at the nearby land market where we stopped to buy some fruits: busy, loud, and clearly where the business is heading. We felt lucky to see it, and a little sad knowing we might be among the last who do.
The tour continued with a slow cruise through the narrow canals, which was honestly our favorite part — palm trees, tiny bridges, and glimpses of everyday life along the water. The last stop was a small cocoa farm, where we saw the whole journey from the pod to the chocolate bar and enjoyed a cocoa with milk fresh from the source. Very cool experience, and one we can highly recommend!
Cần Thơ also treated us to probably the best phở of our lives at Phở - Bún Bò 132Bistro132 Phan Đình Phùng, Ninh Kiều, a lovely family-owned restaurant that has been around for two or three decades, moving several times before settling here. It was so crowded with locals that there wasn’t a single empty seat on the sidewalk. The broth is exceptional and at ₫35,000 per bowl, it’s a steal.
Between all the eating, we also visited a few beautiful temples around the city, including the magical Chinese Ong Pagoda - Chùa ÔngBuddhist temple24 Trần Phú, Old Town, Hội An right by the Ninh Kiều Wharf, which is a really unique and peaceful place. Or the
Pitu Khosa Rangsey - Khmer Prey Russey PagodaBuddhist temple27/18 Đ. Mạc Đĩnh Chi, Ninh Kiều, architecturally a combination of traditional Khmer design and modern Angkor features.
Another one was the Chùa PHẬT HỌCBuddhist temple11 Đ. Hoà Bình, Ninh Kiều, right on Hòa Bình Boulevard, a five-story Vietnamese Buddhist temple you basically can’t miss if you’re walking around the center. This one hits you with The 18 Levels of Hell (The Realm of Karmic Retribution), a very graphic list of karmic punishments for sinners, such as having your tongue pulled out for gossiping, or being carved up into chunks for stealing. Really makes you reconsider your life choices, we bet. There are huge Buddha statues on each floor, each one a bit different, and the higher you go, the more peaceful you feel. Don’t forget about the silence and taking off your shoes as you enter.
We visited Quang Duc PagodaBuddhist temple67 Đ. Mậu Thân, Ninh Kiều as well, an active local temple with monks going about their day and dharma talks held daily, all red and gold in the typical southern Vietnamese style, with a golden gate and a pagoda tower on the side decorated with a gilded bodhi tree.
Four nights, and honestly, we could have stayed even longer. If you’re planning your own visit: book the floating market tour as soon as you get a chance — we booked through GetYourGuide and were super happy with the experience as well as with our tour guide, Cris. And don’t rush off after the tour like most day-trippers from Hồ Chí Minh City do. Cần Thơ deserves a few days of your time, and it will pay you back with interest.
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