Annotated links for Mekong Delta travel
Provinces · Can Tho city
Can Tho: city, Soc Trang and Hau Giang in one
Since 1 July 2025 Can Tho city also covers the former provinces of Soc Trang and Hau Giang. This page lists the official portals for the new city, the places that have their own page on the city's tourism portal, and the sources for the Khmer festivals that now fall inside Can Tho.
- area of the new city
- 6,360.83 km²
- population in the 2025 resolution
- 4,199,824
- passengers at Can Tho airport in 2025, all domestic
- 1,115,000
The new city in one paragraph
Resolution 202/2025/QH15 merged Can Tho, Soc Trang and Hau Giang into a single city-level unit that kept the name Can Tho. It covers 6,360.83 km² and 4,199,824 people. Soc Trang is now a ward of Can Tho, and the Khmer pagodas and boat races once filed under "Soc Trang province" are now listed by the city. Phung Hiep, Nga Bay and Vi Thanh, the names travellers knew from Hau Giang, survive as local place names.
Sources: Dai bieu Nhan dan — Resolution 202/2025/QH15, full text, 12 Jun 2025; Bao Dau tu — Ooc Om Boc festival opens in Can Tho, 3 Nov 2025 · checked .
Official links for Can Tho
| Link | What it is | Status |
|---|---|---|
| dulich.cantho.gov.vn | City tourism portal: places, events, hotels, registered travel businesses; footer names the city Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism | Official · loaded 12 Oct 2026 |
| dulich.cantho.gov.vn/en | English version of the same portal, with fewer pages | Official · loaded 12 Oct 2026 |
| cantho.gov.vn | City government portal | Official · did not load for our checker 12 Oct 2026 |
| pbgdpl.cantho.gov.vn | City legal-information portal; carries the plans for official festivals | Official · loaded 12 Oct 2026 |
The tourism portal returned temporary errors when we opened many pages in a row; waiting a few seconds between pages helped.
Sources: Can Tho tourism portal · checked .
Places with their own official page
These are the entries on the city tourism portal that match what most visitors come for. Each page is in Vietnamese and gives an address and a short description; opening hours and prices are not always included.
| Place | Official page | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Cai Rang floating market | portal page | Reached by boat from the city waterfront; see the warning below |
| Ninh Kieu wharf | portal page | Riverside promenade where most boat trips start |
| Binh Thuy communal house | portal page | Village communal house in Binh Thuy ward |
| Con Son islet | portal page | Community tourism on a river islet near the centre |
| Mahatup (Bat) pagoda | portal page | Khmer pagoda in former Soc Trang |
| Botum Vong Sa Som Rong pagoda | portal page | Khmer pagoda in Soc Trang ward |
| Buu Son pagoda (clay pagoda) | portal page | Pagoda known for clay statues, former Soc Trang |
Sources: Can Tho tourism portal — places · checked .
Cai Rang: read the recent reports first
The floating market is still the delta's most widely known sight, but the official page does not describe its decline. Al Jazeera reported about 200 boats in February 2025, fewer than half the 1990s peak, and listed the causes: better roads, the COVID-19 years, flood walls without piers along the Can Tho River, and younger traders moving ashore. Around Tet 2026, Tuoi Tre News published reader complaints about touts, price-gouging and poor toilets; these are reader reports, not findings by the paper.
A boat trip can still be worth it, especially early in the morning, but agree the price and the length of the trip before you board.
Sources: Al Jazeera — floating markets dwindle, 28 Feb 2025; Tuoi Tre News — Cai Rang market complaints, 25 Feb 2026 · checked .
Khmer festivals now listed under Can Tho
The Ok Om Bok festival and its Ghe Ngo long-boat races take place at the full moon of the 10th lunar month, usually in November. In 2025 the Can Tho edition ran from 3 to 5 November in Phu Loi and Soc Trang wards, with water-lantern shows on the Maspero River. Both the festival and the races are national intangible heritage.
For the Khmer New Year, Chol Chnam Thmay, the city's 2026 plan scheduled a televised programme on 15 April 2026 at Chroi Tum Chas pagoda (formerly Tra Tim) in My Xuyen ward. The plan was published on the city's legal-information portal, which is where to look for the 2027 one. Dates for both festivals change with the lunar calendar; see the festivals page.
Sources: Bao Dau tu — Ooc Om Boc festival opens in Can Tho, 3 Nov 2025; Can Tho legal information portal — Chol Chnam Thmay 2026 plan, 3 Apr 2026 · checked .
Getting there: links only
Can Tho International Airport handled 1,115,000 passengers in 2025, all on domestic routes; international flights have been suspended since the second quarter of 2024. Vietnam Airlines announced in July 2026 that it would resume Can Tho–Da Lat flights after nearly six years. Airline, bus and boat websites are on the transport operators page; this site does not give step-by-step routes.
Sources: Tuoi Tre — Can Tho airport traffic and route proposals, 14 May 2026; Viet Nam News — Can Tho–Da Lat route to resume, 30 Jul 2026 · checked .
When these links will not help
The city portal is a poor guide to what is open on a given day. Boat trips to Cai Rang depend on traders turning up, and the portal does not post daily conditions. In flood season, high tides can cover riverside streets: the 2025 flood bulletin warned residents to limit travel during high tides between 05:00–08:00 and 16:00–19:00. Check the current bulletin, not the tourism portal, before planning a dawn river trip in October or November.
The portal also lists only businesses registered with the city. A homestay or boat driver missing from it is not necessarily unlicensed — check the national register described on the official sources page.
Sources: Ministry of Agriculture and Environment — 2025 Mekong flood bulletin, 3 Oct 2025 · checked .
Photos
Common questions
Questions readers send
Is Soc Trang still a province?
No. Since 1 July 2025 Soc Trang has been part of Can Tho city, and Soc Trang is now the name of a ward. Its Khmer pagodas and the Ok Om Bok festival are now listed by Can Tho.
Does Can Tho airport have international flights?
Not in 2025: all 1,115,000 passengers that year were domestic, according to Tuoi Tre in May 2026. Routes change, so check the airline websites before planning around the airport.
Is Cai Rang floating market still worth visiting?
Many visitors still go, but the market is much smaller than it was. Recent reports describe about 200 boats in 2025 and complaints about touts in early 2026. Go early and agree the boat price first.
Related
Read next
Provinces · An Giang
An Giang
An Giang with former Kien Giang: tourism portal, Sam Mountain festival, Ha Tien sites, U Minh Thuong, Oc Eo.
Provinces · Vinh Long
Vinh Long
Vinh Long with former Ben Tre and Tra Vinh: official portals, An Binh, Ao Ba Om, don ca tai tu.
Directory · Festivals
Festivals and events
Lunar and fixed-date festivals across the delta, each linked to the notice or report that dated it.
Directory · Nature and heritage
Parks and museums
National parks, Ramsar wetlands, relic sites and museums, each with its official page and check date.
Directory · Official
Official sources
National tourism and immigration bodies plus each new province's government and tourism portal, with check dates.
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