Private & tailor-made · 1–4 guests
Can Tho Private Day Tour: Floating Market, Con Son Islet and Binh Thuy
A full day on and beside the rivers of Can Tho at your own pace: Cai Rang Floating Market at first light, breakfast on the water, the rice noodle workshop and a hand-rowed canal, then up the Hau River to Con Son islet for orchards, a fish raft and lunch with a family, and in the afternoon Binh Thuy Ancient House and a Khmer pagoda. Every boat, meal and entry fee is paid before you travel.
A sample day at a glance
What changes when the day is yours
A private car for your group alone
Private, 1-4 guests, and nobody outside your party is added to it
Your own licensed local guide
Fluent in English and explains the trade, the river and each step of the craft — to your group alone, not twenty strangers
Collected at your own hotel
Anywhere in central Can Tho. No meeting point to reach on your own, and no bargaining with boat touts at the wharf
Every boat ride and meal prepaid
The boat, breakfast and every visit are paid for. Nothing is collected from you at any gate
No shop stops, in writing
No detour to a souvenir showroom that pays to have you delivered
First light, then a slow afternoon
The market at its busiest hour, lunch in a garden home on the islet, and the old house once it reopens after midday
Duration
About 10 hours
Departure
05:30 pickup, or your time
Pickup
Any central Can Tho hotel
from · $90 · / person · ›Check your price ›
Choose your group size · price is the total for the group
Solo traveller$255 BOOK →2 guests$290 BOOK →3 guests$325 BOOK →4 guests$360 BOOK →Free cancellation up to 3 days before · every tour tailored on request
The day, stop by stop
This is a sample day: add, skip or linger over any stop and we will adjust it. Timings follow the 05:30 pickup and are set around the market’s busiest hour and the ancient house’s midday closing.
Hotel pickup · 05:30 or the time you choose · anywhere in central Can Tho
Ninh Kieu wharf and downriver · a few minutes by car, then 30 to 45 minutes by private boat as the sky lightens
Cai Rang Floating Market
06:15 · about 75 minutes · by private boat
Boat and breakfast included
4 photos · tap to enlarge
The wholesale boats are at their busiest now, each advertising its load on a tall pole. Your boatman stops beside the ones worth stopping for, and your guide translates as you ask the families aboard what they carry and where from. Breakfast is noodle soup and drip coffee, handed across from a small boat.
Sau Hoai noodle workshop and a hand-rowed canal
07:45 · about 1.5 hours · on foot and by sampan
Visits included
1 photo · tap to enlarge
At the Sau Hoai workshop rice batter is steamed into thin sheets over a wood fire and dried on bamboo racks; you take a turn at the steamer. Then a local rower takes you along a narrow canal under nipa palms, too small for the tour boats, while your own boat waits at the far end.
Up the Hau River to Con Son · about an hour by boat, back past the city waterfront and out onto the wide river
Con Son islet
10:15 · about 3 hours, lunch included · on foot
Visits and lunch included
4 photos · tap to enlarge
A 70-hectare islet in the Hau River where around fifty families open their orchards and fish ponds to visitors. Walk the shaded lanes and small bridges, visit a fish raft on the river, watch snakehead fish leap for bait, try your hand at a folk cake, and sit down to lunch at a family garden home — typically snakehead grilled in a straw fire, soup and seasonal fruit. There is time for a hammock afterwards.
Across to the Binh Thuy bank · a short boat ride to the Co Bac side, where your car is waiting
Binh Thuy Ancient House
14:00 · about 45 minutes · on foot
Entry included
1 photo · tap to enlarge
The Duong family house, first built around 1870 and rebuilt in its present form in the early 1900s: a French-style front, a Vietnamese ancestral hall behind it, carved hardwood columns and patterned tiles inside. Jean-Jacques Annaud filmed The Lover here. Your guide explains how a Mekong trading family came to build in two styles at once.
Into the city centre · about 20 minutes by car
Munirangsyaram Pagoda
15:00 · about 30 minutes · on foot
No entry fee at the pagoda
1 photo · tap to enlarge
A Khmer Theravada pagoda on Hoa Binh Avenue, with a three-tower gate in the Angkor style and a main hall under steep, tiered roofs. Your guide explains how the Khmer community of the delta keeps its own Buddhist tradition, different from the Vietnamese pagodas you pass on the river.
Back at your hotel · around 15:45 · About 10 hours after pickup
Market, islet and old house, one group
No stops we did not tell you about, nothing to pay at any gate, and any part of it can be changed.
Group total · everything included
Solo traveller$255 BOOK →2 guests$290 BOOK →3 guests$325 BOOK →4 guests$360 BOOK →Price is the total for the group · free cancellation up to 3 days before
WhatsApp · +84 368 938 081Want a different route, pace or group size? We will plan your day and send you an all-inclusive quote. ›What is in the price
Included
- Private air-conditioned car and driver for the day
- Licensed local guide who speaks fluent English
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in central Can Tho
- Private motor boat from dawn to early afternoon, with life jackets
- Breakfast on the river with Vietnamese coffee
- Sau Hoai rice noodle workshop and a hand-rowed sampan
- Con Son islet visits: orchard, fish raft and folk-cake making
- Lunch at a family garden home, with soft drinks
- Entry to Binh Thuy Ancient House
- Seasonal fruit and bottled water
Not included
− Fruit or snacks you buy from the boats for yourself
− Drinks beyond those served with breakfast and lunch
− A tip for your guide, driver and boatman — never expected, always welcome
− Travel insurance, which we recommend you carry
Is this the right tour for you?
A good fit if
You want Cai Rang at its busiest and a slower afternoon away from the crowds.
You like to eat where people live — breakfast on the river, lunch in a garden home.
You want to see Can Tho beyond the market in one unhurried day.
You want one price that covers every boat, meal and entry fee.
Look elsewhere if
You are one person on a tight budget.
Ten hours from a 5:30 start is too long for someone in your group — the half day is a better fit.
You expect hundreds of boats packed side by side — the market is smaller than it was in the 1990s.
You would rather spend the afternoon resting at your hotel pool.
If the market is what you came for and a morning is enough — breakfast on the river, the noodle workshop and a quiet canal, back at your hotel by mid-morning — the half day keeps it simple. See the floating market half day. Or tell us what you want to see, and we will plan a day around it.
Questions before you book
About the day
How long is the tour and when does it start?
It runs About 10 hours door to door; 05:30 pickup, or your time. Most of the wholesale trading is over by about 8 am, so we collect you around 5:30 and have you on the river at first light, well before the day trips from Ho Chi Minh City arrive.
Where do you pick us up?
At your own hotel, anywhere in central Can Tho, with no meeting point to reach on your own. Your guide waits in the lobby for 20 minutes.
How busy is the market these days?
Cai Rang is smaller than it was in the 1990s: official counts in 2025 put it at a little over 200 boats a day. It is still the largest floating market left in the Mekong Delta, and the wholesale trade you see is real. Your guide times the morning so you are there for the busiest hour.
Can we change the route or the pace?
Yes. This is a sample day and every part of it can be adjusted: add a stop, skip one, or spend longer on the islet. Tell us before you book and we confirm the plan and an all-inclusive price in writing.
Does the guide speak good English?
Yes. Your guide is a licensed local who speaks fluent English and explains the market, the river customs and each step of the noodle making as you go.
How much walking and climbing is there?
An easy amount. Getting on and off the boats means a step down from a pontoon, and the islet lanes are flat, with a few narrow bridges over its canals. The boatman and your guide help everyone across, and any part can be skipped.
Booking and practicalities
Is the price per person or for the whole group?
For the whole group, from one to four guests: four people pay less each than two, and the car and boat are the same. Children under 5 travel free and do not count towards the group size; from 5 a child counts as one guest. Groups of five or more travel in a larger vehicle and boat — message us for a quote.
How do I pay, and when?
Two ways: pay the full price online by card, or pay a 30% deposit online and the rest in cash on the day of the tour, in US dollars or Vietnamese dong. We can also send a secure payment link on WhatsApp. The booking is confirmed once the online payment goes through, and your pickup time and guide’s name arrive in writing.
Can I cancel or reschedule?
Yes - free cancellation up to 3 days before departure for a full refund, and free rescheduling subject to availability. Within 3 days of departure, 30% of the tour price is charged because the car and guide are already committed. Date changes are arranged over WhatsApp.
What if it rains?
If heavy rain or a very high tide makes the small canals unsafe, your guide swaps the hand-rowed leg for the motor boat or an orchard walk, or you can move to another date free of charge. The price stays the same; only a natural disaster that makes the tour impossible is refunded in full.
What should I bring, and do I need cash?
A light rain jacket, sunscreen, a hat and shoes that grip on a wet deck. You do not need cash at any gate; bring small notes only if you want to buy fruit from the boats yourself. If you chose to pay the balance in cash, bring it for your guide.
What about food allergies or vegetarian meals?
Tell us when you book. Breakfast on the river is usually noodle soup, and we arrange a vegetarian option in advance; with a serious allergy, your guide checks each dish with the cook before it reaches you.
Book your day on the rivers
Private car, boat and licensed local guide, hotel pickup, every fee already settled.
Group total · everything included
Solo traveller$255 BOOK →2 guests$290 BOOK →3 guests$325 BOOK →4 guests$360 BOOK →Price is the total for the group · free cancellation up to 3 days before
WhatsApp · +84 368 938 081Want a different route, pace or group size? We will plan your day and send you an all-inclusive quote. ›