When you are in Can Tho, do not miss out on the chance to check out Cai Rang Floating Market.

 

Cai Rang Floating Market is the biggest floating market in the Mekong Delta. You will love everything about it: the sight, sound and even taste – sip Vietnamese coffee while onboard to make the experience more authentic. Hopefully my pictures below of the Cai Rang Floating Market can do this place justice.

 

Recently, I wrote an article about the Can Tho River. In it, there are some points about taking a river ride. Since this post also involves traveling along the river, I thought it may be useful to repeat them here.

From the 6th point onwards, they are notes only specific to the trip to the Cai Rang Floating Market.

001) Cost only about US$5/hr/person. If there are more than 4 of you, the market practice from the boatman is to give a group discount.

002) I learnt from my boatman that the operating cost of running the boat for an hour is about US$1 for the petrol. This means you are paying them US$4/hr for their effort and time. Do consider giving a tip.

003) Usually the boatman (at least with the 2 I had experienced with) is very accommodating. Tell them to speed up or slow down according to your taste. If you are a photographer, you can also instruct them to steer the boat to any particular angle that you like for that money shot.

004) There is no toilet onboard the smaller boat like the one pictured here. An important consideration to note if you are not having a good stomach on that particular day.

005) To go on the boat ride, just look out for the boatman (usually ladies) near the exit of the harbor front. In most cases, they will come and approach you first.

006) A return trip to the Cai Rang Floating Market will take a minimum of 3 hours.

007) The Cai Rang Floating Market is best seen between 6am to 8am. To avoid the daytime heat, you should start your journey at about 5.30am.

008) With the improvement on roads and public transport, these floating markets are disappearing. Try catching them while they are still around.

 

I took a good 204 pictures of the Cai Rang Floating Market. You can see them all in the photo slideshow below.

 

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