If you come to the land of ‘white rice, clear water’- Cantho without going to Cai Rang floating market, it seems to have miss the opportunity to explore a characteristic of people life in Hau Giang river region.

Cairang Floating Market – triptoCantho.com

Cai Rang is a district of Can Tho city, about 5 km from the city center. From Hanoi, it takes you a 2-hour direct flight to Cantho City. From Ho Chi Minh City, the most convenient means of transport is a high quality busline, which takes about 4 hours.

Cairang Floating Market – triptoCantho.com

Cai Rang floating market, you should go early in the morning, even before dawn. If you go with many people, you can rent private boats for about 10 to 12 people, the price range is from 500,000 to 800,000 VND, and if you travel alone or in a small group, you can go with other traveler to make a groupr with the price of about 50,000 VND per person. The most popular place of departure is Ninh Kieu wharf in the center of Can Tho city.

Cairang Floating Market – triptoCantho.com

Cai Rang floating market opens for all day but most crowded in the morning, when it is still cool and light sunny, at about 8-9 am the market become gradually less people.

Cairang Floating Market – triptoCantho.com

A mangoes vendor – Cairang Floating Market

Vendor sell their goods on boat. Buyers also shop by boat. The boats are skilfully cleansing between many floating boats and rarely a crash occurs.

Cairang Floating Market – triptoCantho.com

When the market is crowded, mixed with the noise, familiar noises of the market-place, there is also a squeaky sound coming from the engine exploding behind each boat. Just as other market in Vietnam, the floating market goods are diverse from fresh food, cereals, local specialties to Dalat vegetables… The only diference is that each stall can move all the time, everywhere.

You can easily know what a boat is selling , even from far distance. The kind of goods was hung on a bamboo pole called “cây bẹo” pluging on each boat. Buyers just look up then turn the paddle to there.

Fresh fruit on boat – Cairang Floating Market

The thing that attracts more visitors is that the floating market has just been enjoying the products of the river right in the heart of the people here with warm affection of the Western people.

Cairang Floating Market – triptoCantho.com

The people here live completely on the boat.

And restaurant also followed suit down the river. It is possible to find here the dishes from the Southern as bánh canh ngọt (sweet soup), bánh bột lọc (a kind of cake), hủ tiếu vườn (rice noodle soup) with a fair price and special taste