Explore Ben Tre

When thinking of what’s unique about the Mekong Delta, Ben Tre (Vietnamese: Bến Tre) province stands out for its coconut culture. In spite of the fact that people are trying to live on coconuts, Bến Tre is considered a place where they are able to live well since there are a dozen different coconut types that each have their own unique qualities. However, It is not the only way people make a living, as they invest in fruit plantations, and grow rice. A truly wonderful homeland, and now let’s go with Viet Dream Travel to explore more about this region which absolutely intrigued you.

What is the best time to explore Ben Tre?

Ben Tre is in the Southwest region, with a warm and sunny climate all year round. Visitors can visit any season of the year, but the ideal time is during the summer months of June, July and August. This is the time when you can both admire the colorful picture of nature and enjoy fresh fruits right from the orchards such as rambutan, mangosteen, longan, and especially durian…

How to get here?

There is no airport in Ben Tre, so you have to take a flight to Can Tho or Ho Chi Minh, then take a bus to other type of transportation to Ben Tre.

If you depart from Ho Chi Minh City, you can go to Western bus station to find a suitable bus company with prices ranging from 100,00 to 200,000 VND. Travel time takes more than 1 and a half hour of driving. Some of famous tourist bus to Ben Tre for you to choose include: Futa, Ben Tre Limousine, Tan Thanh Thuy…

Futa bus – one of the famous bus company to Ben Tre

When you traveling with a group, booking a private car to Ben Tre with a driver is also a good way as most of the travel agent will arrange the car/bus to pick up and drop off as your request. Also you can stop on the way to relax and admire the beauty along the road.

Besides, you can travel by motorbike or travel by self-driving car to freely stop and admire the scenery along the way. You should depart early in the morning or after 9am (because the road is crowded around 6-8am). Follow Highway 1A to My Tho city, Rach Mieu bridge, cross the bridge and turn right and you are in the center of Ben Tre city.

How to get around Ben Tre?

Ben Tre itself is only a small city, but the Ben Tre province is quite extensive. If you want to see a lot, it is useful to have arranged transport. For longer distances, it is possible to arrange a car/bus with a driver.

However, if you just visit a small town, it would be perfect for exploring by bicycle. Most of the hotels and homestays have bicycles to borrow for free. As an alternative to the bicycle, you can also rent a scooter/motorbike to ride around the area. And don’t forget to experience a rowing boat via canals, and rivers….it’s an amazing feeling here.

Tourist spots in Ben Tre

Quy islet

Located along the Tiền River and 23km from the centre of Ben Tre city is Quy islet (Tortoise islet). This is one of the most famous destinations because of the charming river atmosphere.

Coming to Quy Islet, you can live in a peaceful space, without any traces of urbanization, and extremely mild.

In addition, visitors can also enjoy delicious fruits right at the longan gardens, orange gardens, and pomelo gardens… with a cup of honey tea while enjoying the melody of Đờn Ca Tài Tử which has been recognized by UNESCO as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Sitting on boats floating along the river, watching the rich, green, and peaceful atmosphere in the Mekong Delta region is also one of the experiences that you should not miss. Quy islet is definitely one of the most impressions left in your mind after leaving Bến Tre.

Location: Tân Thạch and Quới Sơn communes, Châu Thành district, Bến Tre province.

Phung Islet

Voted as a typical tourist area in the Mekong Delta, Phung islet also known as Phoenix islet) is designed in an open architecture style and is immersed in nature. Phung islet is like a green oasis floating on the Tiền River, between Mỹ Tho and Bến Tre. The islet has an area of 50ha but offer full of tourist service, such as  of fishing, rowing a sampan, riding a horse-drawn carriage, visiting fruit gardens, and admiring the rustic charm of the region and many other games suite for team building.

There is also a handicraft village that produces furniture with material taken from the coconut tree.

Location: Tân Thạch, Châu Thành, Bến Tre province.

Vam Ho Bird Sanctuary

The Vam Ho bird sanctuary is home to more than 80 different species of birds. It covers 40ha of which 15ha are primitive date forests. There is a luxuriant flora, of which nipa and mangrove predominate. This is an ideal shelter for birds, especially storks, and herons. During the breeding seasons, from April to October, there are thousands of storks here to breed and raise their young until they are big enough to fly. At 4 pm or 5 pm every day, an interesting event takes place when thousands of storks come home. Meanwhile, the herons begin their night trip searching for food. Besides storks and herons, tourists may find other animals such as bats, snakes, weasels, and pythons…

Vam Ho bird sanctuary is located in Tân Mỹ commune, Ba Tri district, Bến Tre province.

Dao Dua

Dao Dua (Coconut religion) relic is one of the famous tourist attractions in Ben Tre. This is a place to preserve and express the cultural beauty and beliefs of the local people since early times. This relic is still relatively intact after nearly 50 years of existence, becoming a super attractive check-in coordinate for Phung islet.

Dao Dua relic is about 1,500 square meters with many extremely unique architectural works. Located in the center of the relic is the Dragon Yard (the ceremony place of ancient Dao Dua followers) with 9 upright pillars carved with extremely sophisticated and eye-catching dragons wrapped around. Next to Dragon Stadium are welcome gates, walkways, high towers, mountain models, caves… all built on solid concrete pillars. In addition, at the entrance to Dragon Yard there is also a large incense burner made from broken porcelain, with a photo and brief biography of Mr. Dao Dua engraved on it.

Visit fruit orchards

There are many orchards in Ben Tre which are open for tourists coming to enjoy not only fruits but also relax in the gardens. Being immersed in the fruit orchards during the harvest season is the most valuable experience when coming to this province, especially for those who live in cities or remote provinces. Visitors need to buy a ticket and then you can enjoy as much as they can with all kinds of fruits such as custard apple, longan, rambutan, durian, mangosteen, mango, etc.

Furthermore, visitors can contact the owner of the garden to buy fruit at a cheap price, both selling and giving. Some fruit gardens also have a free visit, only when you want to buy some, you will be charged, a very comfortable price as well. Some famous fruit gardens in Ben Tre:

• Cái Mơn fruit orchard: Vĩnh Thành commune, Chợ Lách district.
• Bảo Thạch fruit orchard: Tân Bắc commune, Tân Phú ward, Châu Thành district. 
• Ba Ngói fruit orchard: Phú Hiệp commune, Vĩnh Bình ward, Chợ Lách district. 
• Hùng fruit orchard: Tân Quy commune, Châu Thành district. 
• Quê Ta fruit orchard: 126C Tân Quy commune, Tân Phú ward, Châu Thành district.
• Huệ fruit orchard: Tân Quy commune, Tân Phú ward, Châu Thành district.

Tourist areas in Ben Tre

At the tourist areas, you will have the opportunity to enjoy the charming Mekong Delta river scenery, visit fruit-filled orchards and experience many interesting folk games such as slapping ditches to catch fish, swinging ropes, and driving bikes cross the monkey bridge…and many other activities suitable for team-building or family trip to relax and enjoy the fresh air of nature.

A game in Lan Vuong tourist area

Besides, most of them offer services such as provide accommodation as homestay; camping, BBQ outdoor, buffet party… Some of the famous tourist area are:

• Lang Be tourist area: 6b Mỹ An commune, An Khánh ward, Châu Thành District.
• Phu An Khang tourist area: 319 Phú Lợi, Bình Phú District. 
• Lan Vuong tourist area: Phu Nhuan town, Ben Tre.

Nguyen Dinh Chieu mausoleum

Nguyen Dinh Chieu’s mausoleum relic area is a place to worship the revered hero, patriotic poet, talented physician and exemplary teacher of Vietnam. This tourist destination in Ben Tre has long become a stopping place and a source of inspiration for Vietnamese generations. Every year, Nguyen Dinh Chieu’s mausoleum relic site welcomes thousands of people to offer incense, worship and become a great pride of the people of Ben Tre province.

This entire relic site is a complex of large-scale architectural works, built in 1972 with an area of up to 1.5 hectares, including items such as three-entrance gates, old, and new temples, stele house and mausoleum. On July 1 every year, a traditional festival will be held here to commemorate the merits of Mr. Nguyen Dinh Chieu with many special activities.

Location: An Duc, Ba Tri District, Ben Tre.

Ben Tre Museum

Ben Tre Museum is located right in the city center with a campus of about 13,000 square meters. This tourist attraction in Ben Tre is built in classic French architectural style with characteristic arched door frames, including 1 ground floor and 1 upper floor with a total area of 474 m² . In the past, many important historical events took place here during the resistance war against the French colonialists and American imperialists by the army and people of Ben Tre province.

Currently, Ben Tre Museum is used to display revolutionary images and artifacts. In addition to the indoor rooms, the museum also has an outdoor area of up to 288 square meters used to display large-sized artifacts and models such as artillery, plane wrecks, bomb shells… With images, artifacts and models, the museum helps tourist have better understand about history when they have a chance to explore Ben Tre.

Address: 146 Hung Vuong Street, ward 3, Ben Tre City. 

Famous Craft villages in Ben Tre

Visiting craft villages, visitors will admire the product manufacturing process; You can ask the homeowner to test it in a few stages or try the finished product after production has been completed. Some famous handicraft villages in Ben Tre include:

• Phu Le Craft Village – making sticky rice wine.
• My Long rice paper craft village – making rice paper.
• Son Doc puff pastry craft village – making crispy sticky rice cakes.
• …

Phu Le Craft Village

What’s the speciality food in Ben Tre?

A coastal province in the Mekong Delta, Ben Tre is known for its delicacies from rivers and fruit orchards.

Ben Tre thick noodle soup (bánh canh bột xắt)

Thick noodle soup has long become a culinary “trademark” of Ben Tre. The reason it is called that is because when preparing, the thick noodle dough is rolled out thinly and then chopped into finger-sized strips to taste, then put in a pot of boiling water to cook. 

The broth of pork trotter soup is mainly made from bones, ham, mushrooms, and radishes. The combination of the chewy, slippery dough noodles, the rich broth and the addition of a crispy pork leg dipped in fish sauce, makes anyone who has ever tried it remember it forever.

Coconut tofu salad

Coconut tofu salad is a specialty that local people often use to treat guests. Coconut tofu is the upper part of the coconut tree, located deep in the trunk, including young buds that have not yet sprouted to the outside and petioles. Coconut tofu salad has a sweet and sour taste, crispy, fragrant and cool, low in fat.

The ingredients to make this salad include peeled tiger prawns, thinly sliced pork belly, laksa leaves, onions and crispy roasted peanuts. After mixing coconut tofu, thinly sliced into long strands, with the ingredients, creating an attractive salad. Served with the salad is a cup of sweet and sour fish sauce and crispy shrimp crackers.

Coconut worm

Coconut worm has long been famous as a delicious dish in Ben Tre, very familiar and loved. Made from the larvae of the beetle in the soft part of the coconut tree, they are rich in nutrients and have a unique fatty, nutty flavor.

Coconut worm.

Among the dishes with coconut worm, eating them raw with fish sauce is very popular. Although not everyone dares to taste this dish, after enjoying it, you will definitely fall in love with the unique flavor of this specialty.

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Warmest Greetings To All from Viet Dream Travel! We offer Vietnam tours (daily and package tours), visa services, and transfer services to explore Ben Tre and other areas in Vietnam. Let us have a chance to show you Vietnam to the fullest. If you have any questions about Vietnam tourism, do not hesitate to contact us at: office number: (028) 3838 8322 –Hotline/SMS/Whatsapp/Viber/Zalo (+84) 918 709 338 or info@vietdreamtravel.vn 

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