From Saigon to Ben Tre it takes about 1.5 hours to 2 hours by car. Take the highway for about 1.5 hours. Some bus lines go to Ben Tre from Saigon at the Western Bus Station.
Ben Tre is quite small so you only need to visit during the day and then return to Saigon or continue to Can Tho and do not need to spend the night in Ben Tre.
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Boating on canals is a must-try experience for all visitors to Ben Tre. The peasant’s hand-operated wooden boats weave through the canals of beautiful coconut trees like a poem.
Visit Thanh Long coconut candy factory in Phu Khuong Ward to see people making candies then try some hot candies, which is much better than packaged candy. However, if you want to buy candies as gifts, you should head to Tuyet Phung coconut candy (Near TV station), because Mo Cay coconut candy is the best type.
Vam Ho bird sanctuary, where many kinds of birds, storks, and herons gather in Ba Tri district. Coming to Vam Ho at the right time when the birds go hunting, visitors will live in the wonderful natural spectacle, seeming to stand in the famous Bac Lieu bird sanctuary in the U Minh Ha forest.
Phung Island, the homeland of “Coconut Monk” Nguyen Thanh Nam, has many interesting architectural features and some relics of his activities during his lifetime. The entire Phung Island area is 28 hectares wide, floating in the middle of the Tien River, located in Tan Thach commune, Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre province.
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Cai Mon orchard in Cho Lach district and Tien Long and Tan Phu areas of Chau Thanh district. Visitors can enjoy the pleasure of exploring in the orchard, just enjoy the fresh fruits picked by their own hands and eat on the spot. Garden owners will weigh in kilograms to calculate the price. In particular, recently, when the ecotourism model has been interested by many people, the gardeners of Cho Lach and Tan Phu also serve the specialties of Ben Tre countryside, such as garden chicken porridge (our chicken is delicious), mussel porridge, Con Phu rice snail pancakes (Cho Lach),… This is exactly what a distant visitor cannot ignore.
Banh canh bot xat
This dish is made from rice flour, a thick broth often cooked with duck meat dipped in ginger fish sauce. The reason is called “banh canh bot xat” because to make this dish people will use rice flour, molded according to their own recipe. It is often difficult to find a place to sell because the vendors do not sell on a fixed location, only the locals know the journey, but you can ask any locals.
Broken rice
Many of you probably don’t know what broken rice is but it is a specialty. If you have the opportunity to visit Ben Tre, you must try this dish. Broken rice here is better than in Saigon. Broken rice in Ben Tre is real broken rice, meaning it is made from broken rice, so it will be harder to cook than normal rice we eat. The meat is usually grilled pork, thinly sliced, so thin that you can see through the other side. In addition, there are shredded chicken, fried quail eggs, cucumber, tomatoes, sauerkraut … All make an eye-catching and nutritious plate of rice. You can find broken rice restaurants almost everywhere within the province, and of course, it’s delicious. An option for this dish is Com Tam Chi near the Industrial and Commercial Bank, or the shop behind the Pool in the morning.
Fruits in Ben Tre market, without much bargaining, are convenient and delicious.
Café then visits Ham Luong hotel or Vietnam Australia Hotel, or Lo Moi road.
Coconut worms
Sago worms or coconut worms are worm larvae of some types of beetles, usually living in the neck (the soft part inside the tops) of wild dates, coconuts, pineapple, and generally areca trees, It is used to make many specialties in Vietnamese cuisine in the South and the South Central Coast. Coconut worms in Ben Tre live in coconut trees and are only found in dead ones. People cut down coconut trees and captured the worms inside. Because coconut worms eat all the nutrients of the tree so it is very fat and nutritious. There are two ways to eat: raw or colander in oil. Many people look at the live coconut worm and do not dare to eat, but when you try it, you can feel and love the greasy taste.