Chau Doc Travel Guide
Chau Doc is a city locating in the center of Mekong delta, Vietnam. Although there are not many things to do in the city, Chau Doc is still a great place to visit in 1 or 2 days. If you are planning your holiday in Vietnam and Cambodia, Chau Doc is definitely a good place to connect 2 countries by boat.
Best time to visit Chau Doc:
As belonging to Mekong delta, the best time to visit Mekong delta is the best time to visit Chau Doc (from Sep to Apr).
How to get Chau Doc?
From Hanoi or Danang, you have to take a flight to get Ho Chi Minh, then drive to Chau Doc in 6 hours. From Ho Chi Minh, you can get Chau Doc by bus or motorbike. The ticket for bus is around 120,000 – 150,000 VND. You can take buses from the Western Bus Station (395 Kinh Duong Vuong street, An Lac Ward, Binh Tan District, phone: (84-8) 38752953-38776594).
In Chau Doc, you can rent a bike or motorbike to explore this city. Beside, traveling by boat is also very popular to explore the floating life of Vietnamese in Mekong delta.
Things to do and see in Chau Doc:
Floating villages: this is the best highlight in Chau Doc. The local people live on their boats on the river with their family creating an eventful floating village. The main transportation is by ferry, canoes and boats. Taking a boat trip to visit the floating village is even more interesting than visiting floating markets in Mekong Delta.
Sam Mountain: Sam Mountain in Chau Doc is the highest mountain in the Mekong Delta, with the height of 230m. The mountain not only offers beautiful landscapes, but also remains many historic of Nam Bo people. Climbing to the peak of the mountain, tourists will have a chance to take beautiful photos of the surrounding countryside. You also can easily look out over Cambodia from the mountain.
Cham ethnic minority village: You can visit the village on the way from Chau Doc city to Sam Mountain. This is a quiet village where you will be welcomed by smile of local people. Thanks to its close proximity to the Cambodian border, Chau Doc is home to diverse ethnic and religious communities where Cambodian Buddhists, Vietnamese Buddhists, ethnic Chinese and Muslim Cham living peacefully side by side.
Tra Su bird sanctuary: Tra Su bird sanctuary is also a highlight of Chau Doc. The forest is far about 30 km southwest of Chau Doc with total area of 850 hectare. This is an ecosystem of cajuput trees that line dusty dirt paths and a flooded mangrove forest. The forest is a paradise of plants and animals with 140 types of flora, nearly 70 species of birds, 11 types of animals, 25 species of reptiles, and 23 kinds of fish. If you love eco-tourism, the forest is a great place to visit in Chau Doc.
Ba Chua Xu temple: Ba Chua Xu temple was built in 1820 at the foot of Sam Mountain so you can visit it on the way to the mountain. According to legend, in the early 1800’s villagers found a statue of a lady dating to the 6th century in the forest. A temple was built in her honor with the hopes that she would bring people better lives and bountiful harvests. If you are lucky to get the temple from the 23rd to the 27th of the fourth lunar month, you will have a chance to see many traditional cultural activities and dances are organized in the festival.
Accommodation:
There are many hotels in Chau Doc with different costs. However, you should book hotels early if you travel in high season or holidays. Here are some best hotels in Chau Doc:
Victoria Chau Doc: https://www.victoriahotels.asia/en/overview-chaudoc
Victoria Nui Sam Lodge : https://www.victoriahotels.asia/en/overview-nuisam
Chau Pho Hotel: http://www.chauphohotel.com/
Hung Cuong Hotel: http://hungcuonghotel.vn/