How long is the ride from Ho Chi Minh City?

About 1 hour 30 minutes and about 50 km to the forest, via Nguyễn Văn Linh and Huỳnh Tấn Phát to the Bình Khánh ferry, and also about 2 hours. On the water the ferry is about 10–15 minutes. On 30 April 2026 a holiday queue on Huỳnh Tấn Phát ran nearly 2 hours, and one traveler counted nearly 3 hours including the wait.

Is there one ticket for the reserve?

No. Vàm Sát’s road gate is 60,000 VND, shuttle included. Monkey Island is a separate 35,000 VND entrance. The Rừng Sác relic is 35,000 VND for an adult. The Sac Forest gate is 7:30–17:30 and Vàm Sát is 8:00–17:00.

Can you drive the new bridge?

The ferry was still the crossing on 13 September 2026. The line is about 7.3 km, and also about 7 km, with a bridge portion of about 3 km. A 30 April 2026 account gives about 6.3 km.

The festival sits on the 15th through the 17th of lunar month 8, with the sea rite at 10:00 on the 16th. In 2025 it was 5–7 October, lunar 14–16, and the sea rite at 9:00 on 7 October. In 2026 it was 23–27 September, with the procession on 26 September. The sea rite is given at 9:00 and at 10:00. The palanquin leaves Lăng Ông Thủy Tướng.

Ho Chi Minh City

Can Gio

A mangrove forest reserve on the coast of Ho Chi Minh City, explored by boat along shaded creeks. Visit the Rung Sac wartime base and the salt pans, then pick live seafood at the Hang Duong market by the town beach. A good day trip, or one night, for nature lovers staying in the city.

●●●●○ Worth the night for the mangrove creek and the market by the sand.

Dry mornings on the creek Dining and F&B The mangrove The Rừng Sác base The town beach

Photo: Tho nau · CC BY-SA 3.0

TimeA day, or a night in the beach town

Get thereAbout 1 hour 30 minutes and about 50 km from Ho Chi Minh City, or about 2 hours, via Nguyễn Văn Linh, Huỳnh Tấn Phát, and the Bình Khánh ferry. On the water the crossing is about 10–15 minutes, about 1.2 km on the Soài Rạp. Salt village: about 30 km, about 60 km, and about 30 km south from the old district centre. A holiday queue on Huỳnh Tấn Phát on 30 April 2026 ran nearly two hours, and one traveler counted nearly three hours including the wait. Ferry car fare, a ferry clock, minutes from a city airport, a paying bus fare, a 2026 hydrofoil, and motorbike hire: Check on arrival.

Best monthsA dry morning on the creek

You sit in a boat on a mangrove creek at Vàm Sát, dark water in front and trunks through the middle, with long-tailed macaques on the bank at monkey island. You sleep in the beach town, xã Cần Giờ, or in a room at the forest centre. Ho Chi Minh City is the other night, when the city is the trip and this reserve is the day.

Leave early. On 30 April 2026 a holiday queue on Huỳnh Tấn Phát ran nearly two hours, and one traveler counted nearly three hours including the wait. On the water the crossing is about 10–15 minutes, about 1.2 km on the Soài Rạp. After the ferry, đường Rừng Sác is about 30 km of trees. The Sac Forest gate is 7:30–17:30. Vàm Sát’s gate is 8:00–17:00 every day. They are different desks.

The evening is chợ hải sản Hàng Dương on đường Thạnh Thới, beside bãi 30 tháng 4. The sand is about 50 m from the market. You point at a live animal and the stall cooks it, or you take a pan already on the fire. If you are still in town in the morning, Lăng Ông Thủy Tướng is the whale temple.

Common questions

How long is the ride from Ho Chi Minh City?: About 1 hour 30 minutes and about 50 km to the forest, via Nguyễn Văn Linh and Huỳnh Tấn Phát to the Bình Khánh ferry, and also about 2 hours. On the water the ferry is about 10–15 minutes. On 30 April 2026 a holiday queue on Huỳnh Tấn Phát ran nearly 2 hours, and one traveler counted nearly 3 hours including the wait.
Is there one ticket for the reserve?: No. Vàm Sát’s road gate is 60,000 VND, shuttle included. Monkey Island is a separate 35,000 VND entrance. The Rừng Sác relic is 35,000 VND for an adult. The Sac Forest gate is 7:30–17:30 and Vàm Sát is 8:00–17:00.
Can you drive the new bridge?: The ferry was still the crossing on 13 September 2026. The line is about 7.3 km, and also about 7 km, with a bridge portion of about 3 km. A 30 April 2026 account gives about 6.3 km.
When is Nghinh Ông?: The festival sits on the 15th through the 17th of lunar month 8, with the sea rite at 10:00 on the 16th. In 2025 it was 5–7 October, lunar 14–16, and the sea rite at 9:00 on 7 October. In 2026 it was 23–27 September, with the procession on 26 September. The sea rite is given at 9:00 and at 10:00. The palanquin leaves Lăng Ông Thủy Tướng.

Top attractions in Can Gio

30 April beach Bãi biển 30 tháng 4

Silt beach beside the market: walk the shore for a late afternoon after you eat.

4.0 ★★★★☆ Editor

The late afternoon · Check on arrival

Rừng Sác base Di tích lịch sử Căn cứ Rừng Sác

Rebuilt camp in the mangrove: walk the shelters for a few hours on a forest morning.

4.0 ★★★★☆ Editor

A few hours in the forest · 35,000 VND

Vàm Sát Khu du lịch sinh thái Vàm Sát

Mangrove boat centre: pay the road gate and ride a creek for half a day.

4.0 ★★★★☆ Editor

A half day at the gate · 60,000 VND road gate

Can Gio salt pans Ruộng muối Cần Giờ

Salt pans in the dry season: walk a sunny morning from December through May.

3.0 ★★★☆☆ Editor

A morning in the season · Check on arrival

Thạnh An Xã Thạnh An

Island commune off the beach town: take the boat across for the shore and the salt pans.

2.0 ★★☆☆☆ Editor

A crossing from the beach town · Check on arrival

Side trips from Can Gio

Ho Chi Minh City

Former Saigon in the south, with Thảo Điền, Japanese streets, and Chợ Lớn.

Vung Tau

A beach city on a peninsula near Ho Chi Minh City, with sandy bays and a hilltop Christ statue.

Can Gio by interest

Dining and F&B

The mangrove

The Rừng Sác base

The town beach

Salt pans

Shopping

Getting there and around

The forest is about 1 hour 30 minutes and about 50 km from the city centre, via Nguyễn Văn Linh, a right onto Huỳnh Tấn Phát, and phà Bình Khánh at the end of that road. The same trip is also about 2 hours. A market account also gives about 50 km. For the Cần Thạnh salt village the distance is about 30 km, about 60 km in the same account, and about 30 km south from the old district centre.

From 18 March 2026 the ferry charges 3,000 VND to walk or cycle, 8,000 VND for a motorbike, and 11,000 VND for a motorbike with a passenger. Cars under 30 seats rose about 1,000–2,000 VND. From 5 May 2025 a walk or bicycle was 2,000 VND, a motorbike 7,000 VND, and a car under 7 seats 40,000 VND. That earlier notice does not replace the March 2026 walk and motorbike fares. The ferry was still the crossing on 13 September 2026.

On 30 April 2026 the bridge was given as about 6.3 km, six lanes, and an investment of more than 13,200 billion VND, with groundbreaking in January 2026. On 13 September 2026 the whole line was about 7.3 km in the lead and about 7 km later, with a bridge portion of about 3 km, and component 2 at about 10,668 billion VND including interest during construction. The two sums may be different slices of the project. A planned start on 25 August 2026 and a BT contract on 20 September 2026 had not been met when that September account ran. A future high-speed line from Bến Thành to Cần Giờ is named there.

From 1 August 2025 the subsidized list includes MST 90 from Phà Bình Khánh to Cần Thạnh, MST 77 from Đồng Hòa to Cần Thạnh, and MST 128 from Tân Điền to An Nghĩa. Free rides cover children at or under 1.3 m, war wounded and sick soldiers, disabled riders, people 70 and over, and holders of a free-bus card. Route 20 still runs to the ferry and then route 90, or route 75 direct from Công viên 23/9. Routes 20 and 75 are not on the August 2025 list. In 2019 route 75 was 20,000 VND. A 2019 hydrofoil from Bến Bạch Đằng to biển Cần Thạnh was an adult one-way fare of 200,000 VND.

Sleep in xã Cần Giờ, or in the rooms at the forest centre. Vàm Sát boats leave from cầu Dần Xây. The management board is at 1541 đường Rừng Sác. A motorbike is the way along the forest road. The bird add-on at Vàm Sát is sold from May through October. Tràm Chim breeding runs from April through October.