Chau Doc

The picture is the Hậu at Châu Đốc: olive water, a boat, and fish-raft houses along a green bank. Núi Sam sits just inland in phường Vĩnh Tế. Sleep in a river room in phường Châu Đốc, or in a bungalow on the hill if you want the plain in the morning. The ward office is at 10 Lê Lợi. That ward was formed from Vĩnh Nguơn, Châu Phú A, Châu Phú B, Vĩnh Mỹ, and part of Vĩnh Châu.

Can Tho is the night you choose when Cái Răng at dawn is the point, and it is where you land if you fly. Châu Đốc is the night you choose for the border river, the fish farms, Châu Phong and Đa Phước, and the temple cluster at the foot of the hill. A same-day drive from Ho Chi Minh City is the journey, not the start of a dawn boat.

Use one day for the market, a boat among the rafts or across to the Cham bank, and the halls at Núi Sam. Keep Trà Sư, 23 km out, for its own half day. The evening is the riverbank.

Common questions

Is a day trip from Ho Chi Minh City enough?

No, if you wanted a boat. The drive is about five hours, and also about six hours. Sleep in Châu Đốc, or in Can Tho if the dawn market there is the point.

When is the festival of Ba Chua Xu?

It falls in the fourth lunar month, on the 22nd to the 27th, and also on the 23rd to the 27th. In 2026 the ward mapped the rites to 6–12 June.

Should you stay in Can Tho or Chau Doc?

Stay in Can Tho for Cái Răng at dawn and for the airport. Stay in Châu Đốc for the fish rafts, the Cham villages, and Núi Sam. The airport drive between them is about three hours.

Top attractions in Chau Doc

1

Ba Chua Xu Temple Miếu Bà Chúa Xứ Núi Sam

Pilgrimage hall at Núi Sam: stand on the offering steps and see the statue before the festival crowds.

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2

Sam Mountain Núi Sam

Sacred hill in Vĩnh Tế: give a morning to the temple cluster, and longer if you climb for the plain.

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A morning, longer if you climb · Check on arrival

3

Cave Pagoda Chùa Hang (Phước Điền)

Cave pagoda on the slope of Núi Sam: climb for the view over the plain, and the caves if you have time.

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4

Tay An Pagoda Chùa Tây An

Pagoda on the Núi Sam walk: see the painted facade and the stupa garden on the same morning as the shrine.

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5

Thoai Ngoc Hau Tomb Lăng Thoại Ngọc Hầu

Tomb at the foot of Núi Sam: see Thoại Ngọc Hầu's ground on the same morning as the shrine.

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6

Tra Su Cajuput Forest Rừng tràm Trà Sư

Flooded cajuput forest 23 km out: walk the bamboo bridge and boat the water for a half day among the birds.

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Half a day from town · 120,000 VND at the gate

7

Cham villages on the Hau Làng Chăm Châu Phong và Đa Phước

Cham villages on the Hậu: visit a mosque and the looms in a half day with the fish rafts.

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Half a day with the rafts · Check on arrival

8

Fish-raft village Làng bè sông Châu Đốc

Fish-farm rafts at the river junction: take a boat among the cages and see the farms on the water.

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9

Hau riverfront Bờ sông Hậu

Evening walk on the town bank: stay from dusk for the barges, the far islets, and a boat past the lit rafts.

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Dusk into the evening · Check on arrival

10

Chau Doc Market Chợ Châu Đốc

Town market for the morning bowl: eat bún cá at the edge of Chợ Châu Đốc, then walk the mắm stalls.

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A morning stop · Check on arrival

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Events

Festival of Ba Chua Xu Lễ hội Vía Bà Chúa Xứ Núi Sam

22–27 of the fourth lunar month (UNESCO element 01999 and the 2026 culture department). TITC prints 23–27. An older page prints the night of 23/4 through 27/4. 2026 rites: 6–12 June. Later years: check on arrival.

The festival of Bà Chúa Xứ at Núi Sam runs on the fourth lunar month, with a palanquin, a bathing rite for…

Side trips from Chau Doc

Can Tho

A Mekong Delta city on the Hau River, best known for the Cai Rang floating market at dawn.

Chau Doc by interest

Dining and F&BSam Mountain pilgrimageTra Su by boatFish rafts on the HauCham weaving villagesRiver eveningShopping

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Getting there and around

Boats are ordinary transport between the bank, the islets, and the fish rafts. Sam Mountain is a short road from the river wards, in phường Vĩnh Tế. The bus station is on the Quốc lộ 91 bypass, Khóm Hòa Bình, phường Châu Đốc. The station office is open 07:00–11:00 and 13:00–17:00. Those are office hours, not a departure board. Luxury cruises between Can Tho and Châu Đốc, and from Cambodia, are named.

Chau Doc itineraries

Chau Doc river and mountain dayTra Su half dayMekong in 5 daysPhu Quoc and the Mekong in 7 daysSam Mountain half day

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Hotels

• Phường Châu Đốc river River hotels

  Small hotels along the Châu Đốc river, so the evening walk is the bank.

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• Núi Sam, phường Vĩnh Tế Mountain bungalows

  A bungalow on the hill if you want the plain in the morning. The 2026 festival opened here.

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Tours & Attractions

• Ba Chua Xu Temple Núi Sam

  Pilgrimage hall at Núi Sam: stand on the offering steps and see the statue before the festival crowds.

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Restaurants

What to order is on the food guide.

• Chau Doc food guide Food guide

  Châu Đốc eats fish from the Hậu. Breakfast at Chợ Châu Đốc is bún cá with crunchy điên điển, chili, and lime, and the hall smells of mắm stacked in the open. Dinner is lẩu mắm, the fermented-fish pot, or a hot-and-sour seafood hotpot, with cá kho tộ and rice. Afternoons are palm sweets: bánh bò thốt nốt, bánh bò Chăm, and chè thốt nốt.

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