Just 80 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, Ben Tre keeps a peaceful outer appearance and seemingly makes every single visitor comfortable with its treat. Ben Tre is referred to as a picturesque little province connected with My Tho City of Tien Giang province and Tra Vinh by new bridges; hence, it has received more and more visitors in recent years. The province is easy to be explored on foot and by boat, and local orchards are not too large but enough to convince those who love rustic areas. In addition to the list of things to discover, the family businesses of making coconut fudge are what you never want to miss as Ben Tre is labeled as the coconut kingdom. Just take moments to study Ben Tre Travel Guide before you go!
When to Visit Ben Tre
It’s locally known that Be Tre can be visited all year round because of its mild climate, yet it’s highly recommended that you should come there from Tet Holidays to the end of the rainy season. Why? it’s the time of fruits with many special species in abundance and cultural festivals, such as Nghinh Ong Festival (the festival of whale worshipping), and Phu Le Pagoda Festival.
How to Get to Ben Tre from Ho Chi Minh City
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Mai Linh Bus:
+ Departure point: 400 Le Hong Phong Street, District 10.
+ Departure time: 7:00AM, 8:30AM, 10:00AM, 12:00, 1:30PM, 3:30pm, 6:30PM
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Minh Tam Bus:
+ Departure point: 204C Su Van Hanh Street, District 5
+ Departure time: from 4:30AM to 7:30PM; the bus runs every one hour.
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Thinh Phat Bus:
+ Departure point: 25A Su Van Hanh Street, District 5
+ Departure time: from 5:00AM to 3:30PM.
How to Get around Ben Tre
It’s not too hard to find means of transport to go around Ben Tre. First of all, you can rent a motorbike at where you stay. Normally, it’s quite cheap to have this rental bike and it’s also easy and convenient to travel everywhere in Ben Tre with it.
An alternative is to take a taxi from one of the following companies:
+ Dong Khoi Taxi – Tel: (+84) 753 818 888
+ Happy Taxi – Tel: (+84) 753 777 777
+ Phu Cuong Taxi – Tel: (+84) 753 820 197
Where to Stay in Ben Tre
For a 2 or 3 day trip to Ben Tre, there are many choices of accommodation you can consider. Having a homestay experience is also a good idea as you can get closer to the local life, but it will be more convenient to pick one place at the center.
Ben Tre Hostel: 226/3 Tran Quoc Tuan Street, Ward 4, Ben Tre City
Dong Khoi Hostel: 16 Hai Ba Trung Street, Ward 2, Ben Tre City
Phuong Hoang Hostel: 28 Hai Ba Trung Street, Ben Tre City
Cong Doan Hostel: 36 Hung Vuong Street, Ben Tre City
Ham Luong Hostel: 200 Nguyen Van Tu Street, Ben Tre City
Dong Nam A Hotel: 180 A1 Dong Khoi Avenue, Phu Tan Ward, Ben Tre City
Dai An Hotel: D7 Hung Vuong Street, Ward 7, Ben Tre City
An Khanh Hotel: An Khanh Commune, Chau Thanh District, Ben Tre City
Canh Hong Hotel: Phu An Hoa Commune, Chau Thanh District, Ben Tre City
Con Phung Hotel: Tan Thach Commune, Chau Thanh District, Ben Tre City
Hoa Dua Hotel: 323/1, Son Dong Commune
Song Nguyen Hotel: 426 C7, Phu Khuong Ward, Ben Tre City
Viet Uc Hotel: 144 Hung Vuong Street, Ward 3, Ben Tre City
Where to visit in Ben Tre
Tuyen Linh Temple
It’s exciting that Tuyen Linh Temple in 1861 was built from bamboo and in close proximity to Tan Huong Channel. During the wartime, the temple was attacked and heavily bombed. In 1907, the monk of Le Khanh Hoa was appointed to become the head of the temple. In 1930, he renamed it into “Tuyen Linh”. As for the temple’s architecture and design, it looks quite special, even though its space is small, so it attracts many visitors to it. Both of the architecture and historic events revolving around Tuyen Linh Temple make it a deserving place to explore when you have a trip to Ben Tre.
Cai Mon Orchards
Situated on the bank of Tien Giang River in Tien Thuy Village, Vinh Thanh Commune, Cho Lach District, Ben Tre Province, the orchards of Cai Mon are viewed as the fruit basket of southern Vietnam. It’s awesome to move through narrow paths of green trees at two sides inside the orchards while witnessing heavy succulent fruits hanging above. Not only are the kinds of fruits there are sold in markets through Vietnam, but they are also exported to plenty of Asian countries. How unbelievable! A visit to Cai Mon is the chance to taste the most luscious fruits in the Mekong Delta.
Vam Ho Bird Sanctuary
Just 52 kilometers from the center of Ben Tre and 120 kilometers to the south of Ho Chi Minh City, Vam Ho Sanctuary is the home of flora species, such as water coconut, mangrove, dates, reeds, and Avicenna. Also, it’s easy to find different animals, some of which are birds from unique species; interestingly, there are up to 500,000 storks in the region. To see the best landscape of storks in Vam Ho, you are recommended to go there from April to October when they produce and raise their young. Apart from that, they never fail to please you by their dances and sounds which seemingly create the song of the wildlife.
Coconut handicraft villages
If you are a fan of handmade products, coconut handicraft villages are definitely where you must visit. Ben Tre is the home of coconuts, so it’s inevitable that the locals take advantage of their smartness to create exquisite items, e.g. animal statuettes and human face statuettes.
Coconut fudge is known as the best specialty of this land. You will never forget its aroma and texture after you have given it a try. Where to find the products from coconut are Chau Thanh District (Phoenix Islet, Turtle Islet, and An Hoa Commune), and Giong Tom District.
Dai Dien Ancient House
Located in Dai Dien Commune, Thanh Phu District, Dai Dien Ancient House is a large residence of the Huynh clan. Many years have gone by, but this house still represents the character of the plains and prosperity of a wealthy landlord. Concerning the house’s design, it’s spacious and consists of 48 columns of precious wood, e.g. ironwood. More fascinatingly, the columns were carved with ancient sophisticated characters. In the worship room, the most impressive thing is a pair of vermillion lacquered and gilded wood panels. The roofs look prominent thanks to images of chickens, crabs, rice bundles, and shepherds riding buffalos.
Revolutionary Museum
The museum was built and designed with the yellow exterior, and it looks like a villa in the French architectural style. One interesting thing is that there is a wide assortment of rusty weapons and war stuff – a few bombs, guns, and an aircraft inside the museum. Also, some interesting photos will enable you to understand more about the wartime in Vietnam as well as the Vietnam’s revolutionary struggle.
Where to Eat in Ben Tre
Hai Ho Family
Address: 114/B Phu Nhuan, Ben Tre
Tel: (+84) 91 810 56 01
3D Coffee
Address: 98 C My Thanh An, Ben Tre
Tel: (+84) 94 578 42 91
Thuy Pizza
Address: 51 Ngo Quyen Street | Ward 3, Ben Tre
Tel: (+84) 129 983 3999
Chuon Chuon Ot
Address: National Route 60, Binh Khoi, Ward 6, Ben Tre
Con Phung Restaurant
Address: Tan Thach Commune, Chau Thanh District, Ben Tre
Tel: (+84) 93 983 65 43
Wine House
Address: 34D1 Nguyen van Tu Street, Ward 7, Ben Tre
Tel: (+84) 98 868 75 82
Mien Tay Riverside Restaurant
Address: Ben Tre City
Tel: (+84) 75 3860 828
Diem Phuong Restaurant
Address: 80/10 Tan Vinh Hamlet, Tan Thach Commune, Chau Thanh District, Ben Tre
Tel: (+84) 75 3894 926
Café Lang Van 2
Address: My Thanh An, Ben Tre
Tel: (+84) 75 6536 868
Lucid Dream – Tea & Coffee
Address: 130/4D Nguyen Van Nguyen Street, My Thanh An Commune, Ben Tre
Tel: (+84) 90 101 28 39
