Turtle Island or “Con Quy” has been known as a must-visit site in the Mekong River Delta. It’s named after one of 4 mascots that can bring both wealth and happiness to people. The island is also famous for its pristine beauty in nature, amazing specialties, and comfortable climate.
Though “Con Quy” (Turtle Island) is the tiniest of all four islands of My Tho City, it’s quite abundant in tropical fruits, especially papaya, bananas, and dragon fruits. From the start, it used to be the wildland without houses, but then in 1950, the first founder set up a little temple on the island. Thus, people living nearby came here for making living.
Turtle Island Overview
Turtle Island is one of four islands situated in the Mekong River of My Tho City. The name “turtle” is the icon of happiness and luck in Vietnam. Con Long island is known as Dragon Island, Thoi Son Island is the Unicorn Island, Con Quy Island is Turtle Island, and Con Phung Island is the Phoenix Island.
It takes 22 km of water to go from Ben Tre city, and it belongs to two communes (Tan Thanh and Quoi Son in Chau Thanh District).
History of Turtle Island
The island was created for more than one hundred years. It was once a little and deserted land with a lot of bushy plants for a long time ago.
Next, it was initially exploited by 1950 until Mr. Pham Cao Thang became the first person who came here to explore this land. He planted so many sonneratia trees to maintain soil from getting eroded. Time passes by, Turtle Island is extended more.
For that reason, there are more and more people coming here to live and make a living. Here, you’ll get to see a temple of Ba Chua Xu, the marvelous sightseeing for those who loves to find out another hidden beauty of Vietnam. In 1990, the garden of this island owned an entire construction of the levee system.
Thanks for that, nowadays, during rainy seasons, the gardens do not suffer any flood. Everyone living here primarily depends on planting, gardening and producing coconut candy – a local specialty you can’t miss. Lately, they also earn money through husbandry, such as wild pig and raising bees for honey.
Things to do in Turtle Island, Ben Tre
No doubt, Turtle Island becomes one of the best tourism destinations in Ben Tre when covering so many fascinating activities as below:
- Visit the lush orchards on the island
- Sit on the sampans and cruise through the water coconut trees along the canals
- Meet and chat up with local women who wear the traditional costume “ao ba ba”
- Enjoy some traditional folk music shows, like “don ca tai tu”
- Taste fresh tropical fruits in the orchards
As being known the new land, “Con Quy” or Turtle Island still keeps its natural beauty with pretty white flowers of living sonneratia, lush coconut trees, and rustic houses in the orchards. After stepping on this land, visitors get to gain many fascinating experiences, from stopping by the orchards, exploring Ben Tre local cuisine, and enjoy “don ca tai tu”.
There’s a natural sense of coolness and great vitality you can feel from this island. Let’s boat on the tranquil river to the popular tourist spots, including Turtle Island, Hong Van, and New Turtle Islet.
Don’t miss tasting tropical fruits in the gardens, drinking honey tea and enjoying don ca tai tu – one of the most popular Vietnamese folk music. It’s also recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. This type of traditional music has been existing here for years, and it’s surely the most beautiful thing to experience in this wetland.
Greater than that, visiting coconut candy production factories and coconut handicraft villages can bring you amazing experiences. This is your chance to view a great abundance of products, so it’s up to you to get a nice gift for your friends and relatives after coming to Ben Tre. We’re sure that there are still a lot of interesting attractions waiting to be explored.
Recently, more and more international tourists come to visit Turtle Island. The reason for this is because it owns several amazing attractions and appealing activities you can’t miss in rural life. Sure enough, the island won’t be as noisy as other urban areas. Most locals are quite friendly and honest.
What to eat in Turtle Island, Ben Tre
Aside from enjoying fruits from the orchards, you can choose to get around the island and taste the local specialties here.
“Ca tai tuong” (fried Tai Tuong fish) would be one of the best dishes not to miss in Con Quy. Or feel free to try other rustic dishes available only in the southwestern region of Vietnam: coconut fried shrimp, fish cooked with spinach, and red tilapia steamed with mushroom.
