Can Tho and Danang with a Toddler

For our next domestic trip within Vietnam, we decided to combine the cities of Can Tho and Danang. We first flew to Can Tho for three days, then flew from Can Tho to Danang for 5 days, then back to Hanoi. All were direct and short flights, perfect for traveling with a toddler.

Can Tho is the largest city in the Mekong Delta, in Southern Vietnam. It is made up of many canals and waterways with warm temperatures year-round. Danang is Vietnam’s 4th largest city, located in central Vietnam with gorgeous beaches.

Day 1: Can Tho

After arriving in Can Tho we checked into our hotel, the Vinpearl,  and after grabbing some quick snacks we met our guide for the day in the lobby. Our first stop was the Binh Thuy ancient house, which is five kilometers from downtown Can Tho. The inside of the house is filled with features that represent rural areas in the Mekong Delta region during the 20th century. The French-style house was built in 1870 by the Duong family on an area of nearly 6,000 sqm. One interesting fact about the house is the house owner sprayed a 10-cm layer of salt under the floorboards in order to keep warm and avoid termites. The house is now preserved by Duong Minh Hien, the sixth generation of the Duong family.

Our next stop was the Muoi Cuong Cocoa farm. After arriving, we were greeted by the farmer’s wife who offered us hot or cold cocoa drinks. I opted for cold, Matt wanted hot and Lily slept in her stroller.

We went around the farm and learned about how to cocoa is used and the products that they make with the cocoa.

We then were able to speak to the owner, and it turns out he went to the states during the Vietnam war and helped with the U.S. Air Force. Later he returned and flew helicopters in support of U.S. and South Vietnam operations during the Vietnam War. After a chat about the war, our tour guide told us that the owner makes his own cocoa schnapps and he gave us a chance to try it, which was actually really delicious and tasted almost like mango.

After the cocoa farm, we went to a restaurant that seemed like someone’s house that they cook out of. They specialize in making their own noodles. The lady made the dough and then it was put into this contraption that turns it into stringy noodles. The husband pushes on this bamboo stick and the noodles come out the bottom. Then, after the noodles were put through the system again, the wife puts the noodles through and he pushes them out while she lays them on banana leaves. Then they made us dinner, Banh Hoi. We even got to try our hand at the noodles and it looked a lot easier than it actually was.

After we ate our dinner, we drove back to our hotel, which took a while as the restaurant was located really far away on small back roads along the canal.

Day 2

We were picked up early by our guide for the day to go to the Cai Rang floating market on the Mekong River. We took a taxi to get to our boat, which was a boat that I was not expecting. We had to aboard this rowboat on a pile of rocks with a toddler and our day bag. At the time I was thinking this is so crazy why are we getting on the boat here! But when in Vietnam, do as the Vietnamese do.

During the ride to the market, our tour guide made us some crowns and a fish on a pole out of leaves. Once we arrived at the floating market our guide explained that most of the people live on the boats and come from other regions to sell their fruits and vegetables. The people buying the goods are regular patrons of the seller and buy in bulk. Whatever type of food the vendor is selling was hoisted up on high wooden polls so you can see what they were selling before approaching the boat. There were many tourist boats in the area and since it was later in the morning, they start around 5 am, things were slowing down in the business of fruits and vegetables.

Halfway through the tour, we arrived at a spot to go and see how noodles were made. To get off the boat we had to disembark on another rocky point of the canal. We walked the short distance to the noddle factory through a neighborhood with small alleys. Once arriving at this small building, we were informed of the noodle making process by our guide. There were many other tourists in the area so it was hard to get good pictures of the noodle making process.

We then walked back to our boat and rode the 30-minute boat ride back to the beginning of the tour. We disembarked again at the same rocky point and took a taxi with our guide back to our hotel. We spent the rest of the morning at the pool until naptime.

We awoke the next morning to find that the Easter Bunny had visited Lily, so we let her indulge in her treats and then headed off to the airport to depart to Danang, Vietnam.

Danang

After arriving at our hotel, the Melia, from the airport, we decided to do some lounging by the beach and order some lunch. We then took a car to the old city of Hoi An to do some shopping. Matt had heard that getting custom-made shoes in Hoi An was very popular, so we headed to a shop he found online and waited our turn for a consultation. We picked our style of shoe and fabric and were measured and out the door in 15 minutes. We were told to come back the next day to try them on.

We then walked around some more and shopped for souvenirs before settling down along the river for dinner. We returned to our Hotel after dinner.

 

On our first full day of being in Danang, Matt really wanted to check out the Sun City at Bana Hills. Our driver picked us up and we made the 45-minute to one-hour journey there. On the way, our driver was pulled over and given a ticket but instead of getting the ticket he paid off the police with about a $25 bribe, which is common in Vietnam. We noticed a van parked on the side of the road in front of us that was also pulled over which had tourists in it, so it seemed that they target larger vehicles in order to get a lot of money (bribe). Bana Hills is some sort of an amusement area with a town on top of a mountain looking like a little French village with restaurants on every corner.

Under the town is an arcade, a gravity ride, and many fun activities for kids, along with a wax museum and mirror maze. I was not impressed with the number of people as it was quite crowded and not stroller friendly. We stayed for about an hour and a half to let Lily play on some kiddie rides, check out the dinosaurs, and play at the playground.

Did I mention how we got up to Bana Hills? You have to take the longest single-rope cable car in the world to the top of the mountain, which is also the world’s highest elevation difference cable car! So of course, we had to do this as Matt loves his cable cars.

After our day in Bana Hills, we took the shuttle from the hotel back to Hoi An to try on our shoes, do some more souvenir shopping, and eat dinner. We left with Matt’s two pairs of shoes and my sandals. If you ever go to Hoi An check out Friendly’s Shoe Store for custom shoes.

The next morning, we decided to skip our tour of the city of Danang and just take a relaxing day by the beach and pool. While at the pool we ran into a family that lives in the same apartment as us in Hanoi, who also have young children. So Lily and their daughter had a great time playing in the pool together. This was a great way to end our time in Danang and we headed home the next morning.

Don’t Forget to Pack: Can Tho is in southern Vietnam so it is hot and humid so pack summer clothes. Also, make sure to pack sunscreen and a hat for when you are sitting in the boat or at the beach (Danang).

Food: Much like our last post we are comfortable with Vietnamese food so our adventures with the food were satisfying and it is recommended to try the local cuisine as it varies by location. We, of course, had some western food to appease our picky two-year-old as well.

Observation on Can Tho: I think this is the most cultural trip we have had in a while and the people of Can Tho were so welcoming and excited to share their local culture with us. I think this is a hidden gem in Vietnam.

Observation on Danang: We really did not get to enjoy much of the Danang culture since we were staying at a beach resort and wanted to relax. We spent more time in Hoi An than Danang. Hopefully, we can make it back again before we leave.

Hotel Review: Both hotels, Vinpearl and Melia, were excellent and we couldn’t have asked for better service. Locations were great and the amenities were awesome. Highly recommended.

Things we didn’t do but wanted to: As I mentioned, we really didn’t see much of Danang city so that’s one thing we missed, especially seeing the dragon bridge at night.

Check out more blogs about our travels here.

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