All Things you need to know before travelling to Ben Tre city, Ben Tre province, the homeland of coconut tree.

Ben Tre has a population of some 1.3 million and is home to Kinh (Viet) people as the most populous and 25 other ethnic groups. It has a provincial city with the same name and eight rural districts of Chau Thanh, Binh Dai, Giong Trom, Ba Tri, Thanh Phu, Mo Cay Nam, Mo Cay Bac and Cho Lach. With a coastline of 65 kilometers, Ben Tre has big potential for the development of renewable energy, sea economy and tourism.

Ben Tre city is the capital of Ben Tre province, Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. It is 84 kms away in 2 hours driving by private car from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city) to the Southwest to Ben Tre via Long An, My Tho, and Rach Mieu Bridge which goes over the Tien River (upper-Mekong River).

Top All Things Need To Know Before Travelling To Ben Tre Vietnam
The Tien River (upper-Mekong River)

The Tien River is the main northern branch of the Mekong through Vietnam.
The Mekong separates at Phnom Penh into the main northern branch of the Mekong proper - called the Tien River after entering Vietnam - and the southern branch of the Bassac River - which is called the Hau River after entering Vietnam.

In Vietnam, distributaries of the northern branch sông Tiền or Tiền Giang include the Mỹ Tho River, the Ba Lai River, the Hàm Luông River, and the Cổ Chiên River.
Rach Mieu Bridge. Add: Tan Thach commune, Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre province and the other side of the bridge belongs to My Tho city. Rạch Miễu Bridge (Vietnamese: Cầu Rạch Miễu) is a cable-stayed bridge in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

The bridge connects Tien Giang Province (Mỹ Tho) with Ben Tre Province, over the Mekong. Construction began in 2002 and was completed on 19 January 2009.
When our car get on the top of the bridge, we see 5 beautiful near-by sites as: My Tho city, Tien River, Unicorn Island, Phoenix Island, and Ben Tre mainland.

Fresh Fruit, Vietnamese Folk Music, and Rowwing Boat in little canal. Add: Que Dua Eco Tourist Point, Tan Thach commune, Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre province. Cell phone Ms Diem: +84918948383. Another interesting thing to see and do in Ben Tre is to taste fresh fruit and experience Vietnamese folk music (Don Ca Tai Tu) performed by local singers. see the video below:

After that, you can enjoy a rowwing boat in the zigzac canal along the water palm trees.

Car rental Vietnam offer a day trip in Ham Luong: Cruising along Ham Luong River allows you to observe the lush tropical islet and relish the cool breeze here. Not only that, the trip is a great chance to visit traditional workplaces where locals make their own products from coconut, such as activated charcoal, brooms, and souvenirs.

It is difficult to express how comfortable and delightful you will be while being rowed under the shadow of palm trees on the calm water by small boat. It is definitely an amazing activity you must try, so a premier group tour to Ham Luong should be included in your journey to Vietnam.

Traditional Coconut Businesses: Ben Tre is supposed to be the kingdom of coconut, and the most glittering thing here is that most traditional businesses are closely associated to coconut. In other word, coconut is the key material for renowned products in this water region.

That is the reason why we should not ignore a visit to traditional coconut businesses when taking a chance to travelling here. While cruising along Ham Luong River, we can come across kilns used to produce activated charcoal by baking coconut shell.

Further, nobody is not wowed by mills where coconut fudge, leaflet midrib brooms, and crafts with coconut fiber are created in artistic way. It is actually amazing to experience this visit.

Vam Ho Bird Sanctuary. Cell phone: +8490 375 97 44. Add: Tan My commune, Ba Tri district, Ben Tre province. It is 34 kms away from the center of Ben Tre city, and is 120 kms away from Ho Chi Minh city.

With a Mekong Delta adventure day tour or Mekong Delta group tour 1 day from Ho Chi Minh you should let yourself freely discover Vam Ho bird sanctuary. This place is the natural habitat of many genres of birds and trees, like date, coconut, reed, mangrove, and others. Here, there is nothing more wonderful than being rowed by boat to observe the whole sanctuary and penetrate into the spot by crossing narrow bamboo bridges.

Cai Mon Fruit Orchard. Add: Vinh Thanh commune, Cho Lach district, Ben Tre province. It is 27 kms away from the center of Ben Tre city. There are many fruit, diversity of fruits like durian, sweet mango, longan, purple mangosteen, rambutan, others. Additionally, an attracting feature of the orchard is that it is the home of artists who have the ability of planting valuable plants and designing them in unique shapes. This village has the biggest fruit-tree nursery of Vietnam.

Where to stay at Ben Tre Vietnam?

 1.Mekong Hotel & Restaurant. Cell phone: +8493 545 68 63. Add: 232A, Dong Khoi Avenue , Phu Tan ward, Ben Tre city. It is 2.5 kms away from the center of Ben Tre city.

2. DIAMOND STARS BEN TRE HOTEL. Tel: 0275 3748 888. Add: 140, Hung Vuong str, ward 2, Ben Tre city. It is 1 km away from the center of Ben Tre city.

3. Hung Long Hotel. Tel: 0275 3862 379. Add: Tinh Lo 885, Hamlet 1, Luong Hoa Commune, Giong Trom District, Ben Tre province. It is 9 kms away from the center of Ben Tre city.

4. Rooster Mekong Garden Villas. Tel: 1900 888671. Add: Long Thoi commune, Cho Lach district, Ben Tre province. It is 25 kms away from the center of Ben Tre city.

5. Coco-Ecolodge Rustic. Cell phone: +84395 257 045. Add: Binh Loi hamlet, Cha Binh commune, Giong Trom district, Ben Tre province. It is 27 kms away from the center of Ben Tre city.

6. Cocoland Homestay. Cell phone: +8494 886 69 95. Add: Tổ 3, Phuoc Hoa hamlet, Thanh Trieu commune, Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre province. It is 17 kms away from the center of Ben Tre city.

7. Nguyet Que Homestay. Cell phone: +8498 208 31 38. Add: Nhon Thanh commune, Ben Tre city. It is 5.6 kms away from the center of Ben Tre city.

Where to eat at Ben Tre Vietnam?

1.Diem Phuong Eco Restaurant in Phoenix Island. Cell phone: +8491 397 88 60, home phone: 0275 3894 926. Add:  80/10, Tan Vinh hamlet, Tan Thach commune, Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre province. .It is 11 kms away from the center of Ben Tre city. Prior to Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of foreign tourists and Vietnamese tourists came here.

2.Con Phung Eco Restaurant in Phoenix Island. Tel: 0275 3822 198. Add: Tan Vinh hamlet, Tan Thach commune, Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre province. It is 11 kms away from the center of Ben Tre city. Prior to Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of foreign tourists and Vietnamese tourists came here.

3.Con Quy Garden Restaurant in Turtle Island. Cell phone Mr Thanh: +84949339227. Add: hamlet 3, Tan Thach commune, Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre province. It is 12 kms away from the center of Ben Tre city.

4.Eco Food Village Que Dua (Quê Dừa - Làng Ẩm Thực Sinh Thái). Cell phone: +84 93 899 97 87. Add: hamlet 6B, An Khanh commune, Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre province. It is 10 kms away from the center of Ben Tre city.

5.Coco Mint Pizza. Tel: 0275 3828 182. Add: 472C, Nguyen Dinh Chieu str, ward 8, Ben Tre city. It is 2 kms away from the center of Ben Tre city.
    
Ben Tre local specialize food and drinks.

1. Elephant-ear Fish: Deep-fried Elephant-ear Fish must be served hot using a special wooden tool as shown in the photo below. It is usually eaten with steamed rice, vegetables, herbs and sweet, sour and hot fish sauce dip. Instead of steamed rice, it is usually eaten with rice paper and rice noodles. Just use rice paper to wrap a piece of crispy fish, salad, cucumber, herbs, star fruit slices, green banana slices, rice noodles into a medium roll. Then dip the roll into fish sauce dip and tuck in. Some prefer dipping this food with “Mắm nêm” – a sauce made of fermented fish. Some cooks make tomato sauce or pineapple sauce to pour on the fish and top it with crushed peanuts.

2.Coconut candy (Kẹo dừa): The production of Vietnamese coconut candy starts with the grating of fresh coconut flesh. The grated flesh is then pressed to extract coconut milk and coconut cream. The next step is the addition of malt syrup and sugar to this mixture of coconut milk and cream. The ratio of the various ingredients is a closely guarded secret of individual coconut candy manufacturers. 

Traditionally, coconut candy is wrapped in two layers of wrappings. The inner layer is edible rice paper, and the outer layer is paper soaked in vegetable oil. These measures were necessary to stop the candy from sticking to the paper wrapping. Larger manufacturers now use heat-sealed foil paper, which does not stick to the candy.
Coconut juice – nước dừa.
Coconut core salad – Củ hũ dừa.
Lava – Đuông dừa. ...
Coconut wine – Rượu dừa. ...
Coconut rice – Cơm dừa. ...
Roasted snail with coconut milk – Ốc Xào Nước Cốt Dừa. ...
Coconut mice – Chuột dừa.
 
How to getting around Ben Tre Vietnam?

1. Vehicle from Ho Chi Minh City: Ben Tre is 84 kms away in 2 hours driving by private car (in 2.5 hours driving by public bus) from Ho Chi Minh city.
2. Motorbike from Ho Chi Minh City: it takes about 3 hours driving by motorbike from Ho Chi Minh city.
3. Boat Ferry Service from Ho Chi Minh City: you can book a private boat from Sai Gon River to Ben Tre.

4. Private taxi from Ho Chi Minh airport transfers to Ben Tre from 59$USD.

When should visit Ben Tre Vietnam?

Ben Tre is the same with other areas of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, it is also the land of mild climate and pleasant weather, so it’s deemed to be an ideal destination to visit all year round. The climate in BEN TRE is split into two seasons: rainy season (normally from May to October) and dry season (normally from November to April).
You can hope to find a quite comfortable trip to this province as the average temperature there falls in around 29 degree Celsius. Sometimes there are several storms in the rainy season.

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Sourse: internet.