Top 7 things to see in Rach Gia

How To Get There?
By plane
Rach Gia Airport serves domestic flights to and from Phu Quoc Island and Ho Chi Minh City operated by Vietnam Airlines. The flights are served on a daily basis.

By bus 
Buses and minibuses connect Rach Gia with the nearest big cities of the country:
To/ from Ha Tien: 2,5 hours, $2,5 (50,000 VND);
To/ from Hon Chong: 2,5 hours, $2,5 (50,000 VND);
To/ from Can Tho: 3 hours, $3,5 (75,000 VND);
To/ from Long Xuyen: 1,5 hours, $1,5 (30,000 VND);
To/ from Ho Chi Minh City: 6 hours, $8 (165,000 VND).
You can buy a ticket at the bus station. If there’s an opportunity, it is recommended to do it in advance, as due to lack of the transport connection, the tickets may be sold out in a few hours before departure. You can also do it with the help of reliable travel companies. Mekong river cruise

By boat
There are regular hydrofoils cruising between Phu Quoc and such destinations as Rach Gia. One way trip from/to Rach Gia lasts approximately for 2,5 hours and the ticket should costs about $15 (350,000 VND). There’s also a discount for senior (above 60 years old) and disabled people, as well as for children under the age of 11. The timetable of arrivals and departures is available on the webpage of the Superdong transfer company. Halong bay cruise

Top 7 things to see in Rach Gia

Thing To See At Rach Gia
Tam Quan Gate
Tam Quan gate, or as it is also called, Three Entrance Gate, is a true symbol of Rach Gia and is considered to be an entrance to the city. This is a beautiful triple arch bearing the traditional elements of Vietnamese architecture. Travel to Vietnam

Nguyen Trung Truc Temple
The temple is dedicated to Nguyen Trung Truc who was a leader of the resistance movement against the newly arrived French in the end of 19th century. Today this is one of the biggest attractions of Rach Gia and an important religious destinations for the entire region.

Tam Bao Pagoda
This is another destination of Rach Gia with a beautiful story behind. It was built in the beginning of 19th century by the Vietnamese Emperor Gia Long to honour a local woman who aided him after the Tay Son Rebellion. It is surrounded by a quite and cozy garden with numerous sculptures and is definitely a great place to spend some time and enjoy its peaceful atmosphere.

Phat Lon Pagoda (Khmer pagoda)
This is an amazing Cambodian Buddhist pagoda, which name is translated as Big Buddha. Even nowadays the majority of the monks living here are the ethnic Khmers. It has a magnificent architecture and zen garden in the courtyard with an over hundred-year old tree originated from Sri Lanka.

Kien Giang Museum 
The museum is housed in one of the most ancient and beautiful buildings in the city. It has an outstanding and sophisticated exterior design with traditional oriental elements inside of the building. The museum is exposing a big collection of war memoirs, historical photos and cultural relics.

Local Specialities 
Are you a foodie? Then probably, you will enjoy your visit to Rach Gia, Being a port town, it has a big choice of sea specialities as well as traditional Vietnamese dishes. The most popular places to eat and drink among locals and travelers are Thanh Binh, Hai Au, Ao Dai Moi,Valentine, which also offer sometimes different types of entertainment like karaoke or sport events.

Rach Soi Market
Market is a right place to go, if you want to explore people’s everyday life, local culture and of course, buy cheap, fresh and exotic fruits, vegetables and other local specialities. The biggest one in Rach Gia is the Rach Soi market, located close to the port of the town.

Khau Vai Love Market

Khau Vai love market belongs to Khau Vai commune, Meo Vac District, Ha Giang, province. This is a unique market of Vietnam in particular and the world in general. The Khau Vai fair is located in the village of the Nung, in a wide valley and full of people. There have colorful costumers of the ethnic H’Mong, Dao, Giay, Nung… The girls, boys even elder are not hiding restless in the face. North Vietnam packages

From the previous day, canvas-tents were built throughout the valley; the most numerous is place buying corn wine, thang co… In the evening before, many couples follow the mountainside to the Khau Vai love market on time.

Life in the mountains is often tedious. One year has only fair so many families include parents, father in law, son come to love market for fun. Even more couples got married more than 10 years and have 4 children try to join the special fair in this year.

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The oldest person of Khau Vai commune did not know the time that Khau Vai love market began. According to the legend, the love story between the boy of the H’Mong and the girl of the Giay led to the grudge between two tribes. In order to avoid a bloody confrontation, they were forced away from each other. However, the boy and the girl vowed that they would meet once on the March 26th at Khau Vai market. Khau Vai love market began from that. Up to now, Khau Vai love market became the dating fair, finding love from young to married people. BASSAC CRUISE

Khau Vai Love Market

Khau Vai love market at night becomes more quite, the only conversation and sound of “khen”. If visitors have opportunities to come this market, they will have unforgettable impression.

7 Things not to do in Vietnam - a Cultural Guide

Travel broadens the mind but stray outside of the local laws and customs and you’ll find yourself on the receiving end of angry locals, or worse still, getting deported or locked up in jail. Follow these etiquette and cultural hints when exploring Vietnam;

Don’t blog in Vietnam – If you thought blogging about government affairs in Vietnam is cool, you better think again. Unlike most countries where you are free to blog about the government, in Vietnam, you certainly aren’t. Whether what you were blogging about was sensitive or not, it’d be ten times better to just use that keyboard to type about the weather in Vietnam. Talk about anything like corruption in the government or even the Vietnam War and you’ll either be deported, or you’ll be thinking about freedom behind steel bars. Blogging, in Vietnam, should be about your personal experiences. Blogging about the government is a no-go-zone. Vietnam travel

Keep your leisure time healthy – Despite having the freedom to blog about your personal experiences, you should know that anything that depicts pornography is highly illegal. Prostitution also happens to be illegal. If you’re the kind of person that loves going to bars and nightclubs, flirting with a couple of women and then taking them back to your crib, this isn’t the place for you. Even sharing a room with a Vietnamese of the opposite sex is wrong and co-habiting is completely a no-go option. Though this law is nowadays not so strict about this, you can never be too sure when things might get serious. Calypso Cruise

As with all destinations, it’s important to practice common sense and these tips are here to assist. Regular readers of our blog know that we adore Vietnam as a travel destination and have indeed produced many posts on the subject; My Hanoi Travel Experience: My Favourite Destination in the World, What to do in Ho Chi Minh City, 5 Weird and wonderful hotels in Vietnam and many more.

Women’s dress in Vietnam – For women, the laws are even stricter then for a man. You can’t wear revealing clothing anywhere in Vietnam apart from your own bedroom. Foreigners aren’t excluded from this law and there are some who have been called rude names for wearing sexy, revealing or low cut clothing whilst out and about. Reveal less and you might just survive in Vietnam. Showing off your bust and letting the men see how attractive your legs are will do you no good. Instead, you might end up spending the night in a cell, or you might even be on your way back to your home country. DAY TRIP CRUISE

7 Things not to do in Vietnam - a Cultural Guide

Don’t attempt to drive when in Vietnam – Your driver’s license is as good as useless in Vietnam. Having an International Driver’s License makes no difference either. However good you are at driving, you also can’t be issued with a VN driver’s license. Only a Vietnamese can obtain a driver’s license. So, kindly don’t bother driving in Vietnam if you can’t prove that you are Vietnamese. And with the roads choc-a-block 24/7 it’s no great loss to forgo driving for the duration of your holiday.

Update; whilst you can’t use your own drivers licence in Vietnam you can apply for a Vietnamese licence should you wish to, for example if you plan a lengthy stay and is required by law to drive a car or motorcycle in Vietnam. Visitors can apply via the Hanoi Department of Public Works and Transportation and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Public Works and Transportation, contact details can be found on the FCO Official site.


Stay safe in Vietnam – Also, the police in Vietnam aren’t interested in cases such as your bag was stolen or you got ripped off by a merchant. These cases, in the eyes of the police, aren’t crimes. They are regarded as civil matters of dispute. So, it’d be a good idea to always watch out for conmen, distraction thieves and pickpockets. They can lurk anywhere since stealing your property wouldn’t end up being a police matter. If you do lose something, hire a private investigator or someone of the sort. After that, hope that he/she isn’t a con as well. If he/she is, leave the police out of it. Always check the latest official safety and travel advice prior to travel.

Camera action – Despite criminal deception not being a major issue to the police, your camera might turn out to be a big issue. Restrain from taking pictures of military installations. All you’ll be really looking for is an unexpected arrest in which you’ll be taking pictures of your life in prison.

Drugs in Vietnam – Finally, transportation of illegal drugs is among the most offensive crimes in Vietnam. The maximum penalty for this crime is death. Though you might catch a glimpse of one or two people smoking marijuana in the streets, don’t ever be fooled into doing the same.