Sóc Trăng travel guide
Bat pagoda, Khmer temples and the Nga Nam floating market
A Mekong Delta town about 60 km from Can Tho with a large Khmer community, best seen at the Bat and Clay pagodas. Come between December and April in the dry season, or in November for the Ok Om Bok boat races. One night is enough. Prices are low, and many passports need no visa.
Soc Trang lies in the lower Mekong Delta, about 60 km from Can Tho. It has one of the largest Khmer communities in Vietnam, and it shows in the temples, with sweeping roofs, naga carvings and monks in saffron. Foreign visitors are few. Expect little English but a warm welcome.
Two temples justify the trip. At the Bat Pagoda a large colony of fruit bats hangs in the trees behind the monastery, protected by the monks; arrive about half an hour before sunset to watch them leave to feed. The Clay Pagoda is stranger. One monk spent some 60 years filling it with clay figures. Look for the dragon-wrapped pillars, a baby white elephant and golden turtles in the pond out back. Kh'leang Pagoda, the grand Khmer temple in town, rounds things off.
Nga Nam floating market, about 50 km out, is busiest around 5 to 6 in the morning; hire a small boat and go early. Back in town, Vo Thi Sau Street has hotpot restaurants. Order bun nuoc leo, the Khmer-style fish noodle soup. Before leaving, buy banh pia, flaky pastries filled with mung bean and durian. In November the Khmer festival of Ok Om Bok brings long-boat races to the river.
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Khmer pagodas, a colony of fruit bats and a floating market further out.
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Best time to visit Sóc Trăng
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Dry and sunny; good for early boat trips to the floating market.
Short, heavy downpours most afternoons; the Ok Om Bok festival falls near the end, usually in November.
Ok Om Bok, the Khmer moon festival in the tenth lunar month (usually November), fills the river with long-boat races; book a room early.
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Getting there
Coaches down Highway 1A from Mien Tay
Sóc Trăng has no airport or railway, so you arrive by bus along National Highway 1A, the road linking Can Tho, Sóc Trăng and Bac Lieu. Coaches from Mien Tay bus station in Ho Chi Minh City cover the 231 km in about five hours. Can Tho, 60 km north, is the usual stepping stone: its airport is the closest to Soc Trang, and local buses from Can Tho take about an hour. Carrying on south, Bac Lieu is the next stop on the same highway. Travellers coming across from Tra Vinh should note that the local buses on that route leave only in the morning.
- From Ho Chi Minh City
- About 5 hours by coach from Mien Tay station
- From Can Tho
- About 1 hour by local bus, 60 km down Highway 1A
- Nearest airport
- Can Tho (VCA), then the bus south
- From Tra Vinh
- Morning departures only
- Breaking the trip in Can Tho turns a long day into two short ones and lets you see its floating market too.
Getting around
Xe om corners and the dawn run to Nga Nam
Sóc Trăng is compact enough to cross on foot in under an hour, and the walk from Kh'leang Pagoda to the Clay Pagoda passes the central freshwater lake, where locals exercise at dusk. For the Bat Pagoda on the edge of town or the dawn run to Nga Nam, use a xe om. Xe om riders wait at street corners, usually lounging on their bikes, and will take you to the Bat Pagoda on the edge of town or wait while you watch the bats. Settle the price, and whether it includes waiting, before you get on. Nga Nam floating market, about 50 km away, is a different matter: you need a car with driver or a willing xe om rider, and a start well before dawn.
- On foot
- The central pagodas, the lake and the market are within easy walking distance
- Xe om
- On street corners; fix the fare and any waiting time first
- Car with driver
- Best for the 50 km pre-dawn trip to Nga Nam
- Hotels can book a car for Nga Nam the evening before; ask for a 04:00 departure to arrive at peak trading.
Know before you go
What makes Sóc Trăng worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Sunset at the Bat Pagoda, when fruit bats pour out of the trees.
- The Clay Pagoda's crowded, colourful figures, the life's work of one monk.
- Bun nuoc leo for breakfast, the Khmer fish noodle soup of the town.
Good to know
- English is rare; carry your hotel's address written in Vietnamese and agree xe om fares in advance.
- Dress modestly in the Khmer temples and take off your shoes where the monks do.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Sóc Trăng, month by month
Sóc Trăng has the Mekong Delta's two seasons, dry from about December to April and wet from May, when canals run high. Tap a month for averages.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Sóc Trăng (Vietnam Institute for Building Science and Technology, via Wikipedia).
Nga Nam boats at five, fruit bats at sunset
Leave Sóc Trăng in the dark for Nga Nam floating market, at a five-way junction of canals about 50 km out. It is liveliest between 05:00 and 06:00, when wholesale boats heaped with fruit and vegetables trade with local sellers; hire a small boat at the landing for a slow circuit, since by mid-morning the energy has gone.
Back in Soc Trang, eat a late breakfast of bún nước lèo, then walk to Kh'leang Pagoda, the grandest Khmer temple in town, with a steep roof edged in naga serpents. The Khmer museum across the road gives useful background on the festivals and music of the delta's Khmer. Continue to the Clay Pagoda, where a single monk spent some 60 years making the statues that crowd every surface, from dragon-wrapped pillars to the golden turtles in the pond behind.
Sleep through the hottest hours. Around half an hour before sunset, have a xe om take you to the Bat Pagoda, where a large colony of fruit bats hangs in the trees behind the monastery. The monks protect them from farmers, who regard them as a pest and a snack. Watch them wake and stream out to feed, then return to Vo Thi Sau Street for a hotpot dinner.
Bún nước lèo, bánh pía and the hotpot row on Vo Thi Sau
Sóc Trăng's best dish comes from its Khmer community. Bún nước lèo is a noodle soup in a broth of fermented fish and lemongrass, carrying snakehead fish, shrimp and crisp roast pork under banana flower and herbs. It is breakfast food, sold from early morning at market stalls and pavement shops, with lime and chilli on the table.
Bánh pía is what everyone takes home. The flaky round pastries are filled with mung bean paste, salted egg yolk and often durian, and bakeries all over the province sell them by the box; buy from a busy shop so they are fresh. Soc Trang is also a source of sweet Chinese-style sausage, lạp xưởng, hanging in bundles in the market. In the tenth lunar month, look out for cốm dẹp, flattened young rice pounded with coconut, which Khmer families prepare for Ok Om Bok.
For dinner, Vo Thi Sau Street is the hotpot strip, with countryside specials such as snake and rice-field rat for the curious. Hung on Hung Vuong has a long Vietnamese menu and an open-air pavilion; point or use a phrasebook, as the staff are helpful but speak little English. Khanh Vi at 43 Le Duan is larger and well run, with a menu that covers most delta dishes.
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How we research our Sóc Trăng travel guide
Sóc Trăng's Khmer pagodas, Nga Nam market times and bus links are checked against the Sóc Trăng Wikipedia entry and Vietnam Travel; entry rules come only from Vietnam's official e-Visa portal.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Sóc Trăng.
Timing & weather
Coaches leave Mien Tay bus station in Ho Chi Minh City throughout the day and take about 5 hours. Many travellers break the trip in Can Tho, about an hour away.
About half an hour before sunset, when the fruit bats start leaving the trees behind the temple.
Around the full moon of the tenth lunar month, usually in November, on the Maspero River in town. Rooms fill quickly, so book ahead.
Downpours come mostly in the afternoon from May to November, peaking at about 300 mm in October, so dawn market trips usually go ahead.
April is the warmest month in Sóc Trăng, with average highs of 34°C, and January the coolest, with lows of 22°C. October is the wettest month, at about 309 mm of rain; February is the driest. Sóc Trăng has the Mekong Delta's two seasons, dry from about December to April and wet from May, when canals run high.
General
Bun nuoc leo, a Khmer-influenced fish noodle soup. Banh pia pastries, filled with mung bean and durian, are the local souvenir.
By about 04:00. The market is 50 km away and busiest from 05:00 to 06:00.
One monk, who spent about 60 years sculpting and installing thousands of clay figures, including dragon pillars, a white elephant and a white tiger.
At the Khmer museum opposite Kh'leang Pagoda, which covers Khmer festivals, music and daily life in the delta.
Young rice flattened by pounding and mixed with coconut, a Khmer treat prepared for the moon festival in the tenth lunar month.
Not by local bus, which leaves Tra Vinh only in the morning. Later in the day you would need a private car.
Sóc Trăng is compact enough to cross on foot in under an hour, and the walk from Kh'leang Pagoda to the Clay Pagoda passes the central freshwater lake, where locals exercise at dusk. For the Bat Pagoda on the edge of town or the dawn run to Nga Nam, use a xe om. Xe om riders wait at street corners, usually lounging on their bikes, and will take you to the Bat Pagoda on the edge of town or wait while you watch the bats.
Getting there
Sóc Trăng has no airport or railway, so you arrive by bus along National Highway 1A, the road linking Can Tho, Sóc Trăng and Bac Lieu. Coaches from Mien Tay bus station in Ho Chi Minh City cover the 231 km in about five hours. Can Tho, 60 km north, is the usual stepping stone: its airport is the closest to Soc Trang, and local buses from Can Tho take about an hour.
Visa & documents
Citizens of a number of countries, including the UK and many EU states, can visit Vietnam visa-free for up to 45 days. All nationalities can apply for a single or multiple-entry e-Visa valid for up to 90 days on the official portal.
Health & safety
Vietnam is generally safe. Traffic is the main hazard, and bag snatching from motorbikes occurs in cities.
