Dong Thap is home to 72 agricultural and rural tourism sites, including 15 standout locations and several newly developed spots. Farmers have upgraded landscapes and basic facilities, creating products such as fruit-garden tours, farming activities, field bathing, and visits to traditional craft villages.
My Anh, a visitor from Ho Chi Minh City, said she had watched many field-bathing and river-bathing videos online but only understood their appeal after trying them at Dong Sen Go Thap.
“We had a memorable day with field bathing, boating and local food. Everything felt familiar yet refreshing,” she said.
The field bathing experience in Dong Thap (Photo by Bao Quyen)
Known for its tranquillity, the site features expansive lotus fields that shift in colour throughout the day. Visitors often borrow ao dai or ao ba ba outfits for photographs, or paddle into the lotus ponds to pick flowers and fish.
Locals have turned the annual high water into a community-based tourism opportunity, drawing rising visitor numbers as floodwater peaks from the ninth lunar month.
Floodwater peaks from the ninth lunar month every year (Photo by Bao Quyen)
Nguyen Ngoc Hon, a representative of Dong Sen Go Thap, said unusually high water this year had submerged paths to more than 30 thatched huts. Visitors can travel by boat to the huts, dine on the water and bathe in the fields. Weekend crowds have reached 500-600 visitors, sometimes more.
He said flood-season boating, fish-catching and river-culture activities now help double visitor numbers compared with the dry season.
Visitors often borrow ao dai (traditional long dress) or ao ba ba (traditional southern Vietnamese blouse) outfits for photographs (Photo by Bao Quyen)
Visitors can rent ao ba ba for about VND 50,000 and bathe freely in the canals, with life jackets and supervisors provided. This year’s flood season also drew around 100 foreign tourists, unusual for a rural site.
Beyond flood-season activities, Dong Sen Go Thap retains its appeal with its wild landscape, rich ecosystems and rare bird species. Boating, fishing and local cuisine continue year-round.
An overview of the Dong Sen Go Thap tourist site (Photo by Bao Quyen)
Dong Thap is also expanding ecological and rural tourism routes, including Tram Chim National Park, craft villages in Lai Vung and Sa Dec, and fruit-garden tours.
The province has allocated more than VND 1 trillion (USD 38 million) for tourism development to 2030, including VND 461 billion for priority projects, and aims to complete geographical-indication systems for key products such as Thap Muoi lotus, Cao Lanh mango and Lai Vung pink tangerine by 2027.
