Ha Tien

Introduction

Hà Tiên is a ward of An Giang province in Vietnam, one of the province's communes and wards as organized after the 2025 reorganization. The source material for this guide is thin, so treat this page as a starting point rather than a full portrait of the place.

Getting there

Most travellers reach Ha Tien by bus. Long-distance coaches run from Ho Chi Minh City's Mien Tay terminal with Futa Buslines and Kumpho Samco Buslines, and the journey takes about 8 hours. There are also services from Can Tho and Chau Doc; the connection from Can Tho often requires a change in Rach Soi or Rach Gia, from where the ride is about an hour. The bus station sits southeast of the city centre, a little outside town, and a motorbike taxi will run you in.

From Cambodia, Champa Mekong Travel connects Phnom Penh with Ha Tien, a trip of roughly 4½–6 hours that involves changing buses three times, in Kampot and again after the border crossing, with the last two buses lacking air conditioning. From Kampot you can also take a bus or minibus, and on the Vietnamese side a minivan meets you to bring you to the travel agency office in the middle of the town centre. If you travel the whole way by bus, the driver or a company representative will collect your passport before the border and handle procedures at both crossings, carrying it until everything is complete. Independent travellers may cross more quickly using local transport and tuk-tuks; you can ride a bus or van or hire a motorbike taxi to the border from Kampot, Kep or Kampong Trach. Road conditions vary from paved and bumpy to packed dirt, and the road can be very dusty in the dry season. Vietnamese drivers sometimes wait well inside the Cambodian side to pick up travellers heading across, and your driver may stop to talk with them; a ride to town is only 7 km on well-paved road on the Vietnamese side, so you can also simply have your Cambodian driver take you to the border and cross on foot.

Getting around

Ha Tien's compact centre is easy to cover on foot, with Tran Hau as its spine — the main commercial street running along the seaside between the large road bridge, Cau To Chau, and the site of the former pedestrian pontoon bridge, Cau Phao, removed in early 2007. Guesthouses, travel agencies and the Superdong ferry office cluster around this strip, so if you stay centrally you can reach the shops, restaurants and waterfront without any transport at all. Plan around one quirk: the bus station and the ferry pier both sit across the river from the centre, so most arrivals and departures involve a short hop over the bridge.

For anything beyond the centre, motorbike taxis wait at various points around town and are the most flexible option for short trips — a journey within town, such as to the ferry port or bus station, should cost no more than 20,000 dong, while the border runs 40–50,000 dong. Two metered taxi companies operate, Mai Linh and Ha Tien Development Corp, and are a comfortable choice for luggage-heavy runs to the pier or bus station. You can rent motorbikes or pedal cycles by the day at several locations in town, and some hotels and guesthouses also rent motorbikes; it is worth asking around before committing, as one quoted motorbike rate was considered steep. There is no rail, metro or tram network — all movement is by road, water or on foot.

Where to stay

You will find no shortage of places to sleep in this town: it seems every other building is either a Khach San (hotel) or a Phong Tro (rooms to rent). The heart of the accommodation is the area bounded by Tran Hau, Mach Thien Tich and Chi Lang Streets, so start your search there.

• Bao Tam near the central market offers air-conditioned rooms with hot water and a TV, and is very clean.
• Hai Yen on To Chau may have the best rooms in town for the price; the superior rooms are huge, with a balcony and a good view over the bay, and cheaper rooms are also available.
• Viet Toan on Chi Lang is one of the best budget choices, with friendly staff (one speaks some English) and decent rooms with TV, fridge, private bathroom and a choice of fan or air-con.

Food & drink

Ha Tien is a seafood town, and the easiest way to eat well is to follow the waterfront. Along the waterway on Tran Hau, open-air eateries set up every night serving fresh seafood — squid, snails and other shellfish — so you can graze your way along the strip. Right on the beach, a local seafood restaurant has a private upstairs area overlooking the coast, good for a quieter meal with a view.

For something more specific, Pho 66 on the east side of town on To Chau, just south of Chi Lang, is a recommended spot for pho. There's also a cheap and delicious eatery on 47 Mach Thien Tich, halfway between Chi Lang and Mach Cuu — look for the two woks on the sidewalk and an English menu; it's dinner only, and the stir-fried squid with cucumber is worth trying. For drinks, Metro 88 offers poolside entertainment, while Oasis Bar on Tuan Phu Dat Dong Ho is run by an expat and serves cold beer in chilled glasses, along with cocktails, spirits, gin and tonic, and coffee.

What to see and do

Ha Tien rewards those who explore on foot, so pick up one of the tourist maps that mark the cave temples before setting out. Chua Tam Bao is generally considered the finest of the temples, and you can also visit Chua Giai Thoat and Tinh Xa Ngoc Ho. Beyond these, small Chinese temples are scattered all over town, often tucked down narrow back streets. At the end of Mac Cuu Street, the Mac Cuu Family tombs occupy a sprawling hillside.

For something more active, a bicycle ride makes an easy loop: head first to Mui Nai, a seaside resort with a tiny but sandy beach, then continue along the Cambodian border until you arrive back in Ha Tien. Along the way you'll pass a barrel-shaped hill with a temple inside. Across the border in Cambodia you'll find a cluster of casinos, mostly small gambling dens featuring Chinese games, with one sizable resort among them.

Three days in Ha Tien

Day one: Arrive in Ha Tien and get your bearings in this small town in An Giang, close to the Cambodian border. Settle into one of the guesthouses, then walk the waterfront and cross the Cau To Chau and Cau Phao bridges to see how the town connects across the water. Keep the pace slow and let the Mekong Delta atmosphere set in.

Day two: Take a boat trip out to the islands off Ha Tien, arranged through Superdong, and spend the day on the water and the beaches. Back in town, eat Vietnamese food at the local stalls and restaurants, and plan your onward travel — Mien Tay and Futa Buslines run services to Can Tho, Chau Doc, Rach Gia and Rach Soi, while Mai Linh and Kumpho Samco Buslines cover other routes.

Day three: Cross into Cambodia, or head back toward Long Xuyen and Ho Chi Minh City. From Ha Tien you can reach the border and continue to Kep, Kampong Trach or Kampot; Champa Mekong Travel can arrange the crossing, and from Kampot or Phnom Penh you can carry on through Cambodia. If you are returning to Vietnam instead, buses connect onward through the delta.