If you are a patient person who loves nature and are looking for an experience that includes a large, open space with blue skies, emerging waterways filled by green plants and where you can hear songs of thousands of birds, then one of the places in Vietnam you should explore is Tram Chim National Park in Tam Nong Ward, Dong Thap Province.
The World Wildlife Fund is funding Tram Chim National Park to develop ecosystems as well as preserve rare species of birds, including grus antigone, or red-headed crane. Tram Chim National Park is located 19km to the east of the Mekong River, at an elevation of about 1m. There are 231 types of birds at the park, of which 13 are rare.
To reach the park one must travel 171kmby bus from HCMC to Cao Lanh Town in Dong Thap Province and then change to another bus to travel from Cao Lanh to Thanh Binh District, which is about 22km.
Thanh Binh is 18km from Tram Chim Town in Tam Nong District, and this part of the journey can be done with a hired motorbike driver, and Tram Chim National Park is 1.5km from the center of town.
October to April is the most beautiful time in the park, when many birds come. Both short and long tours are available to see the 7,600ha park. The short tour priced at VND600,000 (or US$34.3) is in a powered boat which can carry up to 16 people.
However, the noise from the engine scares away many of the birds. To see all the birds and enjoy the scenery in silence, tourists could hire boats with oars for VND300,000 a person. These tours take half a day.
Reasonably priced accommodation is available for overnight stays at the park. A three-bedroom with air-condition is VND150,000 (about US$8.6) for one night, while a four-bedroom with a fan is only VND100,000 (about US$5.7). Tourists are allowed to sleep at rest-stops inside the park but the facilities are minimal and typically only researchers like this tour.
The people in the Mekong Delta are considered to be the most honest, generous, and friendly in Vietnam. For a longer stay in the area small hotels are available in Tram Chim Town, about 1.5km far from the park.