Cần Giờ District in HCM City, recognised as the first Mangrove Biosphere Reserve in Việt Nam by UNESCO, is a perfect day trip from HCM City. VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY – Cần Giờ District, recognised as the first Mangrove Biosphere Reserve in Việt Nam by UNESCO, is a perfect day trip from HCM City.

Located 50km southeast of the HCM City centre, the Cần Giờ wetlands can be visited easily by speedboat, car, motorbike or bus.

One of its attractions is "Monkey Island" with about 1,500 monkeys. Monkeys are scattered throughout the tourism area, though they seem to gather at the gate hoping to be fed.

However, visitors must be careful about personal items such as cameras, phones, hats and glasses because they could get snatched by inquisitive monkeys.

Besides Monkey Island, Cần Giờ is famous for its seafood such as crab, mudskipper, duck, mullet and oysters that grow naturally in mangroves. Roasted crabs with tamarind sauce, grilled mudskippers with chili salt, sour eeltail catfish soup, and grilled oysters are must-try dishes. – VNS