Mangroves, Wetlands & Tidal Flats: Can Gio Birding Day Tour

Join us on our popular full-day birding tour from the bustling metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City into the pristine mangrove and expansive coastal biosphere of Can Gio. The perfect high-yield birding day for anyone seeking a rich introduction to some of Vietnam’s finest birding opportunities. Ideal for birders, listers, photographers, wildlife enthusiasts, and curious travellers alike. 

Your day begins before dawn, with a convenient pick-up from your accommodation where you’ll meet your expert bird & wildlife guide and private driver. On the journey to Can Gio, we’ll take care of breakfast and organise a delicious traditional Vietnamese coffee to start your day right. After a short ferry ride across the river, the birding begins!

Upon arrival, you’ll step into Can Gio, where lush mangrove forest, sprawling paddy fields, and expansive well-preserved coastal habitats await. This day typically follows one of two approaches. Some guests arrive with specific target species or photography goals. In these cases, your guide will lead a custom itinerary through the island, tailored to your targets. This is a popular option, so when booking, feel free to share your photography goals or eBird target list.

For those seeking a broader exploration (or a “big day” styled birding tour), we follow our tried-and-tested route that covers a range of key habitats: mangrove forests, paddy fields, wetlands, salt pans, river systems, scrubland, sandflats, and expansive coastal mudflats. More than 70% of the island lies within the UNESCO-listed Can Gio Biosphere Reserve, teeming with biodiversity. 

In mangrove forest, you’ll search for species such as Collared Kingfisher, Coppersmith Barbet, Malaysian Pied Fantail, Racket-tailed Treepie, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Golden-bellied Gerygone, and Ashy Tailorbird, just to name a few. In the wetlands and salt pans, we’ll search for crakes, rails, ducks, herons, bitterns, buttonquail, kingfishers, grassbirds, bulbuls, warblers, white-eyes, sunbirds, weavers, and sparrows. Salt Pans around the shrimp farms often provide excellent opportunities for seeing waders such as stilts, greenshanks, plovers, sandpipers, and other scrubby birds such as Red-collared Dove, Blue-tailed Bee-eater and Plain-backed Sparrow. 

For lunch, enjoy an authentic Vietnamese meal in Can Gio, sampling local delicacies that reflect the flavours of the region. In the afternoon, we visit the expansive coastal reserves, where huge numbers of migratory waders overwinter. Here, we often spend time scanning for two of the world’s rarest shorebirds, the Spoon-billed Sandpiper and Nordmann’s Greenshank, among the many flocks of Asian terns, gulls, and clouds of other waders. Along the coast, watch for Red-breasted Parakeet, Eurasian Hoopoe, drongos, shrikes, and flycatchers.

If you’re interested in some of the wildlife beyond birds, Can Gio offers more opportunities. We sometimes encounter Boddart’s Blue-spotted Mudskipper, Northern and Long-tailed Macaques, Large Flying Foxes, and, occasionally, the elusive Irrawaddy Dolphin. Let us know in advance if you’d like to also focus on mammals, herps, or other wildlife, we’ll happily build it into your day.

As the sun sets, we’ll return to Binh Khanh Ferry for a gentle river cruise across the Nhà Bè River, often accompanied by hundreds (or thousands!) of Edible-nest Swiftlets fluttering overhead. You’ll arrive back at your accommodation in Ho Chi Minh City by early evening, with many new birds and a few memory cards fuller than when the day began.