The highway starts at Cần Thơ city, the capital of Cần Thơ Province, diverging from National Route 1, and heads northwest, parallel to the Hau River, the main branch of the Mekong River in the delta region. The highway passes through the towns of Ô Môn, Thốt Nốt District before reaching the regional centre of Long Xuyên, the capital of neighbouring An Giang Province, the westernmost province of Vietnam bordering Cambodia. Approximately 40 km further northwest along the highway is Châu Đốc, the site of an airport, before the road turns southwest and straddles the Cambodian border for approximately 20 km before turning northwest again and crossing the Cambodian border.
