The five-star Costa Classica cruise liner arrived in Halong city in northeastern Quang Ninh province for the first time on April 6, bringing 1,600 tourists, mainly from Italy, France, Germany and the UK.
Halong tours, Costa Classica cruise ship visits HaLong Vietnam
The 220m-long ship carries 2,000 people on board, including tourists and crew. Costa Classica belongs to the Costa Crociere S.p.A Group and is part of the biggest US maritime tourism group in the world, the Carnival Group. It also owns the cruise ships Costa Allegra and Costa Marina that regularly bring tourists to Halong Vietnam.
The sharp falls of domestic tour fees have helped lure travellers. The cheap domestic tours have persuaded more and more people to travel domestically instead of going abroad.
Programme makes impressive start
the number of tourists will increase gradually
Vu The Binh, Director of the Travel Department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said that it is now the high tide of the “Impressive Vietnam” programme; the number of travel firms registering to join the tourism promotion programme has reached 84. Moreover, 114 hotels have also registered to lower hotel room rates.
Visit Thung Nai once and you are hooked. It will be the place you will think of almost every time you want to take a couple of days off and lose yourself in beauty and serenity that only unspoilt nature can provide.
Mainland Halong Bay - Halong tours
Thung Nai Commune, the “Halong Bay on the Mainland,” lies on the Da River in the northwestern mountainous province of Hoa Binh (Hoa Binh Tours), just 100 km from Hanoi.
The 2009 Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Festival, the 5th such annual event, opened on April 3 at Dam Sen Cultural Park by the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam Tourism Association.
Tourism festival Ho Chi Minh City
The festival showcased prestigious tourism trade names to the public and new tourism services along with special promotions to stimulate demand among the city’s people and in the southern economic zone.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is working with travel companies in Vietnam over a package tour by car to the southern region of the country in a fresh move to attract more Vietnamese travelers.
Artists perform a Thai dance
Pichai Raktasinha, director of TAT’s Ho Chi Minh City office, told the Daily that the land tour taking in Thailand’s renowned tourist destinations, including Pattaya and Bangkok, would soon be available for booking at travel companies in southern Vietnam.
More trains from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang for holidays
To meet the rising demand for travel during the upcoming holidays – Hung Kings’ death anniversary (April 4), Liberation Day (April 30) and May Day – the Sai Gon Railway Station will put an additional six pairs of trains on the Sai Gon-Nha Trang route.
On the Hung Kings’ death anniversary, besides a daily train (SNT72), there will be two more trains (SN4 and SN6) for the Ho Chi Minh City-Nha Trang route today.
The central coastal province of Khanh Hoa is gearing up for the wide-ranging Nha Trang Maritime Festival, entitled Civilization and Friendship, which is scheduled for June 6-12 and features 70 different cultural, sporting, economic and scientific events.
Nha Trang Maritime Festival 2009Theatre groups and musicians from France, Ukraine, Japan and the RoK will perform at the festival and beauty queens from 29 countries are also expected to attend the event.
Phong Dien, a newly established district in the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho, has become a popular tourist destination for cruising on canals, taking rickshaw rides around orchards and enjoying seafood in the Phong Dien floating market.
A view of a Southern ancient house in My Khanh Tourist Village.On the way to Phong Dien is Vong Cung Road, which links Cai Rang Bridge to O Mon District. A cruise along the Can Tho River from Ninh Kieu Wharf to Phong Dien floating market should be listed as a ‘must-do’ on any itinerary.
