|
Vietnam Travel Guide Co. offers three- and four-day tours to Nha Trang from April 30 onwards.....
April is usually the hottest month of the year in Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, many choose to escape the sizzling city to hide away at a beach. Nha Trang, a beautiful beach town about 450 kilometres north of Ho Chi Minh City, is a favourite destination.
Vietnam Travel Guide Co. offers three- and four-day tours to Nha Trang from April 30 onwards. Those take in Hon Mun (Mun Island), the first marine reserve in Vietnam, and the picturesque lagoon of Dam Bay.
Of the hundreds of islets in Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa Province on the central coast, Hon Mun, ideal for those who like to discover coral reefs, has recently become the most visited place.
Hon means islet, while Mun stands for black or ebony. It is named Hon Mun because in the south-eastern part of the island high cliffs house caves and grottoes whose stones are as black as ebony, rarely found in other areas.
Every year many salangane birds migrate to those black-stone caves, nine miles from Nha Trang, and build their nests there.
Because of the island’s location near the hot currents from the equator, corals and many various types of exotic marine creatures can develop, making it interesting and useful to explore for researchers, oceanographers and tourists.
For example, the seabed boasts stones, or ancient corals, with a pattern and texture, considered the most beautiful in Vietnam. You can also see intact corals six meters under the water’s surface with fish swimming through the crevices.
In June 2001 the Government approved a pilot project to develop Hon Mun into a marine conservation zone, creating a safe haven for life to thrive there. The Hon Mun Sea Park, the first in Vietnam, covers 12,100 hectares of mostly water and several islands in Nha Trang’s Vinh Nguyen Ward.
Visiting Hon Mun, tourists should explore the 430-hectare Ocean Park and its 100-odd species of corals, 180 species of fish, 110 species of mollusk and 70 species of crustacean, all living at a depth of up to 60 meters.
For a relaxing time, Dam Bay, nestled on the eastern coast of the Tre island, entices tourists with beautiful white-sand beaches, tranquil waters, coconut trees and fishermen’s basket boats.
Big waves and strong winds rarely hit Dam Bay because hills and mountains shelter it, making it perfectly safe to swim there. The bay’s water is so clear that you can see right down to the seafloor.
Once you have finished swimming and sunbathing, you can choose among many other fun activities. You can explore the bay by kayak, perhaps venturing out to the coral reef, or you can try snorkeling or diving with professional instructors.
During the dives, you can enjoy the vivid and colourful world of coral reefs and probably meet such fish as cuttlefish, scorpion fish, frogfish, lionfish, needlefish, paper fish, parrotfish, rockfish and trumpet fish, and moray eels.
Those who are hungry can eat barbecued squid and other local seafood specialties at restaurants or seafood lunch buffet at bungalows.
The tour costs from VND 1 million to VND 1.4 million.
In addition to the excursion to Nha Trang, Vietnam Travel Guide is offering 29 tours to other parts of the country under a special program to mark the 30 years of the south’s liberation.
Those include a one-day tour to My Tho City in the Mekong Delta, a two-day trip to Phan Thiet in the central province of Binh Thuan and a three-day visit to the Central Highlands city of Buon Me Thuot.
|
