On the afternoon of April 29, the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Department organized a survey and prepared to launch a new tourism product: "Cruise on the Saigon River". This activity is considered the second highlight in a series of events responding to the program "Ho Chi Minh City welcomes you - Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City", after the helicopter tourism product "View of Ho Chi Minh City from above".
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, unlike the other types of boats currently operating on the Saigon River, the yachts used in this tour are super yachts and luxury yachts.
The survey team viewed Phu My Bridge from the Saigon River. (Photo: Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism)
According to the plan, many cruise companies will participate in exploiting the product with a capacity of about 10-25 people/trip. The tour is expected to last 3 hours, departing from the marina, Lan Anh villa area, Binh An ward, Thu Duc city. The boat will go down the Saigon river, passing through landmarks such as: Red Light Cape, Nha Rong wharf, Bach Dang wharf, Ba Son port, Landmark 81, Thu Thiem 2 bridge... Visitors can enjoy tea, cocktails, wine or cakes, check-in the beautiful scenery on both sides of the river to the saxophone and violin music of musicians, watch the sunset and the brilliant scene when the city lights up...
Another option is a cruise that departs from Bach Dang Wharf with a similar itinerary. Ms. Lieu Thi My Hanh, Director of Les Rives - one of the pioneers in operating cruise tours, said that the price to rent a whole cruise departing from Bach Dang Wharf for 3 hours on the Saigon River (including a maximum of 25 guests) is about 35 million VND. Thus, the tour price for each tourist will range from 5-10 million VND.
"This price includes all fees and snacks for guests. Previously, this product was very popular with international tourists or foreigners living in Vietnam, but now it has expanded to domestic tourists" - Ms. Hanh said.
Passengers experience parties on luxury cruises.
According to businesses, after the pandemic, tourists tend to prefer to experience new things with small, familiar groups of people rather than mass tourism. Therefore, services aimed at this group of customers are very promising.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, one of the orientations of the tourism industry is to develop diverse city tours by road, water, air and metro.
"The tour to see Ho Chi Minh City from the Saigon River by cruise ship serves domestic and international tourists, especially the middle and high-end segment," said Ms. Hoa.
Watching the city light up from a cruise ship. (Photo: Doc Lap/Thanh Nien Newspaper)
In addition to the upcoming "Saigon River Cruise", Ho Chi Minh City currently has a number of waterway tourism routes being exploited, including: Bach Dang - District 7, Bach Dang - District 9, Bach Dang - Binh Quoi, Bach Dang - Cu Chi, watching the sunset on the Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe River by rowing boat, Bach Dang - Can Gio route... and inter-provincial routes Bach Dang - Cu Chi - Binh Duong, Bach Dang - Long An - Mekong Delta,...
