Nha Trang is famous for its stunning beaches, spectacular bay and many attractions. It is an ideal destination for local and foreign tourists, especially during summer holidays.

The Sea Festival 2009, taking place from June 6 to 12, is an extra special reason to visit Nha Trang. The city is planning an exciting event featuring a range of cultural festivities such as flowers, wine, tea and beer, as well as games including swimming and kite flying. Moreover, visitors will enjoy a fashion show, folk music show and contemporary music and comedy performances by troupes from arts schools around the country.

Ben Thanh Tourist is taking this occasion to offer a four-day-and-three-night coach tour, departing from HCMC on June 4 and 6, to join the festival while also visiting famous attractions.

The first stop of the tour will be Giang Dien Waterfall, a familiar, natural area not far from HCMC in Dong Nai Province. The tour will continue to the central coastal city of Phan Thiet to visit Ong Dia stone beach, Ham Tien coconut plantation and Mui Ne fishing port before calling on Ca Na Beach in neighboring Ninh Thuan Province.

Heading to Nha Trang City on the new coastal road, Song Lo-Hon Ro, tourists will delight in the sun set view overlooking Nha Trang Bay. A stroll around the city by night will include Nha Trang night market, Phu Dong Cultural Park, Bon Mua Café and Thap Ba seafood area.

The second day begins with an early visit to the Institute of Oceanography in Nha Trang to see the marine life and to local fishing villages at San Beach, Tre Islet, Yen Cave and Mun Islet, the county’s first marine preservation area. This is a great opportunity to view the diverse colorful of corals and underwater species for which Nha Trang is known.

The next adventure is a 3km cable car trip to the luxurious and elegant five-star Vinpearl Land Resort.

The third day will be spent on an excursion to Doc Let Beach to play in the waves and sample indigenous seafood. To ease any stress or aches and pains, a hot bath and mud spa at Thap Ba Hot Mineral Spring is listed on the itinerary at noon.

The ancient architecture and elegant design of ancient Cham peoples at Ponagar Tower, built hundreds of years ago as a religious sanctuary, and sight-seeing trips to Xom Bong, Ha Ra bridges, Co Tien Mountain and Chong Islet are highlights of the tour. The last day is kept free for shopping for local specialties as gifts for relatives and friends before returning to HCMC. Southern fruit galore at Suoi Tien Park

It is summer and Vietnamese growers are busy picking ripe fruit and delivering it to Suoi Tien Park in HCMC’s District 9 as the Southern Fruit Festival returns to the city from May 24 to 28.

There is no better way to sample southern fruit in one place than going to the park, and better still, the prices are 20% to 40% below what one would pay at the markets.

Sixty stalls will introduce over 50 kinds of fruit as well as new kinds appearing at the festival for the first time such as Lo Ren Vinh Kim star apples from Tien Giang Province, Mat Troi Do (red sun) watermelon without seed from Dong Nai Province, oranges without seed and butter star apples from Ben Tre Province. The three month fruit market is going to open on May 23.

There will be a fruit arrangement contest among nearly 100 artisans, new dishes made from fruit, an ornamental exhibition, an exhibition of rocks having the shapes and colors of fruit and a freak show of giant fruits and bulbs that weigh up to 60kg.

Fruit parades, cultural performances and folk games will also entertain visitors.

La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said at a press conference to promote the festival that the new feature of the festival would be a vote for the most delicious and the safest fruits. The contest among nearly 300 growers is to encourage new technology, new varieties, quality and high productivity.

Since the department joined hands with the park’s management board in 2004 to make the annual festival a major tourist attraction, the fruit festival has drawn increasing crowds of tourists.

Khanh said that Thailand, after seeing Vietnam’s example, also holds a fruit festival at a farm 70km outside Bangkok which has become a destination offered by Thailand travel companies.

The U.S will be represented at this year’s festival by American grapes and oranges.

Khanh anticipates over one million tourists will visit the festival and about 2,000 tons of fruit will be sold. He said that over the first four months of this year, foreign tourists dropped by 8% but local tourists increased by 20% compared to the same period last year.

Last year’s festival drew nearly one million tourists and sold about 1,500 tons of fruit.

(Source: SGT)