HCMC adds boat tours

HO CHI MINH CITY  Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism department is offering boat tours of the Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe Canal that cuts though downtown districts.
Thanh Nien News quoted the city’s deputy mayor, Nguyen Thi Hong, saying the canal tours are an effort to improve tourism products to attract more tourists.
“This is a new business model that the city’s government should expand, based on privatising boat services. The city will also invest in improving destinations along the canals. The main aim is to give the city’s tourism new features and a facelift.”
The Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe Canal runs for around 8 km through seven districts, but row and motorised boats cover just over half of the distance.
inside no 3The three-hour tour, offered by the Saigon Boat Company, covers a distance of 4.5 km and takes visitors from a pier near Thi Nghe Bridge to Le Van Sy Bridge and back.
Thi Nghe Bridge is situated near Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens at 2 Nguyen Binh Khiem Street in District 1. Le Van Sy Bridge is located near Nguyen Van Troi Market on Le Van Sy Street in District 3.
Tickets cost USD9.7 per person for row-boats with six passengers and USD4.84 for cruise boats with a capacity of 20 passengers. The row-boats are rowed by Vietnamese women wearing the traditional Ao Dai tunic.
A snack is served during the trip through districts 1, 3, Binh Thanh and Phu Nhuan.
Tickets are sold at the two terminals near Thi Nghe Bridge and Le Van Sy Bridge.
Last year, the city opened seven river tours from the main wharf to popular tourism destinations, including the Binh Quoi tourism area in Binh Thanh District and the Long Phuoc garden house in District 9.

sourced:ttrweekly.com