Lê Hương

The upcoming national holiday (between September 1 and September 4) will be an ideal period for people to enjoy normal travel conditions after the pandemic.

Travel agencies have offered various tours at favourable prices.

Domestic tours: short stays nearby

Tours for the upcoming holiday have seen strong demand, industry participants said.

“The four-day holiday will be a break time for families before children enter a new academic year,” said Bùi Thanh Tú, Marketing Manager of BestPrice. 

The northwestern region is beautiful in autumn with yellow rice, and is a common choice to visit in September. VNA/VNS Photo

Tú said the company offers various tours for this holiday on its website and fanpage.

People are interested in various forms of travelling such as tours for singles, free and easy tours at low price, charity tours and package tours.

VnTour offers tours to the central region (Đà Nẵng - Huế - Hội An and Đà Lạt) from HCM City by car at a price of VNĐ2.4 million (US$103) - VNĐ3 million per pax.

VietSense Travel sells a series of tours to the northeast and northwest regions with products such as “Golden Autumn in High Mountain” exploring Xím Vàng, Tà Xùa, Mù Cang Chải, Hà Giang in three nights and two days at a price between VNĐ1.7 million and VNĐ2.5 million per head; or “Visiting a Revolutionary Base” exploring Ba Bể Lake (in Bắc Kạn) and Bản Giốc Waterfalls (in Cao Bằng); and a tour titled “Northwestern Circle” at a price of VNĐ2.4-3.6 million/pax.

The Việt Tourism Company has introduced new tours to the central region and to the sea, mostly tours to Đà Nẵng, Nha Trang and Phú Quốc.

The price of air tickets for this period is a little higher than in previous periods, noted Tú.

Nguyễn Thị Bích Huệ, head of PR & Marketing Department of Flamingo Redtours, told Việt Nam News that in August and September there are many rain storms. Hence, families prefer short-time trips.

“Many families have booked tours to the northern mountainous region to enjoy yellow rice on terrace rice fields,” she said.

According to Nguyễn Văn Tài, director of VietSense Travel, most people in the north have chosen Hạ Long (Quảng Ninh), Cát Bà (Hải Phòng), Ninh Bình, and tours to northeastern and northwestern regions.

In the meantime, popular destinations such as Phú Quốc (Kiên Giang), Đà Lạt (Lâm Đồng) or Vũng Tàu (Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu) are among top choices for people in the south.

Tours overseas: Southeast Asia is the favourite 

Vietnamese people tend to choose near destinations abroad such as Southeast Asian countries at more reasonable prices and easy immigration procedures like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia. Other countries such as South Korea, India and UAE are also top choices.

“For the national holiday in September, I prefer going abroad to avoid crowds inside the country,” said Phạm Ngọc Quang, who just booked a tour to South Korea.

New tours with a theme of revolution launched in HCM City. VNA/VNS Photo

"Autumn in South Korean is beautiful, so I choose a tour to Seoul and Jeju for my family this year," Quang said.

New products in HCM City

Local authorities and travel agencies in HCM City have just launched two special tours with the theme of revolution for this Independence Day.

The tour titled Memories of Sài Gòn Special Task Force and District 1: Lively Sài Gòn.

Visitors explore objects of Sài Gòn Special Task Force at a museum on Trần Quang Khải Street. VNA/VNS Photo

Mai Thị Hồng Hoa, deputy chairperson of District 1’s People’s Committee, explained that District 1 used to be a main battleground of the Sài Gòn Special Task Force, which was the Southern liberation task force which specialised in raids aimed at the Saigon regime and the U.S. military forces in Sài Gòn during the American War in Việt Nam from 1955 to 1975.

 There are many places marking the historical activities of the force such as Đại Hàn Restaurant - Đỗ Phủ Cafe, Sài Gòn Special Task Museum and Nhan Hương Cafe.

The tour starts at Đại Hàn Restaurant -  Đỗ Phủ Café at No 113, Đặng Dung Street, where in 1946, revolutionary soldiers hid letters and documents. The documents then would be sent to the revolutionary bases on the outskirts of the city.

At the restaurant, visitors still can enjoy steamed broken rice, kimchi, bagel twists dipped in coffee with milk while looking at objects and documents.

The second stop in the tour is the Museum of Sài Gòn Special Task Force on the second floor of the house No 145 in Trần Quang Khải Street.

This used to be a secret meeting place of special soldiers in the city controlled by the American-backed regime. The house belonged to a member of the force named Trần Văn Lai.

Visitors will explore a secret shelter and mail box at Cafe Đỗ Phủ in Đặng Dung Street. VNA/VNS Photo

In December 2019, his children turned the house into a special museum dedicated Sài Gòn Special Task Force.

The museum covers a total area of 100 sq.m, displaying over 100 objects of Sài Gòn special task force soldiers.

“I have found here many objects and short films on the special force,” said Hoàng Kim Khánh, a student from Tôn Đức Thắng University. “I have also experienced virtual technology on their victories. I understand more about their heroic fighting. I feel grateful to the heroes, who have sacrificed their youth and lives for the cause of uniting the nation.

The next stop is Nhan Hương Quán inside Thảo Cầm Viên, another secret base of the special force.

This public cafe also hosted many American soldiers and Vietnamese soldiers of the South Vietnamese army.

Nguyễn Văn Thân, a former staff of the A54 intelligence unit, who used to act as a secret agent in the area, said the place was a public place, thus it was a perfect venue for exchanging staff from revolutionary bases to the city and vice versa between 1963 and 1975.

In 2014, the place was recognised as a historical site of the city and a unique tourism destination for visitors.

Trần Thế Dũng, general director of Fiditour – Vietluxtour company, which hosts the tours, said historical sites involving Sài Gòn Special Task Force in District 1 and District 3 and other localities in the city are becoming popular with the tourism sector.

Nguyễn Văn Thân (nicknamed Mười Thân), a soldier of the then special force, talks about the activities of the force to visitors at Nhan Hương Quán. VNA/VNS Photo

“Visitors joining the tours will visit the city’s Post Office, the Notre Dame Cathedral, Bạch Đằng Port Park and Thủ Ngữ Flag Pole to understand the cultural and historical features throughout 300 years of Sài Gòn – Gia Định to today’s HCM City,” said Hoa.

This shows the city’s ability to create unique tourism products, she said. VNS