Sailing down Vam Co rivers

Vam Co Tay downstream tour is designed for visitors to rest, relax and enjoy specialties while floating on the river.

Long An Tourism Promotion Information Center informed that river tourism in the province currently has 3 main routes: Vam Co Dong route, Vam Co Tay route and Vam Co double route. Each route targets different customers with some unique characteristics.

1. Vam Co Dong route is designed for students who join the delegation to return to the root, the elderlys to experience the river route and improve their health,etc, so the journey is mainly to learn about the Heroic historical story of liberation on the river. The route often includes: Happyland Complex, Nhut Tao rivulet mouth, Rach Cat Fort, House of Hundred Pillars, Long Huu snow - flaked cake factory. Visitors can learn about a "loyal and resilient, all the people fighting the enemy" Long An, a river that "chased the French and the US invaders away". Depending on the requirements of visitors, travel agencies can link some other destinations in the itinerary: Binh An drums village, "happy road", high-tech dragon fruit garden, vineyard, Banh Tet factory (Tan Tru district), Can Giuoc Martyr monument, homestays along Can Giuoc river, Ton Thanh pagoda relic, Long An International Port (Can Giuoc district), etc. Currently, the Vam Co Dong route is exploited by a number of travel agencies: Cao Nien tourism, C.U tourism with a stable visitor density of about 200 visitors per week. In particular, in the peak months, the number of tourists participating in the tour is up to tens of thousands per month.

Dragon fruit garden in Tan Tru is one of the destinations in the journey downstream Vam Co Dong river

2. Unlike the lively and heroic Vam Co Dong river, Vam Co Tay river has a peaceful and mellow beauty with stories about the culture and people of Long An. This time of the year is the most suitable time for visitors to experience the journey downstream Vam Co Tay river, learn about the culture, listen to the stories told by many generations about the history and people.

The Vam Co Tay River route aims at the segment of tourists who like experiences, entertainment, and culinary activities on the river, so the program usually lasts until the night and the destinations are designed moderately for visitors to have time to rest, relax, enjoy specialties while floating on Vam Co Tay river. Destinations introduced in the route include: Thu Thua market, Vinh Phong communal house, the intersection point of Vam Co Dong and Vam Co Tay rivers, My Phuoc island, Linh Son ancient pagoda,etc. Each place has a story to tell. associated with cultural and culinary characteristics.

The "Happy road" is also one of the interesting destinations on the journey along the Vam Co river

Along the journey downstream Vam Co Tay, visitors will experience the feeling of standing still at the waterfront and hear the story of a land named after the pioneer. The highlight of the journey on Vam Co Tay river is culture and cuisine. In each season, visitors are served local specialties of that season right on board. Visitors can admire the peaceful river scenery, feel the cool breeze flowing through hairline and taste the famous Ben Luc pineapple or the freshly cooked Dong Thap Muoi lotus seeds that are still warm and soft on the tongue, etc. When the night falls, especially nights of high water and full moon, visitors can somewhat feel the boat life of people while having dinner, watching the moon, and listening to the tunes of Don ca tai tu.

According to Long An Tourism Promotion Information Center, a number of travel companies have operated the Vam Co Tay River tourism route in combination with a few destinations in Duc Hoa district, serving students during the summer vacation. According to statistics of summer 2022, the number of tourists on Vam Co Tay river route reached over 1,000 guests/week.

3. In addition to the features and highlights of the two tourism routes Vam Co Dong and Vam Co Tay, the route combining both of them is also interested by many tourists, travel agencies and tour operators. The target customer segment for this journey is mainly international tourists, high-class guests from the center of Ho Chi Minh City. The suggested duration for this itinerary is usually 2 days 1 night and is also started by a few tour operators.

According to the assessment from Long An Tourism Promotion Information Center, although the two Vam Co streams contain a lot of tourism potential, river tourism activities in Long An are only in the beginner stage. The lack of service personnel, especially guides, is a big challenge. Destinations on the journey downstream the Vam Co rivers, especially wharf system, have yet completed.

Director of  Long An Tourism Promotion Information Center - Do Thi Kim Dung said: “After the river tourism route was introduced, tour operators in Ho Chi Minh City have put it into commercial operation. However, in order to increase competitiveness, it is necessary to continue to improve products, facilities and service personnel in the coming time"./.

By Que Lam - Translated by Q. Thien

Source: https://baolongan.vn/ve-long-an-xuoi-doi-dong-vam-co-a152494.html