Saigon to launch ferry service to beach town Vung Tau

This is the first ferry service in the city, expected to reduce travel time between Can Gio, a low, palm-fringed island district around 25 kilometers southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, and Vung Tau to 30 minutes.

Now, travel between the two localities by road takes around three-and-a-half hours.

The 15 kilometer service was originally to commence last month but was delayed to September 2 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said Bui Hoa An, deputy director of HCMC’s Department of Transport.

The vessel, operated by Quoc Chanh One Member Ltd., a waterway transport company, will have a total capacity of 250 passengers, 100 motorcycles and 15 cars or trucks, and make 12 trips in either direction daily.

The transport department is proposing a ticket price of VND50,000 ($2.2) per trip, dependent on official approval.

Can Gio is famous for fresh seafood and eco-tourist sites that attract many visitors on short trips. It is also home to Can Gio Mangrove Forest, a world-class biological reserve recognized by UNESCO in 2000.

A beach in Vung Tau, southern Vietnam. Photo by Shutterstock/Andy Tran.

Vung Tau in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau is a top tourist destination in Vietnam usually flooded with holiday-goers. The province reopened its public beaches on May 7 after more than a month of temporary shutdown to help contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.