Ethnic communal house opens for tourists on the border of Cat Tien National Park

Funded by World Wildlife Fund, the traditional bamboo longhouse in Ta Lai village amid the rugged surroundings of Cat Tien National Park was complete in five months by the end of 2011.

Built entirely out of environment friendly material and in the traditional style, the 125 square metre longhouse eco-lodge in the heart of the Cat Tien Reserve offers a spacious living area with four separate rooms that can accommodate up to twenty-five visitors.

This sort of community tourism is expected to help local residents benefit from natural resources. It will also help to reduce deforestation by providing economic alternatives to the local people, create a desire to preserve the region for its natural and economic value, and by expanding local and global awareness of the rainforest.

Ta Lai longhouse is an adventure resort overlooking virgin forests and steeped in the culture and history of the S’Tieng and Ma minority groups, where locals welcome you with a smile. The small eco-lodge enables tourists and small volunteer groups to share in the life of the indigenous local community.

This tourism model is one of the many eco-tourism development projects in wildlife reserves in Vietnam conducted by WWF since 2008. Local residents received training for the necessary tourism related skills including how to interact with tourists, background on the history and culture of the area and cooking various types of dishes.

The project helped to set up a cooperative to encourage ethnic minority groups to engage in business practices. The cooperative will manage tourist activities in the area and cooperate with professional tourist agents.

Source: saigon-gpdaily.com.vn

For more information about Cat Tien National Park, please visit http://www.vietnamjeeptours.com/national-park-collection/nam-cat-tien-national-park-24.html

Related programs to Nam Cat Tien National Park:

• 2 Days Moderate Trekking into Nam Cat Tien Jungle
• 3 Days Moderate Trekking into Nam Cat Tien Jungle
• 3 Days 2 Nights Trekking & Re-Foresting In Nam Cat Tien Jungle
• 6 Days Trekking Highland National Parks

Hang Sung Sot (Surprising Cave) of Halong Bay to be selected as one of World’s most 10 beautiful caves

Hang Sung Sot or Surprising Cave, one of the most amazing caves in Halong Bay in Vietnam, has just been selected as one the ten most beautiful caves in the worldwide by the Association of tourism offices and brokers of Czech Republic.

According to the Association, Sung Sot cave is gifted with the natural beauty of stalactites and stalagmites that help the cave get high rank in the vote list.

The cave is divided into two main chambers like big opera house and covers an area of over 10,000m2. The cave was discovered by the French in 1901.

Other world-famous caves also in the list are Skocjan Cave in Slovenia, Patagons Ice Cave in Argentina, and Lehaman Nevada Cave in the US.

For more information about Ha Long Bay, please visit http://vietnamtraveldepot.com/vietnam-travel-guide/Vietnam-travel-attractions/Halong-bay.html

Related programs to Ha Long Bay:
Explore Legendary Halong Bay by cruises
Kayaking Halong Bay & Trekking Cat Ba National Park
25 Days Vietnam Expedition

Cebu Pacific to start flights from Manila to Hanoi in March, 2012

Cebu Pacific is launching its flights to Hanoi on March 17, 2012, making it the only airline flying from Manila to the Vietnam capital.

For the route from Manila to Hanoi, Cebu Pacific will set two flights a week that one departs Manila at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Saturdays and arrives in Hanoi at 12:30 a.m. the next day. Return flights (Hanoi – Manila) will leave Hanoi at 1 a.m. every Wednesday and Sunday, and arrive in Manila at 5 a.m.

To celebrate the launch of the Manila-Hanoi flights, Cebu Pacific is offering an introductory P888 seat sale from November 3 to 7, for travel from March 17 to May 31, 2012.  This is lower than regular year-round fares starting at P2,499.

Cebu Pacific also operates daily flights between Manila and Ho Chi Minh.

For more details about Pacific Air, here is their official website: www.cebupacificair.com

Hanoi (Vietnamese: Hà Nội), the capital of Vietnam, is a fascinating blend of East and West, with Chinese influence from centuries of dominance, and French design from its colonial past. It is largely unspoiled by modern architecture of the 1970s and 80s, and is now going through a modernization that is making it a rising star in Southeast Asia.

Related programmes to Hanoi: (Please contact adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com for more tours to Hanoi):

Hanoi Highlights 4 Days
Hanoi Traditional Villages of Arts and Crafts
North And South Vietnam Discovery 8 Days
Vietnam Impressions 8 Days
3 Days Taste of Ho Chi Minh Trail
Full Day Trekking in Ba Vi National Park
Full Day Bike Rural Duong Lam Village

Tram Chim National Park to be recognized as a World Ramsar site

Tram Chim National Park located in Tam Nong district, the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, will turn into Vietnam’s fourth Ramsar site, after Xuan Thuy Natural Wetland Reserve in the northern province of Nam Dinh, which was recognized in 1988; the Bau Sau (Crocodile Lake) Wetlands and Seasonal Floodplains in Cat Tien National Park, selected in 2005; and Ba Be National Park in Bac Kan northern province, recognized in 2011.

According to park authorities, this designation of Tram Chim National Park acknowledges the fundamental ecological functions of a wetland and its economic, cultural, scientific and recreational value.

Nguyen Van Hung, the park's director, said that the Ramsar Convention Bureau is finalising procedures to pronounce the park a Ramsar site.

Tram Chim National Park with its 7,588-hectares is home to 130 class of plant, some-more than 120 class of freshwater fish, 40 opposite amphibian and invertebrate species, and over 200 forms of birds - of that 16 are listed as endangered. The most distinguished resident bird is the Sarus crane (Grus antigone), which has been recognized as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red Book.

For more information about Tram Chim National Park, please visit http://www.vietnamjeeptours.com/national-park-collection/tram-chim-national-park-45.html

Related programme to Tram Chim National Park:
3 Days 2 Nights Bird-Watching at Tram Chim National Park of Mekong Delta

Emirates Airlines Opens New Routes From Dubai to Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)

Emirates will launch the first flights to Vietnam later this year. From 4 June 2012, the Dubai-based airline will launch direct daily flights to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), using a two-class Airbus A330-200. This will be changed to a two-class Boeing 777-300ER from 28 October 2012.

Flights will depart at Dubai International Airport at 09.25 am each day and arriving at Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh City) at 19.20 pm. The return flight will leave HCMC at 20.50 pm, then arriving back into Dubai at 00.45 am the following day.

Source: traveldailyasia.com

Ho Chi Minh City is the largest City in Vietnam. In Ho Chi Minh City, visitors can visit several tourist attractions as the major attraction sites of Saigon include Re-Unification Palace, Central Post Office, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the War Remains Museum. Then from there travelers can easy visit some famous destination as Cu Chi Tunnels, Tay Ninh Holy See Temple, Mekong Delta and Cat Tien National Park about 200 km.

Related programs to Ho Chi Minh City:
Saigon City Tour by Jeep
Holiday in Saigon - Experience Old Saigon On Vespa

Related programs to Cu Chi Tunnels and Mekong Delta:
Half Day Cu Chi Tunnels by Jeep
Full Day Cu Chi Tunnels & Tay Ninh Holy See Temple
Biking to explore My Tho (Mekong Delta)
2 Days 1 Night Explore Rural Mekong Delta on Motorcycles
3 Days Deep into Mekong Delta

Russian TV Channel Introduces Vietnam

On January 2nd 2012, the Russian TV channel “Russia – 2” broadcast a one hour programme (from 1pm-2pm) to introduce Vietnam’s customs and daily life of the Vietnamese people and the most popular sites in the country.

The “Top Gear” programme described a trans-Vietnam motorbike tour by three foreigners who departed from Ho Chi Minh City and went through the Central Highlands city of Da Lat and then the central cities of Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hoi An, Hue and Vinh. They arrived in the capital city of Hanoi before making their final leg to the northeastern city of Ha Long.

Through their trip, the foreigners had a chance to enjoy the most special dishes of the Vietnamese cuisine, study the customs and daily life of Vietnamese people and see the most popular sites in the country which have been loved by the domestic and foreign tourists.

The tour’s members saw with their own eyes the hospitality, hardworking, cleverness and creativeness of the local people.

The “Top Gear” programme about Vietnam was a practical activity to advertise Vietnam’s images and Vietnamese people to the world.

Source: en.baomoi.com

Vietnam Jeep Tours offers motorcycling and biking programs from North to South of Vietnam. If you are excited in those tours please visit www.vietnamjeeptours.com or contact directly at adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com / hotline: +84 909 602 370 for more information and advice.

Travel Attraction: Phu Quoc Island – Pearl Island

Surrounded by more than 40 km of white beaches decorated with coconut palms, Phu Quoc Island – Vietnam’s largest island is situated in the Gulf of Thailand near the Cambodian border. It is closer to Cambodia than the closest mainland town of Ha Tien in Vietnam in the Kien Giang Province, which is 46 km away. Its western coastline is sparsely populated while the interior is largely covered with jungle and mainly deserted.

Phu Quoc Island is an almost unknown destination in Vietnam Tourism. International tourists and Vietnamese alike just recently discovered Phu Quoc Island.

It is really a peaceful tropical paradise with turquoise waters, untouched natural environment, relaxed atmosphere, friendly locals... It is not hard to see why many travelers in Vietnam travel are boasting of the splendid natural beauty and untouched remote beaches of this spectacular tropical island.

Although Phu Quoc Island is a new holiday destination, in the first quarter of 2007, about 50,000 visitors came to the island of which 50 per cent were foreign tourists. According to new targets released by the Government, Phu Quoc Island is aiming to attract 2 – 3 million visitors annually by 2020, with a larger portion of foreign tourists.

Phu Quoc Island is blessed with favorable natural environment like the virgin forest of over 37,000 hectares, white sandy beaches, coral gardens offshore, varieties of wildlife species, so it is not hard to see why the island has great tourist potential.

Tourists will start to explore the island in Duong Dong, the biggest town on the island (west of Phu Quoc), where most of hotels and resorts are located. Going south, travelers can drive along Bai Truong (Long Beach) – a spectacular beach with 20 km long. Visitors will see two pearl farms on the right; the second is worth a visit. At the end of the road, travelers should not miss to turn left and follow the signs; you will reach the fisherman village An Thoi and the An Thoi pier, the island’s southern tip. From here the An Thoi Islands, a very nice snorkeling and diving area consisting of 15 small islands and islets surrounded by coral reefs in crystal clear water, can be visited by boat.

Continue travel to north – east, tourists will see a sign to Bai Sao Beach (the sign is somewhat hidden, around 1 km away from the main road). Bai Sao Beach, with its marvelous white sand and green-turquoise water, is one of the most beautiful, quite untouched beaches on Phu Quoc Island. There are a number of simple, on-the-sand restaurants with tasty, fresh seafood in this area.

Before going back to Duong Dong, there are some recommendable springs and falls such as Tranh Stream and Da Ban Stream. Tranh Stream (about 10 km north of Bai Sao Beach) is a stream connecting tiny ponds at different levels through small waterfalls. Da Ban Stream (a stony surface stream, north-east of Duong Dong) is an easily accessible white – water creek, gracefully flowing down huge granite boulders and some natural pools are waiting for a refreshing swim.

A stay on Phu Quoc Island would not be complete without visiting one of the factories producing fish sauce, one of the most popular ingredients of the Vietnamese cooking as well as one of the pearl farms with panels describing the formation of pearls and shops selling pearl jewelry.

This island has a unique species of dogs, the Phu Quoc Ridgeback, which has a ridge of hair that runs along its back in the opposite direction to the rest of the coat. Much of this island’s nature is still protected. Around 70% of the island, an area of 31,422 hectares became a national park in 2001. The rainy season on Phu Quoc is from July to November and the peak season for tourism is midwinter, when the sky is blue and the sea is calm.

If you are excited to travel to Phu Quoc Island please visit www.vietnamjeeptours.com or contact direct adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com / hotline: +84 909 602 370.

For more information about accommodation in Phu Quoc, click here.

Related programs to Phu Quoc:
Exploring Phu Quoc Island
Fishing Trip at Thailand Gulf (Phu Quoc Island)
Full day - Snorkeling Boat Trip at An Thoi Archipelago
Full Day Trekking Phu Quoc National Park