Vietnam’s state travel agency Saigontourist welcomed 2,400 visitors and crew members from the Costa Victoria, a five-star Italian cruise ship, to Ho Chi Minh City on Monday for a four-day trip through the country.
The Italian, Spanish and English travelers will begin their journey with a short tour of Ho Chi Minh City including shopping at Ben Thanh Market and taking in a múa rối nước (water puppetry) show, before going to the Cu Chi Tunnels, 70 kilometers outside HCMC.
Later, they will visit the waterway gardens of My Tho Town in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang.
On January 9, the Costa Victoria will travel northward to central Vietnam. The ship is scheduled to stop at Tien Sa Port in Da Nang Province, where tourists will begin their tour of Vietnam’s central coast, including the ancient town of Hoi An and the relics of My Son in Quang Nam Province.
The next day they will visit Ha Long Bay, among other tourist destinations in the northern province of Quang Ninh.
After the tour ends, the Costa Victoria, which has a capacity to transport 2,394 passengers and 790 ship crew members, will return to repeat its journey to Vietnam on January 14, 18, 26 and 30 with four more groups of tourists.