If you are tired of crowded beaches like Do Son in Hai Phong city or Sam Son in Thanh Hoa province, the beaches of Co To Island may offer you an ideal destination for your holidays.

Co To, one of the farthest inhabited islands from the mainland, is over 100km from Ha Long city in the northern province of Quang Ninh. Still far off the beaten tourist path, the island retains its natural beauty. A 1.5-hour journey on high-speed boat will bring you there.

On the northeast of the island is Hong Van. It's hard to put into words. White sandbanks stretch away to the horizon. Coral reefs are easily to be seen in the limpid water. With an islet nearby blocking winds from the sea, the water is as calm as a clear pond. Tourists visit this expansive beach to swim as well as to see locals catching oysters.

Van Chai Beach on the west of the island, appeals’ to visitors with rocks of different shapes at either end of the beach. The middle of the beach is flat, the sand clean and smooth, and it offers the best place on the island to watch the sunset.

To get another panorama of Co To Island, visitors should go to a lighthouse built in the 19th centur, from which one could see nearby Little Co To and Thanh Lan islands.

At the centre of town, standsthe statue of President Ho Chi Minh built in 1968 to commemorate the day he visited the island. This is the only place the late president gave permission to erect a statue of himself while he was alive. A temple was built in 2005 on the occasion of his 115th birthday and to mark the 50th anniversary of his visit, and the site was recognised as a national historical and cultural vestige by the culture ministry. Some tourists visit the site and light incense to the late president when they first set foot on the island.

Co To Island is one of the best choices for a getaway from noisy and crowded city life, suited to people looking to enjoy a holiday swimming, taking photographs, walking along the beach, cooking a beach BBQ and singing karaoke with friends.

Spending three days on the island, Vu Thu Ha of Hanoi said it was a place worth visiting but the site could be promoted better.

"It's a paradise for backpackers but tough for people who want to relax in comfort," she said. "They need to develop infrastructure here such as hotels and entertainment areas. I know that natural beauty is good, but most tourists want hotels with modern conveniences."

Island resident Nguyen Khanh Linh said tourism on Co To has developed over the past two years.

"Co To received hundreds of visitors over the summer, especially during the busiest times – national holidays and weekends," he said. "In 2010, there were only two guesthouses on the island and most of the tourists had to stay in local people's houses. This year, five new guesthouses have been opened to better meet the demands of tourists."

About a 45 minute boat ride out into Nha Trang Bay sit the islands of Mun, Tam and Mot. In recent years, the area has become popular among fishing enthusiasts looking for a quiet, tranquil place to pursue their hobby.
Island paradise: Mun Island in Nha Trang Bay is an ideal site for fishing. — File Photos

Pristine beaches and fresh seafood have lured tourists to the central coastal city of Nha Trang for years, but fishing tours, which only emerged six years ago, have become an option for tourists who have a little more time to enjoy Viet Nam's coastal areas.

Nha Trang alone has 19 islands and two bays that are suitable for daytime leisure activities including diving, kayaking, swimming and fishing.

Travel agencies in Nha Trang include a fishing option in many of their tour packages to try and entice tourists to stay longer with an alternative form of entertainment.

Tran Duc Vinh, managing director of Asia Adventures, said his company organises fishing trips for around 500 tourists each year.

"Our company first started organising fishing trips seven years ago, after many years of hosting cruises around the bay. We recognised that fishing would keep the tourists active and engaged, rather than sitting on a cruise for hours," Vinh said.

"It's a fantastic tour because our customers are entertained for the whole day. In the morning, they can kick back and take in the beauty of the bay and its surroundings, before settling down to a relaxing afternoon of fishing. In the evening, they can even eat what they catch," Vinh explained.

He added that visitors can also explore the bay by snorkelling and kayaking.

The company's fishing tours attract tourists from Australia, Germany and France, who love the marine entertainment available at Nha Trang's beautiful beaches.

Loc, an experienced tour guide, usually picks his tourists up around 8am.

Hook, line and sinker: A tourist catches a fish during a trip in the pristine waters of Nha Trang Bay.

Hook, line and sinker: A tourist catches a fish during a trip in the pristine waters of Nha Trang Bay.

A short bus ride takes visitors down to Cau Da Port and from there, they embark on wooden boats out to the islands of Mun and Mot.

"Tourists can snorkel or fish in the morning around the island of Mun, where the water is safe, the fish are plentiful, and the coral exotic and colourful," Loc described.

"The fishing and snorkelling gear is prepared by the crew, who also set up a barbecue for the evening. Our guests catch a variety of sized fish, and if they're lucky, sometimes large grouper or red snapper," he said.

"Tourists need time to relax and have fun. They bbq the fish themselves and enjoy a party in the evening after swimming in the warm sea," the guide added.

Loc said that although the waters around Nha Trang Bay are densely populated with fish, sometimes you just have to be patient.

Tran Manh Ha, a local fisherman, described the adrenalin rush he feels when a fish takes the bait.

"It's a real buzz. It doesn't take long to land a small grouper, but for bigger fish...," Ha said.

He added that once after a 30 minute battle with a large grouper, he had been forced to cut his line.

"Sometimes, tourists catch squid, shrimp or even 5kg fish," the local man said.

Ha said that skilful fishermen often go out at night to try and catch the larger fish.

"We have free time to fish at night, but tourists want time to enjoy the scenery during the day," he explained.

Le Hai Son, a retired naval officer, said he enjoyed catching large fish off the coast of Nha Trang.

"It takes around two hours to get out to the good areas. We often anchor in deep water, and I prepare a 100m fishing line with big hooks and flying fish as bait," Son said.

"Flying fish is the ideal bait for deep sea fish. We look for mackerel and grouper between 30-50kg. I even caught a 140kg shark a few years ago that took me and my friends three hours to pull on board," he recalled.

"Fishing is very popular among local people, but I think tourists are becoming more and more interested."

Nguyen Hung, a tour operator from the Luxury travel agency, said his company had organised fishing trips for around 1,000 tourists already this year.

"We want to show the tourists that Nha Trang is not only famous for its beaches and bays, but also for its amazing marine entertainment.

We hope that fishing tours will continue to attract tourists in the coming years," Hung said.

Hung's agency also offers a reasonable package price of US$44 per person for a group of 14.

Beautiful sites in the capital city of Hanoi and several central provinces are expected to become more popular with Japanese people after a documentary film made by the Kansai Telecasting Corporation (KTV) makes debut.

The International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said a KTV delegation is in Vietnam from Aug. 19-25 to make a documentary on the Southeast Asian country’s tourism.

The Japanese film makers will shoot in popular sites in Hanoi and Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Binh and Quang Nam central provinces to capture beautiful landscapes here as well as special cultural identities of the local people.

Vietnam’s ancient hotels and its traditional dishes will be on spotlight of the film.

Thua Thien-Hue province is home to the imperial capital city recognised by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as the world cultural heritage.

The Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh province is placed in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage list and Hoi An ancient town and My Son tower in Quang Nam province are recognised by UNESCO as the World Cultural Heritages.

The Thu Bon River basin covers an area of over 10,000 square kilometers in Quang Nam Province and is ranked fourth for hydropower potential in Vietnam. But to the local people, the river is considered the lifeblood that has helped raise many generations of residents on both banks.

Originating from Ngoc Linh Mountain in Dak Glei District, Kon Tum Province, the Thu Bon River flows into the sea via Cua Dai Estuary in Hoi An Town in Quang Nam Province. A tributary runs to the Vinh Dien River to pour water into the Han River in Danang City. And before going to the sea, part of the Thu Bon River courses through the Truong Giang River to pour into An Hoa Tam Quang Bay in Nui Thanh District.

From Vinh Dien up to Giao Thuy T-junction, one can see mulberry fields along the river banks. A folk art was born here, using literary figures to show the intelligence, optimism and sentiments of the locals.

For a long time, the Thu Bon River has been famous for the craft of raising silkworms and weaving fabric, and for the endless green mulberry farms stretching along its banks. Along the banks are many well-known craft centers such as Thanh Ha for pottery, Phuoc Kieu for bronze casting, Kim Bong for carpentry, Tra Que for vegetables, Ma Chau for silk, Phu Chiem for rice paper and Que Minh for conical hats.

Along the banks are numerous wharves and markets reflecting the rural lifestyle, and simple villages steeped in memories. The Trung Phuoc floating market is the busiest trading place in the region.

The Thu Bon River is likened to the Ganges River in India because it is a silt source forming the delta. Strangely, despite cultural interchange, the very northern and southern banks of the Thu Bon River have their own cultural differences characterised by voices, routine activities, festivals and even relics from each area. In the southern bank, the Champa culture still figures in daily activities, customs and festivals for local residents.

The Thu Bon Goddess Festival falls on the 12th day of the second lunar month, and is held solemnly in My Luoc Village, where a water procession is the most important part of the ceremony. Locals scoop water from the Thu Bon River and pour it into the jars, then carry them on their heads back to the village in deference to the river.

In the upstream district of Hiep Duc, locals set up a long house with an altar on the top to suspend a boat. The rituals around the boats aim to honor the “river mother” in the spiritual lives of locals.

For tourists who are interested in a river tour or an eco-tour to the countryside of Vietnam, taking a boat ride on the Thu Bon River may be their most enjoyable experience when they come to Quang Nam-Danang.

They can also visit Dai Buong, an orchard village similar to those found in the southern region with rambutan, durian and mangosteen. Tourists will have the chance to enjoy durian wine, which has an unforgettable flavor.

In Hon Kem-Da Dung area, where the river is narrowed by the cliffs on either bank, novelist Thai Ba Loi stood and gazed at the Thu Bon River and regretted: “On the river, hydropower dams were built, thousands of hectares of forest have been destroyed. Sand is exploited excessively. With such unethical behavior toward nature, people must reap what they sow.”

If the Thu Bon River, a water mother who opens her arms to hold the holy land which is home to the epic legends of Quang Nam, a traditional cultural stream filled with the colors of the central region’s countryside, and an attractive tour itinerary, is not protected from being destroyed by humans, it cannot retain its beautiful images in the minds of people who love the land.