Authorities in the Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau have been given the green light to open a sea route connecting it with Nam Du archipelago and Phu Quoc island district - two popular tourist destinations belonging to nearby Kien Giang province.

The Phu Quoc Express Joint Stock Company’s high-speed boats will ply the route - the first of its kind in Ca Mau.

In order for the routes to open this year, Ca Mau plans to build a temporary port in Tran Van Thoi district’s Song Doc town. In the long term, a 500-metre port is to be built on the southern bank of Doc river.

Tran Hieu Hung, Director of the Ca Mau Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said tourists will also be able to more easily reach destinations in Ca Mau such as Thi Tuong Lagoon, U Minh Ha National Park, and Hon Da Bac relic site.

Visitors will have more options to experience many of the Mekong Delta’s tourism sites after the sea route opens, he added.

According to the department, Ca Mau welcomed over 1.6 million tourists last year and earned VND2.49 trillion (US$107 million), increases of 16.2% and 13.4%, respectively, against 2018.

Located 46 km from the coast of Kien Giang, Phu Quoc Island is famed for its pearl farming, fish sauce, pepper, and “ruou sim” - a wine made from sim fruit, or Rose Myrtle. A variety of tours are available, such as scuba diving, coral reef snorkelling, fishing, and trips to traditional fish sauce making establishments, pearl farms, Ham Ninh fishing village, Phu Quoc National Park, pristine beaches, and much more.

To the southeast of Phu Quoc Island, Nam Du archipelago consists of 21 islands and islets and is often referred to as a miniature Ha Long Bay in Vietnam’s southern seas, but unlike its tourist-clogged northern counterpart remains relatively untouched.