An aerial view of island district Can Gio in Ho Chi Minh City.
Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa. 

A new ferry service will connect Saigon’s coastal suburban district Can Gio and popular resort town Vung Tau starting September 2. 

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.