Ho Chi Minh City has its first double-decker river bus

River buses in Ho Chi Minh City have been upgraded into a new tourism product, taking visitors to enjoy the riverside city by double-decker boat.

The new waterway tourism product "Saigon River Sightseeing" was launched to the people and tourists of Ho Chi Minh City at the end of December. This is an upgraded tourism product from the Saigon Waterbus, with differences in river journeys, services and the ship space expanded to a second floor.

Mr. Nguyen Kim Toan, Director of Thuong Nhat Company, the owner of the river bus and double-decker river bus, said that the "Saigon River Sightseeing" waterway tourism product takes tourists on a cruise on the Saigon River through central areas. From Nha Rong Wharf, the boat passes major constructions such as Nha Rong Wharf, Bitexco Building, Landmark Building, Ba Son Bridge (Thu Thiem 2 Bridge) and famous places along the Saigon River. The boat stops at Thu Thiem Waterway Station, Thu Duc City, for tourists to sightsee and then drops them off at Bach Dang Wharf.

The current frequency of operation is 6-10 trips per day, each trip lasts 45-50 minutes. Currently, the journey costs from 179,000 VND to 339,000 VND depending on the seat class, including the train journey, passenger insurance, and optional drinks on board.

Double-decker boat takes tourists on a tour of the Saigon River in the late afternoon.

"The journey not only takes visitors to enjoy the beauty of the river, but visitors also get to listen to the river tell stories, stories about the Saigon River's 300 years of formation and development on the wharf and under the boats," said Mr. Kim Toan.

Ms. Kim Lien, who lives in Ho Chi Minh City, shared that she often takes the river bus with her family on weekends. When she heard that the city had a double-decker bus, she booked a ticket to try it out on December 24. Ms. Lien said that the second-floor area is different from the regular river bus, the services on the boat are also more diverse, and the itinerary has a tour guide to introduce the destinations the boat passes through. The ticket price is much more expensive than the regular river bus but is commensurate with the service received and is cheaper than a dinner cruise ticket.

Mr. Kim Toan said that all the wharf and ship systems are considered "hardware", shaping the urban architectural planning and also shaping the services around the wharf. When a wharf opens, many services around the wharf benefit.

"The Saigon WaterGo product or Saigon River Sighseeing tour introduced this time is a 'software' that will be continuously updated and developed to meet the increasing needs of domestic and foreign tourists," said Mr. Toan.

Bich Phuong

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