Vietnam Visa no longer needed to enter Phu Quoc by sea

Fri, 03/13/2009 - 12:21

Phu Quoc is not only a beautiful island but also one of the most interesting places to visit in Vietnam. With a new regulation granted by the Prime Minister exempting visa requirements for international tourists, Phu Quoc is opening up to welcome international cruise ships to the picturesque island.
From mid-January onwards, international tourists visiting Phu Quoc no longer need to pass through Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport. The Saigon-Phu Quoc Resort could receive international travellers by sea and the Coco-Explore cruise ship with some 150 international visitors from Thailand and Cambodia now anchors at Phu Quoc Island every Tuesday.
This is because of the new regulation simplifying the entry/exit procedures. Under them, visitors coming to Phu Quoc by sea only go through entry procedures at the border gate. Visitors have to present passports that are valid for at least 45 days. By air, they have to complete the procedure at the international airport and take another plane to Phu Quoc.
To get a place on the cruise ship, travellers have to make reservations a month or two in advance through C&C Travel Co. in Denmark, owner of Coco-Explore.
Phung Xuan Mai, the Saigon-Phu Quoc Resort’s Director, said the resort has signed a long-term agreement with cruise ship owners on accommodation and other services such as one-day tours to explore the island and activities such as fishing, scuba diving and cooking.
The most popular activities so far have been exploring the desert island, scuba diving to see euphorbia, sea sports and cooking classes by Vietnamese chefs.
For the cooking classes, the chefs will take visitors to the market, showing how to choose foods and spices. The cooking will start later and afterwards, the visitors can enjoy the meal they just cooked.
In the coming days, the Saigon-Phu Quoc Resort will make tours to Phu Quoc available for international tourists who come to Vietnam through the international airports in Hanoi, Saigon, Hueand Da Nang.
(Source: SGT)