Many of the 600 international sea travelers who arrived in Nha Trang, a tourist city on the south-central coast of Vietnam, on the weekend enjoyed their countryside tour that brought them excellent experiences with beautiful landscapes, delicious foods, and friendly locals. 

The Marshall Islands-flagged cruise ship Insignia with about 600 tourists on board came to Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province on Sunday, starting an exploration trip to the scenic and poetic coastal city.  

In addition to visiting attractions and touring beaches by pedicab, many of these travelers took a Nha Trang countryside tour by bicycle in Dien Hoa Commune, Dien Khanh District on the same day.

The tour brought them exciting moments when they rode bicycles contemplating peaceful villages, vast coconut farms, rice fields, lotus ponds, or buffaloes or cows grazing on grasslands.

Lee Kreps, an American tourist, said this was the first time she had visited Nha Trang, where both the scenery and people were wonderful. 

She said she had practiced yoga as a warm-up exercise before cycling to explore the city’s countryside, adding that she liked the weather and climate here very much.

After exploring some villages, the visitors participated in sessions where local chefs taught them to cook traditional Vietnamese dishes, including spring rolls and pancakes.  

These culinary sessions were filled with the laughter of the foreign trainees who paid special attention to learning about Vietnamese foods.

Enjoying the spring rolls he prepared for himself, Pruce Godke, hailing from the U.S., said he had traveled by ship to many Vietnamese destinations including Hanoi and Da Nang before arriving in Nha Trang, which brought him different experiences with local culture and people.   

He said what impressed him most were the friendly smiles of the children he ran across as well as the buffaloes grazing on the side of the roads – a peaceful scene that was precisely as he had imagined.

Expressing his love for the cuisine sessions as part of the countryside tour, the foreigner said when he returns home, he will instruct his relatives and friends to make Vietnamese dishes in the same way he was taught in Nha Trang.

Godke recommended that English-written signs should be installed on rural roads to help travelers navigate during their travel to avoid getting lost.

There should also be shops selling local specialties as well as essential necessities, the foreigner said, adding that sales attendants at such stores should have a good command of English.  

Operators of countryside tours should organize visits by foreign travelers to locals’ homes, where they can join their hosts in daily activities including harvesting and cooking.    

Bui Minh Thang, director of Phuong Thang Trading and Tourism Services Company Limited, said Nha Trang has great potential to offer countryside tours to both international and domestic travelers.

During these trips, tour guides play a vital role in acquainting visitors with and accentuating the splendors of Vietnamese culture.

Many tourism firms have built new tourist boats and yachts to meet increasing demand of foreign travelers from around the world.

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