Explore The Mekong Delta
Just 30km south of Ha Tien lies the Hon Chong Peninsula. A string of offshore isles has earned this region the moniker “mini-Ha Long”, but it’s as a coastal resort that it draws throngs of Vietnamese and a smattering of foreigners. The approach to the peninsula is blighted by unsightly cement factories belching out clouds of smoke, and while Hon Chong has yet to suffer any significant environmental degradation as a result of these factories, their ugly presence looms over the area and certainly detracts from its appeal. For the moment, Hon Chong’s calm waters and beaches fringed with palms and casuarinas remain among the most attractive in the delta, though they cannot compare with the beaches on Phu Quoc.
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Boat trips around the islands
Boat trips around the islands
For a small fee (15,000đ) you can join a 45-minute boat tour out to Hon Phu Tu and the nearby Hang Tien Grotto, which has some attractive stalactites and stalagmites. Nguyen Anh (later to become Gia Long) hid here while on the run after the Tay Son Rebellion, and locals have dubbed its stone plateaux as his throne, sofa, bed and so on. If there’s no one else around, you can rent the entire boat for about 300,000đ for this short trip.
For a more luxurious boat trip around local islands, the Hon Trem Resort can organize a full day-trip, including fishing and lunch as well as a visit to Nghe Island and the Ba Lua Archipelago, for about $150 per person. It may also be worth speaking to Hung at Tan Phat restaurant (t 016 6735 8168) as they have boats for rent and are sometimes amenable to negotiating the price, so it should work out cheaper than a day out with the Hon Trem Resort.
