A tour down under
SUBMARINE tours taking visitors down into the underwater worlds off the coast of Vietnam have been launched as the country seeks to ramp up international visits again after restrictions during the pandemic.
Tour operators at the coastal city of Nha Trang say visitors can admire the seabed and see a wide variety of aquatic life, coral reefs and the wreck of a 50m-long shipwreck during a 30-minute dive in Nha Trang Bay.
The 24-seater transparent-walled tourist submarine named Deepview24 opened to visitors in April at Hon Tre Island, a few days before the 47th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war.
Deepview24 can theoretically dive to a depth of 100m, but is only diving up to 15m in Nha Trang Bay, where it offers panoramic views of the aquatic world through 1.4m wide windows, according to Triton Submarines, who built the vessel.
Vinpearl, the subsidiary of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup behind the tours, says the submarine is like a giant glass walkway in an aquarium and is tall enough for people to stand in.
“Since opening, we have made three trips a day,” a crew member of the submarine told dpa on deck. “I believe more visitors will come to experience this tour in the coming months after they hear about this service.” “I went on the submarine service in Jeju Island in South Korea a few years ago. Compared to Jeju Island, Vinpearl’s submarine service is really new and very impressive, I like it very much,” Rina Jung, a South Korean tourist said.
Vietnam fully reopened to international tourists in mid-march. However, the country has struggled to attract foreign tourists due to the impacts of Covid-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Before the pandemic, Russian tourists formed the bulk of international visitors in Nha Trang. Even the menus in restaurants are written in Russian.