Visit Khe Xay waterfall - A haven for nature lovers and cultural enthusiasts

Tailor-made Vietnam tours - Covered with the wild beauty bestowed by nature, Khe Xay waterfall in Quang Tri province is an attractive destination that many tourists want to explore every time they visit the southern mountainous region of the province. Coming here, visitors will be satisfied with the beautiful waterfall; learn more about the unique cultural features of the Bru-Van Kieu people...

For those who love nature and the culture of the Van Kieu and Pa Ko ethnic groups, Khe Xay is an ideal destination. From Dong Ha ward to Lia commune, visitors have about 90 minutes to travel on Highway 9, passing the national historical site of Lang Vay base, across the intersection of Tan Long market (Lao Bao commune), then turn left, from here to the center of Thuan 5 village is about 6km, then visitors continue to travel by motorbike or walk about 1km along the small road around the lush cassava hills, admire the stilt houses nestled on the mountainside, see the joyful working atmosphere of the people here...

It is not difficult to find Khe Xay, because from afar the waterfall echoes the sound of water flowing down from above, creating white foam like a song of the mountains and forests inviting visitors. The waterfall is very airy, peaceful, and has beautiful terrain. The height of the waterfall is about 300m, divided into 3 levels, the middle and lower levels both contain clear, cool lakes.

The waterfall is as beautiful as a painting. When standing at the top of the waterfall, you can see a panoramic view of the primeval forest and the long stream flowing from the waterfall. Visitors will be delighted to be immersed in the majestic mountains and forests, with the gentle scent of wildflowers along the waterfall, the chirping of birds, and occasionally encounter monkeys perched and jumping on high tree branches.

Not only monkeys and many rare birds live in Khe Xay, local people often see herds of deer coming down from the high mountains to drink water and rest at the waterfall. After being informed and encouraged, people have pledged not to cut down forests, hunt or chase wild animals, but to join hands to protect them.

After sightseeing and immersing yourself in the cool, clear, and gentle water, visitors can stay overnight in the commune to learn about the local culture. The Van Kieu and Pa Ko people here are very hospitable and willing to introduce the traditional beauty of their people.

Currently, Lia commune has favorable factors for developing community tourism, being favored by nature in terms of climate, soil as well as beautiful landscapes; the cultural identity of the Van Kieu and Pa Ko ethnic groups is diverse and unique such as gong festivals, new rice offerings, and the custom of going sim of the Van Kieu people; traditional musical instruments, folk songs...

Realizing that Khe Xay waterfall has great potential for tourism development, recently, Lia commune authorities have directed specialized agencies to research and develop a plan to develop the waterfall as a community tourism destination; together with the people, focus on exploiting and preparing conditions to serve tourists such as: Building bamboo bridges and small camps for visitors to easily access the waterfall, check-in, rest; promoting propaganda to attract tourists...

Thanks to that, in the summer and on holidays, the number of people coming to play and experience at the waterfall is larger, on average Khe Xay welcomes about 500 visitors per day. This is a good sign, helping the commune continue to promote to attract tourists and develop local tourism.

In the orientation of community tourism development in the period of 2025-2030 in the locality in general, Khe Xay waterfall in particular, Lia commune focuses on innovation and propaganda for community tourism development. Building specific tourism products, suitable to the actual conditions in the locality, focusing on developing cultural-historical tourism products, community-craft village tourism products. Surveying and building specific tourism models and products, associated with the potentials, natural advantages, as well as the unique and distinctive features of the culture and people of the commune.

In the immediate future, the commune will focus on building and developing community tourism at Khe Xay waterfall, helping people increase their income, create jobs for many households living in the area and promote the economic development of the commune. When tourism is formed, the commune will build a weekly market, which is also an opportunity for people in the area as well as neighboring villages of Laos to come and exchange and trade goods.

In order for tourism in Lia to develop smoothly, the commune requests that the authorities consider and approve the planning of tourist attractions in the commune. Guide the review and assessment of areas with potential for tourism development to include in the planning, and at the same time support investment and construction of infrastructure to serve tourism development; strengthen the direction of the restoration and embellishment of relics to serve tourism development; support the organization of festival restoration programs to preserve the cultural identity of ethnic groups, and at the same time link the task of tourism development.

Source: Discover hidden paradise of Khe Xay waterfall in Quang Tri

Seo My Ty lake - A serene oasis in northwest Vietnam

Tours to Sapa - Seo My Ty lake is a beautiful natural picture, hidden in the high mountains of Northwest Vietnam. This is an ideal stopover for those who want to escape the hustle and bustle of urban life to find fresh nature when traveling to Sapa.

Seo My Ty is the highest artificial lake in Vietnam, located in Ta Van commune, Sapa town, Lao Cai province, about 20 km from Sapa center. This place is famous for its turquoise water, always floating like a cloud coat. The water in the lake flows from Hoang Lien Son National Park.

The lake has clear, cool water, surrounded by mountains and primeval forests. When you step into Seo My Ty lake, you will feel the peaceful, relaxing atmosphere. This tourist destination is definitely a great choice for fun picnics with friends and to explore the wild beauty of the clear lake.

How to get there

Seo My Ty lake is located in Seo My Ty village, Ta Van commune. To get to Seo My Ty lake in Sapa, you will go through a road with beautiful scenery, which is Muong Hoa valley - one of the most famous scenic spots in Sapa. Then, you will continue your journey through the center of Lao Chai village, and from there to Ta Van.

The most difficult part of the journey is a stretch of more than 10km with a stone road surface. After passing this stretch, you will reach Seo My Ty village.    

To get to Seo My Ty lake, you can use a motorbike (remember to choose a manual transmission instead of a scooter), a pickup truck, or call a taxi . However, you should note that the road to get there can be quite difficult due to the many rocks and steep slopes. Therefore, if you do not have much experience driving on mountain passes, it is best to choose a taxi to avoid unnecessary difficulties.

Best time to visit Seo My Ty lake

Seo My Ty lake is most beautiful around September. At this time, the lake water is very clear and cool, you will feel like you are entering a beautiful paradise. Besides, the rice is ripening into a brilliant golden color, creating a captivating picture.

Tourists can also visit Seo My Ty lake from November to February. At this time, the scenery changes completely with the brilliance of hundreds of peach and plum blossoms. The red and white colors blend together to create a poetic picture, captivating any visitor who visits.

Interesting activities at Seo My Ty lake

Camping

Camping at Seo My Ty lake is a great opportunity for visitors to enjoy the fresh and close nature. Visitors can set up their own tents, cook and chat with each other around a warm fire. All of these will create truly memorable and unforgettable memories for you.

Kayaking on the lake

Visitors can experience the exciting kayaking on the lake. On the small boat, visitors will have the opportunity to see the whole Seo My Ty lake in a completely new setting. By letting yourself drift along the gentle water, you will be able to admire the beautiful scenery and feel relaxed in every movement of the water waves.

Walking, sightseeing, mountain climbing

When you walk around the lake, you will be immersed in the wild and peaceful beauty of nature. If you want to challenge yourself, you can conquer the mountain top here. The harmony between clouds, sunlight and landscape will make you feel like you are standing on a layer of clouds and looking down at the majestic natural landscape.

Seo My Ty lake is an attractive tourist destination, very suitable for those who love nature. It will be wonderful for you and your family to have relaxing moments in the peaceful space here.

Source: Seo My Ty lake - A peaceful retreat in Sapa mountains

Smart tourism in Ho Chi Minh City where heritage meets innovation

Saigon tours - Born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City , the hustle and bustle of life sometimes makes me a passerby in my own familiar land. This time, I decided to give myself a real vacation, to rediscover the familiar street corners and architectural works from the perspective of a tourist.

Instead of just picking up backpack and going by instinct, I decided to plan my trip very specifically, to make sure I didn't miss any interesting corners of this city.

Accessing the website visithcmc.vn - the city’s official tourism portal, I felt like I was lost in a surprisingly vivid world appearing right on my computer screen.

With just a few clicks, I was able to "stand" in the ancient space of the Central Post Office, admire every detail of the Gothic architecture of the City Theater, or "take a walk" around the Independence Palace through the 3D/360-degree interactive tourist map. Everything was so intuitive and realistic that I could clearly visualize my schedule, with unprecedented ease.

This experience, though small, is a sharp slice, a vivid proof that Ho Chi Minh City's tourism industry has been undergoing a strong "transformation" in the digital age.

The 360-degree digital map on the VisitHCMC website is an impressive welcome, but to truly experience the breakthrough of the city's tourism, I had to set foot on each destination myself. And I chose to start my journey from the places that hold the memories of this city: the museums.

My first stop was the War Remnants Museum. Instead of the familiar image of long and dense captions, now next to each artifact is a compact QR code. A simple scan with the phone, and the story behind each tragic memento of war is suddenly brought to life through a warm voiceover in the headset, or through detailed articles with accompanying documentary images displayed right on the phone screen. History is no longer silent words, but has become a story told that is more personalized, profound and accessible than ever.

The journey continued to take me to the Ton Duc Thang Museum, and technology once again surprised me. Just earlier this year, the Ton Duc Thang Museum underwent a large-scale renovation. From a museum steeped in tradition, the Ton Duc Thang Museum today meets the requirements of conveying exhibition themes in a modern, digital space.

Here, Uncle Ton's life and great career are not just confined in glass display cabinets. They are recreated on a large interactive screen, where I can actively "touch" the timeline, explore each important milestone, and watch valuable documentary footage. It is no longer a one-way information reception, but a lively dialogue with history.

This experience suddenly brought back to me the memory of my trip to Singapore in 2017. I was extremely amazed when I visited the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum and saw that they applied automatic explanation technology via QR codes, touch screens to look up information or view artifacts in 3D. At that time, I secretly wished that heritage destinations in Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular would soon have such advances.

And now, I realize that wish has come true. A sense of pride creeps into me. The city's tourism and cultural industry has not only learned but has gradually caught up with the world's technological trends. They are using the language of the digital age to breathe new life into the heritage, helping historical values ??not to be forgotten but to become closer to the public, especially the younger generation.

The impressive technological experiences I had at museums or on the VisitHCMC tourism portal were not isolated, spontaneous efforts. Behind them was a strategic vision, a decisive and systematic direction of the city government. That was the policy "lever", creating a solid launching pad for the entire tourism industry to break through.

The core of this strategy is the project "Developing smart tourism in Ho Chi Minh City for the period 2020-2025, with a vision to 2030", approved by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee in 2020.

More than just a guiding document, this project outlines a detailed roadmap with a core goal: to build and form a synchronous smart tourism ecosystem. This ecosystem will closely connect 3 parties: state management agencies - businesses - tourists, through common technology platforms.

Looking more closely, I realized that VisitHCMC is a tangible product of the project, and those QR codes or touch screens are the "extended arms", bringing official information directly to visitors in an attractive way. They turn the quiet heritage spaces into lively, soulful and storytelling spaces.

The project also mentions the development of a shared data warehouse (Big Data). This is considered the "brain" of the city's tourism industry, where information about the market, tourists, tourism products, and service providers is gathered and analyzed. This data helps management agencies make accurate forecasts and decisions, and helps businesses better understand the needs of tourists.

No matter how visionary a strategy is, it will only remain on paper without dedicated people to implement it. What impressed me most when learning about the digital transformation story of city tourism is the formation of a dynamic "ecosystem" where there is strong resonance between the government, businesses and training schools.

Hot topics of the times such as "Application of AI to personalize tourist experiences" or "Challenges and solutions for tourism human resources in the digital age" are no longer vague discussions. They have become real dialogues, where a travel business can order a technology solution from an IT company, and tourism students can listen to shape their career path.

This close cooperation ensures that the digital transformation of city tourism does not just stop at the surface, but really goes into depth, firmly rooted from the technology platform to the quality of human resources.

Returning home after a day of wandering around Ho Chi Minh City, I was still filled with an indescribable joy. The familiar city suddenly became new and attractive. That feeling of excitement urged me to do something I had not thought of for a long time: plan a further trip, to explore more fully the beauty of the country.

Another surprise came. When browsing familiar e-commerce platforms to shop, I came across a series of tours and resort combos from reputable travel agencies being offered right there. The "products" that were only available at travel agencies were now neatly placed in the online shopping cart.

I suddenly realized that these were the first "sweet fruits" of digital transformation. By putting products on online "supermarkets", businesses not only reach a huge number of customers, but can also optimize operations and listen to customers better. The game has really changed.

A week later, I arrived at Tan Son Nhat Airport’s new, modern T3 terminal to begin my journey beyond Ho Chi Minh City. It was here that I experienced another impressive touchpoint technology: biometric security check-in. This revolutionary convenience has contributed to the realization of the vision of a smart, modern megacity.

Sitting on the plane, looking at the sparkling city lights below, I understood that the digital transformation I was witnessing was not a destination, but a journey without a stopping point. From a click on a 360 map, through QR codes in museums, to the biometric system at the airport, all have demonstrated a far-sighted vision. Ho Chi Minh City still has a lot of potential to go further, towards the goal of becoming a leading smart tourism center in Asia, bringing increasingly wonderful experiences to visitors and cultivating pride for every citizen of the city.

Source: Ho Chi Minh plans to become smart tourism destination

Co To island develops underwater tourism products

Halong cruise tours - Co To island is undergoing a strong transformation with the focus on promoting and developing underwater tourism services and products for tourists. Not only meeting the increasing demand for experiences of tourists, this direction also helps standardize and enhance the brand, creating a difference for Co To on the map of sea and island tourism.

In recent years, Co To island has become a familiar destination thanks to its wild beauty, fine white sand beaches, many beautiful small islands and cool climate. However, this potential has not been fully exploited; some services and experiential tours have been illegally exploited, creating a bad impression... 

Meanwhile, the demand for exploration experiences, especially underwater tourism services and products, tends to increase rapidly. According to statistics, in July 2025, Co To welcomed more than 129,000 visitors. Underwater tourism services and products are a special highlight for young tourists. Because now, tourists coming to Co To not only swim, take photos, but also experience jet skiing, parasailing, visit islands, dive to see corals... "From that demand, underwater tourism products are identified as the spearhead to elevate and differentiate Co To, while increasing the attraction, competitiveness and length of stay of tourists" - Deputy Head of Co To Culture, Tourism and Science and Technology Department said.

Accordingly, in 2025, Co To special zone has deployed a pilot project for underwater entertainment and island sightseeing activities, opening up opportunities to exploit a variety of products such as jet skiing, parasailing, kayaking, and sup. The selected locations include Van Chay, Hong Van, Vung Tron, Ba Chau, and Co To Con. At the same time, the district focuses on managing and exploiting island tours such as the 3-island tours (small Co To island, Ca Chep island, and Su Tu island) and the journey to Tran island, creating a chain of linked sea-island products.  

Co To also constantly improves the quality of services at Hong Van and Van Chay beaches, while regulating spontaneous beaches such as Tinh Yeu beach. The highlight is that coral diving products and kayaking, sup, and sunset canoeing are developed in a controlled manner, ensuring safety, limiting spontaneous activities, and maintaining the image of a civilized destination. 

Co To Special Zone has implemented a pilot project for inter-island tours, requiring businesses to meet legal, vehicle, rescue personnel and environmental standards. At the same time, it is testing the Net Zero tour model, associated with the “Plastic Waste Free District” project, creating a chain of experiences that reduce emissions from transportation, accommodation to entertainment - very suitable for environmentally sensitive underwater products.

To promote its potential and position its brand, Co To has identified underwater tourism and island tours as its core products. The orientation focuses on four solutions: Diversifying products (sea sports, island tours, night economy), investing in infrastructure (renovating Co To passenger port, completing wharf/port infrastructure, controlling temporary wharfs in Bac Van - Hong Van), tightening management (handling spontaneously, controlling prices, safety, environment) and developing human resources (rescue training, training diving instructors, international standard sea sports).

It is known that in the long term, Quang Ninh province aims to build a marine reserve associated with Tran island to sustainably manage resources and develop controlled eco-tourism. With synchronous steps, Co To is aiming to become a green, safe, and experience-rich sea-island tourism center.

Upgrading underwater tourism products is not only a temporary solution to increase the number of visitors, but also a long-term strategy to affirm Co To's position on the island tourism map. From strict management, infrastructure investment, environmental attention to human resource training, all are aimed at the common goal: Building Co To into a unique and distinctive destination.

Source: Co To tourism to focus on underwater activities

Hang Co - The crown jewel of Halong Bay's offshore attractions

Private Halong bay cruise - Located on the 4th route of Halong Bay cruise, Hang Co (Co cave) with its poetic and lyrical landscape of mountains, rivers, and caves makes it easy for visitors to leave an unforgettable impression. Perhaps, this is also the reason why Hang Co is the most attractive destination in the offshore area of this beautiful heritage site.

Hang Co is located halfway up Hon Co Island - a small island far from the shore in Halong Bay, about 20km from Tuan Chau International Tourist Port. The cave is not too large in scale with a small entrance, suitable for each person to comfortably enter through short steps. The two compartments of Hang Co are connected by a small path, in which the first compartment is smaller in scale than the second compartment. The landscape in the cave is naturally created with a system of stalactites and stalagmites that possess unique features compared to many other beautiful caves in Halong Bay.

Not far from the entrance, visitors will be surprised to see a stalactite dome resembling a giant stone shell, just like a large pearl oyster opening its two shells with sparkling light inside. Or like a stalactite column pouring from the ceiling to the cave floor like a marvelous sculpture with unique natural patterns. The stalactites and stalagmites here are high and low, hanging down like stalactite curtains with brown-yellow or pure white colors, captivating the hearts of visitors.

The special cave has enough cracks to let natural light in. On sunny days, the sunlight diffuses through these cracks, creating unique magical light strips. At the end of the cave, visitors follow a small path to exit, which is a great place to admire Halong Bay through the lush green leaves. If lucky, visitors can look down at the bay in the distance and see a tourist boat gliding gently carrying passengers to the cave. The scene is so real and beautiful, it is like a dream.

Hang Co currently has only one entrance and exit, so when returning, visitors will see Halong Bay from a different angle from the back of the mountain. This angle overlooks the rocky islands with very different shapes here. And on the way down, visitors can turn sideways to reach the small sandy beach right at the foot of the mountain. At high tide, the sandy beach is still not completely submerged, revealing a smooth white sandbank, interspersed with large rocks protruding from the clear blue water. However, Hang Co sandbank is especially poetic at low tide, the curved sandbank looks like a crescent moon when viewed from above. In particular, the scenery here is so quiet that visitors can hear the sound of waves lapping against the sandbank, both peaceful and charming.

The poetic scenery, peaceful space, and relative lack of people are the plus points that help Hang Co attract mainly high-end guests. Lucy Fleetwood, a British tourist said that she chose to experience on a private cruiser to have space for only 2 people. The scenery of Halong Bay is very beautiful, bringing her wonderful and impressive emotions right from the first sight. Hang Co is located in a relatively deserted area, which also helps her and friend immerse themselves in the natural space with deep feelings.  

Research shows that many tourists, like Lucy, are willing to pay a high price to have private experiences and visit beautiful places in offshore areas such as Hang Co. Specializing in exploiting this type of customer in Hang Co in particular and route 4 on Halong Bay in general for the past 15 years is Dong Duong Cruise Joint Stock Company, the cruise manager said that on average, the company welcomes about 24,000 guests, mainly European guests, to Hang Co each year.

Currently, Hang Co is also the only cave on route 4 cruise tour that is being exploited. With many factors, this is also the scenic spot that attracts the largest number of visitors compared to the destinations on the two offshore tour routes in recent years. According to statistics, in 2024, Hang Co welcomed more than 74,000 visitors and in the first 6 months of this year, this attraction welcomed nearly 44,000 visitors, mainly foreign visitors, belonging to the high-end group staying on overnight cruises in Halong Bay.

Source: Discovering Hang Co - A hidden gem in Halong Bay

Ta Cu mountain: Where spiritual heritage meets natural wonder

Private tours to Vietnam - Ta Cu Cable Car is located in Ta Cu TTC World tourist area located in Thuan Nam town, Ham Thuan Nam district, Binh Thuan province. This mountain is located right next to National Highway 1A, so it is very convenient for traveling. Ta Cu TTC World tourist area owns an open natural space, fresh air, the highlight of which is Ta Cu mountain, where the historical relics of Linh Son Truong Tho pagoda and Linh Son Long Doan pagoda are located.

Ta Cu Mountain is 649m high and was formerly a volcano. Today, it is a national nature reserve forest area with an extremely rich flora and fauna, with many species listed in the Red Book.

Ta Cu Mountain is a national nature reserve forest with rich flora and fauna with more than a dozen rare species listed in the world's Red Book such as rock lizard, toe-footed lizard, grouse, mountain kite, Truong Son silver langur, black-shanked douc langur... precious plants such as Afzelia xylocarpa, Irvingia malayana... and over 150 types of plants that can be used as medicine.

Ta Cu Mountain attracts tourists with its beautiful scenery, modern cable car system, and is famous for its giant reclining Buddha statue. This precious Buddha statue is located at the sacred Linh Son Truong Tho Pagoda. On May 30, the Buddha Sakyamuni entered Nirvana and set a record as the largest Buddha statue in Southeast Asia.

The statue makes a strong impression on visitors who come to worship because of its unique reclining position, its back leaning against the cliff, its head resting on its hands. The overall appearance of the statue creates a majestic, graceful but extremely friendly and close feeling.

The road to the mountain pagoda is more than 2,500m long, passing through many steep slopes with many impressive landmarks: Ban Ha rock, Ban Thuong rock, Bang Lang slope with purple flowers blooming in a corner of the forest, Yen Ngua slope with a large flat rock block like a bench lying on its side next to a stream,... Going deeper into the mountain top, visitors will admire a series of Buddha statues, the most impressive of which is the reclining Buddha statue 49m long and 11m high.

The climate is cool and fresh all year round. Coming here every spring, visitors can enjoy watching the yellow apricot and red trumpet flowers blooming fragrantly throughout the forest. Many types of trees such as rosewood, and purple-flowered lagerstroemia cover the entire mountain. In particular, the clear stream water flowing from the cool, clear crevices on the mountain makes the natural scenery even more fascinating.

Source: Experience the majesty of Ta Cu mountain