Nha Trang, needless to say, is famous for tourists owing to its white-sand beaches, comfortable hotels and resorts, good food at various restaurants, and diverse entertainment facilities. But for those wanting to take a retreat from such busy activities of a modern city, there are also many places to go. And one among them is a small yet beautiful Bich Dam Island on Nha Trang Bay of Khanh Hoa Province.
Tourists are advised to take a ferry at a ticket price of only VND17,000 a passenger to the island. If they miss the ferry, which usually departs at 11.30am, tourists have no other choice but to rent the whole boat at the rate of VND800,000.
After a two-hour boat trip, people will arrive at the island where there is an ancient almond tree standing at the front of the wharf.
Tourists can ask local people to take them by motorbikes to discover a lighthouse on the mountaintop. They are recommended to admire the first ray of sun in early morning and to enjoy such a magnificent panoramic view overlooking the sea. Then, travelers can head to a fishing village to see daily activities of local people.
People know about the island mostly by word of mouth. Recently, there have been some tourist companies that plan to bring guests to admire the island.
Bich Dam has around 200 households with approximately 1,000 residents. Its founder was a fisherman from the central province of Binh Dinh about 200 years ago. Thus, the fishing career has been popular on the island and locals there lead a peaceful and stable life.
Some experts, convinced by the primitive beauty of the island, believe that there is a great potential to develop tourism there, but it should be managed in a sustainable way to ensure that tourism facilities like resorts will not do harm to natural beauties on the island, such as the age-old fishing village there.