Tourists, and locals, now have helicopters as a means of transport from Da Nang to world heritage sites in the central region via Viet Nam Travel Mart Agencys chartered tours, though the trip isn't cheap.
The price is a whapping VND70 million (US$3,250) for an hour trip from Nuoc Man Airbase to Hoi An and My Son Sanctuary. For a shorter 12-minute flight over the sea and mountains of Da Nang - Ngu Hanh Son Mountain, Ba Na Hills, Son Tra peninsula and My Khe beach – the price is VND3 million ($142) each passenger.
Last week, six Russian tourists were the first to hire the helicopter; they flew roundtrip from Laguna Resort in the town of Lang Co, Thua Thien-Hue to Hoi An and My Son.
The six-seat French-made EC132T2 helicopter will explore expanding air travel to the Cham Islands, Ly Son Island and En Cave in Quang Binh Province.
TravelMart, however, is not the first to offer helicopter tours. In 2011, the Viet Nam joint-stock tourism company, Vitours, operated chartered flights from Da Nang to the Cham Islands in a 24-seat Russian-made MI-17, but the tour shut down due to unknown reason.