Awakening the beauty under that blue sea, taking the precious pearl out of the rough shell, letting it sparkle in the sunlight, bringing livelihoods to local people and billions of USD to the tourism industry, is the mission of the large investors who are building Van Don tourism infrastructure, recreating the trading port once dubbed the First in Southeast Asia.
Bali is no longer peaceful and pristine, but that "specialty" is still flooding Van Don.
Dubbed the sea tourism paradise, Bali is famous worldwide for its diverse and valuable natural and human tourism resources. Tourists are fascinated by the clear blue beaches and long white sandy beaches, volcanoes and terraced fields, along with festivals and life in villages combined with diverse and rich cuisine. The number of international tourists to Bali has continuously increased rapidly year by year, 5.3 million people in 2023, 6.3 million in 2024 and 6.5 million in 2025. Meanwhile, the local population is only about 4.4 million people.
The number of visitors to Bali exceeds the number of locals, many peaceful spots are now replaced by building beach clubs and luxury restaurants. Bali is no longer peaceful and pristine but has been overloaded and polluted, leading the "No List 2025" list of Fodor's Travel. 85% of the tourism economy is owned by non-Bali people, also causing the local community to be marginalized in the industry itself that is exploiting indigenous resources.
Tourists who love sea tourism are looking for places similar to Bali but as pristine and peaceful as in previous decades. Many names have been nominated, of which Van Don is one of the most anticipated destinations because it has many similarities with Bali.
Located in the Southeast of Quang Ninh province with a natural area of more than 550km2, Van Don includes 600 large and small islands creating an arc embracing Bai Tu Long Bay natural heritage, with a strategic position in terms of defense as well as economic development and international trade in the Northeast region.
With dozens of large and small beaches, blue sea, white sand, picturesque scenery, visitors to Van Don can stroll on the fine sand on the pristine coastline, frolic with white waves, and pose on the wharves stretching out to the seabed...
Specialties" of Van Don are charming, pristine islands, where nature and people harmonize, rich in identity but also no less majestic and mysterious. Places such as Quan Lan, Minh Chau, Ngoc Vung are precious gems in the open sea, attracting tourists to rest, regenerate energy, beautiful and attractive no less than famous islands in Bali such as Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan or Nusa Cening...
Van Don also has Bai Tu Long National Park - an onshore biosphere reserve, and is also a place to protect coastal biological resources of Vietnam, where there are about more than 50 species of plankton, more than 100 species of high-value aquatic animals...
Not only attractive with natural scenery, Van Don also carries historical and cultural legends, beautiful and sacred coastal pagodas, peaceful and unique traditional festivals and famous cuisine with many specialties only found in Van Don.
“I used to love Bali very much, going there to rest every year in the spring or summer, but recently when Bali is crowded and full of garbage, destinations that are no longer pristine and peaceful, I stopped going to Bali and found a place no less than Bali, even more pristine and beautiful, not yet invaded by the tourism concretization process, which is Van Don. I really like resting in the center of Cai Bau, then taking a train to Minh Chau, Quan Lan and living there for a few days like a local, enjoying fresh seafood, watching the sunrise, bathing at sunset, at a very reasonable cost,” shared Ms. Emily Nguyen, a German overseas Vietnamese.
Awakening" the sea fairy, building a high-quality sea and island tourism center
Since 2018, Van Don has set a goal to become a high-quality sea and island tourism center, taking tourism as the main driving force for developing other socio-economic sectors, but many years have passed, Van Don is still like a sleeping mermaid, unable to sing a captivating song even though it has full potential to become a destination that captivates millions of people. One of the biggest inadequacies that prevents Van Don tourism from flying away is that tourism infrastructure has not been invested worthily, there are no unique tourism services to keep tourists, there are not many high-quality accommodation facilities, logistics...
Stepping into 2026, Van Don tourism infrastructure is forecast to have a spectacular breakthrough when a series of large projects are implemented and tourism, resort, and entertainment complexes are officially put into operation with the ambition to develop Van Don into a modern special economic zone, a top tourism and entertainment center in Southeast Asia. Among them, the leading is the Crystal Holidays Harbour Van Don high-class resort and entertainment complex invested by Everland Group.
Located adjacent to Ao Tien International Port and only 15 minutes away from Van Don International Airport, the project is built on an area of 2.6 hectares with a total investment of more than 5,600 billion VND, including 5 towers 28-34 stories high and 1 4-story international convention center building, with neoclassical architectural style, simulating "prosperous sails" reaching out to the sea.
The project is designed by professional units at home and abroad, constructed and supervised by many experienced construction contractors. From architecture, materials to technical solutions are all calculated to ensure aesthetics and high-class operating standards.
Notably, the complex will be managed by an international hotel brand from Thailand, aiming for 5-star standards and expecting to attract a large number of international visitors from Northeast Asian markets through a network of foreign tourism development partners.
The project will provide 2,274 5-star standard tourist apartments and hotel rooms, along with synchronous and closed amenities from shopping centers, shopping centers, restaurants, entertainment areas, health care, meetings to thematic clubs. The highlight of the project is the international conference center with a capacity of 1,500 seats equipped with high-class sound and lighting, which is a place specializing in organizing domestic and international conferences and seminars.
Towers A and B were inaugurated on December 19, 2025 and put into operation from April 30, 2026, promising to quench the thirst for high-class accommodation room supply in Van Don, opening up opportunities to attract high-quality customers, forming a large-scale M.I. C. E - resort and entertainment center.
The investor is also a pioneer in creating a synchronous and closed resort ecosystem, from accommodation, travel, transportation to providing tourism services, putting into operation a day and night tourist boat fleet to transport tourists to visit tours in the "The Beauty of Van Don" sea route from Ao Tien Port to Phat Co, Tay Hoi, Ban Sen islands,... creating unique and attractive experiential tourism products in Bai Tu Long Bay, creating a closed value chain, increasing the experience for tourists and improving the quality of local tourism services.
The operation of new resort complexes promises to create a new wave of tourism in Van Don, welcoming international tourists to Vietnam in the trend of sustainable tourism, green growth and harmony with nature.
