If you want to travel to the islands of the Southwest region but are afraid of being crowded, then Tre island in Kien Giang would be the best option. This is a small island in Kien Hai district, Kien Giang, with a modest total area of less than 500km², but possesses diverse terrain, including forests, mountains, islands, … with a pristine natural landscape that is breathtakingly beautiful.
General information about Tre Island in Kien Giang
Tre island is the administrative center of Kien Hai district, closest to the mainland, about 30 km from the center of Rach Gia City. The island has a total natural area of 428.59 hectares, steep terrain, mainly hills and mountains, with an average height of > 30 m. On the island there are two mountains: the high peak in the south and the low peak in the north.
The highest peak is about 400m above sea level, above is an ancient primeval forest, home to many species of wild animals. These two mountains give the island the shape of a giant turtle emerging from the ocean, so people also call this area “Turtle Island”.
How to get here?
To get to Hon Tre, you first need to go to Rach Gia City, Kien Giang by plane, bus or personal vehicle such as motorbike or car. You should take the bus at 22 pm to arrive early in the morning.
After arriving in Rach Gia City to rest, you go to the pier to buy a speedboat ticket to Tre Island. On average, it only takes about 35 minutes by speedboat to the island, there are many trips a day serving tourists from early morning (7:00 am) to late afternoon (16:00 pm). The speedboats are operated according to the daily weather forecast, not all routes run, if the weather is bad, only certain routes operate.
Transportation on the island
The main means of transportation on Tre island is motorbike. The island has a motorbike taxi union, which operates enthusiastically and gently, with a price list for each destination on the island, so visitors can rest assured when traveling or renting a motorbike. Or you can rent a boat from the locals to tour around the island.
What’s the best time to visit Tre island?
Tre island is located in the Gulf of Thailand, so its climate is similar to the Southwest region of Vietnam, with two main seasons: the rainy season (May to November) and the dry season (December to April next year). So you can travel to Tre island in Kien Giang at any time of the year, each season brings its own unique beauty. The most ideal time is in March or April because the weather is dry and there is no rain, making it comfortable for you to swim.
Accommodation in Tre island
Tre island is quite small, so visitors often visit during the day and then return, but few people stay overnight on the island, but that will miss the beautiful sunset. If you want to stay overnight on the island, you can find a place to rent a tent to sleep on the island, or find a motel with very affordable prices. The nature on the island is very peaceful and safe for organizing fun activities at night.
Sightseeing spots in Tre island
Tre island has a road around the island with a length of about 12km and a road across the island with a length of 1km forming a figure eight, very convenient and easy for tourists who like to experience and explore by motorbike. Tre island has destinations such as: Bai Chen, Dong Dua, Doi Ha Ba, Da Dai, Son Linh Dong, fruit gardens on the mountainside and religious establishments such as: Ba Chua Xu Temple, Dinh Ong Nam Hai, Ba Thuong Temple…
The Lady Chua Xu Temple
The Lady Chua Xu Temple, a place to worship a woman who is believed to protect the lives and nurture the souls of the fishing village people here. Every year, people also hold a ceremony to worship the goddess on the occasion of a favorable and bountiful fishing season, and pray for a prosperous fishing season next year, with calm waves so that people can stick to the sea. The Lady Chua Xu Temple was built by the local people on a high, wide, airy piece of land, with her statue facing the sea.
Nam Hai Temple
In addition to the spiritual site of the Lady Chua Xu Temple, there is also a Nam Hai Temple built not long ago where local people’s religious activities take place.
This is also a tourist attraction for many visitors to the island with a whale skeleton measuring 9.5 m long and 3.5 m wide.
Ha Ba’s Tail
Ha Ba’s Tail is a rocky cape located at the end of the island, stretching from above to the sea, with many large and small cylindrical rocks arranged in rows, creating a wild and quiet scene. Coming here, visitors can enjoy the immense space of the sea
Not far from Ha Ba’s Tail is a place called Bia Stone, a multi-faceted rock standing motionless and indifferent in the middle of a puddle of water. From each angle, you can imagine a different shape of the rock. According to the locals, during the French period, people wanted to pull down this rock but failed, so they called it “Bia Stone”.
Chen beach
Chen beach is located in the west of Tre Island, from the Administrative Center, it only takes about 5 minutes to cross the road to Chen beach. Along the coast here, there are large rocks shaped like upside-down bowls, so local people named this place “Chen” (Vietnamese: a chén means a bowl).
This is an interesting place for outdoor activities such as community activities, fishing, outdoor games and watching the sunset. The sea here also contains many legends about the Nguyen Dynasty fleeing here for refuge, and the merchant ships that were washed ashore were salvaged many ceramic bowls.
Dong Dua
From Chen beach, visitors continue about 1.5km to Dong Dua. Dong Dua is a small bay located in the west near Chen beach area, with poetic scenery, many green coconut trees growing along the coast, a beautiful beach, with few waves and rocks rising above the water, suitable for relaxing and fishing. There is a fishing village here, so boats often stop to resupply food and rest after hours of hard work at sea. When you come here, you should visit the fishing village, see the daily life of the people.
From Dong Dua, continue around the island about 2km to the tip of the cape, where there is the Martyrs’ Memorial of the district. Visitors can go up here to see the whole view of Tre island inclined wharf. At the tip of the cape, visitors can also visit Hon Tre Church.
Da Dai
Da Dai is a large flat rock located at an altitude of nearly 200m above sea level. It will take visitors about 60 minutes to reach this area. The road to Da Dai passes through many shady mango and pepper gardens, making it easy to walk, but there are still steep slopes that challenge the traveler’s steps. You can go into the garden to enjoy the fruits. The garden owner is hospitable, so he often sells and gives them away. Strangely, the fruits here are much sweeter than on the mainland. Coming to Da Dai, visitors can see the entire Tre island area, take impressive souvenir photos with the green island and blue sea.
On Tre island, there are many beautiful places such as: Da Chuong road, Hon Non, Dau Rua, Mui Viet, Lach stream, Ong Ta stream… Cool streams such as: Suoi Vang, Suoi Lon, Suoi Nho, flowing from the mountain to the foot of the island, providing natural fresh water for the people.
What’s specialities in Tre island?
Like other beach tourist destinations, there are also many delicious dishes and attractive seafood in Tre island for you to enjoy such as: fried oysters, oysters with mustard sauce, grilled oysters with scallion oil, mantis shrimp, crabs, stone crabs, snails, cobia hotpot, grouper… Fresh seafood through the very unique processing methods of the local people create dishes with the special culinary flavors of the Southwest island region.
Go to Tre island Wharf, turn left, go along the road around the island about 700m to reach Kien Hai District Administrative Center. In front of the Administrative Center is the market of Tre island commune that sells fresh seafood and has many restaurants and refreshment shops.
Coming to Tre island in Kien Giang for a summer vacation, and sitting and eating seafood in the middle of the wild, poetic nature, there is nothing more enjoyable. Amazing nature has bestowed Tre island with many interesting places waiting for visitors to explore…
Source: collected by An
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