Dong Nai’s fruit capital gears up for tourism rush

Dubbed the fruit capital of the Southeastern region, fruit orchards in Binh Loc, Hang Gon, Xuan Bac, and other areas of Dong Nai City are preparing for the upcoming peak tourism season.

Visitors are captivated by densely fruit-laden rambai trees stretching from trunk to canopy at Ut Tieu Fruit Garden in Binh Loc ward. Photo: Ngoc Lien

According to orchard owners, this year’s peak fruit-ripening season is expected to arrive around June, later than in previous years. Among the key attractions, rambutan remains the locality’s signature fruit crop, known for its vast cultivation area, bright red ripeness, and geographical indication status, promising another vibrant summer tourism season. Although the peak harvest season has yet to begin, several orchard owners growing fruits such as rambai, guava, mango, pomelo, and mangosteen have already opened their gardens to visitors eager to explore orchards and enjoy rustic local specialties. These efforts reflect farmers’ attempts to diversify orchard offerings and roll out orchard ecotourism experiences earlier in the season.

Orchard linkages help attract visitors ahead of peak season

Tran Quoc Phong, owner of Ut Tieu Fruit Garden in Binh Loc ward, is among the few fruit orchard owners to welcome visitors very early in the season. Although rambutan has not yet reached peak ripeness, his garden has been receiving visitors since early May. Explaining how he was able to open early, Phong said he had proactively sought out and partnered with several rambai, guava, mango, and pomelo orchards to bring visitors to the orchards for tours and experiences. In addition to visits to fruit orchards linked to local households, Ut Tieu Fruit Garden also serves local specialties such as mangosteen chicken salad, grilled free-range chicken, and field crab hotpot, along with fruits sold at the garden, including pomelo, durian, avocado, and jackfruit. This feature gives visitors the chance to tour and experience the orchards while also enjoying local fruit specialties on-site.

Tourists visit fruit orchards in Binh Loc ward. Photo: Ngoc Lien

Phong said that with tickets priced from VND79,000 to VND119,000, visitors can choose combo tours covering two to three orchards, depending on the ticket price.

At the gardens, visitors are free to sightsee, take photographs, pick and enjoy fruit without time limits. Those wishing to buy gifts can purchase freshly picked fruit directly from orchard owners at reasonable prices. He added that orchards partnering with his business must commit to attentive service and avoid overcharging visitors purchasing take-home fruit. As a result, although the rambutan season has not yet peaked, Ut Tieu Fruit Garden still attracts a considerable number of weekend visitors.

Many tourists visiting rambai, guava, and mango orchards enjoy taking photos with trees heavy with fruit and tasting the delicious, crisp sweetness of Thai mangoes and Queen guavas. On his first visit to the fruit orchard in Binh Loc Ward, Nguyen Phuoc, a visitor from Ho Chi Minh City, said he and his family were drawn to the rambai trees laden with fruit from base to tip. In the cool green setting of the rambai garden, his family took beautiful and highly memorable photos.

Phuoc said he plans to return to Binh Loc in mid-June with relatives and friends to experience the rambutan season in the Long Khanh area, formerly Long Khanh township.

Fruit orchards ready for tourism high season

Dozens of orchards in Binh Loc, Hang Gon, Xuan Bac, and neighboring areas have upgraded their gardens and improved facilities in preparation for the tourism peak season. In Binh Loc ward, for example, signboards introducing orchard tourism destinations have been prominently installed by the Binh Loc Orchard Ecotourism Cooperative Group, drawing attention at entrances leading to local gardens. Well-known destinations such as Chu Loc La Garden, Tam Le Garden, Ha Cali Garden, and Ut Tieu Fruit Garden are now ready to welcome visitors.

Hang Gon ward is likewise home to many specialty orchards associated with the Long Khanh area. Truong Dinh Khanh, Head of the Young Tour Guide Club in the Long Khanh area, said many orchard owners in Hang Gon open their gardens during the peak harvest season, allowing tourists to experience traditional farming spaces and cultivation practices.

Mangosteen chicken salad – a signature dish favored by visitors to fruit orchard destinations. Photo: Ngoc Lien

Assessing the potential of orchard ecotourism in Hang Gon, Khanh said the locality has strong advantages for developing distinctive tourism products centered on local stories, land heritage, and agricultural specialties. One destination that has attracted visitors nationwide during fruit seasons, summer holidays, and festive periods in recent years is Cau Dau Glamping. The site offers orchard tours and cuisine prepared from locally sourced fruits and ingredients.

To fully tap local tourism potential, Cau Dau Glamping is currently partnering with several orchard owners to serve visitors during the peak fruit-ripening season.

“We hope to connect with more orchards during fruit season to create diverse and distinctive discovery tours,” Khanh said. “We are ready to support local households in developing tourism services, from orchard tour guidance to specialty product production and sales, thereby helping them participate more directly in the local tourism value chain.”

Established in 2023, the Xuan Bac Fruit Garden Ecotourism Cooperative in Xuan Bac commune has become one of the destinations drawing tourists during the fruit season. Notably, the cooperative group is also one of four tourism products in Dong Nai recognized with a 3-star OCOP rating. In recent years, the cooperative group has helped promote orchard ecotourism and tap the locality’s agricultural and rural potential. It also serves as a channel for promoting and selling local agricultural products to residents.

According to cooperative head Van Thanh Toan, the group currently connects around 10 households involved in community tourism linked to specialty orchards growing rambutan, durian, guava, mango, and mangosteen.

Local households are now preparing to welcome visitors for this summer’s sweet fruit season.

Under Dong Nai’s 2026 tourism development plan, agricultural and rural tourism is identified as one of the city’s three main tourism product groups, alongside eco-resort tourism and cultural-spiritual tourism, along with supporting services aimed at diversifying tourism offerings and attracting more visitors.

By N. Lien – Translated by M.Nguyet, Minho