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Nha Trang is Vietnam’s most famous seaside resort-town. It's more lively and urban in character than other beach destinations like Mui Ne and Phu Quoc. It's also the scuba diving center of Vietnam.
Traces of human settlement in Nha Trang date back to the Cham Empire, though in times of Vietnamese rule, there wasn't much more here than small fishing villages. The French recognized that this beautiful bay, with its islands and white sand beaches, made for a perfect bathing spot, and began the transformation into a resort town. American soldiers agreed, and Nha Trang became a favorite R&R stop during the war.
The monsoon season is from Oct to mid-Dec. Sea winds can be heavy, and sometimes the weather can get pretty chilly. Summer, naturally, brings many vacation goers into town and hotel rooms get somewhat more difficult to find.
Nha Trang has a tropical savanna climate with... Read more
Nha Trang is Vietnam’s most famous seaside resort-town. It's more lively and urban in character than other beach destinations like Mui Ne and Phu Quoc. It's also the scuba diving center of Vietnam.
Traces of human settlement in Nha Trang date back to the Cham Empire, though in times of Vietnamese rule, there wasn't much more here than small fishing villages. The French recognized that this beautiful bay, with its islands and white sand beaches, made for a perfect bathing spot, and began the transformation into a resort town. American soldiers agreed, and Nha Trang became a favorite R&R stop during the war.
The monsoon season is from Oct to mid-Dec. Sea winds can be heavy, and sometimes the weather can get pretty chilly. Summer, naturally, brings many vacation goers into town and hotel rooms get somewhat more difficult to find.
Nha Trang has a tropical savanna climate with a lengthy dry season from January to August and a shorter wet season from September to December, when 1,029 millimeters (41 in) of the city's total annual rainfall of 1,361 millimeters (54 in) is received from the north-east monsoon. During the wet season, extremely heavy rainfall from typhoons is not uncommon, though the city is shielded from the worst winds.
Nha Trang is one of the most important tourist hubs of Vietnam, thanks to its beaches with fine and clean sand and the clear ocean water with mild temperatures all year round. There are several resorts — such as Vinpearl, Diamond Bay and Ana Mandara — and amusement and water parks, in the city and on islands off the coast. The possibly most beautiful street of Nha Trang is Tran Phu Street along the seaside, sometimes referred to as the Pacific Coast Highway of Vietnam.
Lying off Nha Trang is the Hon Tre Island (Bamboo Island), with a major resort operated by the Vinpearl Group. The Vinpearl Cable Car, a gondola lift system, links the mainland to the five-star resort and theme park on Hon Tre Island.
Nha Trang is a stopover for annual yacht races starting in Hong Kong. In recent years, the city has welcomed many five-star sea cruises. In addition to sailboat racing, Nha Trang provides a rich variety of tourist activities for visitors. Island hopping, scuba diving, water sports, and other sporting activities can be enjoyed. The Nha Trang Tourist Information Center (a non-governmental organization), located near the Cho Dam Market has been set up to provide information for visitors.
The local cuisine is most famous for fresh seafood and barbecued pork rolled in rice paper. The area's bird's nest soup is deemed one of the best in Vietnam. Bird's nests are collected in the wild, on bird farms on the islands off the coast and even in some houses in the inner city. The farmed bird in question belongs to the swiftlet group, popularly referred to as yến hàng (Aerodramus fuciphagus and A. germani).
Today, most of the tourist infrastructure is in the southern part of town around Biet Thu, whereas most of the locals live around the Cho Dam in the northern half. Cho Dam Market is a popular destination for visitors as well, though.
Tran Phu is the backbone of the city, accompanied by a pleasant waterfront promenade, palm trees, and the nearly 6 km of beach.
Nha Trang has a reliable and easy-to-navigate public bus system. You will find buses 2 and 3 the most useful since they pass through the southern quarters. Alternatively, you'll find the usual selection of taxis, cyclos, and motorbikes.
Taxis are a good option, but be sure they turn on the meter to get the cheapest price.
A wonderful option for seeing the sites is to hire a cyclo-driver for the day. All the in-town highlights, the post office, and my choice of restaurants from 08:00-19:00. English skills may be basic. The driver will keep the touts away--a real bonus!
It's also easy to get around by bicycle. Nha Trang is quite flat and bicycles are easily found for hire. Locals on bicycles are more commonly seen at night when its cooler and no sun to burn their skin.
The beach is the main draw here. But the beaches are littered and the water can also be polluted, so if you are going to Nha Trang specifically for the beach, and have been to other Asian destinations such as Thailand and the Philippines you are likely to be very disappointed. You will see many female vendors walking along the beach selling fruit and hot, steamed seafood. Make sure that you visit in the right season. The beach can be disappointing when the weather is grey and the waves choppy. The experience is then one of the murky sandy waters, a strip of standard brown sand with a multitude of empty beach chairs and no one to be seen.
Close off-shore from Nha Trang sit a series of islands that offer decent diving and snorkeling, easily accessible by day trip. The city has about two dozen dive shops, making for fierce competition and great value.
Coastal and undersea construction has stirred up a lot of sediment in the area, so under-water visibility is sometimes not great. The area is heavily fished, so fish life is also limited. You wouldn't cross the world just to dive at Nha Trang. But if you always dreamed of getting a scuba certification, Nha Trang is a good place to do it. The shops generally offer good-quality equipment and experienced, certified dive masters. Diving goes on year-round, but in the Oct-Dec windy season, the boat ride can be a bit rough and diving is limited to a few sites in the lee of the islands.
Organization of the Nha Trang dive industry is sometimes complex. If you sign up for a trip with shop A, you might find yourself joined with a group and divemaster from shop B, which shares a boat with another group and divemaster from shop C, the boat itself being independently owned. Consolidation is especially active in the off-season when few if any shops can fill a boat on their own. It's a good illustration of Vietnamese culture, which does not stand on ceremony, and loves a bargain, and is very skilled at making maximum use of resources. The local divemasters are mostly great, friendly guys with lots of stories to tell.
LOCAL TIME
10:03 am
January 20, 2022
Asia/Saigon
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This is the route of our New Year's cruise: Singapore - Malacca (Malaysia) - Penang (Malaysia) - Phuket (Thailand) - Thilawa (Myanmar) - Porto Malai (Malaysia) - Port Klang (Malaysia) - Singapore - Nathon (Thailand) - Laem Chabang (Thailand) - Sihanoukville (Cambodia... |
There are several markets in Nha Trang , and one of them which we visited is called Cho Dam. It is the largest market in the city. It is located not very far from the center. You can buy clothes, accessories, souvenirs, bags, flowers, fruits, vegetables, and other products at this market...
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The Po Nagar Towers complex was built during the reign of the Cham King Satyavarman in 813-817. This is one of the oldest buildings on the territory of modern Nha Trang . Originally, there were 10 towers, but only 4 of them have survived to our times. They...
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In Louisiane, Nha Trang, you can swim in the pool, eat in the restaurant, and drink tasty beer which is brewed right there. This is a restaurant with its own brewery. There are guided tours where you can watch the process. The menu has beer recipes created by a brewer from Australia...
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Paragon Beach is located in the southern part of Nha Trang, close to the cable car in Vinpearl . This beach belongs to the hotel called Paragon Villa situated within a stone's throw from the beach. In addition to the hotel, there are villas and cottages. Many of them...
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There is a beautiful Doc Let Beach 28 miles (45 km) northward of Nha Trang. We went to the beach by taxi. The taxi driver waited for us there, and all this fun cost 1100000 VND ($50). The road to the beach is good, you do not need to go on an unpaved road. There is a toll road...
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20 km southward of Nha Trang , there is a beach called Bai Dai which means "long beach". It was impossible to get to the beach until 2004 as it was occupied by the military. There are 8 miles (13 km) from the beginning of the beach to Cam Ranh International Airport, and the...
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