I had been to Saigon four times, and would go back there again and again, despite its reputation for some travelers. (I did have a negative experience with Saigon–How My Favorite Country Betrayed Me–but I still have a lot of fondness for this city.)
I had also heard a lot about Hoi An and its gardens and longed to get there, as well as the sand dunes of Mui Ne.
I had never considered going to Nha Trang, though, not only because of the things I read about it, but because its primarily selling point — its beaches — is aplenty here in the Philippines. I thought before — why would I go to Nha Trang when there are so many lovely beaches in the Philippines?
However, the last time I was in Vietnam (December 2012), a friend persuaded me to go. I’m glad I did; I found this small coastal town charming and beautiful enough.
Chilling by the beach in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
We booked the trip from Saigon to Nha Trang via The Sinh Tourist along De Tham. It was a sleeper bus, because they said the trip would take 10 hours. I looked up the distance between the two cities: it was only around 300 kilometers! Why would it take 10 hours?
When we were on the way, I realized why: the bus ran really really slowly, around 40 km per hour. I didn’t know if it was because there were no streetlights on the highway or because the driver often stopped to rest and drink something, but I thought that such distance would only take around 3-4 hours of travel time in the Philippines.
Yep, this is a sleeper bus, where everyone’s supposed to lie down and sleep.
In any case, when we arrived in the morning, we immediately went to the beach after dumping our stuff in the hotel. The white sand was really fine and clean, but when I saw the huge waves, I decided to nap on the beach instead while my friend had the time of his life in the warm waters.
A solo traveler enjoying the beach in Nha Trang.
A couple’s solitude is soon to be interrupted.
Love is in the air in Nha Trang (or not?).
When I woke up, we walked the whole length of the coast. We were there seemingly at the right season; there were not so many tourists and the weather was wonderful. We had seen couples and solo travelers enjoying the sun and the sand, and thankfully none of the huge groups we expected to see.
Art by the beach.
What I found weird, though, was all the sculptures scattered along the length of the boulevard. Is it their concept of art? They had a lot of topiary too, and although I’m all for living sculptures, I didn’t like the geometric shapes the leaves were forced into.
In any case, the next day, we took advantage of the really cheap snorkeling tours. For only US$7, you get to go island hopping, snorkeling, and have free lunch, too. What more can you ask for?
Tourist boats in one of the island stops in Nha Trang.
Who can resist eating? Lots of delicious stuff here!
The boat band standing on their makeshift stage.
Well, it seemed that aside from everything else, you get free live entertainment onboard as well. The singers (who doubled as the tour guides, boat men, and captain) banged on the improvised drums and caterwauled to their heart’s content, much to the Chinese tourists’ enjoyment.
The best thing we did in Nha Trang was to go biking. It was my first time to use a bike in years, and doing so in major streets, with cars and motorbikes zipping towards and behind me, added quite a few years to my life at first. When I got used to it, though, I found it quite wonderful; so much so that I vowed to buy a bicycle once I return to the Philippines (nope, I haven’t done so yet!).
The lighted bridge in Nha Trang.
One note about eating in Nha Trang: when the server brings you your order, make sure that it’s really yours. We ate at this nice restaurant where we nicknamed the waitresses “confused ladies” because they kept on bringing us the wrong order. Based on what I read in other blogs, it seems to be a common thing there, too!
Did I enjoy my time in Nha Trang? Yes, I did. I wouldn’t go back there though. The whole town is expanding rapidly, and especially in the tourist areas, it gives off a feeling of artificiality. Certainly, there are other things to do there, and other places to see (like the Long Son Pagoda), but for me, once is enough. I would rather spend my time in Saigon, or go further north where perhaps I can find the “real” Vietnam.
How about you? Have you been to Nha Trang? How did you find it?
19 Comments. Leave new
Nice article! Brings back great memories from when we visited Nha Trang 🙂 We had some of the best Pho noodle soup there! 🙂
I did like Nha Thrang too..but the trip on the boat was way too touristic. But yea…nice music 🙂
@ Sachin: You’re welcome 🙂
@ Nguyen Helen: Never been to Mui Ne and Phu Quoc 🙁 Hope someday I can go back to Vietnam.
A great post! Nha Trang is really one of my favorite destinations besides Mui Ne and Phu Quoc.
very useful information. thanks a lot for this.
@ Marisol: Well, it’s a trip you can skip anytime 😉
Looks beautiful, Aleah! I regret that we didn’t make it to Nha Trang during our recent trip. We decided to cut it from the itinerary to spend more time in Cambodia, which I didn’t regret just wished we had more time to visit Nha Trang. Anyway, thanks for taking me vicariously through your post and lovely photos.
@ Disha: Yes, it’s a nice city.
@ Wanderer Juan: I couldn’t believe it either, that the snorkeling cost only $7! The underwater world there isn’t as good as it is in Puerto Galera, but for that amount, it was definitely worth it.
The look of the beach is nothing special there are more beaches here in the Philippines that are better but that’s just me. But $7 for snorkeling and island hopping is dirt cheap and good value for money! Cheers to more travels.
Nha Trang is really very beautiful city of Vietnam. I have seen some picture of Nha Trang Google. This is a city where most of people like to visit like. I also wanna be there. Nha Trang is amazing attractive destination city.
@ Phioxee: I’m agree I’m partial to the beaches here in the Philippines 😀
@ Red: I know; we gotta see it for ourselves firsthand before we can decide, right? 🙂
I’ve visited a lot of places – just the once – because how will I know why I do/do not want to return??! And I’m sure the sleeper bus owners have something to do with the trip taking so long …
i love that sleeper bus.sana meron tayo nyan dito sa pinas noh. at ang ganda din ng beach,pero hmm mas magadan parin yung nandito sa pinas. i think i miss your saigon post. lemme check it
@ Ruby: Hostels there are also very cheap, like $3 per day. I enjoyed the company of my friend; I guess I was still hung up on Saigon 😀
@ Photo Cache: The beaches and snorkeling and diving sites in the Philippines are much better, yeah, but the tours here are really cheap it’s crazy!
I’m pretty sure that the beaches in PI trumps this one. The tour is pretty cheap though, and that includes the mouthwatering dishes. I just love Vietnamese food. I hope someday I’d find myself in Vietnam, anywhere in Vietnam.
I’ve been to Nha Trang when I went solo backpacking last October and loved every minute I was there. I didn’t want to go back to HCM!
I met some excellent people in my hostel and we hung around the beach for two straight days, went to the mud baths, did a boat tour, and well, partied and got wasted in the evening 🙂
Maybe because I enjoyed the company of the people that I met so much which was why I loved it!
@ Hannah: Maybe not by next year. Hope you enjoy Nha Trang!
@ James: I agree! Just for the experience, I guess, once would be enough.
I like how you said it Aleah – enjoying Nha Trang but not wanting to go back. Some destinations (or food?) are probably meant to be visited (or tasted) only once. 🙂
Great article! We plan on making our way through Nha Trang next February, hopefully it won’t be completely built up by then!