Nha Trang City, also known as the “Pearl of the East Sea in Vietnam,” is located in the heart of Khanh Hoa province. Nha Trang Beach is shaped like a crescent moon, embracing Nha Trang Bay and 19 large and small islands, with a mild climate and more than 315 sunny days.
Nha Trang was named one of the world’s 29 most beautiful bays by UNESCO in 2003. With the natural advantages, Nha Trang has explored the potential of the sea and islands with a series of attractive tourism products that will surely make visitors happy to forget the way home.
How do you get to Nha Trang?
Many airlines, including Vietnam Airlines, VietJet, and Bamboo Airways… fly from Hanoi to Nha Trang via Cam Ranh International Airport. Because the airport is about 35km from the city, visitors must book a taxi to bring to Nha Trang, the price of each trip is about 300,000 – 400,000 VND. In addition, guests can take the bus from Cam Ranh to Nha Trang airport for 50,000 VND per trip.
Visitors from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and other provinces can also book train tickets to Nha Trang station. There are 5 trains per day between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang.
In addition, the bus carrier North-South limousine is also a suitable choice for visitors. When you come to Nha Trang, you can visit the attractions by taxi or rent a motorbike or car to take the initiative. Motorbikes cost 150,000 – 200,000 VND/day. Usually, hotels offer this service. (Note: when renting a motorbike, or car, visitors should take photos of the car, check the vehicle, and prepare the driver’s license and related documents).
Places to explore in Nha Trang
In Nha Trang City, there are many hotels with different prices; in the summer, hotels and resorts with sea views will be full of rooms soon, and smaller hotels in the inner city will have lower prices and more vacant spaces.
Hotels providing excellent service in Nha Trang City include Queen Ann, TTC Hotel Premium, Eastin Grand, Ariyana Smart Condotel, Muong Thanh Luxury, and others. If you choose to stay in Nha Trang, there are several resorts to choose from, including Champa Island Resort, Amiana Resort, Diamond Bay Resort Spa, Merperle Hon Tam Island Resorts, and Vinpearl Nha Trang… Beautiful fish and coral reefs can be found at the bottom of the sea.
Guests can book on apps such as booking.com or Traveloka, so book about a week in advance and call directly at the accommodation, check hotel information, etc. If you have any quality feedback or need assistance, contact the Tourist Support Center at *2258.
Experiences need to be done to enjoy the beauty of Nha Trang fully
Diving in Nha Trang
Nha Trang scuba diving is one of the experiences you can not miss when coming to the islands of Hon Tre, Hon Tam…, especially Hon Mun – the “heart” of Nha Trang Bay. There are up to 2,000 coral and 1,500 marine species, and it is Vietnam’s first marine life reserve. However, the Nha Trang Bay Management Board has announced to suspend scuba diving in this area from 2022 to preserve coral, so visitors can only dive in Hon Rom and some other points near Hon Mun.
Around the beginning of summer, from March to August, is the best time to snorkel Nha Trang. The water is warm and calm now. At the diving sites, visitors will have enthusiastic guides with all types and levels of diving, from amateur to professional, such as snorkeling and scuba diving… These are also three islands that many tourists visit when they visit Nha Trang. The price for this service is about 500,000 – 800,000 VND/person.
Read more: Nha Trang travel guide: How to Discover the “No.1 Sea Paradise in Vietnam” (Part 2)
Scuba diving by an infinity submarine
Vinpearl’s infinity submarine in Nha Trang Bay is called Vinpearl Submarine. This unique sea tourism product has a 360 transparent view window that can take about 24 visitors per trip, comfortably diving into the sea at a depth of up to 100m, just like in the Hollywood movie “Aquaman.” Because the windows are made entirely of giant acrylic glass, visitors will admire the colorful ocean.
Visitors who want to experience this product must contact the service reservation 24 hours in advance because, depending on weather conditions, the clarity of the submarine seawater can operate. The journey is 1 hour 50 minutes, including 30 minutes of diving at a depth of 25m. The time of the submersible will have 3-time frames 9h, 10h, and 11h. The price for each trip is 1.4 million VND for adults (from 1.4m), children (over 3 years old, under 1.4m) is 950,000 VND.
Read more: Nha Trang travel guide: How to Discover the “No.1 Sea Paradise in Vietnam” (Part 3)
Walking under the Sea
This is one of the new games in Nha Trang, mainly at Tranh Beach (Tri Nguyen island), attracting many tourists to experience it. Starting the journey, visitors will step into the sea through the stairs; when the sea is over their shoulders, they will be guided to put on a unique “astronaut” diving hat; visitors will freely walk on the sea floor, mingle with the fish swimming around.
Depths are dived from 7-10m depending on the sea level daily. Scuba diving costs 500.00 VND/person with guests attacking with oxygen tanks and 800.000 VND/person diving with copper caps. Guests can also buy a package of photos and videos for 350,000 VND/person.
Besides the experience at the bottom of the ocean, the sea games in Nha Trang also promise to bring you extreme fun and save many memories in your travels.
Paragliding is among the most adventurous sea games and brings exciting emotions. To ensure absolute safety, you will be equipped with life jackets, parachutes, radios, and protective devices.
From a 70 – 100m height, you can admire the panoramic view of Nha Trang Bay. In addition, you can hold the camera and record beautiful photos. Paragliding has many types, such as towing canoes or flying parachutes with engines. Guests can participate in this game at Hon Tam, Painting Beach, Hoa Lan Island…
Paragliding prices have many segments if flying; unit prices will be lower when flying with a coach—paragliding costs 1 – 1.5 million per flight of about 15 minutes on average. The type of canoe is about 500,000 – 700,000 VND/round.
Flyboard
Flyboarding (also known as water sport) is a new game in many Vietnamese waters. With powerful jet engines, visitors will be instructed to balance, surf on the sea, and be acrobatic. This is one of those games that is very difficult and requires a lot of skill, but in return, the experience it brings is memorable.
The usual playing area will be the Ana Marina or Hon Tam Marina. The most beautiful time of the day is from 8 am – 10 am and 15h – 5 pm.
Beginners will have 10 minutes of training to balance and move on the engine and then 15 minutes of live play… Women, young children, or those who like to experience it immediately will be supported or hugged by the coach on the motor. The price of this game is about 1.2 – 1.5 million VND.
Read more: Nha Trang travel guide: How to Discover the “No.1 Sea Paradise in Vietnam” (Part 1)
Kayaking
Guests will quickly get used to this sport. The kayak glides gently across the sea, past the islands. You can row single or double row or set up a team to race the boat, which is also very attractive. Especially in Nha Trang, there are many kayaking festivals.
It would be best to attend the kayaking moment to watch the sunset or explore the mangrove forest. The price of participating in this activity is about 100,000 – 200,000 VND/hour.
Read more: Nha Trang travel guide: How to Discover the “No.1 Sea Paradise in Vietnam” (Part 3)
Great places to explore
Nha Trang is surrounded by a series of large and small islands; each island has its shape and beauty, likened to “emirates” on the sea. Indeed, setting foot on each island will leave visitors with indelible imprints!
The Three Islands
Three beautiful islands are located in Nha Trang Bay, including Mun Island – Mieu Island – Tam Island. From the city, visitors will ride to Nha Trang Tourist Pier (Vinh Truong ward) to board boats and canoes to the islands. Many tourism companies have exploited this 3-island tour with the price of 200,000 – 900,000 VND/person.
Mun Island is the most romantic island in Nha Trang, with white sand stretching, clear blue water, and rich coral forests.
Tri Nguyen Aquarium is located on Mieu islet. This is a man-made lake that was constructed in the 1970s. A solid stone embankment system shaped like a giant boat separates the lake. There are hundreds of species of sea creatures inside. Come here; visitors can fish.
To Mieu Island, visitors must visit Soi Beach. Completely different from the white, smooth sandy coastline, Bai Soi has a thorny feature with millions of beautiful, colorful pebbles crowded along the coast. Walk on these stones, and you will feel very relaxed, and this is also great natural massage therapy.
Not far away is Bai Tranh – where visitors can immerse themselves in the water, enjoy cocktails, and recline on hammocks along the coast… or play water sports such as flying parachutes, banana floats, scuba diving, and walking in the sea.
At Hon Mieu with Fishing Village, visitors will come to the floating restaurants for lunch with fresh seafood dishes.
The last island in Nha Trang Bay that visitors should visit is Hon Tam. Viewed from above, the island is like a silkworm spitting its silk toward the sea. Visitors can come here to spend the night. Especially there is a herbal mud bath to relax the body.
Monkey Island – Orchid Island
From the city center, visitors can ride to Long Phu tourist pier in Luong Son village, Vinh Luong commune, Nha Trang city, from which to board the boat to visit these two islands.
Orchid Island has a peaceful beauty. You will walk under the green trees, watching over 100 beautiful forest orchids. There are also bird shows, boating in mangroves… and a great place to organize activities such as team building, and overnight camping.
About 10 minutes by boat from Hoa Lan Island, visitors will come to Monkey Island – which is known as the miniature “mountain fruit.” More than 1,200 monkeys are preserved and live naturally on the island. Here, visitors will have fun, feed the monkeys and enjoy the performances of monkey artists such as monkey circus, monkey racing motorbike, monkey swimming competition…
At the same time, visitors can experience many attractive games such as Prokart racing, scuba diving, floating park, ostrich riding.
Visitors can choose the sunset tour on Nha Phu lagoon to enjoy the romantic beauty and peace of the sea fully.
Watching the sunset on the yacht
Older tourists, or young people who love romance, can immerse themselves in the enchanting scenery of Nha Trang Bay at sunset, with a sunset tour on Nha Trang beach and dinner right on the yacht with a musical orchestra.
If the islands on Nha Trang Bay are a tiny emirate, then the yacht is a mobile villa on the sea that goes along the islands, fishing villages… It is full of visitor facilities such as a bar, karaoke room, massage… Usually, the tour will start from 17h – 21h. Most travel companies in Nha Trang sell this product. The price ranges from 1.1 – 1.5 million VND/person.
Cultural Places to Explore
Ba Tower
Nha Trang is attractive, with its beautiful beaches, and impressed by the unique architecture. And Ponagar Tower is one of Vietnam’s impressive Champa cultural, architectural complexes.
Ponagar Tower, located on a 50-meter-high hill, has three floors: the lowest floor has the historic tower, which is no longer in use. On the middle floor is called Mandapa, composed of 4 octagonal columns that create an extraordinary architectural whole.
The bricks are very tightly placed and there are almost no adhesive marks between them, which makes the buildings’ structure unique. The tower is decorated with reliefs such as the image of the dancing dancer Apsara, the god Shiva.
Especially inside is the statue of the goddess Po Ina Nagar (according to the Cham belief) or the Holy Mother of Heavenly Medicine (according to the Vietnamese idea); the statue is carved of granite, sitting on the lotus radiating a majestic and reverent appearance.
Behind the tower, artisans also perform Cham dance, weaving brocades to serve tourists… In the tower area, there is also the Cham Culture Museum displaying relief statues, musical instruments, and Cham costumes.
Interestingly, visitors can buy ornaments from brocades or terracotta made by Cham artisans to bring back as gifts. The tower is open throughout the week; the entrance fee is 30,000 VND/person.
Long Son Pagoda
One of the most ancient and sacred temples in Nha Trang is Long Son Pagoda. This temple is especially famous for its giant Buddha Gold Body This concrete statue has a height of roughly 14m, a lotus tower 7m high, and a diameter of 10m. Beneath the lotus, a portrait of the Venerable Thich Quang Duc and six monks set themselves on fire to protest the repression of Vietnamese Buddhism in 1963. This is also the giant outdoor Buddha statue in Vietnam.
Long Son Pagoda has undergone many restorations but still retains its ancient and solemn features and is visited by many Buddhists, people, and visitors to find peace for the soul. You can admire the panoramic view of Nha TrangCityy from the pagoda yard.
The Stone Church of Nha Trang
The Nha Trang Stone Church is a well-known Catholic landmark in the seaside town. The church is built entirely from cubist stones in the typical block-shaped architecture of the West. Stone Church is also known by several other names, including the Mountain Church, which was built atop Bong Mountain, and the Crossing Six Church…
The domes and corridors are ancient; the doorways are intricately carved. Stone Church is not only a religious place for parishioners to attend the ceremony but also to visit and take wedding photos of many people.
Read more: Nha Trang travel guide: How to Discover the “No.1 Sea Paradise in Vietnam” (Part 1)
Museum of Oceanography
The Oceanographic Museum of Nha Trang Oceanographic Institute was established in 1923 to research and dispMorespecimens.
For many years, almost 20,000 specimens of four types of marine life have been stored, collected, and fostered. The largest whale skeleton, with a length of about 26m, a height of 3m, and 48 vertebrae, is the most remarkable. Visitors will explore the experimental area, view odd species, and learn more about the aquatic life.
Recently, the museum also opened the Aquarium through Canh Son Mountain; when coming here, visitors will go under the glass roof, above are many kinds of fish swimming beautifully.
The museum is open from 6h – 18h; the adult ticket price is 40,000 VND, and children with disabilities under 6 years old and under 1.6m are free to enter the gate.
Read more: Nha Trang travel guide: How to Discover the “No.1 Sea Paradise in Vietnam” (Part 2)
Truong Son Craft Village
Truong Son craft village is the place to store the quintessence of craft villages in Nha Trang, such as Lu Cam pottery, mat weaving, rattan knitting, and sand painting… Under the talented hands of artisans, this place gradually became an art space.
Truong Son craft village is also known as a record village when displaying many products recognized by the Vietnam Records Association and the world, such as 8 paintings, the most significant spiritual calligraphy, statues of famous Vietnamese and the world knit with the most actual size synthetic resin fiber, a model of lake gourd is combined from 542 dried gourds writing calligraphy, etc.
Visitors can walk in the flower gardens, enjoy traditional dishes, and play traditional musical instruments such as rock, tung, and flute…
Hon Chong
Hon Chong is a stunning victory for the people of Nha Trang. This sightseeing spot is about 3km northeast of the city. Hon Chong is a massive stone massif complex with stacked formations stretching from the high shore to the sea. Another group of smaller ones located at the foot of the eastern hill is called the Wife Islands.
When coming here, visitors will hear about the legend of this place and the mystery associated with the strange five-fingered indentation on the rock, listen to traditional musical instruments, and enjoy drinks on the premises.
The entrance fee is 30,000 VND/per person.
Must-try dishes
Nests
Nha Trang has long been known as the land of “forest-sea nests,” so the dishes from nests always the nobility only used bird’s past; bird nest was only used by the elite; the king came to use them, and now bird nest gradually became a popular food.
When coming to Nha Trang, visitors should enjoy seafood bird’s nest, bird’s nest soup, long-label bird’s nest…
Seafood
Traveling to Nha Trang certainly must recognize seafood. The city has a long coastline, so the seafood here is extraordinarily diverMany diners appreciate Nha Trang lobsters.
Many diners appreciate Nha Trang lobster for its meat, deli fragrant, wool, such as deer snails, fragrant snails, wool snails, pufferfish, and cowhide fish… In Nha Trang, there are many fresh seafood restaurants along Tran Phu Street; you should choose the goods yourself, see the list of prices and sign before agreeing to let that restaurant process.
Jellyfish noodles/Bun Sua
Jellyfish noodles are a popular and delicious meal in Nha Trang. Fresh jellyfish are caught daily at sea and are cleaned and chopped into bite-sized pieces, clear water is cooked from fresh fish and some other spices, and jellyfish vermicelli has the sweetness of fish mixed with the sourness of tomatoes. Jellyfish noodles with fish cake and delicious green onions are always delightful dishes in Nha Trang. The price of jelly vermicelli is very soft, from 20,000 – 40,000 VND/bowl.
Nem chua Ninh Hoa/ Ninh Hoa fermented pork roll
Like tamarind squid, Ninh Hoa fermented pork rolls are also a specialty bought as gifts and enjoyed at the restaurant. The fermented pork bun from Ninh Hoa is wrapped in starfruit leaves or intestine clusters. Nem is made from freshly ground pork, marinated with spices… then covered with a few lint leaves will eat sour spring rolls dipped with salt and lemon pepper; bake the spring rolls, then roll them with rice paper and greens. This specialty is sold everywhere in the markets in Nha Trang or specialty shops. Nem chua costs about 85,000 VND/box of 20 pieces or 100,000 VND/0.5kg.
White sardine salad
White sardine is a unique fish in Nha Trang, only as small as fingers and without scales. The fish meat is lovely and crispy, and it does not smell fishy, so it is made of sweet and sour salad. The maker must be cautious to separate each layer of meat from apricot fish; this salad is served with raw vegetables and fish sauce made from sweet and sour peanuts. Mai fish salad is mainly on the menu at seafood restaurants in Nha Trang.
The best center Vietnam tour: Tour in Vietnam
