A high-rise beach resort city with island boat trips, thousand-year-old Cham towers and hot mud baths. An honest look at what is here and which travelers will enjoy it.
Nha Trang is a coastal city built along one long crescent bay, backed by a wall of hotel towers, with green islands sitting offshore. The things to do in Nha Trang are mostly organized activities rather than wandering: boat trips, a cable car, a theme park, mud baths and one genuinely old set of temples. It is worth saying plainly who this suits, because it is not the town people picture when they imagine Vietnam. This is a working resort city with a large Vietnamese domestic market and a long-standing Russian one, and the signage tells you so.
Getting there and getting around
Cam Ranh Airport sits roughly 35km (22 miles) south of the city, about 45 to 60 minutes by road, with shared vans running an estimated 60,000-100,000d (roughly US$2.50 to 4) per person and taxis a good deal more. The train is the better arrival: Nha Trang station is right in the center, the run up from Ho Chi Minh City takes around eight hours, and the coastal sections are beautiful. In town, a rented motorbike is an estimated 120,000-150,000d (roughly US$5 to 6) a day, and ride-hailing is cheap and everywhere.
The best things to do in Nha Trang, in order of what people enjoy most
The island boat trip is the reason most people come. A standard four island tour runs an estimated 250,000-450,000d (roughly US$10 to 17), lunch on board included, and takes in snorkeling water off Hon Mun, where the coral and fish are the best within easy reach of the city, plus swimming stops at Hon Tam or Hon Mot. Be aware that the cheaper boats are boisterous, with music and a floating bar at the lunch stop; quieter, more diving-focused operators cost a little more.
- Snorkel gear hire off Hon Mun: an estimated 100,000-150,000d (roughly US$4 to 6)
- A guided scuba dive: an estimated 500,000-900,000d (roughly US$19 to 35) per dive
- Kayaks and swimming at the quieter island stops, usually included in the tour
- Bring reef-safe sunscreen, a hat and a waterproof pouch for your phone
Po Nagar, which is the oldest thing here by a thousand years
On a low hill north of the river stand the brick towers of Po Nagar, built by the Cham civilization that ruled this coast for centuries before Vietnamese expansion. Parts of the complex date back more than a thousand years, the carved sandstone is intact in places, and the main tower is still an active place of worship. Entry is an estimated 30,000d (roughly US$1.20) and it opens early, from around 6am. Half an hour to an hour is enough, and going early beats both the heat and the tour groups.
The cable car, the theme park and the mud
A cable car of roughly 3,320m (2 miles) runs from the mainland out to Hon Tre island, hanging over open water the whole way, and lands at VinWonders, one of the largest amusement parks in Vietnam. A ticket runs an estimated 750,000-880,000d (roughly US$29 to 34) and covers the cable car and nearly everything inside: rollercoasters, an aquarium, a water park and an evening water show. It is a full day and it is aimed squarely at families.
The mud baths are the local specialty and the better value. Warm mineral mud pools sit on the outskirts, about 4 to 7km (2 to 4 miles) from the center, and the routine is a soak in the mud, a rinse under mineral water, then hot pools and a jacuzzi. An estimated 250,000-500,000d (roughly US$10 to 19) depending on the package. Do it on the day after the boat trip.
Base yourself on or just behind the Tran Phu beachfront. You get the sea on your doorstep, the restaurants behind you and the market a short ride north, and you avoid paying for taxis three times a day.
Eating on the coast
Nha Trang's food is seafood and two specific dishes worth ordering by name. Nem nuong Ninh Hoa is grilled pork sausage that you roll yourself in rice paper with herbs, green banana and a crisp fried wrapper, dipped in a thick savory sauce, at an estimated 40,000-70,000d (roughly US$1.50 to 3). Bún cá and bun sua are the breakfast soups, one with fish cake and one with jellyfish, light and clean, at an estimated 30,000-50,000d. Fresh seafood is sold by weight, so ask the price per kilo before it is cooked.
Where it fits in a trip, and who should skip it
Three days is right: one for the islands, one for the theme park or the mud and the towers, and one loose day for the beach. It works well as a break between Ho Chi Minh City and the center, and it pairs naturally with Da Lat, which is about four hours inland by road over a pass. If your priority is old towns, quiet coastline or cultural depth, Hoi An and Hue will serve you better and you can skip this stop without regret.
Practical notes
- Come between January and August; September to December brings storms and cancelled boat trips
- Book the island trip through your accommodation and ask directly how loud the boat is
- Cover shoulders and knees at Po Nagar, which is an active temple
- Three days and two nights runs an estimated 2,000,000-3,500,000d (roughly US$78 to 135) per person, excluding transport in
- Dam Market north of the center is the place for dried squid, nuts and gifts to take home
