Things to do in Nha Trang

Nha Trang is a resort town on a six-kilometre curve of sand. Behind the beach runs one long boulevard of hotels. Behind that, the working town gets on with fishing and canning.

What stands in the town

The oldest things here are Cham, not Vietnamese, and they came first.

• Po Nagar — brick towers on a rise north of the Cai river, built between the seventh and twelfth centuries. The north tower dates from 817 and is still used for worship.
• Long Son Pagoda — a white seated Buddha on Trai Thuy hill. Reliefs at the base remember the monks who burned themselves in 1963.
• Nha Trang Cathedral — grey stone Gothic on a rock outcrop, finished in the early 1930s.
• Dam Market — the round market hall, and the place to see what the boats brought in.
• Hon Chong — stacked boulders at the north end, with the handprint in the rock.

The bay, and what lies behind it

The bay does most of the work. Small islands ring it, and boats leave every morning for the near ones.

• Island days. Hon Mun for snorkelling over its reef, Hon Tam and Hon Mieu for beaches and lunch. Most trips string three or four together.
• Under the water. Diving here is shallow and forgiving, which makes it the usual place in Vietnam to take a first course.
• Mud. The Thap Ba springs sell warm mineral mud by the tub, and the town treats it as an ordinary afternoon.
• Hon Tre. A cable car crosses the water to the island in under ten minutes, to a resort and a theme park.
• Inland. Ba Ho waterfall and the Yang Bay park sit in the hills, an hour out through rice fields and villages.

Two longer days start here. Dalat is a hill town at fifteen hundred metres, three hours up through coffee country. North along the coast lie the Phan Rang dunes and Vinh Hy bay.

Practical

• The seasons are back to front. Nha Trang sits in a dry pocket. January to August stays mostly rainless and the rain arrives from September to December, with November the wettest month by a distance.
• Boat days and wind. Island trips are cancelled in rough water during those wet months, so leave a spare day if you came for the sea.
• Airport. Cam Ranh is about thirty-five kilometres south, forty-five minutes by road.
• Prices. A bowl of bun ca costs about a euro. A group island day is the price of a modest dinner, a private boat several times that.
• Mud baths. Go in the morning, before the coaches, and bring sandals you do not mind ruining.
• Seafood. Buy by weight at the market end of town rather than on the promenade, and agree the price before it is cooked.