Vietnam is endowed with over three thousand kilometers of coastline with numerous fine white sand beaches. Amazingly, most Vietnamese tourists and foreign travellers tend to spend their holidays at some popular spots only; while the majority of beaches in Vietnam including those with great luxury resorts and fresh seafood of dirt-cheap prices are left just empty.
Recently, I got a trip through the stunning beaches in Vietnam and still don't know how those gems for beach holidays are just empty and not many travellers in sight...
1/ Lang Co Beach in Hue
The first stop on my journey was Lang Co Beach, right at the foot of the Hai Van Pass (The Pass of Sea Clouds), 60km south of Hue and 20km north of Da Nang. For the dozen or so km of fine white sand beach, there was only the bright sun, the turquoise blue sea and the empty sandy beach. Further in the backdrop, the imposing Hai Van Pass encircled the fishing communities. All was just peaceful and quiet. The restaurants and facilities of the resorts offered certain level of luxury, still it was somehow empty.
Lang Co Fishing Village, Hue, Vietnam
2/ Non Nuoc Beach in Da Nang
I got a night at Lang Co and moved on to visit the beaches of Da Nang which is in fact the nearly 40km of strip that runs from Son Tra Peninsula of Da Nang to Hoi An Old Town. There are public beaches at the center of Da Nang City and in the area of Son Tra Peninsula, while the rest of the strip is just occupied by luxury resorts, serviced villas and deluxe condominiums. Still, you could walk on the beach for hours and for most of the time, you'll be by yourselves with the sea and the sand...
Da Nang Non Nuoc Beach, Vietnam
3/ Sa Huynh Beach in Quang Ngai
Having two nights on the Non Nuoc Beach of Da Nang, I felt to move again and traveled further south to the pristine Sa Huynh Beach, in Quang Ngai Province. Sa Huynh Beach is 60km from the provincial capital of Quang Ngai City, 190km from Da Nang. Sa Huynh Beach has the length of 7-8km and occupied only by a lonely 4-star resort. The resort and the restaurants offered decent services. The fresh seafood was of dirt-cheap prices. The beach was empty most of the day. You'd only see some locals bringing their children to the beach in late afternoon. There were some buses with Vietnamese tourists which stopped at the seaside restaurants for a quick meal then left again...I could have spent hours at the waterfront cafe of the resort casting my eyes at the blue sea and let my mind wander freely and there was no one around to bother me...
Sa Huynh Beach in Quang Ngai, Vietnam
4/ Quy Nhon Beach in Binh Dinh
Leaving Sa Huynh, I moved south again to Quy Nhon Beach City, about 110km away. There were numerous Cham ruins by the side of the road which showed some glorious times of the Champa Kingdom. Quy Nhon was somewhat busier than Sa Huynh and the local community here seemed more prosperous than those around Sa Huynh. Still, prices for food and services at Quy Nhon were similar to those at Sa Huynh.
The city of Quy Nhon runs the length of 20km, and bordered to the back by a range of low hills, to the front by the main beach of Quy Nhon and the sea. There are a number of hotels and luxury resorts along the beach of Quy Nhon. I got a few hours strolling on the beach of Quy Nhon and decided to conclude the day with some fresh crabs, squid and a few chilled beers at a seaside restaurant. In late afternoon, I got a trip to Ghenh Rang Hill and found out it was the area of some upscale restaurants. I visited the tomb of Han Mac Tu, a very famous Vietnamese poet and got myself some stunning photos of the city at night...
Quy Nhon Beach City in Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam
5/ Tuy Hoa Beach in Tuy Hoa Phu Yen
From Quy Nhon, I travelled on the meandering road passing through one hill and another to Phu Yen Province. The terrain was just stunning in Phu Yen with the hilly road, the endless rice paddies the the turquoise blue sea. For the whole day on the road which ran by the sea, I must have covered over a hundred kilometers of deserted beaches, of which the sand was sugar-white. and the sea was just pure turquoise. There were not many tourist facilities along the beaches at Phu Yen though. And I'm sure Phu Yen is not yet known as a tourist destinations among the Vietnamese travellers...Having a night at the hotel in Tuy Hoa City, I felt embarrassed being the only guest in the hotel and I had got the 10km of beach for myself...
Phu Yen Vietnam
6/ Nha Trang Beach in Khanh Hoa Province
Leaving Tuy Hoa early, I moved south again passing through Khanh Hoa Province with sand dunes and beaches. I stopped for lunch at Nha Trang and got a cafe on the beach of Nha Trang, then moved on the journey to Ninh Thuan Province...
Nha Trang Beach, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam
7/ Ninh Chu Beach in Phan Rang – Thap Cham City, Ninh Thuan Province
Ninh Thuan is the land of the famous deserts, of the spectacular sand dunes and of the deserted beaches. There is a luxury hotel at Ninh Chu Beach and there are hotels in Phan Rang - Thap Cham City; other than that, you'll only see yourself, the blue sea, the empty beaches and the desert for the 110km from Phan Rang to Phan Thiet - Mui Ne of Binh Thuan Province. Ninh Thuan was a quiet place and I got two nights on the beach of Ninh Chu, then moved south again to Mui Ne Town...
Ninh Chu Beach, Phan Rang Thap Cham City
Ca Na Beach in Ninh Thuan Province, Vietnam
8/ Mui Ne Beach in Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan
From Ninh Thuan to Mui Ne (Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province), you'll travel by the sea most of the time. The newly built road got the last leg running through the desert which offers great safaris to the adventure travellers... Be prepared with enough drinking water before you cross this area...
The desert at Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan Provinces, Vietnam
Passing the desert in Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan Provinces is a challenge for which the reward is the gem of Mui Ne where the sea is blue, the sand is fine and where the luxury beach resorts nestle in the leafy palm forests.... Mui Ne is a popular among the beach travellers recently, still the town maintains the quietness of a fishing community as it once had been. Concluding my beach expedition at Mui Ne, the question kept lingering in my mind: how come such beautiful beaches of Vietnam still remained empty...
Mui Ne Beach at Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam
