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About Nha Trang
About Nha Trang
Nha Trang is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hoà district, on the south by Cam Ranh town and on the west by Diên Khánh District. The city has about 550,000 inhabitants.
Nha Trang is well known for its beaches and scuba diving and has developed into a popular destination for international tourists, attracting large numbers of backpackers, as well as more affluent travelers on the south-east Asia circuit; it is already very popular with Vietnamese tourists, Nha Trang Bay widely considered as among the world's most beautiful bays.
Historically, the city was known as Kauthara under rule of the Kingdom of Champa. The city is still home to the famous Po Nagar Tower built by the Champa. Being a coastal city, Nha Trang is a centre for marine science based at the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute. The Hon Mun marine protected area is one of four first marine protected areas in the world admitted by the IUCN.
Getting there
Getting there
The airport is at Cam Ranh which is about 45mins south of Nha Trang. The airport code is CXR. Unless you especially want to see Saigon (and spend a couple of days there) avoid a stopover in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) as planes from Australia do not get in until late and the experience of finding hotels and getting food is not fun - Saigon airport is definitely an experience though.
I always do a stopover in Bangkok and then fly direct from Bangkok to Nha Trang (BKK to CXR). Other cities with direct flights to Nha Trang include Kuala Lumpur (KUL) and Hong Kong (HKG) (Flights from HKG are expensive). If flying via Bangkok, I highly recommend Bangkok Airways for Bangkok to Nha Trang (BKK-CXR). I use http://skyscanner.com.au to find the best rates. The cheapest route I have found is on Air Asia via KUL - this is currently at $876 return from Sydney. Do be aware that the weekend of 1& 2 February coincides with the end of Australian school holidays, so flights returning to Australia on that weekend are very heavily booked and expensive.
A taxi from the Cam Ranh Airport to Nha Trang at the metered rate will be around VDN700K (almost $50) . When you approach the taxi rank a man will ask if you want a taxi to Nha Trang. If you say yes, he will lead you to a taxi and you will pay the metered rate. If you confidently say ‘how much?’ the man will say 500k.. You should then you should shake your head, hold up four fingers and say 400… definitely worth a try, usually works. Alternatively I can arrange for a taxi driver to pick you up, he will charge VND350K.
Accomodation
Accomodation
The wedding is on 30 January 2020, which coincides with the Tet holiday (Lunar New Year) so it is recommended that you book accommodation well in advance. We are having the reception at the 4 Star Champa Island Resort. They have apartment and hotel room accommodations. Hotel rooms cost about $90 per night. There are definitely cheaper options - let me know how much your budget is and I will look for something suitable: Nha Trang is a resort town, and there is everything from 5 star resorts to budget hostels. Accommodation can be easily booked online.
CURRENCY
CURRENCY
AUD$1 buys approximately VND16,000. The largest currency note is VND500,000 which is roughly AUD$30. Bring as much Australian currency cash as you are comfortable carrying. There are no cheap ATM options, and the exchange rates you get from Australian banks will always be bad. The ATM’s will charge a fee of around $8 for each withdrawal and most have a limit of more VND3,000,000 (AUD$200).
If you need to change money, avoid doing so at airports, as the exchange rate is barely better than Australian banks. Vietnamese banks all offer currency services at reasonable prices. I use gold dealers as they have exceptionally good rates.
VISAS
VISAS
Australians require a visa to visit Vietnam.
If you are intending to stay in Vietnam for less than 30 days you can apply for an e-Visa at https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/trang-chu-ttdt. It costs USD$25 and takes 3 days.
Alternatively you can apply through the Vietnam Embassy https://vietnamembassyvisa.org.au/ cost is AUD$99 for 30 days, it will take about 1 week to get the loose leaf visa (which you leave loose - do not stick it to your passport).
WEATHER
WEATHER
January/February are the nicest time to visit Nha Trang. High temperatures are 28C lows 22C. It doesn’t usually rain in January/February. The water temperature is 23-24C.
FOOD
FOOD
You can get virtually anything food-wise. Western food: you pay western prices. The street food is fresh and safe to eat, and there is plentiful fresh seafood. Don’t buy crustaceans unless they are alive.
PHONES
PHONES
Prepaid tourist sims in Vietnam are very cheap, and VND200k should get you a sim with unlimited local calls and 2Gb a day data. It is easiest if you buy this at the Airport. Viettel is a good network - but the others seem fine too.
GETTING AROUND
GETTING AROUND
Traffic in Vietnam is exciting. As a tourist you cannot legally drive a car or ride a motorbike in Vietnam, so you would not be covered by insurance if you did. Either catch taxis, or the SE Asian version of Uber: Grab. Everything is reasonably priced. Walking is an option, though be very careful of traffic.
MEDICINE
MEDICINE
Best bet is to bring anything you might need with you. Pharmacies in Vietnam have very limited range of products and seemingly to work at a pharmacy you must not speak any English whatsoever. Bring some Imodium just in case. The general recommendation for vaccines is tetanus, typhoid and Hep A. https://www.tmb.ie/destinations/vaccinations-for-viet-nam
FUN THINGS TO DO IN NHA TRANG
FUN THINGS TO DO IN NHA TRANG
- Visit Tháp Bà PoNagar
- Eat fresh seafood and drink beer with ice in it
- Spend the day at Vinpearl Resort amusement and water park
- Walk to the top of Long Son Pagoda
- Visit the National Oceanographic Museum
- Make an excursion to Ba Ho Waterfall
- Spend a day at Bai Dai Beach
- Buy some fruit at Chợ Xóm Mới local market
- Go on snorkelling excursion to one of the islands
- Get a massage and Spa treatment at TyMy Spa
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