Viewed Destination

Nha Trang Brief Introduction

Nha Trang is party central. Once Vietnam's peaceful emerald oasis, the city has recently exploded into a full-fledged resort spot, feeding rapaciously on tourist dollars. Unchecked growth threatens to chock the city with over- development - on bad days, smog completely blocks the nearby islands from view - but good times still abound. Budget hotel and luxury resorts are pecks with visitors enjoying cheap, high-quality snorkeling and scuba diving, daily jaunts to offshore islands, and nightly parties care of the city's lively club scene. Fresh, home-caught seafood dominates the menus and makes Nha Trang an epicurean adventure as well. Vietnam's best municipal beach and a laid-back, tourist-friendly population round out the closet thing the country has to a Pacific-flavored island resort atmosphere; the sparkling turquoise water is the stuff of dreams. The best time to enjoy the "City of the Blue Sea" is from March to September - rain and high winds prevail the rest of the year.

Po Nagar Cham Towers     Some of the finest Cham towers on the country's coast. This site is wonderfully preserved and still serves as a place of worship; Buddhists place offerings at altars in each tower. It's a fascinating example of the appropriation of one faith's deity (the Hindu goddess Po Nagar) by another faith's followers (Mahayana Buddhists). From the entrance, a brief ascent leads from the former mandapa (meditation hall; now a series of sturdy pillars) to the hilltop towers, where there's great view of the Cai River. The most impressive tower out of the five is the northernmost one; over its entrance is a sculpture of Shiva, and the doorposts are covered with wondrous inscriptions. (At the north end of 2 Thang 4, just over Xom Bom Bridge. Open daily 6am-6pm.)

Nha Trang Beach
The city's splendid beach is Nha Trang's raison d'etre. Its soft sands and turquoise water are open to anyone; a few private restaurants and resorts rent out beach chairs and umbrellas along the length if the beach. Parts are deserted and parts are mobbed, but one constant is the roving vendor traffic, offering everything from fresh mangoes to English-language books to drugs to oil massages. The beach becomes less crowded the farther north you go, culminating in an empty patch north of the Hon Chong Promontory. Hotel managers warn their guests against walking along until parts of the beach late at night; there have been rumors of muggings, though none have been officially reported.