I recently visited Nha Trang again, which I suppose should tell you that the city is worth visiting. There are a lot of great reasons to visit Nha Trang, mainly the beautiful beaches and views, plus the abundance of some great cost-to-value hotels located right in front of the beach.
🏨 Adamas Boutique (see on Agoda / Booking): I stayed here on my recent trip to Nha Trang. One of the best cost-to-value hotels I’ve stayed at in Vietnam. Very clean, and in a great location near the beach
🏨 Vinpearl Resort & Spa (see on Agoda / Booking): This is a nice beach resort on Hon Tre Island (where VinWonders is)
🎟️ Tours & Activities: this half-day trip to Ba Ho Waterfall or coral reef snorkeling
On this most recent trip, I spent a lot of time scootering around Nha Trang, visiting different attractions and hotels. This beachside city isn’t as big as, say, Da Nang, but it’s a very convenient and laid-back place to spend a few days. Plus, the cable car ride over the ocean isn’t something offered in many places in Vietnam.
For planning your Nha Trang trip, see what to do and where to stay. If you have any questions about visiting Nha Trang, ask them in my free Vietnam travel planning groups.
Getting to (and around) Nha Trang
Nha Trang’s airport, Cam Ranh International Airport (CXR), is about 45 minutes south of the main area of Nha Trang. There are direct flights to Cam Ranh from main cities in Vietnam, like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang. I recently flew direct from Da Nang to Nha Trang, and the flight was about one hour long.
From the airport, it’s easy to get to Nha Trang’s central area. The easiest way (and what I did) is to use the Grab app to book a taxi after landing. This is a ride-hailing app in Vietnam (and food delivery, too!). It’s very popular and very convenient. My trips both ways were about 420.000 VND each ($16 USD). I cover more apps for Vietnam here.
Once you’re in Nha Trang, you can still use the Grab app to get around. It’s also a very scooterable city. I rented a scooter on my recent trip for 200.000 VND per day. The central area is very walkable. And if you want to visit attractions outside this area, you’ll want to use Grab or have your own scooter rental.
Reasons to Visit or Skip Nha Trang
Below is an overview of what I think are fair reasons to either visit Nha Trang or skip it. Personally, I think Nha Trang is worth visiting. The overall city is smaller, but very convenient for a beachside trip. The cable car ride over the ocean is awesome, too.
Most travelers to Nha Trang pair it with another city, like Ho Chi Minh City, since they’re both in the southern half of Vietnam. Direct flights between Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN) and Cam Ranh Airport (CXR) are about one hour.
| Reasons to Visit Nha Trang | Reasons to Skip Nha Trang |
|---|---|
| Nha Trang’s beaches | If you’re not a beach person |
| Beautiful views, blue oceans | If you’re planning to visit other beach cities, like Da Nang |
| Islands and snorkeling | |
| VinWonders and cable car | |
| Many affordable beachside hotels | |
| Some nice island resorts | |
| Beachside area is very walkable | |
| Some cultural sites/attractions |
You may want to skip visiting Nha Trang if you’re someone who already lives near a beach, or if maybe you aren’t a beach person. The beaches and the views are beautiful, though, which I’ll get into below. If, for you, the beach is more of an afterthought, there are still some nice things to do in Nha Trang.
Another reason to skip Nha Trang is if you’re planning to visit other beach cities in Vietnam, like Da Nang, Mui Ne, Quy Nhon, or others. For example, Nha Trang is a great beach city to visit. But if you’re planning to visit Da Nang, you’ll find plenty of beaches here, too, plus a much larger and more convenient city. Da Nang’s airport is directly inside the city, no more than 15 minutes from most hotels.
Why Nha Trang is Worth Visiting
Nha Trang’s Beaches
The beaches in Nha Trang stretch several kilometers along the coast. Tran Phu Street runs along the southern portion (Nha Trang Beach), while north over Tran Phu Bridge, Pham Van Dong Street takes over. This beach is Hon Chong Beach.
Both beaches are free to visit. Sun loungers can be rented for around 50.000 VND. Some hotels offer them free for guests. But you can show up to any of these beaches to rent a sun lounger or throw down your towels and lie out for free.
I find the southern beach (Nha Trang Beach) to be more crowded daily, unless you head further south toward the cable cars. Hon Chong Beach is busy, too. But the overall area feels less hectic. Remember, Nha Trang is a popular beach destination. Both beaches have beautiful views. Nha Trang Beach is a lot longer, and there are many quieter areas up and down Tran Phu Street. When I visited recently, I found a lot of nearly empty sand further down the coast toward the cable cars.
The Beautiful Views
I spent a lot of time exploring Nha Trang on a scooter, including riding over an hour north along the coast. The ocean views up here are awesome. But don’t worry, as just being in the central area of Nha Trang itself provides awesome views.
I filmed this video at Hon Chong. Not Hon Chong Beach. There’s a collection of rocks extending out into the water (near Hon Chong Beach) that’s been turned into an attraction. Tickets cost 30.000 VND.
There’s also the awesome views from the cable car ride over the ocean to VinWonders and Vinpearl Harbour, which I’ll cover next.
VinWonders & The Cable Car Ride
The cable car ride over the ocean was one of the best things I did on my recent trip to Nha Trang. I suspected that the views would be good, but I wasn’t prepared for how awesome they turned out to be. There are 360 degrees of awesome ocean, beach, mountain, and city views.
The cable cars go from the mainland to Hon Tre Island (where VinWonders and several resorts are). The trip lasts about 10 to 15 minutes. The good news is that the cable car ride can be purchased as a standalone ticket at the departure point. The 2-way cable car ticket currently costs 200.000 VND each.
Visiting the VinWonders theme park on the island is optional. It’s a separate attraction on the island. You could take the cable cars, eat something in Vinpearl Harbour (free to visit), or visit the new Aquafield Korean sauna complex in the harbour (not free to visit), then take the cable car back. Lots of options for how you want to visit the island.
Nha Trang’s Beachside Hotels
There is no shortage of places to stay near the beach in Nha Trang. I toured many hotels on my recent visit to the city. In the picture above, that’s the Novotel Nha Trang (see on Agoda / Booking). It’s directly across the street from Nha Trang Beach, on Tran Phu Street.
The other beach I mentioned above, Hon Chong Beach to the north, has a few hotels in the area. The Navada Beach Hotel (see on Agoda / Booking) is directly across the street from Hon Chon Beach, on Pham Van Dong Street.
I personally use Agoda to book all of my hotels in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. Rooms at the Novotel can go for as low as 1.400.000 VND per night. And rooms at the Navada Beach Hotel can go for 1.000.000 VND per night. These are awesome values for 4-star hotels directly across from the beach.
Walkable Beachside Areas
There’s a small beachside path, similar to the path along My Khe Beach in Da Nang, that extends several kilometers along Nha Trang’s beaches. This is a nice spot to exercise in the mornings or evenings. When you head south on the path towards the cable cars, it gets much quieter and less touristy.
I filmed this video while walking north along the beachside path in Nha Trang.
Further inland (west) from Tran Phu Street, I find Nha Trang to be very walkable. As with anywhere in Vietnam, you’ll need to pay attention when crossing the street in Nha Trang. But other than this, there are sidewalks everywhere, and tons of local conveniences: coffee shops, restaurants, bars, convenience stores, laundromats, and scooter rental places. I rented from Easy Rider here. It’s very much like a small walkable town in this area.
Cultural Sites and Attractions
I visited a few different cultural sites in Nha Trang. One of them, the Truong Son Craft Village, I luckily stumbled upon while riding my scooter. What a treat that was. Tickets are 80.000 VND to visit. It’s located here.
The craft village isn’t a “cultural site” per se. It’s owned by a local who wants to preserve and display Vietnamese culture to visitors. There are many locals inside making all sorts of things by hand: guitars, chairs, paintings, sculptures, embroidery, and so on. My favorite part was the sand art.
The primary focus of this place is not on selling the items. I was given a free tour (like all visitors) of the property. Tours come with the ticket price. I wasn’t even aware anything was for sale until I asked. It’s a very calming place, and everyone I interacted with was very friendly. Highly recommend.
The Po Nagar Temple, pictured above, is another cultural site in Nha Trang. It’s located here. Tickets are 30.000 VND each. You’ll need to wear non-revealing clothes (no short shorts, no sleeveless shirts, etc.) to enter. The temple was built between the 7th and 13th centuries.
Next is the Long Son Pagoda (here). This is free to visit, but you’ll also need to be dressed conservatively to enter certain areas.
Both the Po Nagar Temple and Long Son Pagoda have stone stairs to climb. Po Nagar is a much shorter and easier climb. The Long Son Pagoda has a longer stone staircase to reach the top, where the Buddha statue is.
Where to Stay in Nha Trang & How Many Days
The main area of Nha Trang is a road called Tran Phu, which runs along the beach. In the center is an iconic Nha Trang symbol, the Tram Huong Tower here. Anywhere north or south along Tran Phu Street or further west inland is a great area to stay in Nha Trang. It’s very convenient and walkable.
I recently stayed at the Adamas Boutique (see on Agoda / Booking). This is a new-ish hotel, very clean, and it’s in a great location near the beach. If you want something more luxurious, I’d look at the 5-star Sheraton Nha Trang (see on Agoda / Booking). This is directly across the street from the beach.
For a full overview of where to stay in Nha Trang, see this article here. This one covers more hotels in Nha Trang.
If you’re planning a purely beach vacation, it’s up to you how long you want to spend in Nha Trang. But if you plan to see some attractions, I’d allocate at least three full days in Nha Trang. If one or two days will be purely spent on the beach, then maybe you want five-plus days in Nha Trang to have time for activities. Most of Nha Trang’s attractions are outside town. This article covers things to do in Nha Trang.
Some thoughts: visiting the islands can take a half-day or a full day. If you plan to take the cable cars to VinWonders, that’s easily at least a half day, leaning toward being a full day, depending on what you do there.
