Nha Trang - Why Go, How to Get There, What to See, Where to Stay

General Information About Nha Trang, What's the Vibe and Why Go

Nha Trang – a resort city and capital of Khanh Hoa province in central Vietnam (Nha Trang on the interactive map of Vietnam). The beaches of Nha Trang are washed by the South China Sea. It's a fairly large city by Vietnamese standards, the seventh most populous in the country (about 400,000 people), and one of the most popular and accessible beach resorts in Vietnam.

So, Nha Trang is the most popular beach resort in Vietnam, at least among Russians. It's known among tourists worldwide but is also popular with Vietnamese people who often spend their holidays and weekends here. It's one of the oldest resorts in the country, gaining popularity even during the times of the emperors and when Vietnam was a French colony.

People come here to combine decent beach relaxation with visiting a large number of restaurants, bars, cafes, nightclubs, discos, massage parlors, and beauty salons. There are several dive centers, healing springs, and mud baths. On the nearby small islands, you can go snorkeling, surfing, diving, and other water sports. The nearby Hon Tre island is connected to the resort by the world's longest cable car, and on the island itself, besides hotels and beaches, you can have great fun at the legendary VinWonders amusement park for kids and adults (formerly Vinpearl), and at the nightclub inside an artificial mountain.

The city is not deprived of cultural and historical sights either. Although there aren't that many, among the main attractions of Nha Trang are the ancient Po Nagar Cham Towers, Long Son Pagoda, Monkey Island, many temples, and more. But we'll tell you a bit more about the sights below, or read our full guide to Nha Trang's sights here.

Today the resort has gained immense popularity among Russian tourists, who have flooded here in a wide stream. The city has a huge number of Russian-speaking travel agencies, cafes, shops, and hotels. Nha Trang has started speaking Russian, and even street signs are now duplicated in Russian. Almost every second tourist here is Russian-speaking.

Nightlife in Nha Trang is not very developed. Although there are a sufficient number of cafes and restaurants open late, the city falls asleep by 11 pm. You won't find an abundance of modern discos or a large number of adult entertainment here. But where there is demand, there is supply. And now in Nha Trang, finding a companion for the night or even for the whole vacation is not difficult. Priestesses of love can be easily found in the tourist area right on the street, and you won't even have to look for them; they will find a man or a group of men walking alone. But you should be especially careful here: deception and fraud in this sphere are almost guaranteed, so always keep your wallets and belongings under close supervision.

Nha Trang also gains many advantages from its compact tourist district, where hotels and all tourist entertainment are mainly concentrated, while the homes of local residents are in another part of the city. Staying for a vacation in this area, tourists feel comfortable and self-sufficient. Everything needed for relaxation is within walking distance here, evening walks around the district are quite interesting and safe. The only downside in the tourist district is the not-very-good beach. But in any case, for a truly good beach, you need to go far out of town. The range of hotels in this district of Nha Trang covers the full spectrum of prices and comfort levels, and prices for the cheapest hotels start from $10 for a room with air conditioning!!! Everything here is made and works to please tourists of any income level. Undoubtedly, Nha Trang is one of the most popular resorts in Vietnam, and local businessmen dream and work to turn Nha Trang into the "Vietnamese Pattaya" in the future.

Since Nha Trang and Phan Thiet (Mui Ne) are the most popular resorts among Russians, choosing one of them is often what Russian tourists have to decide. To help choose one of the resorts, you can read the article «Where to Go: Nha Trang or Phan Thiet».

Our Videos About Nha Trang

If you prefer watching videos instead of reading or want to get a visual sense of the resort's atmosphere, we've made many thematic videos about Nha Trang for you:

• Motorbike Rental in Nha Trang - Real Price and Everything You Need to Know
• Tides in Nha Trang – This Is Important to Know
• Try to Guess How Much This Hotel in Nha Trang Costs (price at the end of the video)
• Beaches in Nha Trang – Central or City Beach
• Beaches and Districts in Nha Trang – New Lễ Lợi District
• Hon Chong Beach and Northern District in Nha Trang – Why You Shouldn't Come Here
• What to See in Nha Trang – The Promenade and the "Lotus Tower"
• What to See in Nha Trang – Nghĩa Sơn Temple or Japanese Pagoda
• What to See in Nha Trang – Statue of Amitabha Buddha and Thong Lam Lo Son Pagoda
• What to See in Nha Trang – Ba Ho Waterfalls
• What to See in Nha Trang – Alexandre Yersin's Tomb
• What to See in Nha Trang – Long Son Pagoda
• What to See in Nha Trang – Po Nagar Cham Towers
• What to See in Nha Trang – Cho Dam Market

What Are the Beaches Like in Nha Trang

What attracts tourists to Nha Trang? Of course – beach relaxation. Besides the main city beach, which stretches for 5 kilometers along the city promenade, near the city there are amazing picturesque spots on the shore where everyone can find relaxation to their liking. These are beaches that combine romance, comfort, tranquility, and unity with nature. Most of these beaches can not only be visited on a day trip but you can also stay for several days at one of the hotels.

Almost all beaches in Nha Trang are publicly accessible and free. There are only a few secluded beaches where access is blocked by hotel territory or a fee is charged for entry, but they are all located far from the center.

Although Nha Trang can safely be called one of the most developed resort areas in Vietnam, you can't say the same about beach infrastructure and entertainment. In Vietnam in general, it is not customary to set up changing cabins, showers, cafes, stalls, or toilets on the shore. So don't be surprised if you don't find all the usual amenities you have, for example, on Black Sea resorts. Nevertheless, the bare minimum is here: sunbed and umbrella rental for 50,000 dong, paid toilet for 10,000 dong, fast food and drink vendors walk around.

In rare spots on the shore, water activities and SUP board rentals are organized. But again, you have to look for this along the entire length of the beach. We saw beach entertainment only in the southern part of the city beach opposite the tourist district, this is the right part of the city beach when looking at the sea.

More about all the beaches in Nha Trang.

Infrastructure in Nha Trang

Infrastructure in Nha Trang is developed, you could say, "to the max." In the tourist district here, you can find everything you need for active recreation and travel at every step: selling tours and tickets, currency exchange, transport rental, SIM card sales, and basically anything you want. Perhaps such a concentration of everything in one place doesn't exist anywhere else among beach resorts in Vietnam. And what's especially convenient for inexperienced tourists is that there are no problems with communication in Russian. Signs here are duplicated in Russian, travel agencies have Russian-speaking salespeople, tours are conducted by Russian-speaking guides, and even sellers at markets and shops speak decent Russian, or at least understand it.

City infrastructure is also excellently developed. There are many large shopping malls, supermarkets, a railway station, two bus stations, and an airport. Of course, there are hospitals, clinics for cosmetic procedures, spa salons, dental clinics. Basically, there's everything you might need during a vacation or a long stay, for example, during a winter getaway. We'll tell you more about everything further:

• Shopping in Nha Trang

  It's safe to say that among all the resorts in Vietnam, Nha Trang is one of the best places for shopping, perhaps only Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi are better. Here you'll find local markets, tourist markets, large shopping malls, and huge supermarkets. Here are the main shopping spots:

  

  • Nhatrang Center Mall and Lotte Mart supermarket (Mall on the map) – a great modern shopping mall with a huge supermarket where you can buy anything you want, including souvenirs, goods for relaxation, gifts to take home, Vietnamese coffee. This is our favorite place for shopping, and it's located right in the center by the promenade, very convenient to get to on foot.
  • Vincom Plaza Mall in the tourist district (Mall on the map) – another large modern mall with a big supermarket, located right next to the promenade almost in the very center of the tourist district.
  • Vincom Plaza Mall opposite the railway station (Mall on the map) – the same mall as in the tourist district, but located a bit further away. Prices are the same as in the previous one, so there's not much point in going or driving to it.
  • Metro Hypermarket (Hypermarket on the map) – a huge Metro hypermarket, exactly the same as the ones we have. Located very far from the center, worth going here only for large batches of products and goods.
  • GO! Hypermarket (hypermarket on the map) – a huge hypermarket, previously operated under the sign of the famous Big C. Like Metro, it's worth going here for large batches of products, but it's located a bit closer to the center.
  • Night Tourist Market (night market on the map) - a typical Asian night market for tourists. Prices for everything are inflated, you need to bargain hard. More as a place for an evening stroll and a landmark than a place for shopping.
  • Central Cho Dam Market (Cho Dam on the map) – this is a super cool place for tourist shopping, you just need to know how to buy here correctly. There's everything for tourists from fruits to souvenirs, Chinese mass-market goods, lots of Vietnamese coffee and tea. But you need to bargain; prices quoted for tourists are inflated. On the trading rows around the street market and in the alleys, prices are much lower and bargaining is easier, sometimes you don't even need to bargain if the price is marked. Near the market there are jewelry stores with the best exchange rate in Nha Trang, and several shops with alcohol and coffee at prices lower than in supermarkets. More about the central Cho Dam market.
  • Local Cho Xom Moi Market (Cho Xom Moi market on the map) – another market, in our opinion more "local." They mainly sell food and some household goods, mostly locals shop here. It's very noisy and dirty, lots of rats running around, but you can buy very cheap fruit without bargaining. And what's good, unlike Cho Dam, it's located very close to the tourist district, you can walk.

  

  Besides the listed places, there are small chain stores, family shops, street stalls, or shops specializing in tourists almost everywhere, selling alcohol, souvenirs, goods for recreation, and anything else:

  • Winmart chain supermarkets. There are many of them; you can buy drinks, beer, snacks, etc., but prices are a bit higher than in the large ones.
  • Green chain supermarkets Bach hoa XANH. Cool analogs of our neighborhood stores like "Pyaterochka" and "Magnit," and often product prices in them are lower than in other stores, which is why locals like to shop there. But they are mainly located in residential areas.
  • Coopmart. Large chain supermarket with low prices, but located rather far from the tourist district.

  

  Fruits and vegetables can be bought from street stalls or at markets, and even in the very center of the tourist district, prices aren't terribly inflated, and they even enjoy bargaining.

  

  If you urgently need to buy something electronic, for example, replace a broken smartphone or buy an extra memory card, you can head straight to the Dien may XANH (Green Machine) chain electronics supermarket. There are several such stores in Nha Trang, but they are not in the tourist district, but further in the center. You can find these stores on Google Maps. Besides this, the streets are full of all kinds of small family stores and shops selling any electronics, from SIM cards to expensive DSLR cameras and lenses. However, we don't recommend getting carried away with buying here: we compared prices, and they are the same, and often even higher than in Russia for the same models, plus you'll be without a warranty.

  

• Where and What to Eat in Nha Trang (with Prices)

  Cuisine and options for tourists to eat in Nha Trang are very developed. Besides typical Vietnamese dishes based on rice and seafood, there is a huge number of restaurants serving cuisines from all over the world. You can easily find Thai, Russian, Armenian, or Italian cuisines.

  Of course, first and foremost, vacationers are attracted by fresh seafood, which any Vietnamese coastal city is famous for. However, honestly, prices aren't exactly "pocket change," after all, seafood has become expensive all over the world now. The price on the menu or directly on the aquariums is usually indicated per 100 grams or kilogram, and the dish additionally includes a side dish, usually rice and vegetables. For reference, here are the minimum prices in an average tourist cafe:

  • Fish – from 390,000 dong/kilogram (from 14.83 USD)
  • Shrimp – from 450,000 dong/kilogram (from 17.11 USD)
  • Tiger prawns – from 1,450,000 dong/kilogram (from 55.13 USD)
  • Lobster – from 850,000 dong/kilogram (from 32.32 USD)
  • Oysters – from 49,000/each (from 1.86 USD)

  These are the prices specifically in tourist cafes; in cafes for locals somewhere in a village near Nha Trang they can be lower, and in a restaurant with a fancy setting they are even higher. But, at least, everything here is very fresh, and you can try all sorts of different "sea creatures" that you can't find at home at all. Usually, everything served here was caught in the morning, and by evening it's still alive swimming in restaurant aquariums.

  

  Of course, eating at seafood restaurants or exotic cuisine every time will be very expensive, not every budget can handle that. So for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you can eat much more budget-friendly. Here are some price references:

  • Simple breakfast at the hotel (scrambled eggs, toast, fruit + drink of choice) – from 100,000 dong (from 3.8 USD)
  • Simple breakfast at a guesthouse or cafe outside the hotel – from 60,000 dong (from 2.28 USD)
  • Rice dish with chicken in a tourist cafe – from 80,000 dong (from 3.04 USD)
  • Rice dish with chicken in a non-tourist cafe in the area near the beach – from 50,000 dong (from 1.9 USD)
  • Rice dish with chicken in a non-tourist cafe in the city center – from 30,000 dong (from 1.14 USD)
  • Drinks (cola, sprite, etc.) – from 15,000 dong per/0.33L (from 0.57 USD)
  • Local beer – from 20,000 dong per/0.33L (from 0.76 USD)

  Thus, having a simple lunch or dinner at an inexpensive tourist cafe with drinks will cost from 130,000 dong (from 4.94 USD), and at a non-tourist cafe you can get the same for 50,000 (from 1.9 USD).

  

  We won't recommend specific places to eat deliciously in Nha Trang, since everyone's taste and wallet are different. And it's unlikely you'll travel to the other end of the city from your hotel to eat deliciously at an unknown cafe. Instead, we recommend using reviews and ratings on Google Maps. There are many reviews there, so ratings can be considered more or less objective, and this will allow you to find a suitable restaurant or cafe nearby. So simply follow this link to restaurants with high ratings on the map, and choose what suits you best and is nearby.

  If you need to save money, you can choose cafes not for tourists, but places where local residents eat. In them, the same dishes as in tourist cafes cost half as much. Of course, in presentation and cleanliness they are much inferior to tourist ones, they even have menus in Vietnamese, and sometimes there's no menu at all, since they only cook one or two dishes. Sitting in them can also be very uncomfortable, because the plastic tables are very low. And we perfectly understand that not every vacationer will agree to sit in them due to sanitary concerns and inability to communicate. But during our trips, most often we eat inexpensively precisely in such establishments for locals, and we don't experience any particular difficulties.

  

  You need to look for inexpensive local cafes not on main streets or along the promenade, but in small alleys and further away from the promenade and beach. For example, we ate daily at one local cafe on Durong Luong Dinch Cua street excellent rice with chicken for 30,000 dong, but this place is almost four kilometers from the promenade, it only made sense to go there to eat on a rented motorbike. If you don't want to go that far, you can find many inexpensive establishments not far from the tourist district on the streets in the area of the Xom Moi market (Cho Xom Moi market on the map).

  Finally, for ultra-budget eating, you can buy products, semi-finished products, or ready-made dishes in large supermarkets and convenience stores like WinMart. You can cook a lot even with a simple kettle, and you can also watch 📹 our video on how we save money while traveling here.

  Actually, all you need to know about Vietnamese cuisine, what dishes to try here and how much they cost, read here.

• Internet and Mobile in Nha Trang, Where to Buy a SIM Card

  Russian mobile operators work in Vietnam and Nha Trang, but it will be very expensive international roaming, so be careful with that. It's better to first study your operator's tariffs and connect special options to save money. Keep in mind that for most Russian operators, by default, even for receiving a call or receiving/transmitting the first byte of data on the network, a substantial daily subscription fee will be automatically charged, and this cannot be canceled. So if you don't intend to use your home operator's roaming, it's better to immediately turn off data transmission while still at the departure airport, or even better, remove the SIM card so you don't accidentally use it.

  In principle, on a short vacation in Nha Trang, you can even get by without cellular service altogether if it's not critical for you. WiFi internet is available in almost all hotels and almost all guesthouses, at Nha Trang airport, and in cafes.

  If you absolutely cannot do without communication on vacation, then you can buy a local SIM card, here's how to do it:

  Regarding buying a SIM card, it's worth noting right away an important point: you can buy a "tourist" SIM card, already set up and registered to another individual (this is more expensive), or buy a prepaid SIM card with registration under your own name using your passport at local rates.

  Tourist SIM cards are a convenient way for those who come to Nha Trang for a short vacation. The simplicity and convenience with them is that you don't need to study tariffs and figure everything out, or spend time on registration. However, you will have to pay twice as much as for a prepaid card registered to you. You simply buy it, insert it into your smartphone, and it starts working, and at the end of the vacation you just throw it away. You can buy such cards at travel agencies on the streets of Nha Trang and even in some trading stalls, just look for signs and advertisements. You can also buy a SIM card at Nha Trang airport immediately upon arrival. You'll be offered several options with different validity periods, usually 7, 10, or 14 days, and with different amounts of data, you just need to choose. We saw such cards at a minimum price of 150,000 dong with a 7-day plan, but it's not a given that you'll find such a price at the first place you come across; you'll likely have to pay 200,000 dong.

  

  Prepaid SIM cards, unlike "tourist" ones, are registered to you using your passport. They are at least twice as cheap, but the savings are especially noticeable with long-term use for a month or more. You can buy such a SIM card at official cellular operator offices under the signs Viettel, Vinaphone, or Mobifone. Such offices exist in Nha Trang; look for the nearest one on the map or simply while walking around. Just keep in mind that not all establishments under operator signs are official offices and actually register SIM cards to individuals. Some of them are simply engaged in selling or repairing phones and sell tourist SIMs. We didn't find such offices directly in the tourist district; you'll have to walk or ride to the center on Le Thanh Ton street; there are offices there.

  

  You don't need to take a huge amount of internet. Based on our experience of active travels, we know that together with hotel WiFi (and it's available almost everywhere), during 30-day trips we rarely exceeded 30GB. Currently in Vietnam, tariffs with daily limits are popular, i.e., when the tariff is valid for 30 days, for example, and several gigabytes are given each day, which do not carry over to the next day. For example, last time we took 6GB/day, and that's a lot; we almost never went beyond 2GB/day on two devices, so you can safely take such a tariff.

  More details about cellular and internet in Vietnam, which tariff to choose, where to buy a SIM card, everything is explained here... We advise you to definitely read it before deciding what to buy.

Currency Exchange in Nha Trang, ATMs and Bank Cards

In Nha Trang, you can exchange dollars, euros, yuan, and even rubles without any problems. But a truly acceptable rate is only for cash dollars and euros; yuan and rubles are accepted at a very poor rate. Read all about it carefully:

• Cashless Ruble Exchange. Be Careful!

  As for rubles, cashless ruble exchange via Telegram chats is very popular now. Under this scheme, you transfer rubles to someone's Russian card, and receive cash dong. And although this type of exchange is very actively promoted by "money changers" on Telegram, sometimes they even write in private messages to participants of thematic chats and offer supposedly incredibly favorable conditions, we advise you to be more careful about this.

  In fact, no matter how many times we tried and calculated such exchange options, it always turned out that exchanging through dollars or euros was more profitable at the moment. Even exchanging cash dollars, these "money changers" offer at a noticeably less favorable rate than at street exchange points and banks. And finally, let's not forget that there are cases of fraud, including using the "triangle" scheme. We advise you to read more on this topic in our updated article about money in Vietnam with calculations, and only after that decide whether it's worth getting involved.

• Where to Exchange Cash

  There are many exchange points in the tourist district of Nha Trang. Dollars and euros are offered for exchange at hotels, travel agencies, trading stalls, and even at street stalls selling tours. It's easy to find exchange places: just pay attention to signs; many of them are just pieces of cardboard with handwritten "Money Exchange" or "Меняю деньги". Rates vary everywhere, and can differ significantly. In our experience, the rate is especially low among Russian-speaking guys. So if you really need the most favorable rate, it's better to check several places and compare. And we advise you to definitely check jewelry stores and gold shops; they traditionally always have the highest rate. Jewelry shops don't always have signs about exchange; you just need to go in and ask.

  

  But there is a place in Nha Trang where the rate is higher than in the tourist district. These are jewelry stores near the new market and the main Cho Dam market. We've been exchanging money at the same exchanger, Kim Vinh, near the main Cho Dam market for many years now, here is its location on the map.

  For example, on one day the official rate for the dollar was 25,390, exchangers in the tourist district offered rates of 24,500-25,200, here we exchanged at 25,600, i.e., higher than the official market rate. But you can check other jewelry shops near the market; maybe somewhere else will offer a better rate.

  If you don't want to go to the market, then you can find a very decent rate in the tourist district as well. A recommended and verified place is the jewelry store at 49A Nguyen Thien Thuat under the sign "Trang Suc Viet", located here on the map here is its location on the map.

  

• Do They Accept Old US Dollars in Nha Trang?

  Contrary to what is written in the media and told by consultants in travel agencies, old-style dollars without the blue security strip are accepted. There are, of course, exchange points that accept old-style dollars at a reduced rate by 300-500 dong, some may refuse to accept them at all, but this is not a problem at all: just go to several exchangers and jewelry stores, and you'll exchange everything.

  But it's important! The bills must be in perfect condition, and this also applies to bills of new years of issue. If there are creases, folds, tears, wear, or marks, then such bills may not be accepted at all or will be taken at a big discount.

• ATMs and Cards

  You can bring UnionPay cards and Mir cards to Nha Trang; they work here for payments and for cash withdrawals. But don't get too excited; there are some specifics here.

  UnionPay cards in Vietnam now only work from one major bank – Rosselkhozbank. All other UnionPay cards issued earlier, including Gazprombank, Russian Standard, and Tinkoff, no longer work. RSHB issues free cards in rubles and yuan, service is also free under certain conditions. But using a ruble card is not very profitable. We made many test purchases and calculations, and in the end the loss from rubles to dong through the card came out to 4-6% compared to exchange through cash. And if you withdraw cash from it, then on top of these losses, substantial commissions for cash withdrawal at third-party ATMs and the commission of the Vietnamese ATM will be added.

  A card in Chinese yuan currency is much more profitable for payments. If you top it up in the bank's app or from a brokerage account within the bank just before the purchase, then the losses compared to cash are only 2-4%. However, the yuan card has higher commissions for cash withdrawals, and here it loses to the ruble one.

  

  As for Mir cards, everything is even more complicated and sad here. "Mir" only works in ATMs and payment terminals of the VRB bank (Vietnam-Russian Bank); all other banks in Vietnam do not accept them due to sanctions. There is a list with addresses of retail outlets on the VRB bank website where they work, it's posted here as a PDF file. This list has store names and addresses, but there is no geographical map with the locations of these stores. So the efficiency of using "Mir" for purchases tends to zero.

  You can withdraw cash from "Mir" again only at VRB ATMs, and there aren't very many of them. Luckily, there are exactly two such ATMs in Nha Trang. Their addresses are again in the list via the link above (on the last page List of MIR card accepting ATM nationwide), but it's much easier to find them on Google Maps by searching for VRB ATM VIETNAM, just look carefully, because the map mistakenly "highlights" some other ATMs as well. The conditions are as follows*:

  • You can withdraw up to 2,000,000 or 5,000,000 dong per transaction at VRB (approx. 76.04-190 USD), no commission is charged by the VRB bank for two transactions per day.
  • Your Russian bank that issued the card will also charge a commission for cash withdrawal at a third-party bank and abroad; its amounts need to be clarified in the card's tariff. The commission may not be charged if you have a subscription, premium options or tariffs in the bank are enabled, or simply as part of a bank promotion. Again, we repeat, all this needs to be clarified with the Russian bank that issued the card.
  • Debit occurs at the official exchange rate of the Bank of Russia + commission up to 4.9%.

  

  We tested cash withdrawals at the VRB bank ATM in Nha Trang several times and calculated everything. The result was so-so: losses of about 6% compared to cash. On one hand, 6% seems like very little, and that's true for small amounts, which would suit a short vacation with small cash expenses. But on the other hand, if you have a long trip and need a lot of cash, then it turns out that on 10,000 rubles you lose 600 rubles in commissions via the ATM, on 50,000 rubles the loss is already 3000 rubles. But of course, it's up to you to decide.

  And perhaps the most important point regarding bank cards is their unreliability! Given the current situation, cards can stop working at any moment, and forever. Therefore, we do not recommend relying on them as the primary means of payment in Vietnam.

  More details about ATMs and plastic cards in Vietnam in our updated article here.

  We use T-Bank's (former Tinkoff) "Mir" cards. This is the only bank that does not charge a commission for cash withdrawals at ATMs in Vietnam. At least, we haven't found other such banks, but if you know, share in the comments. From a T-Bank card in Vietnam, you can withdraw up to 100,000 rubles per month with no commission at all, then there will be a commission of only 90 rubles per withdrawal. Of course, this applies only to debit cards; credit cards are not very suitable for cash withdrawal. You can apply for a T-Bank card on promotion via these links, and get additional bonuses:

Hotels and Accommodation in Nha Trang, Where to Stay

You can't say that Nha Trang is an elite resort with only expensive five-star hotels, or conversely, that it's exclusively a backpacker place full of cheap hotels. The beauty and convenience of Nha Trang is precisely that it's a very democratic resort where you can find accommodation for any wallet and any needs.

Nha Trang has several five-star hotels (or rather, equivalent to them, since Vietnam lacks an official hotel classification by stars), ready to meet the highest demands of vacationers. Some of the expensive hotels have their own (private) beach, where outsiders are not allowed, a territory with pools and relaxation areas. But such hotels are located many kilometers from the city center and outside the tourist district, i.e., they only formally belong to Nha Trang.

For budget travelers and even "backpackers," there are also plenty of hotels here where you can stay for up to $10 for a room for two. Moreover, even for such a price, in most cases in these hotels you will get all the necessary amenities: air conditioning, TV, refrigerator, shower. And for $2! you can find a bunk in a decent hostel.

Watch our review of a hotel in Nha Trang, and see for yourself how things really are:

Despite the departure from Russia of popular global hotel aggregators Booking and Agoda, there are no difficulties with searching and booking hotels with payment by Russian card. We use these reliable and verified websites; all of them accept Russian "Mir" cards and previously issued Visa and Mastercard from Russia. We especially often use Trip.com from this list, because prices there are often lower than on other sites. But it's still better to compare one hotel on all sites and choose where it's cheaper:

• 🛌 Search for hotels in Nha Trang on Trip.com (👍 Mir cards work)
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Nha Trang on Yandex.Travel
• 🛌 Search for hotels on Ostrovok.ru

Nha Trang Weather, Tourist Seasons

The weather in Nha Trang is excellent almost all year round; the resort season lasts year-round, though it is divided into low and high seasons. It's hot and sunny here all year, and the temperature rarely drops below 22 degrees even at night. The maximum temperature reaches 37 degrees, and the minimum - 10 degrees at night, but this is recorded extremely rarely. The coldest months are January and February, the hottest – from May to August.

• 🌞 The best time to go is the dry season from January to August. This is the ideal time for beach relaxation and the dry season. During this time, there is almost no rain. When planning a trip here during this period, it's best to take care of booking hotels, tickets, or buying a tour in advance. But keep in mind that January and February are the coldest months, and during rainy weather or at night in these months, the temperature can drop below 20 degrees.

  It's worth separately mentioning the so-called "storm season," which usually runs from November to mid-February. It coincides with the rainy season and overlaps part of the high season. During this time, due to constantly blowing winds, big waves form at sea, making the sea less suitable for swimming, diving, and snorkeling. Although for beach relaxation on the shore, this doesn't create big problems.

• ⛅ You can go during the rainy season from mid-October to mid-December. This is the time of the rainy season and monsoons. In November, the rainiest month, up to 380 millimeters of precipitation falls, which is 20 times more than in the least rainy February. But, what's good is that the rains during this period, although heavy, are short-lived. And so often after an intense rain, the sky becomes clear and sunny quite quickly, and you can sunbathe again. But strong winds in the low season create big waves, so sometimes it's difficult and dangerous to enter the sea, but it's a great time for surfers. Very rarely, but during the rainy season, hurricanes and typhoons occur. But every cloud has a silver lining, and prices for all tourist services drop significantly in the low season. The most unfavorable months are usually November and December, so, if you want guaranteed good weather, it's better not to go to Nha Trang at this time.

Tourist Seasons in Nha Trang by Month, When Is Best to Go

Weather in Nha Trang by Month

Current Weather in Nha Trang and Forecast for the Near Future:

Time in Nha Trang

In summer and winter, time in Nha Trang is 4 hours ahead of Moscow time. Current time in Nha Trang:

How and By What to Get to Nha Trang

Nha Trang is located 400 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City and 1300 from Hanoi, and geographically it's hard to definitively attribute it to southern Vietnam or central Vietnam; it's located roughly halfway between these regions (Nha Trang on the interactive map of Vietnam).

There is an international airport near Nha Trang, trains come here, many bus routes operate from all corners of Vietnam and neighboring countries. So there are no difficulties with getting here; it's all simple and easy. We'll tell you in detail about all the methods in our detailed guide below, but first, here are brief instructions by direction:

• From cities in Russia, CIS, and other countries. It's best to fly directly to Nha Trang airport, but if you can't find tickets, you can fly to Ho Chi Minh City and from there take a bus or train.
• From Nha Trang airport. From the airport by taxi about 400,000 dong or bus for 65,000 dong.
• From Ho Chi Minh City airport. It's best to fly. If you didn't manage to buy a cheap ticket in advance, then from Ho Chi Minh City airport directly only by taxi, but that's very expensive. It's much cheaper to get to the city center by taxi or city buses, and there transfer to a bus to Nha Trang; you can take an overnight one. Bus tickets can be bought right on the spot.
• From central Ho Chi Minh City. From several bus stations and from the tourist district of Pham Ngu Lao street in the center, many buses depart. They leave frequently during the day and night; you can buy tickets before departure. We recommend going with Futa Bus Lines; they will take you to your hotel in Nha Trang (upon request).
• From Da Lat. From the bus station in Da Lat, sleeper buses of Futa Bus Lines depart many times a day; they take you to your hotel in Nha Trang (upon request). Also, there are many different private and tourist minivans; tickets for them are sold at hotels and travel agencies.
• From Mui Ne/Phan Thiet. From the resort area of Mui Ne to Nha Trang, only sleeper buses of Hanh Cafe and Techbus operate; travel time 5-6 hours. More buses go to Nha Trang from the main bus station in Phan Thiet, including from there FUTA Bus Lines operates.
• From Hanoi. Best by plane, but you can also take a train or buses, but that's very long.
• From Phu Quoc. By plane with a transfer via Ho Chi Minh City airport.
• From Vung Tau. We didn't find direct routes; you'll have to go with a transfer in Phan Thiet (that's shorter) or Ho Chi Minh City (detour, but more routes). You can also plan a route through Da Lat with a stop there for a few days.
• From Sapa. There are no direct bus or train routes. You need to go with a transfer via Hanoi, and you might have to overnight if you can't coordinate the transfers. And enduring such a long route is not easy.

Read everything in detail in the big guide How and By What to Get to Nha Trang here.

Transport in Nha Trang and How to Get Around

Nha Trang is a relatively small city, and if you stay within the center, for example, in the compact tourist district near the old airport, you can get to the main tourist spots on foot. It's especially convenient and pleasant to walk along the promenade, which in our opinion is the best in all of Vietnam.

However, keep in mind that walks deeper into the city may not be as pleasant, because the Vietnamese themselves hardly walk; they only ride motorbikes and cars. And therefore, they almost don't know or understand pedestrian traffic. As a result, the few sidewalks are occupied by motorbike parking, trading stalls, food stalls, advertising stands, etc. Walking on sidewalks here is like navigating a maze. You'll constantly have to go around something, often step onto the roadway to pass further. So be careful!

A great alternative to walking can be a bicycle, which can be rented from 20,000 dong per day (0.76 USD, )see Vietnamese currency, exchange rate). But honestly, there are very few bicycle rentals here; it's easier to rent a motorbike or electric scooter.

Much more freedom of movement can be gained by renting a motorbike (scooter) or a full-fledged motorcycle. Then you can move not only around the city center but also ride around the surroundings, because there is a lot to see around Nha Trang.

Rental of a simple semi-automatic scooter starts from 100,000 dong per day (3.8 USD), automatic ones from 120,000 (4.56 USD). These are real prices, not understated or taken out of thin air, but from our own experience.

And finally, if you don't have an "A" category on your license and you don't drive two-wheeled vehicles, you can rent a car in Nha Trang. But honestly, that's a very expensive pleasure. Unfortunately, car rental here is not developed; there are no international chain rentals and search aggregators with their low competing prices, so you'll have to pay from $50 per day for car rental. What's also inconvenient is that you'll have to look for a car through social networks or from private individuals on the spot, and you won't be able to find and book through aggregators.

You can order taxis in Nha Trang by phone, through hotel reception, hail cars on the street, or negotiate with taxi drivers for a ride near popular tourist spots where they usually "wait," like the airport, bus station, train station, sights, the promenade.

The most convenient and reliable way to not overpay for taxis is to order through apps. The Asian Uber analog – the Grab app works in Nha Trang, but Uber doesn't work here. Also, Maxim taxi is very actively developing. The ride price in Grab starts from 25,000 dong, Maxim offers rides from as low as 15,000!!! You can also order motorbike taxis through these apps; the price is half as much. In the end, a car ride not during rush hour without traffic jams in the city center will cost 30,000 – 50,000 dong (1.14-1.9 USD), motorbike taxi 15,000 - 30,000 dong (0.57-1.14 USD).

In Nha Trang, there is a system of at least six city bus routes. This is a great and very cheap way to get around the city, if you can, of course, figure out the routes. Then you can get to many city sights and even to/from Nha Trang airport for almost pennies. In general, the buses are normal, some even have air conditioning, and on some routes, Russian "Gazelles" operate.

Details about transport in Nha Trang and how to use it are explained here.

Sights of Nha Trang and What to See

In Nha Trang and its surroundings, you can see quite a few sights and visit tourist attractions, and many of them you can visit on your own without the help of travel agencies or even taxis. So, in Nha Trang itself and its immediate surroundings, you'll find the Po Nagar Cham Towers of the ancient Champa kingdom, built about 13 centuries ago, you can visit Long Son Pagoda, which is over 100 years old, the active Catholic Cathedral of Nha Trang, and much more. It will be interesting to visit the local Cho Dam market, the night market, take a walk along the most beautiful promenade in Vietnam, visit several local museums. Definitely worth taking a trip to at least one of the waterfalls in the natural areas.

If you want to take a break from historical and natural sights and dive into entertainment, then besides restaurants, bars, and discos, you should definitely visit the cable car and VinWonders amusement park on a separate island, enjoy the local mud baths and hot springs, go on sea excursions with diving, snorkeling, or fishing.

We'll tell you more about all these places and how to visit them further on this page, but to start, here are the TOP sights of Nha Trang that we recommend first:

• Cham Towers
• Long Son Pagoda and the Seated Buddha
• Catholic Cathedral of Nha Trang
• Promenade and "Lotus Tower"
• Central Market
• One of the hot springs: Thap Ba, I-Resort 1 or 100 Egg Mud Bath
• Cable Car and VinWonders Amusement Park
• One of the natural recreation areas: Ba Ho Waterfall or Yang Bay Waterfalls (we recommend this one)
• Take an Excursion to Mountainous Da Lat

Where to Buy Tours in Nha Trang

Tours are widely sold at hotels, street travel agencies, and even from mobile stands by distributors on the streets. In the tourist district, there are many Russian-language travel agencies that both speak Russian and conduct tours in Russian. However, their prices are higher than non-Russian-speaking ones, but the language barrier problem is solved. Some Russian agencies even accept cashless payments in rubles, though this is less profitable than independent exchange through cash currency.

Finally, you can easily buy tours online. You can do this on the following verified websites; you can pay for the booking with Russian cards:

• 📷 Trip.com - lots of tours and tickets, best prices
• 📷 Tripster.ru - most popular tours, all in Russian
• 📷 Sputnik8.com - most popular tours, all in Russian

And Here Are Popular Tours in Nha Trang in Russian:

• A Different Nha Trang. A Real Sightseeing Tour
• Romantic Cruise with Cocktails and Dinner at Sunset
• Hot Springs and Mud Spa Treatments
• Diving in the National Reserve of Mun Island
• Group Excursion from Nha Trang to Da Lat
• To Da Lat – from Nha Trang (individual or small group)

More about all the sights of Nha Trang here.