Vũng Tàu is a coastal city in southern Vietnam. It’s a popular day trip for visitors and tourists who are staying in Ho Chi Minh City. Locals too, enjoy day trips to Vung Tau but often, they’ll stay there for several nights, as they know it’s a wonderful place for a fun and relaxing get-away.
We spent the entire month of March in South-East Asia and as I sometimes struggle to keep up with Monique’s often intense and, frankly, exhausting travel itineraries I insisted on a fairly chill first week where we could kick-back and gently get over the 12-hour jetlag. For this, we chose Vũng Tàu.
I hadn’t expected much from Vũng Tàu and I was hoping for a relaxing time to recharge before moving on to flesh pots such as Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur. However, we loved Vũng Tàu and found at least 6 reasons why we believe that you should follow the lead of the locals and add it to your Vietnam bucket list.
Table of Contents
1. Vũng Tàu is Great Value, even by Vietnam Standards
Of course, the entire country of Vietnam offers amazing value to visitors, but Vũng Tàu brings this to a whole new level. I assume that this is because it caters primarily to Vietnamese visitors and not those accustomed to paying North American and European prices. The only other foreigners we encountered were either on a day-trip excursion from Saigon or long-term visitors trying to spread their money as far as possible.
What this meant was that we paid even less for both hotels and eating out than in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Halong. I did a few random comparisons and found meals in Vũng Tàu to cost about 30% less, while hotel rooms were about half the price of those aimed at foreign tourists.
In other words, if you on are on a tight budget or want to extend your time in the region for as long as possible, Vũng Tàu is the perfect choice.
2. The Weather in Vũng Tàu is Great
With temperatures always tortuously high in the south, cool winters in the north of the country and the impact of monsoon season, the climate can often present challenges for the visitor to Vietnam. Vũng Tàu is a rare exception, and you can expect more tolerable weather, especially during the drier months.
While temperatures, like those in Ho Chi Minh City, are high year-round, it feels so much more comfortable. Vũng Tàu is on a peninsular that is surrounded by the ocean on three sides. As a consequence, cooling sea breezes are the norm and these seem to make a big difference.
Unlike our time in Saigon, we were comfortable being out and about in Vũng Tàu even when the sun was at its highest point.
This meant that we didn’t need to retreat to our hotel room for mid-day siestas or hunker-down in my version of retail hell, an air-conditioned shopping mall.
3. It’s a Foodie’s Paradise
One thing is certain: all across Vietnam the food is amazing. Vũng Tàu is no exception and, as I mentioned earlier, you’ll pay less here as well as get to try regional specialities, typically seafood based, you won’t find elsewhere in the country.
We loved banh khot, which are mini fired pancakes made from rice flour and topped with shrimp (or some other meat). We didn’t see these anywhere else in Vietnam. The same applies to lau ca duoi, a delicious hot pot of marinated stingray meat in a spicy broth.
We also enjoyed bánh xèo, which are magnificent looking crispy crepes with a clear French influence. A fabulous place to try these, is the stylish Cô Ba Restaurant. We loved how our server, who spoke only slightly more English than we did Vietnamese, got some plastic gloves to demonstrate how best to assemble and eat our banh khot.
Despite originating in Northern Vietnam, the best phở we tasted in Vietnam was also in Vũng Tàu.
We enjoyed at least 5 bowls of the most amazing phở at Phở Bình on Lương Văn Can. He only makes one dish, phở and boy does he do it well: light, fresh and tasty! What’s more it’s incredibly affordable.
4. Relax on Amazing beaches
The reason that so many, locals and tourists alike, travel to Vũng Tàu from Ho Chi Minh City is for the beaches. While there are several beaches around the city, there are two that sandwich the downtown core: front beach and back beach.
Back Beach, on the eastern side of the peninsular, is 10km of beautiful sand lined by resorts, eateries, and vendors. You can easily and cheaply rent loungers and deck chairs for a lovely, old-fashioned day at the beach. Back beach is an amazing place for early morning and late evening strolls as you enjoy the cool breezes and stunning views in the half-light.
Front Beach is very different. It’s smaller, quieter and has the feel of a locals’ beach unlike Back Beach, which seems like a resort area for tourists. Apart from a quick paddle in the sea we didn’t spend much tome on this beach, but we did enjoy wandering along the promenade and in Front Beach Park. Of course, because it faces to the west, Front Beach has fantastic sunsets.
5. Walk Across the Sea to a Buddhist Temple
You won’t actually be walking on water, assuming you visit at low tide, as Hòn Bà is a small island off the southern end of Back Beach. For a few hours, twice daily, the sea retreats to reveal a rocky causeway that you can use to reach the island.
What you will find is a Buddhist temple called “Mieu Ba” or “Mistress temple,” which was built in 1881. To make sure that you don’t get stuck, be sure to leave before the monk who mans the temple while it is accessible.
I was concerned that we left it too late before leaving, but Monique was right: as long as the man in the orange robes was still there, we were OK. Just beware, our monk was able to hop across the causeway rocks like a mountain goat, so don’t hang about.
6. Admire Giant Religious Statues
We visited two huge religious statues in Vũng Tàu: Christ and Buddha.
Situated close to Back Beach is Christ the King, of Vũng Tàu. It is the largest Christian statue in Asia and has become an important destination for Christian pilgrims from Vietnam and further afield. As you are looking at a monument that was originally constructed in the 1970s and then heavily restored in the 1990s, the statue is not especially attractive in itself.
What are worthwhile are the views of the city, peninsula and ocean, which are stunning.
If you glance to the northwest from the statue of Christ you can see the giant golden Buddha that forms the focal point of Chơn Không, a working monastery. This too is modern, but the tour of the monastery makes for a more interesting trip. Again, the views, including the Christ the King statue, are wonderful.
While Vũng Tàu is a popular daytrip from Ho Chi Minh City. We enjoyed our week there and recommend adding a longer visit to your Vietnam itinerary, especially if you have more time than money.
There are two options for getting there from Ho Chi Minh City. The easiest is probably getting one of the many buses that run throughout the day. More fun is the catamaran ferry operated by GreenlinesDP. The only downside is the limited schedule options, which meant that we didn’t get to try it ourselves.
Author
Nick Abbott
Hi, I’m Nick. Visiting foreign countries has been an important part of my life since my parents moved to Kano in Nigeria in 1977. Since then, as both a military officer and in later jobs I have enjoyed the huge privilege of being exposed to many different countries and cultures.
I am delighted to be able to support my wife Monique and Yes2Yolo primarily by contributing travel articles, providing editing and proof-reading services and being a general sounding board.
