Beaches In Vietnam

Known For : Ba Na Hills Golden Bridge Marble Mountains

My Khe runs for several kilometres along Da Nang's eastern shore and is the beach American troops nicknamed China Beach in the 1960s. The sand shelves gently and lifeguards patrol the central section, so it is the safest big-city swim in Vietnam. Hotels, seafood restaurants and the airport are all within 15 minutes, which is why most Da Nang packages base here. Water is calmest between May and August; the northeast monsoon brings rough surf from October to December. Activities: Swimming, jet-skiing, parasailing, beach volleyball and paddleboarding.

Best Time: February to August

50 Da Nang Attractions

Known For : Ponagar Temple Watersports at Nha Trang Beach Long Son Pagoda

Nha Trang Beach is a 6 km municipal strip backed by a promenade, high-rise hotels and the bars and seafood houses of Tran Phu Street. It is the most developed beach in Vietnam, with sunbeds, lifeguards and boat operators along its whole length, so choose it if you want everything within walking distance rather than seclusion. Day boats leave from the south end for the Hon Mun reefs. The dry season runs January to August; October and November bring the heaviest rain on this coast. Activities: Snorkelling, scuba diving, jet-skiing, banana boating and island day trips.

Best Time: January to August

45 Nha Trang Attractions

Bai Truong, or Long Beach, curves for about 20 km down Phu Quoc's west coast, which makes it the island's sunset side and the base for most of its resorts. The water is shallow and calm a long way out, so it suits families and weaker swimmers better than the rockier bays on the east. Duong Dong town and the night market sit at the north end, and the southern stretch near Sunset Town is quieter. Come between November and March, when the sea is flat and the island is dry. Activities: Swimming, sunset watching, kayaking, seafood dining and cable car trips.

An Bang sits 4 km from Hoi An Ancient Town and took over as the town's main beach after erosion closed much of Cua Dai. A line of low-key beach clubs rents loungers and serves food all day, and the sand is wide enough that it rarely feels packed outside peak hours. Waves pick up from October, when the local surf schools operate; February to August gives the calm, clear water for swimming. Cycle here from the old town in about 20 minutes, or take a short taxi ride. Activities: Swimming, surfing, sunbathing, cycling and beach-club dining.

Sao Beach, also written Bai Sao or Star Beach, is a short crescent of powder-white sand on Phu Quoc's southeast coast, roughly 25 km from Duong Dong. The sand is finer and whiter than Long Beach and the water a clear pale blue, which is why it appears in most Phu Quoc photography. Treat it as a day trip rather than a base: there are a few restaurants and sunbed rentals and no resort strip. Visit November to March, and go in the morning before the tour groups arrive. Activities: Swimming, snorkelling, kayaking and seafood lunches.

Known For : Quad Biking in Mui Ne Surfing in Mui Ne Kitesurfing in Mui Ne

Mui Ne is Vietnam's kitesurfing capital: steady cross-shore wind from November to April draws riders from across Asia, and the strip has dozens of schools and board rentals. That same wind makes the water choppy, so pick elsewhere if you want a calm swim. The red and white sand dunes lie a few kilometres inland rather than on the beach itself, and are best at sunrise. It is the nearest full resort strip to Ho Chi Minh City, which makes it the capital's usual two-night beach break. Activities: Kitesurfing, windsurfing, sandboarding, dune tours and fishing-village walks.

Best Time: Throughout the year

14 Mui Ne Attractions

Cat Ba is the largest island in the Halong Bay area and the only one with a real town, hotels and ferry links, so it works as a base rather than a day stop. Its swimmable beaches are the three small Cat Co coves, joined by a cliff path a short ride from Cat Ba Town. Half the island is national park, and boat trips into neighbouring Lan Ha Bay are far quieter than the main Halong cruise routes. April to October has the warmest water; January to March is cold and grey. Activities: Swimming, kayaking, rock climbing, trekking and bay cruises.

Non Nuoc runs for about 5 km at the southern end of Da Nang's coast, directly below the Marble Mountains and beside the Ngu Hanh Son stone-carving village. It is quieter and far less built up than My Khe a few kilometres north, and most of the frontage belongs to golf and beach resorts. The seabed is sandy with a gentle slope, and the same May to August window gives the calmest water. Choose it if you want a Da Nang beach without the city crowd on it. Activities: Swimming, surfing, golf and Marble Mountains visits.

Ti Top is the one stop on almost every Halong Bay cruise where you can actually swim, a small crescent of sand at the foot of a limestone karst. It is named after the Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov, who visited with Ho Chi Minh in 1962. A staircase of around 400 steps climbs to the viewpoint that produces the standard Halong Bay photograph. The beach is tiny and fills up when several boats moor at once, so swim first and climb afterwards; storms can disrupt cruises from July to September. Activities: Swimming, kayaking and climbing to the summit viewpoint.

Lang Co is a 10 km sand bar between a lagoon and the sea, halfway between Hue and Da Nang at the foot of the Hai Van Pass. Almost every road or rail transfer between the two cities passes it, which makes it an easy one-night stop rather than a destination in itself. The lagoon side supplies the oysters and prawns the village is known for. Water is warmest and calmest from April to August, and autumn brings the region's heaviest rain. Activities: Swimming, lagoon boat trips, seafood dining and the Hai Van Pass drive.

Cua Dai was Hoi An's main beach until erosion from around 2004 stripped much of the sand, and long stretches are now held in place by sandbags and seawalls. The restored sections in front of the resorts are usable and calm, but An Bang, 3 km north, is the better swim. Come here for the quiet end of the strip and the walk out to the Thu Bon river mouth rather than for a full beach day. February to May is the driest and clearest period. Activities: Swimming, walking, seafood dining and boat trips to the Cham Islands.

Doc Let stretches along the Hon Khoi Peninsula about 50 km north of Nha Trang, and the water stays waist deep a long way out. The sand is unusually white, and the salt fields behind the beach are worked at dawn, which is the main reason photographers make the trip. Facilities amount to a few resorts and seafood shacks, so bring what you need for the day. It suits families and anyone who wants Nha Trang's climate without its crowds; February to August is the settled season. Activities: Swimming, wading, salt-field photography and seafood dining.

Ong Lang sits on Phu Quoc's west coast about 7 km north of Duong Dong, broken into small sandy bays separated by rock and tree cover. It is the quiet alternative to Long Beach: fewer resorts, nobody selling anything on the sand, and the same west-facing sunsets. The rocky sections make getting into the water awkward in places, so check the stretch in front of your hotel before you book. November to March is the dry window. Activities: Swimming, snorkelling off the rocks, sunset watching and beach dining.

Hon Mun is the core of Nha Trang's marine protected area and the best known snorkelling and dive site on Vietnam's mainland coast, roughly 45 minutes out by boat. Coral cover has suffered from bleaching and storm damage and parts of the reef have been closed to allow recovery, so set expectations accordingly. Visibility is best from March to September. Day boats usually combine it with Hon Mot or Hon Tam, and Nha Trang dive centres run certification courses here. Activities: Snorkelling, scuba diving, glass-bottom boat trips and island hopping.

Bai Chay is the man-made beach on the Halong city waterfront, a short walk from the cruise terminal and the Sun World cable car. The sand was brought in and the water belongs to a working bay rather than open sea, so treat it as somewhere to cool off between cruises, not a beach holiday. It is free, lit in the evening and busy with local families after dark through the summer. Peak use is May to September, and winter here is genuinely cold by Vietnamese standards. Activities: Swimming, evening strolls, cable car rides and cruise departures.

Known For : The Prison Museum Bai An Hai Chua Van Son

Con Son is the main island of the Con Dao group, under an hour by air from Ho Chi Minh City and still one of the least developed coastlines in Vietnam. Dam Trau, at the north end beside the airstrip, is the best beach: a sheltered sand bay with aircraft passing low overhead on approach. The islands are a national park and a green turtle nesting site, with controlled visits between June and September. Seas are calmest from March to June, and the October to December swell closes many boat trips. Activities: Swimming, snorkelling, diving, turtle watching and prison-museum visits.

Best Time: November to February

6 Con Dao Islands Attractions

Known For : Christ of Vung Tau White Palace Vung Tau Lighthouse

Bai Sau, or Back Beach, is Vung Tau's long east-facing strip and the closest open sea to Ho Chi Minh City, roughly two hours away by road. It is busy and urban, so treat it as a weekend break rather than a beach holiday, with seafood streets and the Christ of Vung Tau statue climb close by. Rip currents are common here and swimmers get into trouble every year, so stay between the flagged sections. December to April is the dry, clear season. Activities: Swimming, seafood dining, the Christ statue climb and lighthouse views.

Best Time: March to May

13 Vung Tau Attractions

Thuan An lies 15 km from Hue where the Perfume River meets the sea, on the sand bar that closes off the Tam Giang lagoon. It is the beach Hue residents use, with simple seafood stalls instead of resorts, so it works as a half-day break from the citadel and the royal tombs. Waves can be strong and the shore drops away quickly, so swim near the manned section. The season is short, May to August, and the beach largely shuts through the wet months. Activities: Swimming, seafood dining and lagoon boat trips.

Quan Lan is a long, thin island in Bai Tu Long Bay north east of Halong, reached by a speedboat of about an hour from Van Don. Its east coast holds several kilometres of the emptiest sand in northern Vietnam, with almost no development behind it. Facilities are basic, transport on the island is by tuk-tuk, and there is little to do beyond the beach and cycling. Go between May and September; the island is cold, grey and largely shut in winter. Activities: Swimming, cycling, kayaking and village walks.

One of the oldest cities in Asia, Hoi An is a town in central Vietnam which was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999. Located south of Danang, Hoi An translates to 'a peaceful meeting place'. It is culturally and historically one of Vietnam's most important towns and also one of the richest. It is important to note that Hoi An does not have an airport or train station and can only be reached by road.

Hon Chong is a cluster of granite boulders on a headland at the north end of Nha Trang, with a small rocky cove beside it rather than a swimming beach. The draw is the view across the bay to Hon Rua island and the Co Tien mountain ridge, plus the large boulder with the handprint that the local legend is built around. Entry is a small ticket and the site takes about half an hour. Combine it with the Po Nagar Cham towers, which sit on the same road back into town. Activities: Photography, sightseeing and cafe stops.

Vung Tau translates into 'The bay of boats'. Sitting on a hilly strip of land that juts into the Ocean, Vung tau is one of the best beach towns located around 100 Km from Ho Chi Minh City. It primarily serves as a weekend getaway from Saigon and other cities in the nearby region. The two main beaches are Back Beach and Front beach. The wide boulevards and colonial buildings in this town are major highlights. 

Long Hai is a fishing-town beach 20 km beyond Vung Tau, with a working boat harbour at one end and a run of low-rise resorts along the rest. It is calmer and cleaner than Vung Tau's Back Beach and about thirty minutes further from Ho Chi Minh City, which is the trade-off. The Minh Dam hills behind the town hold wartime cave sites and a coastal viewpoint worth the climb. December to April is the settled season. Activities: Swimming, hiking the Minh Dam hills, seafood dining and fishing-village walks.

Ninh Chu is a 10 km arc of sand 5 km from Phan Rang, in the driest province in Vietnam, so it often has sun when the rest of the coast is wet. The water is clean and the beach stays quiet outside Vietnamese public holidays, with vineyards, garlic fields and Cham towers inland. Wind picks up strongly from November, which is when kitesurfers move down from Mui Ne. It is a stop for people driving the coast road rather than a fly-in destination. Activities: Swimming, kitesurfing, cycling and Cham tower visits.

Ca Na sits where the mountains meet the sea on Highway 1, about 30 km south of Phan Rang, with clear turquoise water and granite boulders scattered along the shore. The road and the railway run directly behind the beach, which keeps it easy to reach but noisy. Cactus scrub and salt pans surround it, and the water is unusually clear because no river empties nearby. Treat it as a road-trip stop between Mui Ne and Nha Trang rather than a place to stay. Activities: Swimming, snorkelling around the rocks and seafood stops.

Phan Thiet is a coastal fishing town in Binh Thuan province, about four hours by road from Ho Chi Minh City, and the provincial capital that Mui Ne's beach resorts technically fall under. The town itself is a working fishing port with a fish sauce industry going back generations, while the red and white sand dunes and the Fairy Stream, a shallow creek that cuts through sandstone formations, sit just outside it toward Mui Ne. Phan Thiet's harbor and markets are worth an hour or two if you're staying nearby, giving you a look at local life beyond the resort strip.

Sam Son is northern Vietnam's biggest domestic resort beach, 16 km from Thanh Hoa city and roughly three hours by road from Hanoi. In June and July it fills with Vietnamese holidaymakers and prices rise sharply; outside those months much of it shuts. Almost no foreign visitors come here, so expect little English and a local resort experience rather than an international one. The sea is warm and shallow, and Truong Le hill at the south end has temples and bay views. Activities: Swimming, seafood dining, temple visits and hill walks.

Dong Chau is a mudflat and clam-farming coast in Thai Binh province, about 30 km from Thai Binh city, and it is not a swimming beach. The water carries silt from the Red River delta, and the real draw is the wooden clam huts standing on stilts offshore, which photographers shoot at sunrise. Come for the seafood, which is cheap and very fresh, and for the Con Vanh mangrove reserve nearby. Skip it if what you want is sand and clear water. Activities: Photography, seafood dining and mangrove walks.