Things to do in South Central Coast
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Café des Amis
Long a backpacker favourite thanks to cheap eats and plentiful beer, this place has a menu that includes a strong selection of Vietnamese dishes, inexpensive seafood and a pick and mix of international dishes. Look out for local artworks adorning the walls.
reviewed
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El Coyote
Spice up your life with some authentic Tex-Mex flavours at the Coyote. The fajitas, burritos and tacos are all designed to sate the appetite. The owner is even more fusion than the food: a mixture of French, Vietnamese, Lao and Cheyenne Indian.
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Crazy Kim Bar
Run by local personality Kimmy Le, this busy bar is home base for her commendable ‘Hands off the Kids!’ campaign, which works to prevent paedophilia. She’s now set up a permanent classroom for vulnerable street kids on the premises. Part of the proceeds from the food, booze and T-shirt sales go towards the cause. Sign up at the bar if you’re interested in volunteering to teach English. Crazy Kim’s has regular themed party nights, great music, devilish cocktail buckets and free wi-fi. Crazy (happy) hours run pretty much nonstop from noon to midnight.
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Long Son Pagoda
This striking pagoda was founded in the late 19th century and has been rebuilt several times over the years. The entrance and roofs are decorated with mosaic dragons constructed of glass and bits of ceramic tile. The main sanctuary is a hall adorned with modern interpretations of traditional motifs. Note the ferocious nose hairs on the colourful dragons wrapped around the pillars on either side of the main altar.
reviewed
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Louisiane Brewhouse
It’s not only the beer that draws a crowd here, as there is an eclectic menu offering international classics, some fiery Thai dishes and Vietnamese favourites. The beachside pool is a beautiful place to while away some time digesting the meal, and there are some great cakes and pastries for inveterate snackers.
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Guava
A hip lounge bar, Guava is the place to come if you are seeking some style while you drink. Choose from sunken sofas inside or a leafy garden patio outside. Regular drink promotions include two-for-one surprises most days, such as Bloody Marys to accompany the Sunday ‘hangover breakfast’.
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Lac Canh Restaurant
Locals flock here in numbers to fire up the tabletop barbecues and grill their own meats, squid, prawns, lobsters and more. There are plenty of accompaniments on the menu making this a popular stop in Nha Trang.
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Sinh Café
Sinh Cafe Offers bargain basement local tours as well as open-tour buses.
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Po Nagar North Tower
The 28m-high Po Nagar North Tower with its terraced pyramidal roof, vaulted interior masonry and vestibule, is a superb example of Cham architecture. One of the tallest Cham towers, it was built in AD 817 after the original temples here were sacked and burned. The raiders also carried off a linga made of precious metal. In AD 918 King Indravarman III placed a gold mukha-linga (a carved phallus with a human face painted on it) in the North Tower, but it too was taken, this time by the Khmers.
This pattern of statues being destroyed or stolen and then replaced continued for some time until 965, when King Jaya Indravarman I replaced the gold mukha-linga with the stone figure…
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Po Nagar Central Tower
The Po Nagar Central Tower was built partly of recycled bricks in the 12th century on the site of a structure dating from the 7th century. It is less finely constructed than the other towers and has little ornamentation; the pyramidal roof lacks terracing or pilasters, although the interior altars were once covered with silver. There is a linga inside the main chamber. Note the inscription on the left-hand wall of the vestibule.
The South Tower (Mieu Dong Nam), at one time dedicated to Sandhaka (Shiva), still shelters a linga, while the richly ornamented Northwest Tower (Thap Tay Bac) was originally dedicated to Ganesh. To the rear of the complex is a small museum with a …
reviewed
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Hon Chong Promontory
The narrow granite promontory of Hon Chong Promontory offers views of the mountainous coastline north of Nha Trang and the nearby islands. The beach here has a more local flavour than Nha Trang Beach, but the accompanying refuse makes it a less attractive option for swimming or sunbathing. There's a gargantuan handprint on the massive boulder balanced at the tip of the promontory. According to local legend, a drunken giant male fairy made it when he fell while spying a female fairy bathing nude at Bai Tien (Fairy Beach), the point of land closest to Hon Rua. They fell in love but the gods intervened, sending the male fairy away. The lovesick female fairy waited patiently …
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Nha Trang Cathedral
Built between 1928 and 1933 in French Gothic style, complete with stained-glass windows, Nha Trang Cathedral stands on a small hill overlooking the train station. It’s a surprisingly elegant building given that it was constructed of simple cement blocks. Some particularly colourful Vietnamese touches include the red neon outlining the crucifix, the pink back-lighting on the tabernacle and the blue neon arch and white neon halo over the statue of St Mary. In 1988 a Catholic cemetery not far from the church was disinterred to make room for a new railway building. The remains were brought to the cathedral and reburied in the cavities behind the wall of plaques that line the …
reviewed
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Vinpearl Land
Nha Trang’s answer to Disneyland (well, sort of) the island resort of Vinpearl Land has fun-fair rides, a water park, arcade games and plenty of other attractions to keep the kiddies amused. There is also an Underwater World aquarium here, but that costs another 60,000/45,000d per adult/child. It’s certainly not a world-class adventure park, but it will keep children amused for a full day, and includes the world’s longest over-the-sea cable car (oooh!) and the biggest wave pool in Southeast Asia (ahhh!). The leading attraction is undoubtedly the water park, with more than 20 serious slides for adrenalin-seekers.
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Thap Ba Hot Spring Center
If hot muddy water is your thing, Thap Ba Hot Spring Center is one of the most fun experiences on offer here. For 180,000d you can sit in a wooden bathtub full of hot thermal mud, or for 60,000d per person you can slop around with a group of friends in a larger pool. The centre also has private mineral baths (50,000d) and a large outdoor heated swimming pool complete with thermal waterfalls (free with a mud or mineral bath, 30,000d otherwise). To get here, follow the signpost on the second road to the left past the Po Nagar Cham Towers and follow the winding road for 2.5km.
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National Oceanographic Museum
Housed in a grand French-colonial building in the port district of Cau Da at the far south end of Nha Trang is the National Oceanographic Museum. It’s attached to the Oceanographic Institute founded in 1923, and signs direct you around the tanks of colourful live marine life and the 60,000 jars of pickled specimens that make up the collection. There are also stuffed birds and sea mammals and displays of local boats and fishing artefacts. Most of the signs have English translations, so a guide is unnecessary.
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Po Ro Me
Po Ro Me is one of the most atmospheric of Vietnam’s Cham towers thanks in part to its isolated setting on top of a craggy hill with sweeping views over the cactus-strewn landscape. The temple honours the last ruler of an independent Champa, King Po Ro Me (r 1629–51), who died as a prisoner of the Vietnamese. His image and those of his family are found on the external decorations. Note the flame motif repeated around the arches, a symbol of purity, cleansing visitors of any residual bad karma.
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Buddha
At the top of the hill, behind the Long Son Pagoda, is a huge white Buddha seated on a lotus blossom and visible from all over the city. Around the statue’s base are fire-ringed relief busts of Thich Quang Duc and six other Buddhist monks who died in self-immolations in 1963. The platform around the 14m-high figure has great views of Nha Trang and nearby rural areas. As you approach the pagoda from the street, the 152 stone steps up the hill to the Buddha begin to the right of the structure.
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Son My Memorial
It’s hard to believe that this tranquil rural spot was the setting for one of the most horrific crimes of the American War. On the morning of 16 March 1968, US troops swept through four hamlets in the Son My subdistrict, killing 504 villagers, many of them elderly and children. The largest mass killing took place in Xom Lang (Thuan Yen) subhamlet, where the Son My Memorial now stands. However, it was one of the other hamlets that lent the name the world remembers – the My Lai Massacre.
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Alexandre Yersin Museum
Dr Alexandre Yersin’s library and office are now an interesting museum. Items on display include laboratory equipment (such as astronomical instruments), books from Yersin’s library, a fascinating 3-D photo viewer and some of the thousand or so letters written to his mother. The model boat was given to him by local fishermen with whom he spent a great deal of his time. Tours of the museum are guided in French, English and Vietnamese, and a short film on Yersin’s life is also shown.
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Novotel Ocean Dunes & Golf Resort
Serious golfers might like to try Novotel Ocean Dunes & Golf Resort, sitting pretty between the golf course and a private stretch of beach. The hotel’s Seahorse Restaurant is the best restaurant in town, serving up local seafood (dishes US$5 to US$15). There is also a branch of Mogambo’s (which is a popular spot in Saigon) in the clubhouse, overlooking the green. Discounted golf packages, including accommodation, are available from just US$110.
reviewed
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Jibes
Unofficial HQ of the kitesurfing brigade, this beachside cafe-bar is a relaxing place for a drink, but it quietens down by night when the party crowd is elsewhere. It also offers surf lessons and rents out state-of-the-art gear like windsurfers (one hour/half-day/full-day US$12/30/45), surfboards (one hour/half-day/full-day US$7.50/15/25), kitesurfers (one hour/half-day/full-day US$50/100/140) and kayaks (one hour/half-day/full-day US$5/13/25). Insurance is extra.
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Vietnam Scuba
Vietnam Scuba is an attractive and well-appointed Korean-run dive centre on a private beach about 3.5km south of Ca Na, easy to spot from the highway. This is very much a by-Koreans for-Koreans resort, but serious scuba divers – and kimchi (pickled cabbage) lovers – will appreciate the set-up and some of the best diving in Vietnam. Marine life includes big fish, manta rays, barracuda and sharks.
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Po Nagar
The Cham towers of Po Nagar were built between the 7th and 12th centuries, although the site was first used for worship as early as the 2nd century AD. To this day Cham, ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhists come to Po Nagar to pray and make offerings, according to their respective traditions. This site has a continuing religious significance, so be sure to remove your shoes before entering.
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Fairy Spring
The Fairy Spring is really a stream that flows through a patch of dunes with interesting sand and rock formations. It's a beautiful trek wading up the stream from the sea to its source, though it might be wise to hire a local guide. You can do the trek barefoot, but if you're heading out into the big sand dunes, you'll need leather soles on your feet; sandals are even questionable during the midday sun.
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Long Phu Tourist
If you’re not part of a tour, head 15km north of Nha Trang on Hwy 1A to Long Phu Tourist, easily spotted by the huge colourful dragons forming the entrance, not far from a pagoda. Boats will ferry you to the island for 65,000d (15 minutes). Other destinations reached from here include Hoa Lan Springs on Hon Heo (50,000d, 45 minutes) and Hon Thi (30,000d, 20 minutes).
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