Where is the best place to relax in Vietnam, what time of year and where? Consider a beach vacation and find out which resort to choose for families with children or together? I hope this information will be understandable to all tourists and you will make the right choice when planning a vacation in Vietnam. By the way, we read about the seasons of rest by months here.
I will not consider all resort cities and zones for the simple reason that I do not want to impose on you, those places that are well promoted by tour operators. Indeed, there are only three places for vacation in Vietnam - these are Nha Trang, Phan Thiet and Phu Quoc, you will not find anything better in Vietnam, take my word for it. Well, what city for your vacation to choose, I will try to explain within the framework of this article.
Best Resorts for Vacation in Vietnam
Whatever the sales offices tell you about vacations in Vietnam, whatever discounts or unique offers about unfamiliar resorts in Vietnam are sold to you, never buy a tour right away, first, be sure to find out everything about the resorts of the country where you decided to spend your vacation. Personally, I recommend that you look only at the three directions that I listed above:
- Phan Thiet / MUI ne
- Nha Trang (rest in Nha Trang, when is it better to relax according to the seasons)
- Phu Quoc
Phan Thiet / MUI ne
I'll start with the resort village of MUI ne, which is located 21 kilometers from the city of Phan Thiet. All package tours are usually sold here, for the simple reason that tourist life is developed here. Should you buy a tour to the Mui Ne resort? I will say this, if you like a calm and measured life without much entertainment, then the resort village of Mui Ne is for you, and you should not be intimidated by the word ‘village’, in reality it is a tourist village with wide beaches and hotels on the seashore.
Those who are going to Vietnam for the first time and choose the resort of Mui Ne are asked a small question - ‘what about the language barrier? Do not worry, now the whole resort is strewn with Russian shops and restaurants with a Russian menu, the Vietnamese themselves already understand any of our people perfectly well, everything that concerns excursion programs, they are here only in Russian, a little more and Vietnam will be ours.
As for shops, there are not only signs in Russian, but also shops with Russian sellers, as for vacationers in the resort of Mui Ne, 95 percent are Russians, so you can always find a person on the beach with whom you can talk heart to heart, such here a lot, just try to lie down on a sunbed, as they immediately ask me the question - 'Where are you from and how is the weather there?'.
As for hotels in the resort of Mui Ne, I recommend choosing hotels on the first line, they are not much more expensive than hotels located on the second and subsequent lines, but you go out and immediately find yourself on the coast of the eastern sea. As for the beaches, by the way, there is only one beach here and it is called 'Mui Ne Beach', all hotels are located on the same beach and are separated by small partitions, most often they just pull the rope.
Although the beaches are separated, no one will forbid you to walk or go to sunbathe (how to sunbathe?) To the place where you want. I especially recommend walking along Mui Ne Beach in the moonlight, when the moon illuminates the coastline, so many people do here! Well, now the bitter truth about the beaches of Mui Ne, many tourists write in reviews about the picturesque Vietnamese beaches, they are not at the Mui Ne resort.
The beach here is ordinary sand, there are no palm trees right next to the water and white sand, and there is a lot of rubbish after the storm. As for the weather, this is a separate topic that attracts many and scares many. The thing is that Mui Ne is located, as they say, on the ‘seven winds’, it is constantly windy and the sea is very rarely calm, big waves do not allow you to relax, especially after lunch, clean water is also very rare.
Who is attracted by Mui Ne as the best resort where you can relax in Vietnam? There are only two categories of tourists - youth and extreme sportsmen. Young people come here because of cheap package tours and services for young people who are attracted by Mui Ne hotels and nightlife, athletes come here only for surfing or windsurfing. By the way, I also recommend photographers to come here, very beautiful photos are obtained.
As for life in the resort of Mui Ne in the evening and at night, everything is not as bad for the village as it seems, there are many restaurants with seafood, cafes and bars, all establishments are usually constantly packed to capacity with Russian tourists. As for the nightclubs in Mui Ne, I counted only three clubs, which, according to some stories of tourists, are not very in demand, there is an opinion that in recent years people of Balzac age who do not need nightlife come to Vietnam to rest.
Vietnam in winter, holiday resorts in December, January and February ⇒
Nightclubs in Mui Ne
- Cafe with dance floor Wax Bar located on the beach at 68 Nguyen Dinh Chieu;
- Cafe bar Dragon beach on the coastline with access to the sea;
- Club DJ Station located at 120C Nguyen Dinh Chieu with club music;
- Ocean republic also in demand among Russian tourists located at 120 Nguyen Dinh Chieu.
What to see in Mui Ne and the sights of Phan Thiet
All sights are, as a rule, a couple of hours drive from Phan Thiet, if you are really interested in excursion life, so as not to simply lie on the sand for the whole vacation, then I will list the list of attractions in Phan Thiet that you can see both independently and with a tour, photos of all places can be found on the Internet, here I will not post them, since we are talking about the question 'where is it better to relax in Vietnam':
Attractions Phan Thiet
- Ke Ga lighthouse, located on Ke Ga island
- Cham towers, built by the Cham in the 8th century, only three towers remain from the temple complex
- White Dunes, a small stretch of white sand desert that can be found along the coast of Nha Trang
- Red dunes, hills with reddish sand, here you can go sledding from sand slides
- Statue of buddha
That's actually all that can be seen in Phan Thiet, of course, here you can also include a lake called the 'lost sea' and 'red canyon', but there is nothing surprising there. I chose the most visited places that you can see, but to be honest, there is nothing to see here, so if you don't see these sights with your own eyes, you won't lose much.
We all turn to Nha Trang and the next point, where I will compare the rest between Phan Thiet and Nha Trang, and you will actually make your choice.
Beach Nha Trang
The Nha Trang resort is the best resort for a vacation in Vietnam for those tourists who want to see and feel a vacation close to civilization and excellent hotel service. All hotels are located in the city, with the exception of some, more on them later. What is the resort life in Nha Trang? Everyday bustle, crazy traffic on the streets of the city from which in the evening begins to ache, cafes and restaurants on every corner. An entire European quarter for Russian tourists, where Russian restaurants and cafes with the ‘Winter’ night club are located, this is how you can describe in a nutshell what awaits you in Nha Trang.
Beaches in Nha Trang for relaxation
Now we will consider each item separately and start with the beaches of Nha Trang. There is only one beach, about 7 kilometers long, here you can also walk along the coast until the early morning, as for its cleanliness, it is always dirty and white sand in the city limits you will not find. If you want to visit a real wild beach with white and fine sand like dust, then you need to go 15 kilometers from the city to the northern part of Nha Trang.
I hasten to reassure you, the beach is always cleaned, but after a storm you can find everything, including mercury lamps. Unfortunately, I never saw the real azure sea here, which is written about in every review on travel sites, it amazes me even more that all tour managers speak with one voice about clear and blue water, all so that you buy a tour ! As for the sea, you will not find clean water here, you can swim only until 11 o'clock in the morning, then the water becomes even more dirty and waves appear.
I hasten to reassure you about the sea, not everything is so bad, there are clean beaches with white sand and turquoise water in Nha Trang, but more on that below, but for now let's move on to restaurants, cafes and clubs in Nha Trang, and of course we will touch on the nightlife.
Restaurants, cafes, clubs, nightlife in Nha Trang
There are more than enough restaurants in Nha Trang, they can be divided into two zones: Russian restaurants in the European quarter and Vietnamese restaurants. Wherever I went, I was met either by Russian waiters or by Vietnamese who understand Russian well; I never saw a barrier to communicating with Vietnamese. Russian restaurants are located in the European Quarter, that is, if you want to taste Russian cuisine or a semblance of Vietnamese traditional cuisine, then any restaurant in the European Quarter is at your service.
You ask: "What is the European quarter and where is it located?" As for Vietnamese restaurants, the Internet is already oversaturated with the same articles about restaurants, I don't want to produce another one, so here you will figure it out and choose a restaurant to your liking without me. Vietnamese restaurants and seafood cafes in Nha Trang are located on every corner away from the European quarter.
European Quarter Location Map
On this diagram you can find Gorky Park (below), next to it is the ‘Winter’ night club. As for the nightlife, after 6 pm all restaurants are already full, the ‘Winter’ nightclub starts working from 9 pm until the very last customer. What else can you do at night in Nha Trang? You can go to the night market, which opens every evening near the House of Culture (near the Lotus).
Map of restaurants in the European Quarter
The best hotels in Nha Trang for a vacation by the sea
As for hotels in Nha Trang, I have a detailed article about this, from it you will learn which hotel is better to choose for a vacation in the resort of Nha Trang, well, if you already know where to stay and have chosen a hotel, then you can book a hotel in Nha Trang at affordable prices link. Another tip for those who book a hotel in the city, if you are looking for a hotel on the first line, then you will not find it here, all hotels in Nha Trang are located on the second line from the road. Nha Trang beach is completely urban and belongs only to the city, not hotels.
Now let's move on to those hotels that are located outside the city of Nha Trang. Here it is, the ideal option that solves the question of ‘where to rest in Vietnam’ and decides the question of finding the best resort for vacation in Vietnam. For families with children or tourists who want to relax in Vietnam close to civilization, but in complete silence and wild nature with clean beaches washed by the turquoise waters of the East Sea, I recommend some really great places:
- Hotel Diamond bay
- Hotel Dessole Sea Lion Beach Resort (I have a whole article about this hotel with a full description and photos)
Here are two places that will help you fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere of relaxation and comfort. Both hotels are located outside the city, it is easy to get to Nha Trang by taxi, and the Dessole hotel generally offers a free bus to Gorky Park (European Quarter), if you suddenly get bored, you can always easily immerse yourself in the world of crazy Nha Trang and its bustle. That's it, let's move on to the paradise island of Phu Quoc.
Phu Quoc
Phu Quoc Island for those tourists looking for the best holiday resort in Vietnam with wild beaches and underdeveloped infrastructure? With wild sights and clear sea with a rich underwater world. By the way, the easiest way to get to Phu Quoc Island is from Ho Chi Minh City by Vietnamese Airlines (VietJet), I bought a plane ticket through an online booking service. The ticket cost me $ 45.
If you want to relax on wild white beaches with clean sea and palm trees near the coast, then Phu Quoc is for you, there are such beaches here and they are called Truong, Ganh Dau, Song and others, but there are almost no hotels and other infrastructure in such places. All tourist life is in full swing on Long Beach with yellow sand. As for the sights of Phu Quoc Island, we will consider this issue as a separate item.
As for the infrastructure of Phu Quoc Island on Long Beach, there is everything a tourist needs: an abundance of hotels with free internet, bike rentals, cafes with seafood, ATMs, shops and a fruit market. I recommend vacationing here from October to April, this period is called the velvet season here, after mid-April the heat comes, lasting until mid-May.
Attractions of Phu Quoc Island
I talked about some of the sights of Phu Quoc Island in a separate article, from which you will learn about the life of the island and the fish factory, I will list the rest of the places for tourists, by the way, I recommend visiting the fish factory, but I do not advise you to go on an empty stomach, the sensations are not transmitted, well and now a list of excursion sites:
- Sea excursions (boat trips, snorkeling, diving, jet skiing)
- Excursions to the mountains, this island is also called the island of 99 mountains
- Pagodas
- Coconut prison
- Trang waterfall
All other attractions are not very interesting, so I recommend spending money only on the listed excursions. As for the prices for vacations, the cheapest option is to buy a package tour to Phu Quoc Island, as this will save not only your money, flight time, nerves, but also your mood. Summing up on the topic ‘Where to relax in Vietnam, the best resorts for a holiday in Vietnam’ I recommend that you take a closer look at the country life and hotels of Nha Trang or visit Phu Quoc Island, there is nothing else to do in Vietnam.
