Nha Trang Things to Do Tips by dancinbudgie

Scuba Diving and Snorkelling

If you want to do some diving, snorkelling or even just a boat trip, I can highly recommend Rainbow Divers. It is very professionally run, with comfortable and well equipped boats. As a bonus, they have a terrific crew...friendly, fun, informed and experienced. We spent 2 days with them. Grant did 4 dives, and Brad and I came along as snorkellers...although poor Brad got sea-sick and threw up all over Grant...so his snorkelling was confined to a quick swim to get cleaned up. I was actually getting quite sick myself (a big swell at one of our stops), but felt better as soon as I got off the boat and into the water.
The booking office is located in the Rainbow Bar...a great place to have a meal or a drink. Inexpensive and familiar food if you're feeling a touch homesick.
2 Dives US$ 60 (less with packages)
Snorkeller/Passenger US$25

Address: 90a Hung Vuong St. Nha Trang

Phone: (058) 352 4351

Website: http://www.divevietnam.com

Po Nagar Cham Towers

Under Construction

Long Son Pagoda

We were pleasantly surprised by Long Son Pagoda...it has much more of interest than we had expected. The pagoda itself is beautiful...the entrance and roof is very colourful...alll done in mosaic work, and the depictions of dragons on the pillars are fabulous. The reclining buddha mid-way up the hill is a great photo opportunity. The big white buddha at the top of the hill is fabulous...especially inside.

The downside are the beggars and scam artists. We were taken in by a young man who attatched himself to us as we walked in. He seemed very polite and knowledgeable about the pagoda, and as he assured us that he was after nothing, we didn't send him away...BIG mistake. When we got to the reclining buddha, he told us that this was as far as he could go and pulled out some postcards demanding 200,000dong for them. We gave him a small tip (less of a tip that we had originally planned to) and left him grumbling behind us.
The beggars were very upsetting...you really can't give handouts to everyone (although I am HOPELESS at saying no)...and some of these people were SO hard to pass by. It wasn't all sad though...we had a huge laugh outside the buddha when one of the little boys became fascinated with Grants 3 day growth and would'nt stop poking at his face!

Anyway...I did enjoy the pagoda and have added a travelogue with more pics of it if you are interested.

Address: D23 Thang 10

Directions: 400 mteres west of the station

VinpearlLand

Vinpearl Land is on Hon Tre island along with the Vinpearl resort complex. From Nha Trang it looks hideous, and spoils the view from the foreshore. So that is the negative out of the way!

We took our 3 year old there to give him a break from the normal travel routine and to let him go wild. We had expected to be unimpressed...bored even, but were pleasantly surprised. We found it to be very different from theme parks at home. For a start, it was nearly empty. Honestly...there couldn't have been more than a couple of hundred people in the whole complex. The water park, where we spent most of our time, was almost empty. We were able to go on any ride we wanted with NO line-up! Amazing! It was such a hot day, it was very pleasant to relax in the water. We enjoyed the break ourselves. The other amazing thing was the cost. Not at all like Aussie theme parks where lunch will cost an arm and a leg...we ate and drank there as cheaply (almost) as we did on the mainland. There is also an 'underwaterworld' which we really enjoyed...we saved it for the middle of the day to get Brad out of the sun for a while.

The cable car ride over there provides a lovely view of Nha Trang. It is 3320 metres long and 40 metres above the ocean. It takes about 10 minutes to make the trip. It is a bit hot in the cabins, so bring a fan.

It cost 300,000dong for adults and 210,000 for kids, which included everything...even the cable car and ferry across.

Address: Hon Tre Island

Website: http://www.vinpearlland.com

Thap Ba Hot Springs...Take a Mud Bath!

This is a brilliant way to spend a morning or afternoon! We had an absolute ball sloshing around in the mineral mud and then in the mineral baths afterwards. There is also a mineral pool to swim in which we could NOT get Bradley out of! Little devil refused to climb in the mud bath though! Go figure...he usually HATES to get clean, and here he was passing up on the chance to get dirty! He sure enjoyed pouring mud all over his daddy's head but!
There are bath packages to suit all budgets, and lockers are available to keep your valuables in. Photographers also roam about taking pics if you want a souveneir of your visit and don't have a waterproof camera with you...I don't recomend bringing a non-waterproof one! There is a little coffee shop if you want to get a snack afterwards...can't vouch for it though, as we didn't stop there.

Address: Cell 15 Ngoc Son, Ngoc Hiep. Nha Trang

Phone: 84.58 3835345

Website: http://www.thapbahotspring.com.vn

Parasailing

On one of our walks along the beach we came across these guys just starting to pack up for the day. Grant went to ask what time they opened next day, and before he knew it he was being buckled into a harness by one of them. Another guy came storming over and started yelling at the guy harnessing Grant. I thought "this is a bad sign"...but that was just the coward in me...still...no-way would I dangle in the air behind a boat when one of the operators was in a bad mood! Anyway...they resolved their issues and Grant went for his joy ride. It was just a run down and back up the beach...whole thing took about 15 minutes (including harnessing and argument), but it did get some great aerial shots of Nha Trang.
From memory I think it cost about 70,000 dong...so a pretty cheap thrill!

Address: On the beach in front of the Sailing Club