Getting to Vung Tau

After spending 4 days in Ho Chi Minh City we desperately needed to go somewhere less nerve racking and the closest beach was Vung Tau.  While driving to Vung Tau was possible a boat was recommended.  The boat was actually a Russian made hydrofoil which zoomed very fast along the river.

The seats were comfortable enough for the smooth 90 minute trip.  Take note:  If you have large baggage and long legs, try to get to the front of the boat as there is far more room than the rest of the seats.

Kids Selling Stuff at Buddhist Shrine

Scooting Around Vung Tau

From the map handed out by the scooter rental, you can tell it is very easy to get around in Vung Tau.  From the ferry terminal you can go either left or right.  The left leads you to the main city while the right leads you to most of the resorts including a 10km beach called Back Beach which leads to another part of the city.

We chose to stay near Back Beach so we took a taxi to hunt for places to stay.  We ended up finding a place called Vung Tau Entourco which was located right on Back Beach and had bungalows.  As soon as we checked in and got our bungalows we head to the front desk and rented scooters which cost around $15USD per day.

The traffic was non-existent compared to Saigon so driving the moped (which happened to be my virgin ride) was not a problem at all.  It felt great to ride throughout Vung Tau looking at some beautiful natural and man-made scenery.  The moped was great because it gave us the ability to stop at our own pace to see the Buddhist and Christian shrines throughout Vung Tau.

The people we met seemed to be a lot friendlier than Saigon.  Thankfully there was a complete lack of hustlers trying to get you to buy junk or services you did not need which was a breath of fresh air.

More than Just a Beach

If you make it off the beach, plenty of physical activity awaits in Vung Tau.  There are 2 main hills you will notice with Christian statues which you can hike up.  Be warned:  To get to the top of the cross at the top of the hill (picture below) it took a lot of effort and was very hot so bring water and sun block.  Another hill has a Jesus statue which reminded me of Rio De Janeiro as I walked along Back Beach looking up at it.  You can also climb to the top of Jesus’ shoulders which I did not do because I had mild heat exhaustion from climbing to the top of the (below) hill on a low water tank, idiotically wearing a black T-shirt.

Many Many Steps to get to the Cross on the Top of the Hill

See Seafood

Since fishing is obviously Vung Tau’s bread and butter so to speak you can expect to find some great seafood restaurants which we did.  We saw a large parking lot filled with cars and mopeds which attracted us to this restaurant which I forgot the name of.   As you walk down the stairs you see the live menu items in pools on either side.  I saw everything from fish, lobsters, sea snakes and turtles which also appeared on the menu.

The dining area which is literally 1 meter from the sea and was shielded from the wind via sideways umbrellas.  The place was packed with Vietnamese people and the food (especially the fish) was delicious and fair priced.  I apologize for the vague details but I think it still deserves a mention.

Turtles and Sea Snakes = Yum

Hit the Beach

Back Beach was very long and big.  The sand was fine with few rocks and the surf was very mild.  To my surprise there were very few western tourists on Back Beach.  It appeared to me that the beach which was crowded all the way to dusk was filled with mostly Vietnamese people.

Back Beach was a very swimmer friendly beach with thousands of people swimming in the calm waters.  If you want to surf, unless there is a tsunami, Back Beach is not your spot.  I did see some people on jet skis.  A beach is a beach and the only thing I noticed different about Back Beach was all the spiral sea shells which were on the menu at a Saigon restaurant were inhabited by hermit crabs.

Back Beach with Jesus Statue on Hill

Overall Thoughts

Being in Saigon for me was like torture so I would have been happy if Vung Tau only marginally sucked but I actually liked it quite a bit.  We only stayed there one night because we had our flight booked from Saigon to Hanoi the next afternoon but I would think most people would enjoy 2 days in Vung Tau, 3 days max.  There are plenty of seafood restaurants, Buddhist and Christian shrines as well as nightlife and entertainment to keep most tourists happy for a couple of days.

Last 5 posts by Mike Behnken

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