What to do in nha trang

The coastal đô thị of Nha Trang in Vietnam has been attracting both local and international tourists for years. While Nha Trang is best known for its scuba diving và long stretches of beach, the đô thị also has a strong historical và cultural heritage that"s worth discovering.

For those wanting natural attractions, Nha Trang beaches offer a backdrop of towering rock cliffs & are stunningly beautiful—while the Long Son Pagoda & its rồng mosaics are a great stop if you want khổng lồ combine a temple visit with a great view over the city.

For more ideas on how lớn spend your time when visiting this ancient city, take a look at our list of đứng top tourist attractions in Nha Trang.

Note: Some businesses may be temporarily closed due to lớn recent global health and safety issues.

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1. Long Son Pagoda

Long Son Pagoda

Although it was founded long before that, Long Son pagoda was moved to lớn its current location at the foot of Trai Thuy mountain after it was partially destroyed by a cyclone in the year 1900. Today, this is one of the most visited pagodas in town and a beloved stop for both locals và tourists. Beautiful rồng mosaics và intrinsically decorated ceramic tiles cover the temple"s entrance và part of the roof & the altar inside.

Perhaps the most commonly associated image with Long Son pagoda is the 24-meter-tall white Buddha statue, even though the concrete statue isn"t technically part of Long Son. Instead, the statue sits slightly higher up the hill, on the grounds of nhì Duc Pagoda, and it"s one of the most famous sights in Nha Trang.

2. Ponagar Tower

Ponagar Tower

The Po Nagar temple complex was built some time around the 7th century và dedicated to lớn the worship of a number of deities, especially Lady Po Nagar, the Goddess who created and nurtures the Earth. The temple, with its soft stone towers and columns, is a beautiful marriage of Cham (an ethnic minority in Vietnam) architecture và Hinduism influences.

Of the eight original sandstone towers that were once part of the complex, only four still stand, just as magnificent as ever. The 28-meter-tall North Tower is not only the highest but also one of the most stunning—it has a terraced roof, a number of chiseled inscriptions around the doorway, & holds a 10-arm black statue of the goddess Uma inside. The other towers are dedicated khổng lồ Hindu deities Cri Cambhu, Shiva, and Ganesh.

The complex—set on a hill on the banks of River Cai—also features a small museum showcasing stonework and sculptures of the time. Because the buildings here are still considered active religious shrines, you"re expected to lớn remove your shoes và dress respectfully (shoulders & legs covered) when visiting.

3. Vinpearl Cable Car

Vinpearl Cable Car

A ride on the Vinpearl Cable oto is one of the đứng top things to bởi in Nha Trang. Connecting Nha Trang with Vinpearl Island, this gondola ride is over 3,000 meters long và takes 15 minutes khổng lồ reach its destination. It took over a year to build the cable car, as it needed to lớn be made not only earthquake resistant but also able lớn withstand strong winds and monsoon rains.

The ride is actually the longest overwater cable car in the world & offers beautiful views over the sea và the Disney-like Vinpearl park that occupies center stage on the island.

The towers that sustain the cables are designed khổng lồ look lượt thích miniature Eiffel towers & are completely illuminated at night, making for a beautiful sight.

4. Vinpearl Land

Vinpearl Land

Vietnam"s own version of Disneyland is right here, on Vinpearl Island. This combination of amusement park & water park offers rides và thrills for all ages, as well as plenty of opportunities lớn meet unique cartoon characters và even see a few wild animals.

The Vinpearl water park occupies a major section of the complex và offers lazy rivers, adrenaline-filled slides, a water obstacle course, & even a beach with sun loungers where you can rest & cool down for a while.

The amusement part of the park offers a massive arcade area, rides, Disney-like castles, a 3D-movie theater, và live performances by dancers and acrobats.

Right next to the ocean you"ll also find the Vinpearl sky wheel, one of the tallest Ferris wheels in the world at 120 meters. A full circle on the wheel takes about 15 minutes and offers stunning views of the bay, especially at night.

5. Hon Mun

Hon Mon

Of all the islands dotting the waters around Nha Trang, none are more beautiful & full of things khổng lồ discover than Hon Mun. The limestone cliffs, caves, và stunning đen rocks cover the coastline, offering beautiful photo opportunities, as well as climbing & hiking. A slow stroll on the beach will also reveal ebony-black caves hiding in the rock.

Above everything, however, Hon Mun"s main attractions are found underwater. The island"s coral reefs attract scuba divers and snorkelers from all over the world—they come here khổng lồ discover the colorful biodiversity of fish, sea turtles, & crabs.

The water is so clear around the island that even those who don"t want khổng lồ jump into the water will get lớn enjoy the marine life—boats with clear bottoms allow a direct view deep into the ocean. If you have your heart phối on exploring, it"s also possible khổng lồ book island-hopping tours that will allow you lớn visit not only Hon Mun but also other nearby islands.

A large complex of buildings designed to look older than it really is, the XQ Historical Village was founded by a pair of artists in the 1990s. The original idea was to create a place to showcase the Vietnamese arts of painting silk và embroidery and to lớn empower women to focus on these "almost lost arts" as a means of starting their own businesses và continuing local traditions.

Today, more than 3,500 women—dressed in Áo lâu năm or Vietnamese traditional dress—work and sell their products at this village and others like it around the country.

XQ is a quality mix of working space, art galleries, & shops. Visitors can simply walk around admiring works in progress, choose to buy an impressive wall hanging or a small scarf, or sit in the gardens for a cup of tea while listening to soft music.

There are plenty of markets in Nha Trang lớn fulfill your every need, but none of them are more authentic, busier, or more varied than Dam Market. Housed in a circular two-story building, the market is mở cửa from 4am, when it attracts mostly locals who arrive here for their daily shopping.

Despite the apparent disarray of the place, there"s some logic to how the stalls are mix inside the market, so you can walk around to discover areas for food, clothing and handbags, handicrafts and souvenirs, designer knockoffs, và a large section for fresh seafood & produce in the back.

There are other markets in Nha Trang—including the food-focused xuyên Moi Market and the Nha Trang Night Market for souvenirs—but Dam Market is an experience in itself. Just walking through the massive open space is an adventure for the senses, but you can push it a step further by trying some street food from some of the stalls set around the indoor fountain.

While you can find quick things khổng lồ eat almost anywhere in Nha Trang, there are a few particular dishes you should be trying when visiting the city. Even better, most of these dishes are easily available from street vendors, so you"ll not only get a chance to lớn taste something good, but also have the experience of trying real Vietnamese cuisine from local vendors.

Two common dishes you will find street food carts selling are nurong la lot (grilled beef wrapped in leaves) & banh can, a local delicacy made of mini rice flour pancakes topped with meat và eggs and cooked over coals.

Nha Trang has a huge seafood culture, and many of its local markets, especially xoi Moi Market, sell seafood by the bucket (literally, fresh food is placed in a bucket và weighed for sale).

For those willing to lớn "get their hands dirty," Nha Trang is also famous for its cooking classes, offered through hotels & private companies or as part of city tours.

9. National Oceanographic Museum of Vietnam

Sea turtles at the National Oceanographic Museum of Vietnam

The Nha Trang Oceanography Institute dates back lớn the early 20th century, & it"s one of the oldest scientific research institutes in Vietnam. It"s also the biggest Vietnamese research center focused on marine biodiversity and ecology.

Housed in a beautiful French-colonial building, the museum section of the institute houses thousands of marine and bird specimens, as well as displays and exhibits meant to lớn educate the public on marine conservation & the life of aquatic species.

Some of the highlights of the museum include the 18-meter-long skeleton of a humpback whale found underground, glass tanks holding puffers và turtles, và even examples of local boats.

Visitors are miễn phí to wander around the museum, which offers exhibits in English explaining sacred sea-related legends, showing the devastating power nguồn of tsunamis, và exploring the fishing culture of the country.

The bố Ho Waterfalls are a picturesque 40-minute ride away from the city, reached after driving alongside the turquoise coastal waters and the soft rocking of paddy fields.

Of the three waterfalls that 3d the group, the bottom one is the most crowded but also the easiest to lớn reach—but even it is still a half-hour trek through the bright green jungle to get there và be able khổng lồ dip your toes in the cool water pool.

Waterfalls 2 & 3 require a harder climb using stone steps and large boulders and pushing through thicker forest. Wear proper hiking shoes, as the rocks can get slippery, especially during the rainy season. There are painted arrows pointing the way, but you can just as easily follow other climbers up.

All three waterfalls are popular cliff-jumping areas, with jumps as high as 11 meters from the rocks to the refreshing pools below.

Nha Trang is home to several stunning soft trắng sand beaches offering everything from perfect sunbathing spots to lớn plenty of recreational activities. The city"s most popular beach is Tran Phu Beach, which attracts tons of tourists—this means lots of activity day & night, making the beach noisier but also full of amenities, including great restaurants and places khổng lồ rent equipment for water sports.

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If you want peace và quiet, Bai dẻo Beach might be a better option—it"s full of locals, which means the beach & its surroundings aren"t as well developed. This can be good or bad, depending on your idea of a heavenly coastline—but the sand is still soft và the waters a clear blue if that"s all that matters.

Hon Tre beach is one of the largest beaches in Nha Trang, & it"s also where some of the biggest festivals in town are celebrated—including the colorful February festival Ba Chua Xuch to honor a Vietnamese prosperity goddess.

For the ultimate in luxury, the privately-owned Nhu Tien Beach cannot be beat—it offers a golf course with stunning views over the palm-fringed sands and lush mountains, yoga và snorkeling, & plenty of other activities.

A museum dedicated lớn the French-Swiss bacteriologist who co-discovered the bacteria that causes bubonic plague might seem out of place in Nha Trang, but Yersin had strong ties to lớn the country và did much of his groundbreaking work while living in Vietnam.

The museum, housed in Yersin"s former home in Nha Trang, features a large collection of original equipment và furniture (including his desk and bed), letters, & documents. There"s also a large collection of photographs Yersin took of Vietnam"s ethnic groups during his travels around the country.

While Yersin is best known for his contributions to lớn science & technology, he also worked in other fields while in Vietnam. He"s actually responsible for the import and cultivation of rubber trees into Southeast Asia and also for starting a project to lớn acclimatize the quinine tree (used khổng lồ create a remedy against malaria) to Vietnam. The exhibits, which are in English & Vietnamese, also include short films.

Beaches và Resorts in Vietnam: These two things go hand in hand on a vacation khổng lồ Vietnam. If you are looking for ideas on where lớn go and where lớn stay, begin with our guide to the best beaches in Vietnam, & then have a read through our list of the vị trí cao nhất beach resorts in Vietnam.

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