Nha Trang is nothing short of picture-perfect, and it’s got everything any type of traveler could hope to see, from lush mountains and a scenic coastline to excellent scuba diving spots and exciting nightlife. It can be a lot to take in all at once, so many tourists try to hit just the highlights and hot spots when they just have a weekend to spend in this beautiful coastal resort city in South Vietnam.
Many travelers also choose to book a Nha Thrang Traveloka combo package or a similar offer with their travel booking service of choice to save money on flights and accommodations. This way, they can channel their savings to experiences that truly matter when visiting this captivating capital of Khánh Hòa Province. If you’re only staying for a couple of days in Nha Thrang, here’s how you should spend it.
Keep to the Tran Phu area
Tran Phu is one of the main streets in Nha Trang, and it runs parallel to the coastline. This means that the best hotels, bars, clubs, restaurants and cafés are on it, and going to the beach is a simple matter of stepping out of your chosen accommodations and walking across the street.
Many insiders recommend waking up early to take in the gorgeous sunrise before hitting a café for a bit of breakfast and a cup of cà phê sữa đá or Vietnamese iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk . After the food’s settled, you can choose to go for a walk along the promenade, head for the water for a mid-morning swim, or explore the more urban areas further inland for more great bites at any number of eateries, food stalls, and restaurants.
Dam Market is also just a half-hour’s walk from Nha Trang Beach and is a great way to have a glimpse of the local life at ground level. You can pick up exotic fruits, souvenirs, and other goods before heading back to your hotel.
Don’t miss out on the historical sites
Most people go to Nha Trang, plant themselves on the beach, and stay there until the holiday’s over. To really see what the city has to offer, however, you should head to its two main historical and cultural attractions.
The ruins of the Cham temple of Po Nagar, for example, are an impressive sight to behold. Of the seven or eight towers in the complex, only four are still standing. It is said that the temple was built between the 7th and 12th centuries, though people had been using the area as a place of worship as far back as the 2nd century AD. Historians say that the temple used to be adorned with gold, but raiders came and stole the treasures. Still, it’s fascinating to imagine what the impressive grounds must have looked like in its heyday.
The other historical attraction in Nha Trang is Long Sơn Pagoda, which sits at the foot of Trại Thủy mountain. The temple was first built on a hill in 1886 before a cyclone destroyed it in 1900, prompting its move further down to where it is located now. Here, you can climb 152 stone steps to the Buddha sitting atop the hill behind the temple, the one that’s visible from all over the city. The statue was built in 1964 right on the site where the Long Sơn Pagoda was originally. The figure is 14 meters high and is an excellent vantage point to see the city from.
As the Cham temple of Po Nagar and the Long Sơn Pagoda are both religious sites, guests are encouraged to dress appropriately when visiting.
Go for a mud bath
If you’ve had enough beach time and are looking for an unusual experience to try while on holiday in Nha Trang, you’re in luck because the city is also famous for its mud bath spas. Locals believe that soaking in warm mud can detoxify the body, soften and exfoliate skin, relieve body pains, and improve blood circulation, on top of providing other healing properties.
There are a handful of resorts that offer this service in Nha Trang: one of them is located in the Galina Hotel right in the city center and is called the Galina Mud Bath & Spa. For those willing to venture a little further away, head to the quirky 100 Eggs Mud Bath about five miles out of the city. It is a resort that really lives up to its name since the entire place is themed around eggs: egg-shaped mud bathing facilities, egg decorations, and egg-shaped hot springs and pools. The on-site restaurant even offers egg coffee or cà phê trứng, a Vietnamese beverage made with—you guessed it—egg yolks and coffee. It is sweetened with sugar and condensed milk.
There’s much more to Nha Trang than laying around on the beach and partying until the sun rises. Its delights need to be sought out, but the effort you put in to uncovering its secrets will always be well-rewarded.
