8 Best Sights in The South-Central Coasts and Highlands, Vietnam

Located 20 km (13 miles) south of Nha Trang center, Bai Dai Beach has fantastic sand and sea, but a deluge of luxury resort developments and bare-bones seafood shacks have damaged the aesthetic appeal. Another challenge is finding beach access without entering a seafood spot or resort, where you'll be expected to purchase food or leave. Some resorts might claim to own certain stretches of the beach, but they're actually open to the public (just don't enter through the resort itself). The best way to enjoy Bai Dai Beach is to go to one of the shacks and see what live seafood they have on offer, or indeed just have a few cold drinks between dips in the cool shallows. Jet Skis, surfboards, rafts, and kayaks are available for rent, and nearly every shack offers chairs, toilets, and showers with any food or drink purchase. This is one of the few spots where surfers can find waves through April. Bai Dai Beach continues 25 km (15½ miles) south to Cam Ranh Airport.

The best section is on the north end at the protected bay.

food and drink; showers; toilets; water sports.

surfing; swimming; walking.

Located 10 km (6 miles) south of Quy Nhon, via a beautiful stretch of coastline, Bai Xep village is a narrow, confusing warren of dwellings which intersect and descend until they eventually spit you out on a pristine little beach. The beach is now occupied by a handful of guesthouses and a resort, but this has barely taken away from the pristine feeling.

About 45 km (25 miles) north of Nha Trang is the picture-postcard Doc Let Beach, a beautiful 10-km (6-mile) stretch of casuarina-lined fine white sand and azure water that welcomes few tourists. Like most beachfronts in Vietnam, it's seen a rise in development in recent years but fortunately, it's very low key, even the resorts themselves are much more humble and quaint than in many parts. Many of them are glad to welcome day guests for a very small fee. Overall, it's a great location for a laid-back beachy day trip from Nha Trang. It will take about an hour to get here from Nha Trang by taxi, which will cost around 500,000d. A much cheaper alternative is the local bus (No. 3), which will only set you back around 25,000d. Amenities: food and drink; water sports. Best for: walking; swimming; sunsets.

The narrow Doi Duong Beach, at the end of Nguyen Tat Thanh Street, is not the prettiest in the country, but it is well maintained and is loved by the locals anyway. It has a fantastic view of the bay and Mui Ne in the distance to the north. Crowds descend in the early morning and late afternoons, when the weather is not so hot. Couples stroll along the paved beachside walkway, families picnic in the adjacent park, and everyone eats snacks from the many itinerant food vendors. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: walking.

About 15 km (9 miles) from Quang Ngai town, just past the My Son Memorial, lies the pretty casuarina-lined beach of My Khe. There are only a small handful of local guesthouses and homestays across the street from the beach, so it's best to plan to visit the beach, dine at one of the seafood shacks along the beach, and continue north to Hoi An or south to Quy Nhon to stay the night. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: swimming.

Because of its downtown location, the 5-km (3-mile) long Nha Trang beach is where the vast majority of visitors gather. The beach itself is free and open to the public, and sun loungers can be rented for around 70,000d. Plenty of amenities are available at the trendy Sailing Club, or you can simply bask in the sun on an open patch of sand and buy snacks from a passing vendor. A fine place to chill and soak up the sun during the day, the cooler hours between 4 pm and sunset are often a sight to behold, as droves of locals arrive to frolic in the milder conditions. Divers and snorkelers won't find much marine life here. To see clown fish, scorpionfish, and moray eels, it is better to organize a dive at the Sailing Club to the protected island of Hon Mun. The beach is not patrolled but authorities do raise red flags when conditions are unsafe. Do not ignore the red flags as the water can become very rough at certain times of the year.

Amenities:

food and drink; showers; toilets.

Best for:

partiers; swimming; walking.

Starting at Hon Chong beach just north of the Tran Phu Bridge and running 30 km (18 miles) north beyond Nha Trang city are several beautiful beaches that together are commonly referred to as "North Beach." This area mostly draws in college students who attend one of the five nearby universities. The most picturesque stretch of beach can be found past Ninh Hoa City, where shallow waters and powdery sand beckon swimmers and sunbathers alike. A handful of surfers paddle to the point break that whips up decent waves between October and April. Amenities are offered to those who buy food or drinks at neighboring properties such as Paradise Resort or White Sand Doclet Resort. Amenities: food and drink; toilets. Best for: surfing, swimming; walking.

This white-sand beach is a long crescent dotted with basket boats that runs along An Duong Vuong Street. Like many parts of Vietnam, trash is a problem, but as of the present day the town seems to have made a real effort to look its best, and it's working. You can walk to the southern end of the beach, then up and over a headland to get to the more secluded but rocky Queen's Beach, then farther on to the Quy Hoa leper colony. Allocate half a day for this hike—it's a good 6 km (4 miles) or so. Amenities: food and drinks. Best for: walks; sunset; sunrise.