Nha Trang travel info

Six in the morning on the Tran Phu promenade. When the sun climbs out from behind Hon Tre island the bay flashes gold, and the sand is already full of men playing badminton and grandmothers doing their exercises in neat rows. The beach curves for more than six kilometres, with a row of islands sitting offshore like a folding screen, so every photo comes with sea and islands in the back.

As the sun climbs, locals retreat to the shade and the parasols take over. Lunch is a clear bowl of bun cha ca with fish cake and jellyfish; around dusk it's banh can, little rice cakes baked one by one in clay moulds and doused in fish sauce. Dinner is up north near Hon Chong, picking a lobster out of a tank. Shop signs carry Russian and Korean alongside the Vietnamese.

The airport sits more than 30 km south at Cam Ranh, so stays split two ways: the city beach, where you can walk everywhere, or a resort on Bai Dai near the airport, where you don't move at all. October and November bring heavy rain and rough seas that often cancel island trips, so if the sea is the point, go between January and August.

Cam Ranh International Airport (CXR)

• Grab or Xanh SM: 40–50 min to downtown, 15–20 to Bai Dai resorts · Roughly 300,000–350,000 VND to downtown by day, up to around 400,000 at night per recent guides; about 100,000–200,000 to the Bai Dai resorts. The app's upfront fare is final
• Airport bus No. 18 (Dat Moi): About 50–60 minutes to downtown · About 65,000–75,000 VND per person (one source says 75,000 from March 2026; figures vary). Cash only
• Airport taxi desk or metered taxi: 40–50 min to downtown, 15–20 to Bai Dai · Fixed fares at the arrivals-exit desks run about 300,000–400,000 VND to downtown depending on company and car size; the meter often comes out higher
• Hotel pickup or private transfer: 40–50 min to town, 15–20 to Bai Dai, no waiting · From roughly US$12–18 per car on booking sites. Bai Dai resort shuttles range from free to around 150,000 VND per person. Varies by property; confirm when booking

• Visa: 45 days visa-free for many passports; e-visa for others
• Getting there by air: Fly into Cam Ranh (CXR), 30 km south
• Time zone: UTC+7, no daylight saving
• Currency: Dong (₫); '45k' = 45,000
• Paying: Cards for Grab and hotels; cash for stalls
• Power: 220V; round and flat pins both fit
• Language: Vietnamese; Russian signs common
• Internet: Nothing blocked; Grab needs data
• Emergencies: Police 113 · Ambulance 115
• Best time: Jan–Aug; Oct–Nov rain and rough seas