Looking for a peaceful beach to retire to.

I too would be interested in the replies you receive Jane. I like and can vouch for Vung Tau but it can be hectic there

Salobrena. espana

very cheap and far civilised

great food n grog

Thank you Thaeger, but I'm actually looking for somewhere in Vietnam or Cambodia.

Gday, and welcome to the forum.
I'll send you some info on Nha Trang Via a PM . 
Check your mailbox.

Go with Yogi!

..after all, where would a bear be without a beach..?

Sorry.   (his) beach!     

If you want quiet and no frills I would suggest jumping on a motorbike and start from Kien Giang province and work your way up to Tuy Hoa in Khanh Hoa province. There are many quiet small towns along the coast, it all comes down to what floats your boat. Vung Tau is not what I would look for if you want to get somewhere quiet. Just North of La Gi in Binh Thuan province there are miles of deserted beaches and you only see the occasional tourist.

Here is my wish list of the place where I want to stay after retirement

Beach: Lăng Cô, Nhật Lệ, An Bàng, La Gi

Island: Bình Hưng, Bình Lập

My wife and I usually take a break to Tuy Hoa for few days each year. It is the capitol of Phu Yen Province,  a small town with a population of  202,000 (2012). There is a string of restaurants along the river on the south side of town; the Big C supermarket has very cheap lunches; the beach isn't much, but there is a very nice, small small swimming pool overlooking the beach a few kms north of town.

Because the province was strongly VC during the 'American War', lots of government conferences for cadres are held here each year, filling the government guest house and hotels. It's a tidy town, but there really isn't much to do here. Once you leave town, the local accent becomes completely unintelligible and, to me, doesn't even sound like VIetnamese any more.

An interesting piece of history is that, after Liberation in 1975, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa Provinces were joined as Phu Hoa Province. It didn't work out, Phu Yen being strongly pro-VC and Khanh Hoa being strongly anti-VC.  A Nha Trang local told me that, when Phu Hoa Province split back into its two constituant provinces, the Phu Yen army detachment on top of the pass separating the two provinces wanted to keep Dai Lanh beach for themselves and ended up having a shoot out with the Khanh Hoa army detachment at Dai Lanh beach, who wanted the beach to return to Khanh Hoa Province. 

Welcome to Vietnam.

You should consider Quy Nhon beach. I believe that you wont regret . Fresh and cheap good food. Beautiful beach and moutain. Fresh air .

Lagi is a good choice, not far from HCMC (about 150km) but still very natural and food is good.

Can Gio is another place, still belong to HCMC but it is very green and quite there.

Quy Nhon has a sandy beach several kms long.  Now that the provincial administration has decided to develop tourism, Quy Nhon is an up and coming town.  The fishing village at the north end of the beach has been removed, roads are being widened and a beach-front park has been built.  The expensive hotels are right on the beach, but you need only cross the road to get much cheaper and acceptable accommodation.  There are some good restaurants in town, including up side lanes where you would not expect to find them.

Quy Nhon is around 15 hours by train from Saigon, and six hours from Danang by train. It is off the main line, so you need to get off at Dieu Tri when catching the Saigon-Hanoi express. There is a local  Nha Trang - Quy Nhon train (6 hours) which goes right into town.

ralphnhatrang wrote:

The fishing village at the north end of the beach has been removed

Nice, and have a happy retirement, fishermen families 

gobot wrote:

ralphnhatrang wrote:

The fishing village at the north end of the beach has been removed

Nice, and have a happy retirement, fishermen families 

Agreed, but Western values might be inevitable. 

  ..then again, there goes YOUR quiet, no frills, retirement rationale...           

Quy Nhon will be the next Nha Trang.

You sound cross about the loss of the fishing village - understandably.
Where do you think would be a nice beach to retire to, without all the tourist stuff.
Giving back to the community somehow, also being a nice idea.

Bazza139 wrote:

gobot wrote:

ralphnhatrang wrote:

The fishing village at the north end of the beach has been removed

Nice, and have a happy retirement, fishermen families 

Agreed, but Western values might be inevitable. 

  ..then again, there goes YOUR quiet, no frills, retirement rationale...           

The fishing village may have just be relocated, so I have been told. Not very far away. The boats were moved to the port, before they were moored in the bay.

janetayeesha - if you have the time I would recommend traveling the coastal roads in Central Vietnam. There are several cities that might be nice for you. Each city has a different vibe. Quy Nhon and Tuy Hoa are nice and both have most amenities. There are some smaller cities, if you prefer.

Some self-evident truths remain..?

For almost as fast as the farmer sells his fields, Tourism builds facilities...
So I would look at (reasonably) remote regions that might escape the
developer's ideals (and deals!)    Easy access invariably means your
chances are accordingly less.    (Buy the farm!)

  But only you can decide precise perfection while acknowledging there
cannot be a Utopia or even an Idyllic Island.  Research via Google?

..then find the devils in the details...    Good luck with that!         

janetayeesha wrote:

You sound cross about the loss of the fishing village - understandably.
Where do you think would be a nice beach to retire to, without all the tourist stuff.
Giving back to the community somehow, also being a nice idea.

In what way will you be giving back to the community.

I am a youth/case worker and love working with children.  As a retiree hopefully money should not be an issue and my time should be my own.  I would need to learn the language of course but anything to do with helping the young is definitely "my thing".

janetayeesha wrote:

I am a youth/case worker and love working with children.  As a retiree hopefully money should not be an issue and my time should be my own.  I would need to learn the language of course but anything to do with helping the young is definitely "my thing".

Maybe some lessons in English would be suitable, most poor people would never get the opportunity to get there kids into English classes.

that would be great - now i just have to get there 😄- wherever that may be 😄

Just north of Phan Thiet is the small fishing town of Phan Ri Cua, it's not a big place but it's got everything you would need. It's not far from PT if you need to get to a bigger city for any reason. It's right on the beach, it's a bit dirty as the locals aren't the tidiest but it's not a bad little town. There are no expats there, so you would be on your Pat Malone.

/thanx - I'll get googling 😉

Ssmaller would be good

A bit of interesting history there Ralph. Can you help a fellow Ozy out, do you know of any place near Nha Trang where I can go surfing been going to Long Beach (Bao Dai) for several years never seen a rideable wave there yet?

janetayeesha wrote:

Ssmaller would be good

To be honest, I think it's best you come and do a road trip along the coast. I know of a very small fishing village near Cam Ranh that is very small and is in a lovely spot. You can PM me your email address and I can send you some pics.

Bai Dai has ridable waves only after winter storms. I have seen fine left hand breaks off the point at the north end of the beach. November thru to January are your best bet. Another chance is the north side of Hon Gom Peninsular in the north of the province. Turn right about 2km before Dai Lanh village. You will have the beach all to yourself.

Hi all can anybody please send me rental agents in Quy Nhon Thanks email ozbarrie@Hotmail.com

Good luck with pics, Vietnamese arent to big on pictures.

http://diaocbinhdinh.vn/cho-thue-nha-dat/quy-nhon.html

Local news:
http://www.baobinhdinh.com.vn/

Local classifieds:
http://bidimark.com/

Google can translate these entire websites, for us Tieng Viet impaired. How accurately, who knows or cares.

The main thing to look for is house...nha cho thue and apartment can ho cho thue.

Hi Janet,

I live in Nha Trang and have been visiting Vietnam for years. I am currently considering a move to Quy Nhon as it is much quieter than Nha Trang (which has become overrun with Russian and Chinese tourists). Quy Nhon is similar to how Nha Trang was seven years ago.

Regards, Tony

Did you get any responses? I am looking for same

I've been living in Quy Nhon for over a year now and highly recommend this area. It isn't a big tourist area yet, but it is developing into a more tourist friendly destination.  Hopefully,  not too much so because of the Vietnamese charm the city and province holds. However, there are some nice amenities here as well as numerous opportunities for teach children.  I volunteer at several pagodas and a Catholic school teaching English and it is great fun and fulfilling.  The cost of living here is also very reasonable compared to the bigger cities and the beach is clean and well maintained.

I am looking for a furnished apartment in Quy Nhon and am not having any luck. Any suggestions would be welcome.

My wife and I built a house,  but I know a few expats that have found places.  I'll ask around.  How big and how much per month?

Doesn't seem to be a lot of apartments, try this, get a local to help you.

http://alonhadat.com.vn/nha-dat/cho-thu … g-hem.html

Hi i I here at da nang.it has great beach and food weather people are great. Not to many expats.i don't kmow why.i an staying at the conical homestay 3.i get up and leave every morning at 5 head for the beach. Everyone young and old are swinning or exercising.no wounder there in such good health.then head out for breakfast.conical homestay 3.in a village within the city of da nang.many places have breakfast all local food
Then off to the local market pick up some fresh fruit.you just can't get that kind of value for your money in my part of the world.i have no return ticket and not looking forward to getting one.enjoy vietnam simon