Extended Vacation

tdgraham52 wrote:

Could you provide some more back ground on your comments please.

Tom

Right now (and since last summer) Nha Trang has been a virtual ghost town for expats.

Some expats are still there, but the drastic drop in tourism revenue has hit this resort town really hard.

So when I was there in June and again in November, it was almost impossible to find the types of services you mentioned that are normally available to foreigners; especially western tourists.

However, if your main attraction is the beach, and if you want to cook all of your meals at home, then you might like it because right now the prices are very depressed.

And as in most major Vietnamese cities, the apartments are usually fully serviced, which means they not only have your white goods (meaning your linens) but they also have the kitchen basically equipped, as well as housekeeping, usually at least one or two days a week including washing your linens.

Many apartments also have a private washing machine for your unit.

Of the other major beach cities, the foreigner-friendly area of Danang is similarly depressed as is nearby Hội An.

Qui Nhơn is very vibrant right now (I'm currently there) but this town is mostly geared towards Vietnamese tourists, so you don't find a lot of services here geared toward foreigners.

I'm doing well here because my partner is Vietnamese.

Rents in Qui Nhơn are not depressed because they haven't had a sustained loss of revenue due to COVID-19.

Mũi Né is devastated in much the same way as Nha Trang.

Ha Long (Bay) has too recently been on the border of a significant COVID-19 outbreak, but I don't know for sure if the city remains deeply affected.

I'm guessing so because the city is also dependent on foreign tourists.

Vũng Tàu is unique among all these locations because it was never hit hard by the COVID-19 lockdowns, and many foreign retirees continue to live there, so it's easier to find a good Western-style restaurant there.

It's only about 2 hours away from Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon for airport, shopping, restaurants, health care and other things foreigners tend to seek.

Without knowing a lot more about you, I just feel it in my gut that Vũng Tàu might be the best match for your needs.

Until the borders are opened, there isn't likely to be much improvement on any of those conditions.

So if you come in the late fall or winter and borders have only recently been opened, then you might not see much improvement from what I've described