Contemporary Vung Tau

Greetings,

I will be in Vietnam from Nov to Dec and I'm currently planning on staying in HCMC. However, I've recently read a lot of positive things about Vung Tau.

I understand it is a great place for expats, but I was hoping someone could tell me if there are any significant downsides to living in Vung Tau as opposed to HCMC, i.e. is it harder to get around, is there less Vietnamese culture, etc. Anything your could tell me from your experience would be helpful.

Thanks!

Roger
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Greetings,

I will be in Vietnam from Nov to Dec and I'm currently planning on staying in HCMC. However, I've recently read a lot of positive things about Vung Tau.

I understand it is a great place for expats, but I was hoping someone could tell me if there are any significant downsides to living in Vung Tau as opposed to HCMC, i.e. is it harder to get around, is there less Vietnamese culture, etc. Anything your could tell me from your experience would be helpful.

Thanks!

Roger
- @RTLisSB

Great place to visit, there is better, but not as close, it gets slammed on weekends and holidays as in you cant see the beach for people, there are expat areas and it is heavy on the tourist side of things, getting around is easy by bicycle or scooter grab car etc, @Colinoscapee has loads of info.

If you get away from the tourist areas you can sample the local food culture etc, only downside is the 2+ hrs into HCMC if you need to get a flight.



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@Andybris2020

Thanks, Andy!

Roger
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@OceanBeach92107

Awesome, thanks!

Roger
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Greetings,

I will be in Vietnam from Nov to Dec and I'm currently planning on staying in HCMC. However, I've recently read a lot of positive things about Vung Tau.

I understand it is a great place for expats, but I was hoping someone could tell me if there are any significant downsides to living in Vung Tau as opposed to HCMC, i.e. is it harder to get around, is there less Vietnamese culture, etc. Anything your could tell me from your experience would be helpful.

Thanks!

Roger
- @RTLisSB
Based on what you wrote in this thread (link) HCMC would be a better base of operations as you explore the rest of the country by plane or train or motorbike/car/bus.

If you hadn't already decided on HCMC, I would suggest you consider more centrally located Đà Nẵng or (my favorite) Quy Nhơn, where it would be easier to take short trips in all directions AND you would be located on the coast.

In some ways, Vũng Tàu (Google Maps link) is more culturally authentic than Sài Gòn, but that's not always a preferable thing, unless true authenticity in everyday life is what you are seeking during your relatively short 2 month visit.

(Remember, unless visa regulations change by then, you will need to exit the country when your first 30 day eVisa expires and re-enter as soon as you'd like on a new 30 day eVisa).

I like Vũng Tàu a lot, much more than HCMC, because it fits my semi-retired lifestyle (sand & saltwater with sunrises and sunsets over the ocean), has MUCH less road congestion, has cleaner air with generally cheaper prices for many services (if you avoid expat-oriented businesses) and I can still get to HCMC fairly quickly taking a boat ride up the river; generally a relaxing and refreshing experience for me.

Also, I met my fiancée there.

Walking or riding a bicycle along the coast from Back Beach (Bãi Sau) to Front Beach (Bãi Trước) for daily exercise is a huge plus in my mind.

All of that to say, you might want to visit for a day or two, but unless you are putting down roots, I wouldn't choose it as your travel hub this time.

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Greetings,

I will be in Vietnam from Nov to Dec and I'm currently planning on staying in HCMC. However, I've recently read a lot of positive things about Vung Tau.
Would be interesting to hear what sorts of positive things you've read.

I understand it is a Would be great place for expats, but I was hoping someone could tell me if there are any significant downsides to living in Vung Tau as opposed to HCMC

- @RTLisSB
For me, compared to HCMC, which I've never liked, Vung Tau is a sleepy paradise, and I'm not one given to hyperbole. However, OB's suggestion about being based in central VN is a good one. Going to VT is like heading down a cul-de-sac. Alternatively, you might consider a south to north trip or vice versa instead of having a base since the country is long and narrow, i.e. land in HCMC and work your way up to Ha Noi.

Downsides of VT include:

- In spite of being very pleasant, scenic and comfortable, it's pretty boring, a small city limited by its location on a narrow peninsula with very few international tourists. Definitely Groundhog Day, again. Good place for fitness enthusiasts or bar flies though.

- Lots of destruction/construction. This is sort of a plague throughout the region. In VT, it's always a good time to tear something down and build another hotel or condo. Also, the city is doing a lot of roadworks, drainage projects, sidewalk replacement, etc. these days.

I guess that's about it. Overall, it's a good place to live for the over 55 age group but so much for thrillseekers.
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@johnross23

Great info, John.

Thank you!

Roger
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@OceanBeach92107

As always, great information, OB.

And yes, I'm tracking the current need for an eVisa border run, although I really hope things change before November.

Cheers!

Roger
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@johnross23

Great info, John.

Thank you!

Roger
- @RTLisSB



Would be interesting to hear what sorts of positive things you've read about Vung Tau.

Just curious. Please mention a few if you have time...
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Whilst VT is a reasonable place to reside I find many of the expats to be very annoying and the bars are not friendly. I lived in VT for around 9-years, mainly due to it being close to Saigon and also because my wife's hometown is in the province. I agree with the other posters that it's not the best place to base yourself.
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@johnross23

Just the basics, John.

That it's cleaner than HCMC (talking about the air), more peaceful, has great beaches. I read that food and rent was actually cheaper as well.

Roger
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@colinoscapee

Thanks, Colin.

Any idea why the other expats have an "attitude"?

Roger
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@colinoscapee

Thanks, Colin.

Any idea why the other expats have an "attitude"?

Roger
- @RTLisSB



Too many are of them are heavy drinkers.
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@colinoscapee

Understood . . .

R
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Too many are of them are heavy drinkers.
- @colinoscapee

Never understood why people fly halfway round the world to sit in bars full of other whinging expats 1f605.svg
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If one was visiting VN for a month in November I would recommend either:

1. Base in Saigon. See the tourist stuff. There is an open-top bus now. Take the water taxi tour. Turtle lake. Nguyen Trai. Cho Lon D5. Phu My Hung D7.  Install Grab app and Vina Sun app for taxis. (I don't advise a visitor to ride a motorbike in Saigon, there is an adjustment period to culture and traffic.)

Ferry to Vung Tau, weekday only. I think there is lots to do there as a visitor! Walk. Bicycle. Sandy beaches and rocky beaches. Motorbike around the peninsula. Seafood or Aussie pub food. Hills for gentle hiking and views. Front beach parks. Wooden boat spotting and fishing village. Cafes light up kilometers of waterfront at night.

Mekong by bus. You can do a tourist visit of My Tho and Ben Tre, lots of tours from Saigon. Of if you want to see real river life, bus to Cao Lanh (very walkable), Sa Dec (do you like tropical plants?), Vinh Long. Just organize the buses and hotels (Agoda) by yourself.

Option: Fly to Da Lat, the French hill station. Walk, short train to a village and temple, coffee farms, tour buses to area attractions. Many kinds of food. Charming, chilly in November.

or 2. Base in Da Nang. (Are typhoons finished by November?)

Stay beach side district but only reserve hotel 1 or 2 nights in case you have to move for better location. Hotel probably has a bike, or motorbike bc Da Nang is big. Beach is busy towards sunset. See that big white statue? Go there. Maybe ferry to island? Marble Mountain for the creepy-hand bridge?

Car to Hoi An on a weekday, stay one night, more if you don't mind the tourism. Walk a lot. Motorbike or taxi to see the surroundings, rice fields in November?  Food options very limited though, every resto sells the same 4 dishes. Beach.

Train to Hue for at least 2 nights. Reserve seats on the ocean side both ways. Views. See the Imperial Palace on second day, I usually ignore temples and such, but it is amazing.

Option: Fly to Ha Long for a couple nights, a day-trip boat might be enough of the islands. Motorbike to see the town, I think the city is as interesting as the islands.

I've never been to Hanoi or other points north except Ha Long, so that's all I got.
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Too many are of them are heavy drinkers.
- @colinoscapee

Never understood why people fly halfway round the world to sit in bars full of other whinging expats 1f605.svg
- @Brick23

Well put, this is our home now my wife has said the same too!

Mac
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@RTLisSB The main expat area in Vung Tau is Phan Chu Trinh St with many bars, eateryies and hotels. Others are along Ha Long St. I have lived in Vung Tau for eight years and very happy there. Yes weekends are a bit crazy with local tourists.

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Roger, I'll weigh in on this one.
I've been to Vung Tau 5 or 6 times to visit VN friends who own businesses there. Each time I was bored out of my gourd.

It is, in my opinion, a simple tourist trap. Over-priced restaurants, tacky bars attempting to emulate what you'll find anywhere in the west, sandy/silty waters on the back beach (Pacific side, east) and high pollution on the front beach (west side) make swimming either uncomfortable or potentially dangerous.
As a newcomer to VN it's worth a look, if only to say that you've been there, but not a location I would recommend as a base. Much better to follow Gobot's suggestions.

The cable car ride up to Vung Tau's park/zoo (nice ride, nice assortment of animals but careful of the cantankerous ostrichs :) ), the naughty (by VN standards) concrete statues on the back beach's boardwalk, and the large Jesus statue kept me entertained for about one day.
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If one was visiting VN for a month in November I would recommend either:

1. Base in Saigon. See the tourist stuff. There is an open-top bus now. Take the water taxi tour. Turtle lake. Nguyen Trai. Cho Lon D5. Phu My Hung D7.  Install Grab app and Vina Sun app for taxis. (I don't advise a visitor to ride a motorbike in Saigon, there is an adjustment period to culture and traffic.)

Ferry to Vung Tau, weekday only. I think there is lots to do there as a visitor! Walk. Bicycle. Sandy beaches and rocky beaches. Motorbike around the peninsula. Seafood or Aussie pub food. Hills for gentle hiking and views. Front beach parks. Wooden boat spotting and fishing village. Cafes light up kilometers of waterfront at night.

Mekong by bus. You can do a tourist visit of My Tho and Ben Tre, lots of tours from Saigon. Of if you want to see real river life, bus to Cao Lanh (very walkable), Sa Dec (do you like tropical plants?), Vinh Long. Just organize the buses and hotels (Agoda) by yourself.

- @gobot

^^^^^THIS ^^^^^
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