Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [173]
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The south–central coast | Around Nha Trang | The National Oceanographic Institute |
Boat trips to the islands
Several companies in Nha Trang (see "Around Nha Trang") offer day-trips to a selection of islands, including a stop for snorkelling and a seafood lunch on board – all for around $6–8 per person. However, to fully enjoy the day, you’ll need to fork out for several extras if you don’t want to sit on the boat and wait till everyone comes back. All the companies offer similar tours, though each boat trip tends to cater to a specific crowd: if you’re after a peaceful, relaxing time you won’t want to be stuck with a group of party animals and loud music, as tends to be the case on Mama Linh’s trips. Con Se Tre (see "Listings") runs slightly more upmarket tours at around $25 per person, which include a visit to their resort on Hon Tre. It’s also worth contacting diving operators (see "Scuba-diving and water sports") who sometimes let people join them for snorkelling at a reduced daily rate: these trips can be great fun on a sunny day, but they are no fun at all in stormy weather.
On a typical island day tour, you’ll be picked up from your hotel, taken to Cau Da Wharf, 6km south of the town centre, and shuffled on to one of many boats jostling in the harbour. As the boat casts off at around 9.30am, you’ll pass beneath the cable car to Hon Tre (see "The National Oceanographic Institute"), then chug between islands for about half an hour to HON MUN (Black Island), named after the dark cliffs that rear up from it. There’s no beach to speak of on Hon Mun, but the island boasts one of the best places for snorkelling in the area, with some great coral. Boats hang around for an hour or so while people snorkel over the corals or sunbathe on the boat, and there are frequently diving groups here too. There’s a 40,000đ charge to snorkel in this “protected area”, though it’s not clear quite how it’s being protected.
After a break for lunch in the shelter of HON MOT, boats head for HON TAM, where there’s a small beach (10,000đ entry), and you get the chance to stretch on the sand or splash about in the sea for an hour before heading for the final destination, the Tri Nguyen Aquarium (25,000đ) on HON MIEU. The setting here is wonderfully kitsch: visitors approach the site through giant lobsters and past cement sharks, and the strange building that houses the aquarium looks like a galleon dragged up from the depths and draped in seaweed. Inside, the tanks feature black-tipped sharks, bug-eyed groupers, hawksbill turtles and colourful sea anemones. Finally the boat heads back to the mainland and visitors are whisked back to their hotels.
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The south–central coast | Around Nha Trang |
Po Nagar Cham towers
One of Nha Trang’s most popular sights is the Po Nagar Cham towers (daily 6am–6pm; small admission fee), 1.5km north of the city centre. Of the estimated ten towers, or kalan, constructed by the Hindu Cham people (see "The kingdom of Champa" for more on the Cham civilization) on Cu Lao Hill between the seventh and twelfth centuries, only four remain, their baked red bricks weathered so badly through the centuries that restoration work on the towers has been necessary. Despite the restoration, this complex of age-old towers manages to produce an evocative atmosphere, and represents big business for the gaggles of young postcard-sellers who counter rebuffs with a plaintive “Maybe later?