Nha Trang is a beach city, but a couple of blocks from the sea there are thousand-year-old Cham towers, a pagoda with a giant white Buddha and a neo-Gothic cathedral, and north and south of the centre there are rocks, coves and islands. Nearly everything here is from my list of saved places, including two far-off beaches, Bãi Dài and Dốc Lết, and the VinWonders park on Hòn Tre island (saved under its old name, Vinpearl Land). I added the Yersin Museum and the Museum of Oceanography on the advice of travel guides and checked them on Google: still open, rated 4.2 or higher. I haven't written notes on them, so the descriptions are put together from Google Maps reviews.
Prices are Google's average spend per person, and entry tickets come from visitors' reviews; valid as of 7 October 2026. Rate: 100,000 ₫ ≈ $3.85.
In short
- If you only have time for one thing: the Po Nagar towers. Entry is 30,000 ₫ (≈$1.20); come at the 6:00 opening, before the crowds.
- Temples are strict: knees and shoulders must be covered, and at Chùa Long Sơn even men get turned away without it.
- Rocks and coves: Hòn Chồng, 10–15 minutes by Grab north of the centre, and Hang Heo near the Lương Sơn pass — best at sunset.
- Museums for an hour: the Yersin Museum in the centre and the Museum of Oceanography with its aquariums in Cầu Đá, both under 50,000 ₫ (≈$2).
- A beach for the whole day: Bãi Dài on the way to the airport, or Dốc Lết a couple of hours north.
- Islands and mud: Đảo Khỉ with its macaques — 220,000 ₫ (≈$8.50) including the return boat — the VinWonders park on Hòn Tre and the Trăm Trứng mud baths in a banana grove.
What to see in the city
Tháp Bà Ponagar
Bắc Nha Trang · Cham towers · entry 30,000 ₫ (≈$1.20) · daily 6:00–18:00
Google Maps · website · 61 Hai Tháng Tư
According to Google Maps reviews (4.5 from 32,000+): well-restored Cham towers on a hill overlooking the river and the fishing boats, with a small museum, sculptures and sometimes dance, music and weaving demonstrations. Tickets cost the same for kids and adults, cash or QR; if your clothes don't meet the dress code, you get a free cover-up. Downside: by mid-morning the tour groups arrive. There are several cafés right by the site for a break afterwards.
Chùa Long Sơn
Tây Nha Trang · Buddhist pagoda · free · open 24 hours
Google Maps · 22 Đường 23 Tháng 10
According to Google Maps reviews (4.3 from 15,000+): one of Nha Trang's most important pagodas, founded in the late 19th century, with a huge white Buddha on the hill and views over the city, plus a reclining Buddha. There are a lot of steps to the top. The dress code is strict: even men are stopped without covered knees, and at the entrance you can buy a sarong for 100,000 ₫ (≈$3.90) or rent one for 10,000 ₫ with a deposit. The main hall is sometimes closed; many skip the small temple before the stairs, which is a mistake.
Nhà thờ Núi
city centre · Catholic cathedral · hours not listed on Google
Google Maps · 01 Thái Nguyên
According to Google Maps reviews (4.1 from 3,200+): a stone neo-Gothic cathedral on a hill in the city centre, with stained glass showing Bible scenes, ringing bells, a shady courtyard and a cemetery next door. Coming just before evening mass works well. Downsides: entry is by donation, and some visitors complain that staff at the door won't let you in until you pay; sometimes the church is simply closed.
Bảo tàng Yersin (Yersin Museum)
city centre · museum · entry 20,000 ₫ (≈$0.80) · Mon–Fri 7:30–11:30 and 14:00–17:00, Sat 7:30–11:30, closed Sun
Google Maps · 10 Trần Phú
According to Google Maps reviews (4.5 from 480+): a small museum about Alexandre Yersin, the physician and bacteriologist who co-discovered the plague bacterium and lived in Nha Trang for many years. It's a single room on the first floor: photos, instruments, personal belongings and the story of his travels, with captions in French, English and Vietnamese; allow 30–40 minutes. You buy the ticket from the guard at the gate. Downside: it's hot and stuffy inside.
Bảo tàng Hải dương học (Museum of Oceanography)
Cầu Đá · marine museum and aquariums · entry 40,000 ₫ (≈$1.50) · daily 6:00–18:00
Google Maps · website · 1 Cầu Đá
According to Google Maps reviews (4.2 from 2,800+): a marine museum on the southern edge of the city, with a huge whale skeleton at the entrance, then pools of sharks and turtles, an aquarium tunnel and halls of sea life; exhibits have QR codes for an audio guide. Cheap, and it takes an hour or two; from the seafront next door you can see the cable car to Hòn Tre. Downside: many reviewers feel some animals, the crocodile especially, are kept in too little space.
Sea, beaches and islands
Hòn Chồng
Bắc Nha Trang · seaside rocks · entry about 22,000–30,000 ₫ (≈$0.85–1.20) · daily 6:00–18:00
Google Maps · Phạm Văn Đồng
According to Google Maps reviews (4.3 from 8,000): a pile of boulders above the sea, 10–15 minutes by Grab north of the centre, with a view of both of the city's main beaches. Folk musicians play before you walk down to the rocks, and there are cafés. Downsides: lots of tourists, slippery rocks, and it all closes at 18:00, so you may miss the sunset.
Hang Heo
Bắc Nha Trang · rocks & a swimming cove · open 24 hours
Google Maps · Phạm Văn Đồng
According to Google Maps reviews (4.0 from 940): a rocky cove below the Cô Tiên range, not far from the Lương Sơn pass, with beautiful water, hammocks and umbrellas; best at sunset and easy to reach by scooter. There's no entry fee, but you have to buy a drink at the café. Downsides: it has become a commercial photo spot with shrimp farms in the background, there's litter around, and the rocks are hard to clamber over.
Đảo Khỉ (Monkey Island)
Lương Sơn · island with monkeys · 220,000 ₫ (≈$8.50) incl. return boat · daily 7:30–16:30
Google Maps · website · Lương Sơn
According to Google Maps reviews (4.2 from 3,700+): an island where macaques roam free; boats leave the pier every half hour, and there's a long, clean beach inside, so bring a swimsuit, water and a hat. The downsides are serious: visitors are sold crisps and sweets to feed the monkeys, many macaques are visibly overweight, and some visitors see the trained-monkey shows as animal exploitation. Getting back from the pier is easier by Grab car than by bike.
Trăm Trứng
Nam Nha Trang · mud baths & hot springs · daily 8:30–18:00
Google Maps · website · Nguyễn Tất Thành
According to Google Maps reviews (4.7 from 1,200+): a spa park in a banana grove full of giant egg sculptures, with mud and herbal baths from single to group size, pools, a big jacuzzi, a man-made waterfall and a food court. Valuables are sealed in signed bags for safekeeping. The usual routine is 20 minutes in the mud and 20 in hot water; allow half a day.
VinWonders Nha Trang
Hòn Tre · island amusement park · daily 9:00–20:00, Fri until 20:30
Google Maps · website · Đảo Hòn Tre
According to Google Maps reviews (4.7 from 20,000+): a huge amusement park on the island facing the city, reached by cable car over the bay or by speedboat. Inside there are rides, an alpine coaster, a big wheel with views of the bay, a zoo, a bird show and gardens; many wish they'd bought a two-day ticket. Come at opening time and get a fast pass: by 9:30 the cable-car queue is already long. Downsides: poor signage, some spots are closed at times, and nearly all the cafés are at the bottom.
Bãi Dài
south of the city · beach
Google Maps · on the road to Cam Ranh airport
According to Google Maps reviews (4.5 from 830+): a long white-sand beach with a gentle slope into the water south of Nha Trang. Resorts take up most of it, but past the turn-off to the airport the public stretches with cafés begin. Few people, and you can watch planes coming in to land. Downsides: plastic litter in places, strong waves at times, and little food or shade nearby, so bring water and an umbrella.
Bãi biển Dốc Lết
Ninh Hòa · beach · sunbed about 150,000 ₫ (≈$6)
Google Maps · website · Đông Ninh Hòa, north of the city
According to Google Maps reviews (4.3 from 2,000+): white sand, clear water and palm trees a couple of hours' drive north of Nha Trang, with few tourists; people come for the whole day. Early in the morning locals sell their catch right on the beach and can cook it for you on the spot. Downsides: litter on parts of the beach, factory chimneys visible at the southern end, and the resorts won't let you sit on the sand for free; a sunbed costs about 150,000 ₫.
One last thing
Nha Trang is hot from early morning: see the Po Nagar towers and Chùa Long Sơn before noon, save the sea and the mud baths for the afternoon, and get to Hang Heo for sunset. VinWonders and the far beaches, Bãi Dài or Dốc Lết, each need a day of their own. Keep light trousers or a scarf in your bag for the temples.
More on Nha Trang: where to eat, bars