In my family’s 3 week trip to Vietnam, the majority of the photos we took were in our 3 days in Vinh Hy Bay. Not only is it a serenely beautiful part of the country but it also has a unique rural and cultural charm as its off the tourist radar. We were lucky to have a wonderful guide who had the knowledge of a local but the eyes of a tourist (a German who has been living in Vietnam for many years).
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I have put together this simple guide to help you plan your trip to Vinh Hy Bay as I could not find a lot of info online for planning before we went! Because Vinh Hy Bay is a little off the beaten track there isn’t a whole lot of information available about what to see and do either. Therefore, I have provided some useful details in my post Itinerary: 3 days in Vinh Hy Bay here. Please take a look to help you plan your visit. Or see my Vinh Hy Bay Photo Essay if you need some more convincing!
I hope this helps you to venture to this part of Vietnam as we were so happy we did!
Getting there and away:
Vinh Hy Bay is a bit out of the way and therefore a little tricker to get to than most spots in Vietnam.
The bay is approximately 1 hour drive from Camh Ranh Airport (you can also take a boat from near the airport to the bay! From the airport get transport to My Thanh Bridge – speedboats are available to transfer passengers to Vinh Hy bay from here.) We left Vinh Hy via Camh Ranh airport to travel back to Hanoi and it was an incredibly lovely drive along some of the most stunning coastline in Vietnam.
You can also get to Vinh Hy Bay via train but the closest train station is also some distance from the Bay at Thap Cham Station. We took an overnight sleeper train from Da Nang which took about 12 hours. Trains from Vinh Hy Bay to Hanoi leave from Thap Cham at 02:40; 03:54, 12:11; 16:36 and 22:05 while trains from Thap Cham to Saigon leave at 00:46, 11:12; 20:40; 21:19; 22:32 and 23:45.
The official Vietnam Railways website is https://dsvn.vn/#/ but you can also book through Baolau.
Accommodation:
You can see all 11 hotels available in Vinh Hy Bay on booking.com. The options are pretty limited! We stayed at Chanh Ranh House which was clean and comfortable and looked over the bay.
Food:
Restaurants
There are 2 restaurants in the bay with English menus (one of which is owned by Chanh Ranh House) both have good basic local fare. We preferred the other one – called Madame Hoang.
Vinh Hy is also known for its seafood restaurants (Vinh Hy Bay’s primary source of income is as a fishing village). Many of them are only open in the weekends on off season and all of them have a wider range of seafood in the weekends. We went to Quán Hải Sản Phước Thủy which is really just an open air kitchen with some plastic outdoor tables set up. But it was really nice.
The absolute BEST place to eat in the area is Doai Vegetarian Restaurant. Its a bit of a trek from the village in a rural area next to Nui Chua National Park. We went with our guide as part of our tour and had a set meal all of which was delicious. The setting is also spectacular as the restaurant is hidden in the forest and the outdoor seating sits on a wooden platform built around a rocky outcrop with stunning view of the bay.
Cafes and Bars
Ginger beer is a specialty in the village so make sure to stop at one of the cafes and give this a try! We liked the Ginger Beer at La Mer because there were also lots of weird and wonderful things preserved in jars.
Fresh Juices are always a good option in Vietnam and there is a great juice stall set up at the local playground in the evenings for your juice fix.
Also worth a stop is Yêu Biển bar which is a converted campervan parked up outside Chanh Ranh House. The drinks are very overpriced though so I suggest sticking only to Happy Hour!
Getting around:
Vinh Hy is pretty tricky to get around as a foreigner that doesn’t speak Vietnamese. The majority of international tourists that come through are travelling on motorbikes. You can also hire a driver but we found it was best to hire a guide which then means you don’t have to worry about your transport either and you can take advantage of all the forms of transport available (see my top tip below).
Vinh Hy Bay is very small so you can easily walk around the town itself. Boat and electric golf carts are other popular ways to travel considering the area you are in.
Top Tip:
If budget allows and you want to learn about the local culture, fruit, indigenous people and nature then I suggest hiring a private guide. I don’t always think this is the best way to travel (in fact I rarely hire a guide or go on a tour) but in locations such as this it was really helpful to have someone show us around, adapt itineraries and information based on our interests and give us insider tips.
In Vinh Hy Bay we found a wonderful tour company and guide: Vinh Hy Blue Skies where we received a fascinating private tour, had pre-arranged transport and yet had plenty of time to explore on our own, relax and find our own way.
I hope this guide has been helpful and gives you the information you need to take the road less travelled on occasion!
This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to book a stay or purchase an item I may earn a commission at no cost to you.
Vinh Hy Bay is a local paradise in Vietnam. It’s relatively unknown to international tourists unless they are visiting the insanely luxurious Amanoi Resort. I didn’t think anywhere in Vietnam could be off the beaten track but Vinh Hy certainly was! We started off our journey by travelling overnight in one of Vietnam’s sleeper trains (7 of us sharing a cabin on a cramped overnight journey – myself sharing my narrow bed with my 2 month old baby in her travel bassinet) which definitely felt like the start of an adventure and a bit of a change from our last few days getting room service and lounging by the pool in our 5 star hotel (It was great! Click the link to book!). We wanted to go somewhere that tourists don’t usually venture and Vinh Hy bay sure did not disappoint. See my Vinh Hy Bay Photo Essay for inspiration to venture off the beaten track.
Because Vinh Hy Bay is a little off the beaten track there isn’t a whole lot of information available online with practical information about your stay. Therefore, I have provided some useful details in my post Planning a Trip to Vinh Hy Bay to help you plan your visit.
Otherwise, please take a look below for some insight into all Vinh Hy Bay has to offer!
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES
Ninh Thuan Rock Park
This is a gorgeous walk and viewpoint covered in..you guessed it. Rocks. Such picturesque rocks EVERYWHERE. The standout is the end of the short 20 min walk which comes out into a clifftop view of the ocean. There is also a little swing for the perfect photo op! There is nothing to do here except relax and enjoy the view but I hear there’s plans for a cafe in the near future.
Nua Chua National Park
About 15 minutes from Vinh Hy Bay you will find Nui Chua National Park and you can cross a suspension bridge to wander a local ethnic minority (Raglai) village situated inside the national park. From here you will then walk through the forest experiencing the fresh mountain air. Doai Vegetarian Restaurant is a short walk away via a peaceful stream and interesting flora and fauna. Stop for lunch (if you have booked in advance) or a cool drink.
Visit a Grape Farm
This area of Vietnam is known for its grape farms. Not wineries. Grape farms. We visited one in the Thai An valley. All you can see is vines for miles around but then you can find man-made holes along the edge, duck underneath to come out underneath the vines and the grape farms have set up little plastic tables. They produce a grape liquor which you can taste test along with grape cordial for the kids and they serve these along with lots of grape snacks. My kids were in heaven with all these free taste testers and the novelty of the child size location where the adults have to duck under the vines. The sealed bottles make for good souvenirs.
Walk a rocky pathway to a hidden beach
At the northern end of Vinh Hy bay the road abruptly ends and there is a hidden pathway covered in spiky cacti and branches. To walk along it you need to scramble over rocks and slip and slide down loose dirt. You come out on a little scenic beach with calm water good for swimming. Unfortunately a local business owner likes to take tour groups out here for lunch on a boat (and pretend its only accessible this way) so the path is not maintained or signposted but you can find it if you know what you are looking for.
Take a speedboat out around the bay
The scenery around Vinh Hy bay is best explored via boat. Taking a speedboat out allows fantastic views of the surrounding cliffs and hidden beaches along the coast. There are many little beaches here where you can swim and snorkel and relax in a beautiful part of the bay away from the fishing boats that sit in the water around the village itself.
Observe local village life around the bay
Vinh Hy bay has lots of winding narrow streets leading off the main street. Its in these quieter areas where most of local life takes place. We took some time to walk around and check out the market and the local homes and relaxed at the main square and playground where the village comes alive in the evenings.
Hang Rai Sea Cave
Hang Rai is an area of rock that has become a tourist attraction mainly because of a stunning picture a photographer took of water cascading over the top which is all over the internet. The funny thing is that the main part of Hang Rai actually sits far out of the water. Its a large rock you can climb on and see how it resembles the surface of the moon. The Hang Rai made world famous is actually a small coral reef area and rock to the left side of this one and only visible at low tide. Its also not signposted or obvious at all. The waterfall effect that looks so beautiful in the photograph is very difficult to capture as it requires being there at exactly the right time. The place is cool though and worth a walk through. There are some crazy looking rocks in this area. We didn’t have time to explore and see if we could view the other part of the rock but if you do I suggest bringing your togs! It looks like people climb right in and sit in the natural rock pools the tide creates here.
Next time I visit I would love to spend some time at Cam Lap Promontory also as this is nearby. Nui Chua National Park also has some good multi-day hiking trails but I wasn’t prepared to undertake this with young children in tow! I hope this guide has been helpful and inspires you to take the road less travelled on occasion.
Parque Tayrona is a jungle that has just jumped out of a movie set. It’s pristine, perfect, wild and gorgeous. I didn’t visit this wonderful spot on my first visit to Colombia – I wasn’t so into hiking at that point and I had to prioritise due to time constraints but I wish I had. WOW. This spot was one of my trip highlights (although there are so very many).
Top Tips for Parque Tayrona:
If you can – stay more than one night! We only stayed overnight which meant two long days of hiking and a short but sweet overnight stop at the most beautiful spot in the park. I would have liked to spend a day at Cabo San Juan relaxing and swimming AND/OR visited one of the other locations/campsites in the park.
Bring plenty of your own food, even if you are staying at Cabo San Juan (which has a restaurant and a shop). The choices are pretty limited and its very expensive for Colombia. You will also want snacks/lunch while you are hiking. You want to be able to treat yourself with an ice-block or a cooked meal rather than feel like you have to pay outrageous prices every time you need to eat something.
Where to stay:
Cabo San Juan has the best and most popular accomodation. It has TONs of hammocks and tent spaces and its cheap to stay. It has a toilet/shower block plus a restaurant and a shop so its well set up for visitors. There are other places you can stay within the park such as other quieter campsites, luxury lodges you book in advance, and lodges just inside the borders of the park that you don’t need to hike to.
Also, Cabo San Juan is a can’t miss spot due to its beautiful double bay so you may as well stay overnight there! When I stayed the hammocks were 20,000 COP each. If you arrive early enough you can choose the hammocks on a rock outcrop in the middle of the double bays (pictured above). It gets a bit windy up there though and forget trying to get to and from the toilet in the middle of the night!
Getting there and away:
We travelled to Parque Tayrona from Palomino (This is Colombia’s version of Bali). we stayed at a little guesthouse called La Case en el Arbol. Palomino is really close to Parque Tayrona and was a great place to organise ourselves before starting our hike. It was an un-scheduled stop on our part but we managed to get back from the far north of Colombia a night early but definitely one we are glad we made.
From Palomino, all you need to do isa flag down a bus headed to Santa Marta and let them know which entrance of Parque Tayrona you would like to get off the bus at.
After our Parque Tayrona hike, we headed back to collect the rest of our things from our Hotel in Santa Marta (we stored them there for 4 days). Again, all we did was flag down a bus heading to Santa Marta from the Parque Tayrona entrance. Santa Marta is a cute little beach town and you can get a connection to many parts of Colombia from here. There’s an airport to fly to Bogota and Cartagena is 6 hours by bus.
Getting around:
There are lots of ways to make your way into and out of Parque Tayrona depending on your fitness levels and where you are staying once in the park.
We chose to take the Calabazo entrance into the park. From here it is approximately 4-5 hours hiking via a little jungle settlement called ‘Pueblito’ to get to Cabo San Juan where we were staying. If you are taking this route make sure to start early in the day and give yourself enough time. We absolutely loved this walk as we saw almost nobody else and there were beautiful jungle views. A dog met us in the middle and walked us all the way to Cabo San Juan (turns out he belonged to one of the staff and just liked to wander through the jungle on his own). This hike was LONG though and very sweaty and exhausting in 30 degrees at 100% humidity, Take lots of breaks.
We left via the El Zaino gate. This is a much easier walk (approx. 2 hours) and is the more popular trail. It’s a nice walk via a few beaches and a bit of jungle. Its definitely worth allowing time to stop along the way and swim. La Piscina is a good beach on route. However, do note that there is a long boring road that it part of this route. There are shuttles waiting that allow you to skip this section but we didn’t know this having not entered the park via this route and it gets exhausting walking along what seems like a never ending road. Once you have started the shuttles won’t stop for you as they fill up at the entrance/exit. The road adds about another hour to this walk.
If you aren’t into hiking – you can actually also take a boat into Parque Tayrona. The boat leaves from Taganga. Its really choppy and most people get seasick but if you don’t like hiking this may be the way to go. I do like hiking and also had no desire to go back to Taganga (a party village filled with backpackers and rubbish) so we didn’t choose this option.
Food:
See my top tip above – I suggest bringing as much as you can carry yourself including TONS of water. However, there are facilities to buy food in the park. Also, the El Zaino entrance has some shops and restaurants. We definitely deserved our stop for Lulo juice and a beer on our way out of the park!
What to bring:
Lots of food and water
Light, breathable sports clothing (including leggings or long pants)
Hiking shoes and socks
Togs and Jandals (Swimming costume and sandals for those not familiar with the kiwi language)
Sunhat and sunglasses
Sarong for use as a beach towel or coverup
Sunblock and Bug repellant
Book or kindle
Bodywash and travel towel
Silk sleeping bag or sheet for the hammock
Lock for valuables (they have lockers)
Headlamp or flashlight
Passport (you will need this to enter the park)
Cash (with enough to pay the park fee if you haven’t pre-booked your tickets)
Photo equipment (Phone, Camera, Go Pro) and a battery pack to charge
Bring as few items as you can possibly manage as everything you bring has to be carried on your hike in the jungle heat.
What to expect:
Expect pretty basic camping facilities as you are pretty deep in the Colombian jungle and don’t expect to be completely off the beaten track – there are tons of people here like in any holiday location.
THE ONLY ERIKA IN THE VILLAGE 