For the first time in Vietnam: what you liked and what you didn't

16 September 2017 • Travel time: with 26 July 2017 on 07 august 2017

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My husband and I discovered Vietnam for ourselves. Before that, they used to be in Turkey, Thailand and Sochi. Expectations were: a quiet, calm resort with clear sea. Was it justified?

We were in Nha Trang from July 26 to August 7. We stayed at the Nha Trang Lodge 4 * hotel.

1. City

Vietnam is a young tourist resort, which was chosen by the French and Americans in that century. After 2004, gradual infusions into the tourism sector began, which are increasing and presumably in 5 years (2022) Vietnam will reach a different level in terms of tourism. Before the holidays, we thought that Vietnam is a quiet and relaxing holiday. Using the example of Nha Trang, we dispelled this myth from the first day.

The city is big enough. Filled with houses of residents, hotels. Every Vietnamese house has its own small business: hotel, cafe, spa and more. Therefore, the city is very colorful.

2. Excursions

We chose where to take an excursion between Alfa Tour and the Russian Information Center (RIC). We checked all the prices at home in advance and already in Nha Trang itself they came to ask for details both there and there. We were greatly struck by the impudent attitude of the RIC towards customers. We directly sought to be served. They came to two offices and all in the center - 2-3 lines.

We wanted to take the following excursions:

- Zoklet beach + Bajo waterfall

- Dalat

- Diving

- Winperl

- iResort

and independently visit the Ponagar towers, the statue of Buddha and the stone garden “Honchong”

We started to clarify at the RIC about diving, and we were hung on our ears so much. They offered for $140: two dives + a Russian instructor for 1 dive + an English-speaking team. Can you imagine how to dive for the first time when everyone around speaks English, and even for that kind of money.

We immediately refused and went to AlfaTour on the third line. We really liked how Peter explained to us about all the excursions, said that diving would be with Amigos Divers (they have a website and a cool group in VK). Includes two dives, Russian team, mask, snorkel and fins in case you come in just to snorkel + lunch = $150. Of course we took all the excursions from him and got a discount.

I'll attach the prices with a photo, but they are on their website https://alfatoursvietnam. ru

All excursions justified their purpose.

If you choose, then be sure to take Dalat, winpearl and diving.

Briefly about all excursions:

Zoklet BeachWe didn't really like it because it was high tide and the beach was dirty. But the sand is fine and white. You can ride a bike on your own. But Call of the Jungle was really cool. We climbed rocks, lianas, swam in a warm freshwater waterfall, sat underBakho waterfall. Someone even jumped from 6 meters into a waterfall. It was extreme and fun. There we tried delicious Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk and ice - I advise! Only 20 thousand dong.

Dalatis a city built by the French at 1500 meters above sea level. There is a different climate, huge coffee plantations where we walked and looked for red berries. The tour is very rich. Here you need to buy coffee, it's real. We also bought Kopi Luwak (170 thousand dong per 100 grams), but how real it is is difficult to answer. Very beautiful temples, the museums of Hell and Paradise are worth a visit, you can also look at Crazy House - the photos there are cool and generally unusual. In the store where the tasting will be, we bought coffee, green tea and artichokes. All this is really natural and works. We have been drinking J Green tea for two months now, we just need to take more, it is very tasty. You can also ride an ostrich in Dalat for 100 thousand dong.

Diving- We swam with Amigos Divers. We took two dives and went down to 10 meters. The guys are professional and will help you. Do not throw in the water. http://amigosdivers. ru and in VK https://vk.com/clubamigosdivers They also offer 3-4 days for $350 to get certified as a professional diver. We really wanted to, but there was not enough money with us. They also offer shooting for $50 for two. We then regretted that we refused. It was worth it. The view is very beautiful. Nha Trang is one of the cheapest and most scenic diving spots! – we advise you!

Winperl- we bought tickets from the RIC so as not to stand in line. We were advised not to go by 8-9 in the morning, but to go by 10. It was a mistake. The queue for the cable car was still long. But in 15-20 minutes we got on the lift and drove off. As advised to us, we went to the first business on the electric sleigh. DO NOT DO THIS. If you really want an electric sleigh, then take a ride in Dalat for 60 thousand dong without a queue. Or go at the end of the day, but you need to queue up at 17:00 edge.

We spent 2 hours waiting in line to get down in 2 minutes. Honestly, I'm afraid of extreme slides, but even for me it was like kindergarten. It's not worth the time! Better go to the water slides right away.

A map is issued there6, so it's better to prescribe in advance what you want to visit. What is interesting on Winperl? - This is a rubber town right on the water on the shore. You are given a vest and you run around the town, overcoming obstacles. It was better than slides. The slides themselves are not very scary, but it takes a long time to stand on them. But it is worth visiting them. We should open the survey ring by September. There is a zoo next to it, I advise you to go in the very evening by 18:00-19:00 and grab a camera, as the view there is very beautiful at sunset and the sea, and the animals are interesting. Be sure to go to the dolphin show. It's on schedule. We liked it, but we hadn't seen them before. It is simply impossible to get around all the zones in a day, so still take a map and circle where 100 is: you need to go so as not to waste time. Remember that all this is included in your ticket and you can ride as much as you like and anywhere: cars, slides, water slides, rafting, carousels, a zoo and a bunch of other things. At the end, we stayed at the fountains, but looked halfway through and ran to the cable car so as not to stand in line. But the fountains are amazing! Must see. You can take a taxi back, you can walk on foot. Depending on where you live.

5. iResort - if you want to relax, then you should visit. There, the most minimal program for $ 12.5 includes a mud bath and all hot pools, waterfalls, showers. We took it as the final one. Tickets were bought again on the Alpha tour, we were ordered delivery for 40 thousand for two one way on an open tuk-tuk. There are lockers, towels, sun loungers and lots of hot pools, showers and waterfalls. But also a lot of Chinese.

6. On our own, we walked a lot around the city. They traveled by bus. They go there often and their routes are indicated on the map. They cost 7 thousand dong per one. We went to the rock garden - entrance for one 44 thousand dong. You can take beautiful pictures there, but there is nothing special there. On the other hand, the Ponagar (Cham Towers) towers are very unusual. Also the entrance is 44 thousand dong per person. They date back to 781. They were restored and left in the same place. They also made sacrifices there. Energetically the place is interesting + the view opens to the whole city. There we tried the most delicious coconut for 30 thousand dong. This was not found anywhere else. Worth a visit.

But with the Buddha statuewe have an unpleasant situation. We arrived at 6 pm and we were met there by a Vietnamese woman who tried to push the chopsticks in. Long tried. Well, we took one. Let's move on. The temple below was closed (until 17:00). Then the same Vietnamese woman began to speak in broken Russian that you just need to wait 15 minutes. There were English-speaking tourists with us and they went to the top. We decided to do the same. But the Vietnamese did not let us go, but began to demand money as much as 100 thousand dong. We refused. In general, she ran after us for a long time, cursing. We offered her 10.000 dong. She refused. As a result, she swore at us in pure Russian and left.

Moral of the story: don't just take anything from the locals. They will not leave you behind: either they will swear, or they will rip off your money. By the way, she did not even approach the English-speaking tourists. What is the attitude towards Russians?

Naturally, the whole mood is that a beautiful and sacred place is gone. We climbed to the top, there was a beautiful view, but we soon left quickly and drove to

3. Hotel

Now about the hotel. Clean, comfortable, with a great view of the sea and the beach. Clean well, do not steal. Although we lost a T-shirt and we still think that it was stolen. The breakfasts are very tasty and plentiful. You can find everything you want. For an Asian country, this is quite excellent. The hotel takes its location. We chose between ours. That one had great big pools but no view, and we had a small pool but great view. By the way, the hotel itself has a delicious menu, especially crabs. Inexpensive and delicious.

4. Money

Only dollars should be quoted. And you need to change them in the jewelry stores of the Treasure of Angora. There the course will be much higher than that of. We checked. It is better to charge 100-200 dollars at once so that the rate is higher.

To make it easy to transport dongs for rubles, you need to remove three zeros from the amount and multiply by three. 60.000 dong - 60 - 603 = 180 rubles. True, this will be a little overestimated, since it is necessary to multiply by 2.7. But this makes it easy to navigate the prices.

5. Food

Well, finally. We went around looking for food all we can. And it is clear that it is difficult to advise something, because of the taste and color. We have been to the Swedish-style Grill Garden restaurant twice, where you pay 220 thousand dong and eat whatever you want: ostrich, crocodile, shellfish, mussels, shrimp, cuttlefish frogs, snakes, different types of fish, squid, octopus and much more. Flip flops help prepare every dish well. We tried everything. And the usual cafes that we liked: Fami café , another cafe on the third line, two-story, but I don’t remember the name. It was somewhere opposite the alpha tour. As for fruits, the cheapest smoothies and fruits are here: the intersection of Biet Thu and Nguyen Thien Thuat. Opposite the store 1001. You should definitely try Mocao.

As for rice, it is delicious everywhere. It is better not to take noodles, as they will bring you Rolton. And here is Pho soup over to try. Very tasty. I advise you to go to Fami café .

We tried really delicious coffee at the ICED coffee shop. This is a chain of coffee shops and it is very pleasant and tasty there. I took Viennese coffee.

How much we spent:

Excursions: VND 7.671, 200 - $339.43

Food: VND 3.527, 300 - $156.08

Fruits: VND 925.000 - $40.93

Transport: VND 224.000 - $9.91 - we walked a lot.

Gifts: VND 1.690, 000 - $74.78

Total: VND 14.037, 500 - $731 with Duty Free

P. S. booked a sightseeing tour from Anex tour. As a result, they did not come to us at all and did not take us away. We were very surprised by such a friendly service. And the neighbors who went told that he arrived an hour later (that is, you lost time for breakfast while waiting at the reception) and drove to the shops. In the end, they got off the bus halfway and went on their own.

Translated automatically from Russian. View original