Nha Trang - Diving Holiday Destination

Nha Trang (Vietnam)

NHA TRANG is the best known beach tourist city of Vietnam. Located on the coast of the South China Sea, 45O km North of Ho Chi Minh City with a population of 300 000 people

With its beautiful, unspoilt and uncrowded beaches, PHUONG SON pagoda, the two big Buddhas, the hot water spring THAP BA, the Cham tower of PONAGAR, vibrant bars and restaurants of international standard: Nha Trang is a relaxing and attractive place to visit.

Nha Trang boasts the marine park of Hon Mun (the most famous site in Vietnam for scuba diving) , an island in Nha Trang Bay, which is classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. The dive sites are occupied by tropical fish and underwater scenic beauty. Divers can also, from time to time, meet turtles recently released by The Hon Mun Association.

The majority of the dive sites are within a 1 hour boat ride (or 15 minutes by speedboat) from Nha Trang to the stunning nearby Islands of the Hon Mun Marine Park. This represents the BEST diving in The South China Sea.

Marine life may not be as prolific as The Red Sea or The Barrier Reef, but the variety of species and vivid colours will fascinate and thrill all divers and snorkellers, beginners and experienced alike! There are many rare fish (frogfish, paperfish, devil scorpionfish, dragonettes, flying gunard, cowfish etc.), nudibranches & giant moray eels, as well as one white-tip shark (called Eric!), some small manta rays, large stingrays and some shy turtles. There are over 400 species of hard coral making it one of the richest hard coral dive sites in the world.

Surprisingly, there are no wrecks to dive as the locals have salvaged everything above 50 metres. However, there are a few "wreckages" south of Nha Trang.

Night diving is always available from the beach or to one of the nearby islands via speedboat.

Climate

The climate of Nha Trang is considered tropical. This means that the temperatures are warm throughout the year, an average temperature of 26.5ºC. with High humidity usual, and the year is distinctively broken up by the wet and dry seasons.

Although the temperatures are warm throughout the year, the hottest months on average are June and July, during which time the daily high temperatures will be in the mid 90’s. The nighttime temperatures during these months will drop to the 70’s. The coldest months of the year are December and January. During these months the daily temperatures will be in the upper 70’s, and will drop to the mid 60’s during the nights.

Generally more important to visitors than temperatures is the rain. The rainy (or monsoon) season in Hoi An is from September until January. During this time, rain clouds will constantly move through the area. There are days during which sunshine is abundant, but they are not the majority. A noticeable decrease in tourism can be seen during the wet season. The dry season is from February until May. These months provide plenty of sunshine, with warm temperatures.

All around, the best time to visit Nha Trang is between May and June.

Dive Facts

The weather obviously dictates diving conditions, but normally visibility is 10 - 30 metres and water temperature between 22 - 30c.

Dive Attractions

See more detail about Nha Trang Dive Sites in our Dive Sites Directory, and Nha Trang Dive Clubs & Tour Operators in our Dive Club Directory.

Some of the best Dive Sites inlcude:

Rainbow Reef
Outstanding colours from the unique
biodiversity of hard & soft corals

Madonna Rock
A 25 metre dive with exciting
swim thru's and caves

Moray Beach
18 metres deep diving with beautiful
corals and home to Giant Morays

The Outer Islands
unexplored group of Islands offering
diving from 10 - 50 metres

Other

Language: Vietnamese, although English is widely understood in the major cities, and even in more remote areas.

Currency: The Vietnamese Dong is the official currency, but the US Dollar is the favoured currency of choice!

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