Nineteen islands shelter Nha Trang bay from the open sea, and a boat day among them is the main thing to do here once you have had enough of the beach. One catch: every tour carries the same name, “Nha Trang islands,” while the programs differ completely: some give you an hour of snorkeling over living coral, others twenty minutes in the water squeezed between lunch and a floating bar with beer. I spent several months in Vietnam and have done this bay in most of the formats on offer, so the notes below come from comparing them rather than from a brochure. Below is what each island offers, what it costs and how to avoid buying the wrong tour.
What Is Where in the Bay
Boats leave from Cau Da port at the southern end of Tran Phu street, and the four nearest islands lie 15 to 25 minutes from the pier. Hon Tre is the largest and holds Vinpearl. Hon Mun is a marine reserve with coral, the place for snorkeling and diving. Hon Mot is a sand spit between them, a stop for a swim. Hon Tam is a managed beach with a resort. Hon Mieu, the island closest to shore, has Bai Tranh beach and a fishing village. To the north, in Nha Phu bay, sits a separate group: Hon Lao with its monkeys and Hoa Lan with its orchids. And 60 km north, in Van Phong bay, Diep Son island has a sand causeway that rises out of the water at low tide.
A standard “three islands” or “four islands” group tour covers Hon Mun, Hon Mot and Hon Tam or Hon Mieu in a day, from 8:30 to 16:00. Far islands are a separate full day with a drive.
Hon Mun, Coral and Diving
Hon Mun is the only marine reserve in the bay, and the coral here is healthier than anywhere along the Vietnamese coast south of Da Nang. Visibility runs 10 to 15 meters in the dry season, the fish do not fear people, and morays and sea snakes live around the rocks; they leave you alone if you leave them alone. Reserve fee: 22,000 dong, paid on the boat or included in the tour price.
Snorkeling works from March to September, with April and May the best months. From October to December the swell stirs up sand, visibility drops to two or three meters, and the reserve often closes. Every boat hands out masks and snorkels, but they are worn out, so bring your own mask. Fins are not available everywhere.
Diving at Hon Mun is the cheapest way to try a first dive in Southeast Asia. A trial dive with an instructor to 6 to 8 meters costs 1.3 to 1.6 million dong, about 55 to 60 dollars, boat and gear included. Certified divers pay 1.8 to 2.2 million for two dives. Dive shops sit on Hung Vuong and Tran Quang Khai streets, and all their boats leave at 7:30 and return by lunch. A discovery dive at Hon Mun booked ahead costs about the same as walking in.
Hon Tam, a Beach With Service
Hon Tam is an island taken up entirely by the MerPerle resort. Day visitors get a beach zone: sunbeds, a pool, a restaurant, mud baths on the hillside and a view of the city across the bay. A day ticket costs about 400,000 dong including the round-trip boat from Cau Da, with departures hourly from 8 am. The mud bath is extra, 250,000 to 350,000.
Hon Tam’s point is that it is the one island where you can spend a day without a boat program: lie down, swim, eat lunch and go back. The sea is calmer than in town and the sand is paler. One drawback: restaurant prices are double the city’s and you cannot bring your own food. For a few nights of quiet, Hon Tam Resort charges 120 to 180 dollars for a bungalow with breakfast, and once the last boat leaves the island empties.
Hon Tre and Vinpearl
Hon Tre is the big island facing the city, and its southern part is covered by the Vinpearl complex: five hotels, the VinWonders theme park with a water park, an aquarium and a Ferris wheel, and a golf course. A 3.3-kilometer cable car runs from the city over the sea to the island, a 12-minute ride that is an attraction in itself, with the bay, the boats and the city under your feet.
A VinWonders ticket with the cable car costs about 900,000 dong for adults and 650,000 for children under 140 cm. It is open from 8:30 to 21:00, with a fountain show in the evening. Its water park closes at 17:00, so go in the morning. Adults without children almost always come away disappointed; this is a place for kids. For children aged five to twelve it is the best day in Nha Trang, and it should replace the boat tour rather than add to it: two such days in a row wear everyone out.
Vinpearl’s hotels on the island are a holiday format of their own. Vinpearl Luxury Nha Trang holds a guest score of 9 out of 10 from nearly three hundred reviews, with a private beach, unlimited park entry and a free cable car. From 150 dollars a night, and half an hour to the city with a taxi at the other end. Three or four nights with children, yes; ten, no.
Hon Mieu and Bai Tranh Beach
Hon Mieu is the island nearest the shore, seven minutes by boat from Cau Da. On its southern side lies Bai Tranh, the quietest managed beach in the bay: pale sand, sunbeds in the shade of casuarina trees, a few cafes serving seafood at 200,000 to 300,000 dong a kilo, and almost nobody on weekdays. Entry is about 100,000 dong including the boat from the port, with scheduled boats until 16:30.
On the north side of the island is the fishing village of Tri Nguyen, where floating farms fatten fish and lobster for the restaurants. Some group tours stop here for lunch, and that lunch is usually the high point of the program. The three-islands tour of Nha Trang with lunch covers Hon Mieu together with two neighbors in a day and leaves a few hours for the beach instead of transfers. If you would rather skip boats entirely, the mainland options are in the guide to Nha Trang beaches with clean water.
Islands North of the City
In Nha Phu bay, 15 km north, boats from Da Chong pier run to Hon Lao, known as Monkey Island. More than a thousand macaques live here, once bred for laboratories and now fed by tourists. These monkeys are bold, steal sunglasses and phones, and children need to be held by the hand. Entry is about 150,000 dong. Next door is Hoa Lan, Orchid Island, with a garden, a waterfall and a small zoo. Group tours to Nha Phu bay cost 500,000 to 600,000 dong with the boat and suit families with small children who are too young for snorkeling, since the program is about walking and feeding animals rather than time in the water.
Diep Son in Van Phong bay, 60 km north, became famous for an 800-meter sand road that rises out of the sea at low tide and links three islets. Go early, by 9 am, while the water is low, and only in the dry season. From the city it is a full day: an hour and a half by car to the pier at Van Gia, then half an hour by boat. An organized tour costs 700,000 to 900,000 dong with lunch.
People often ask about Binh Ba, the lobster island in Cam Ranh bay. It is closed to foreigners: the bay is a military zone, and since 2015 only Vietnamese citizens are allowed. Neighboring Binh Hung is open, and people go for lobster and empty beaches, but it is two hours south and a separate day.
How to Choose a Boat Tour
Group tours with lunch cost 500,000 to 700,000 dong per person and are sold on every corner. They differ in three things, and you should ask about all three before paying. How long is the snorkeling stop at Hon Mun: an hour is good, twenty minutes is bad. Does the price include the reserve fee and sunbeds on the beach, or will another 100,000 to 150,000 appear on the spot. And is there a floating bar with beer and a disco: a plus for a group of friends, a minus for a family or anyone who wants to swim. The Hon Mun marine park snorkeling tour is built around time in the water rather than the party.
A private speedboat for 6 to 10 people costs 2.5 to 3.5 million dong a day and pays off with four passengers: you choose the islands and the timing, and lunch comes from the village on Hon Mieu. Book through your hotel or at the port the day before. For a romantic evening there is a sunset cocktail and dinner cruise around the bay, about 1.2 million dong for two, no swimming but the lights of the city and the cable car.
| Island | Why go | Getting there | Cost | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hon Mun | Snorkeling, diving | Boat tour or dive shop | 22,000 fee, tour 500,000 to 700,000, dive from 1.3 million | March to September |
| Hon Mot | Swim stop | Part of the tour | Included | March to September |
| Hon Tam | Managed beach, mud baths | Hourly boat from Cau Da | About 400,000 with the boat | Year-round |
| Hon Tre, VinWonders | Water park, cable car | Cable car or Vinpearl boat | 900,000 adult, 650,000 child | Year-round |
| Hon Mieu, Bai Tranh | Quiet beach, village lunch | 7 minutes by boat from Cau Da | About 100,000 with the boat | March to September |
| Hon Lao, Hoa Lan | Monkeys, garden, kids | Da Chong pier, 15 km north | 150,000 entry, tour 500,000 to 600,000 | Year-round |
| Diep Son | Sand road in the sea | Car to Van Gia plus boat | Tour 700,000 to 900,000 | January to August, mornings |
What to Bring on the Boat
- Your own mask. Boat masks leak. A good mask costs 300,000 to 500,000 dong in the shops on Hung Vuong and pays for itself on the first trip.
- Water shoes. At Hon Mot and Hon Mun you enter the sea over rocks and coral.
- SPF 50 and a swim shirt. On the water even people who never burn in town burn within an hour.
- Cash. The reserve fee, sunbeds and drinks at the floating bar are all cash; boats do not take cards.
- A waterproof pouch for your phone. 20,000 dong at any market.
- Motion sickness tablets if in doubt. In April and May the bay is flat; the rest of the year the boat can roll.
With one day, take the classic three-island tour with a long snorkeling stop at Hon Mun and lunch on Hon Mieu. With two, give the second to Hon Tam or Diep Son, depending on what you need more, a sunbed or photographs. And leave Vinpearl to the children. How the boat days fit around the rest of the city is laid out in five days in Nha Trang without a tour agency.
