Scenic Viet Nam: Interesting Destinations for Summer Vacation
How amazing it is!
The sky shines bright in the summer
"When on a summer's morn I wake,
And open my two eyes,
Out to the clear, born-singing rills
My bird-like spirit flies."<<William Henry Davies>>
I cheerfully jump out of boredom under the sun to get more fun!
You know what, you look young and free when summer comes, no matter what age you are in. Waking up in the morning when some breeze knocks on the door and, guess what, right as you open the glass window, sunlight hastily floods all into your room. Such abundant source of energy and blissful joy will definitely excite you with an intriguing idea of outdoor enjoyment. Yeah, go out now! Throw yourself into the nature out there.
As you stay in Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City and want to swap places for the summer vacation, here are some destinations for you to visit while the summer is still young. In another article, I mentioned some places near Saigon for a weekend getaway. Now it's time to travel farther and enjoy further more!
Let's go!
Where to go in Viet Nam
| South | Southwest | Central Highlands | Central Region | North |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ba Ria - Vung Tau | Tien Giang - Ben Tre | Da Lat | Phan Thiet - Mui ne | Ha Noi |
Tay Ninh | Can Tho | Ham Thuan - Da Mi (Camping) | Phu Yen - Binh Dinh | Sapa |
| Phu Quoc |
| Da Nang - Hoi An | Ha Long Bay |
- For Southern and Southwestern Viet Nam: click here for further information.
- For Central Highlands of Viet Nam: Camping sites and Da Lat
Central Region of Viet Nam
- Phan Thiet & Mui Ne: click here to read more, don't forget Ke Ga Cape
- Da Nang - Hoi An: browse this article for further information
Phan Thiet - Mui Ne
Da Lat
Known as "Foggy City", Da Lat looks like a fairy land in morning
Online
You'd love to stroll along Love Valley with your beloved
Or sit around for a cup of coffee
Da Nang
Ham Thuan - Da Mi
Ham Thuan dam is a reservoir to serve a hydropower plant
Such fantastic scenery will make you day for sure
You can't help but dawdle around feasting your eyes over such amazing nature
Even the road looks so strikingly beautiful, isn't it?
As the morning broke, I posed for a photo in such an outstanding backdrop
And there are many waterfalls along the way, where you can stop and photograph
Phu Yen - An alluring destination
Phu Yen is a coastal province in Central Viet Nam, bordering on Binh Dinh in the north and Khanh Hoa in the south with its capital of Tuy Hoa City. Visitors can visit Phu Yen by car and train or ship. A 12 hour ride on a night train will lead you to Tuy Hoa in the morning. There are many home-stays around town, where you just pay jack to get a room.
Once you set foot in Phu Yen, go have bánh canh hẹ (a type of noodle in Phu Yen) for breakfast at any street corners. Then rent a motorbike and set off toward Xuan Dai Bay (Vịnh Xuân Đài) in the north. Tu Nham is a sun-drenched sandy beach, where you can stop by and take a bath (bear in mind that there is no place nearby for you to have a fresh water bath then) or take photos. On the go back from Vinh Xuan Bay, you must visit Mang Lang Church, which was built in 19th century in Gothic style. Near there, Ganh Da Dia, similar to Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, is a coastal area of strikingly arranged basalt rocks created from volcanic eruptions millions of years ago.
After hanging out in Ganh Da Dia, you may visit O Loan Swamp (đầm Ô Loan) and Swallow Island (hòn Yến) on the way back to Tuy Hoa City.
Xuan Dai Bay is emerging from afar
Om Beach (Bãi Ôm) is actually a fishing village
Remember to come back early in the evening to eat Ocean Tuna's Eye at Tam's Restaurant on Le Duan Street. Or you must go to try dried chicken rice at Tuyet Nhung's or Thien Huong's on Le Thanh Ton Street. This is a special dish in Tuy Hoa City. Then ride along Bach Dang Street and stop by to have mixed ice-cream at Duy Tan's, before coming back to have a sound sleep then.
At 4 a.m in the early morning, you should set off toward the Easternmost Point (Cực Đông) on Dai Lanh Cape (Mũi Điện or Mũi Đại Lãnh) to welcome the first sunlight of the day. There is a lighthouse nearby, where you can climb up and spread your view over Mon Beach (bãi Môn) and Đại Lãnh Cape. Vung Ro Beach nearby is amazing as well. Don't come back early because Ca Mountain-pass (Đèo Cả) is worth hanging out for a while. Actually Ca Pass was once the national highway until a long tunnel through the mountains was built. Thus it's now safe for tourists to stop here and there and take photos. And before you go back to the salt mines (you know what I mean, right?), don't forget to shop for some bánh ít lá gai - a local special cake as a desert back home.
As the morning breaks, fishermen sets off sail from their homes
Some fishing boats nail still by the bay
The Lighthouse in the left and the Ca Pass in the right altogether make such a stunning background
Mon Beach (bãi Môn) looks amazing on the way towards the Lighthouse
The lighthouse stands strikingly in the sunny summer
And Dien Cape (Mũi Điện) is a heaven-like destination
The way back to Tuy Hoa from the Lighthouse is gorgeous as well
The summer seems endless in the coastal city
Such a bright sunny sky energizes anyone's wanderlust
Solo travel means you will have more time for yourself, so taking selfies or self portraits sounds reasonable to do. And I have taken many of these self photos here and there during the trip to Phu Yen.