inor

I am planning a trip to Vietnam, and I'm thinking of the following destinations
Hanoi, Ho Chi Mihn, side trip to Angkor Wat and a beach.

I'm having difficulty figuring out which beach and when to go, as it appears that beaches on the east coast have their rainy season during the dry season in the other parts.

My ideal beach will have good weather, swimable water, nice resorts and plenty of restaurants. And of course be beautiful.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

thanks, Inor

thursdaysd

Angkor Wat is in Cambodia, which also has beaches.

Not sure what you mean about the east coast - Vietnam barely has a west coast. Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, on the other hand, do.

Kathie

Take a look at a good weather site. I like www.weatherbase.com VN is a long, thin country, and is impacted by several different monsoon systems. But you only have a choice of beaches on the east coast - really no west coast as thursdays points out. You could opt for a beach in Cambodia. I don't know what time of year you plan to travel, so it is hard to offer suggestions.

inor

Hi, I think maybe my post was not clear. I'll start over.

Which beaches in Vietnam do you recommend, and when do you recommend going for the least amount of rain, if I also want to visit Hanoi, HCMC and Angkor Wat?

My ideal beach will have good weather, swimable water, nice resorts and plenty of restaurants. And of course be beautiful.

Thank you, Inor

inor

Hi NorahKat, thanks for the suggestion of Nha Trang. Looks great. Is there another way to get there from HCMC besides flying like a bus or train?

thursdaysd

For trains in Vietnam see http://www.seat61.com/Vietnam.htm

Lots of buses, look for a copy of Lonely Planet's guide to Vietnam for the link to the real Sinh Cafe (there are loads of knock-offs).

I thought Nha Trang was OK, but I preferred Mui Ne, However, that was 2002 and I'm sure they have both changed a lot.

vietnamtravelpro

There are many beautiful beaches in Vietnam currently. However, I recommend you to relax in Nha Trang or Mui Ne. Nha Trang is more modern than Mui Ne and of course has full of entertainment. Both have similar weather.Because of location in the south central coast, so the weather is warm all year round. And the best weather should be from April to June, when there is no typhoon or much rain in the region.

inor

Thanks everyone. How is the water for swimming at these two beaches?

qdungeng

I think your trip in Winter, very good weather for all.

qdungeng

Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City is two most famous cities in Vietnam, you should visit these places, but beside that if you arrived to Hanoi, you should take a short tou to Halong Bay UNESCO World Heritage Site, and from Ho Chi Minh City you should catch bus to Phan Thiet where has the most beautiful beach is Mui Ne, at here you will have a really relaxing time on the long beach with white sand...

vietnamtravelpro

The temperature in the winter in Nha Trang is from 20-28oC compared with the temperature of 18 - 26oC in Mui Ne. It is cool, but many people go and swim. If you want to swim in the warmer weather, as I mentioned, it is the best from April to June.

crellston

We dived off Nha Trang using just shortie wetsuits and hound the water to be a pleasant temperature 26-28 in April May time. It won't vary much from that except in shallower water I.e. Right by the beach where it will be a bit warmer.

Nha Trang beaches are ok but the town itself has grown tremendously over the last 10-15 years so expect a big busy city not a small quaint village. I think Mui Ne is going much the same way with the advent of charter flights from Europe bring many more tourists who tend to go for I high protection of beach time in their packedaged hols. On problem with NT is that the offshore wind gets going every afternoon which can make sitting on the beach a little unpleasant because of the sand blowing everywhere. Many people retire to there hotels in the afternoon.

If f looking for quite picturesque beaches check out Cambodia or maybe some of the smaller Thai islands. www.travelfish.org will have loads of suggestions

mareeS55

Long Hai is also a bit of a beach destination, in easy reach just north of Saigon and Vung Tau.