Vung Tau: Vietnam’s Most Underrated Beach Town

I visited Vung Tau for the beach but fell in love with the food, people and neighborhoods.

For over a decade I have been traveling the world for the perfect beach town. My dream is a safe seaside town with clean beaches, fast internet and incredible food without inflated prices. It sounds like a fantasy in Southeast Asia.

I was convinced that combination didn’t exist until I found Vung Tau.

It sits two hours south of Ho Chi Minh City by the old highway, or about 50 minutes once the new expressway opens. It has a long story of foreign invasion. Portuguese traders passed through first, then French forces, then a large Russian community that helped launch the offshore oil industry in the 1970s.

You still see traces of all three if you know where to look. And in an interested move in 2025 Vietnam folded Vung Tau into Ho Chi Minh City’s administrative boundaries because the two places were already so tied together. So that makes Ho CHi Minh City very large.

My favourite part is that Vung Tau caters almost entirely to domestic travelers from Saigon, not to foreign tour groups. That means the infrastructure is solid, the seafood is fresh off the boat and you pay what locals pay instead of a tourist markup.

Best Neighborhoods in Vung Tau

The peninsula is easy to get your head around once you understand the two coastlines:

• Back Beach (Bãi Sau): The main tourist stretch on the east side, with miles of flat sand, wide promenades and high-rise apartment towers. This is where the energy is, especially on weekends when families pour in from Saigon.
• Front Beach (Bãi Trước): The downtown seafront on the west side, facing the sunset. Green parks, colonial buildings and coffee shops line the water, with real neighborhoods a few blocks inland. It’s much quieter.
• Pineapple Beach (Bãi Dứa) and Small Beach (Bãi Dâu): Quieter stretches wrapping the southern and northern edges of the mountain roads, with rocky views, boutique stays and hillside cafes away from the noise.

Where to Stay in Vung Tau

Sim Hotel

Two minutes from the sand on Back Beach for under $8.50 USD (215,000 VND) a night. The rooms in Sim Hotel have been redone with firm mattresses and cold air conditioning, though the bathrooms show their age.

The staff running the front desk treats every guest like they’ve stayed a dozen times before.

Mercure Vung Tau

Set on the rocky shoreline of Front Beach with stylish rooms, the Mercure Vung Tau has a gorgeous oceanfront pool and direct water access.

This is a great option if you want upscale comfort and sunset views without paying full resort prices.

Fusion Suites

Known to have the best rooftop for sunset Fusion Suites is popular for evening cocktails but the hotel itself offers luxury at a great rate. Their ocean-view suites feature floor-to-ceiling windows and many of the packages come with complimentary daily spa services.

Warning: The Reality of Staying at The Song Apartments

You’ll see The Song recommended on many YouTube videos because the pricing looks unbeatable for modern units with ocean views.

I almost booked an apartment there until I watched a video that shared the catch – the rooms are amazing but getting to it can be a disaster.

The tower has close to forty floors and only four elevators for the whole building. Guests routinely wait up to thirty minutes just to get down to the lobby or back up to their room. Unless you can lock in a low floor, be prepared to wait.

Essential Safety and Travel Tips

• Get an International Driving Permit. If you rent a motorbike, shops will ask for an IDP with a motorcycle endorsement. Vietnamese traffic police do enforce this and the fine has gotten steep. Don’t forget riding without the right license voids your travel insurance if anything happens.
• Watch the currents at Back Beach. The water gets rough at high tide. Check the flag warnings on the sand and stick to the zones with lifeguards and don’t be surprised if they whistle you in when think you’re out too far..
• Skip the roads on Sunday afternoons. Traffic back to Saigon jams up hard on Sunday evenings as everyone heads home at once. Leave early Sunday morning or just stay one more night and go Monday.

Top Things to Do in Vung Tau

Back Beach (Bãi Sau)

It’s not the best beach in Vietnam as the beaches Phu Quoc are better, the it is fantastic. You don’t need to bring anything other than a swimsuit and towel with you as it’s full service.

Because Vung Tau caters to Vietnamese tourists rather than foreign ones, prices here are regulated and posted in both English and Vietnamese, so nobody quietly bumps up the rate because you’re a foreigner.

An umbrella and lounger, a fresh coconut for around $1.60 USD (40,000 VND) and an iced Vietnamese coffee cost the same no matter where you plant yourself on the sand.

The Waterfront and Tam Thang Tower

During the day you don’t see many Vietnamese on the beach, except to take photos at this art piece. It’s 143 concrete pillars rising toward the sea, the tallest just over 34 meters, arranged to look like three boat bows surging out of the water.

During the day the mosaic tile surface just catches the light and makes beautiful photos, I caught a couple getting professional wedding photos there. It’s also where you’ll find locals hiding in between pillars for shade.

Once the beach umbrellas come down, plastic stools and folding tables take over the sand for cold drinks by the water. You’ll find it’s busy at dusk with people running, meeting friends for sunset.

After dark the whole structure lights up in shifting colors.

Sunset at Front Beach (Bãi Trước)

On back beach you’ll find Vietnamese tourists but front beach is where locals go.

It’s quiet during the day, with only some people in the shady park just behind the beach. But late afternoon local families and students show up in droves after school and work for a swim before dark.

If you like local food you’ll find lots of street vendors set up on the sidewalk with snacks.

The Christ the King Statue

Even if you aren’t religious this is worth checking out. You climb over 800 stone steps to reach the base, and another 133 spiral steps inside the statue if you want to stand in the arms, which most people do.

The path is shaded, there are rest stops with views the whole way up and the climb itself is part of the experience, not just something to endure to get to the top.

At 32 meters this is actually taller than Rio’s Christ the Redeemer, though almost nobody visiting realizes that until they’re standing under it.

Cover your shoulders and knees or you’ll get turned away at the gate. Go early, before 8am if you can, both for the heat and because the platforms at the top only fit three or four people at a time.

Robert Taylor Museum of Worldwide Arms

We stayed in Vung Tau for a week so we had plenty of time to explore. Honestly this wasn’t my first choice but I thought Alan would like it. And actually I really enjoyed it.

It is a private collection of over 5,000 military artifacts, from ancient European armor to samurai gear. More importantly in the afternoon heat it is fully air-conditioned.

Although there were no Canadian uniforms it was interesting to see uniforms differed around the world, especially in Asia vs Europe.

Bach Dinh (White Palace)

If you have extra time this is a nice place to walk around. It has a fascinating story and great view of the city.

Completed in 1902 for the French Governor-General of Indochina the house was named Villa Blanche after his daughter Blanche. Locals eventually shortened that to Bach Dinh, which just means White Palace in Vietnamese, and the name stuck.

The building itself is worth the visit on looks alone, whitewashed walls, red tile roof, ornate reliefs of Greek gods on the facade, sitting on a hill above Front Beach surrounded by frangipani trees and old cannons.

But the real story here isn’t the architecture. In 1907 it became the prison of Emperor Thanh Thai, one of the Nguyen dynasty rulers, after the French forced him to abdicate for resisting colonial rule and quietly building up support against them.

Officially they called it a vacation retreat. In reality he lived there under guard for almost a decade, cut off from the outside world with only a few loyal attendants, before he was eventually exiled to Reunion Island off the coast of Africa.

Walk the grounds slowly and it hits different once you know an emperor spent almost ten years of his life looking at that same view of the bay, unable to leave.

Ho May Park and the Cable Car

This is one thing I didn’t do in Vung Tau because people said it was disappointing. The cable car ride up Nui Lon is only a few minutes, but it delivers one of the best views of Front Beach you’ll get anywhere in the city.

At the top is an older park with waterslides, ziplines, go-karts, a roller coaster and an alpine coaster, plus a Buddha monument and a lake that’s the largest artificial one in Vietnam. It’s a little worn around the edges in places, which is part of its charm rather than a knock against it.

Some people were able to negotiate just taking the cable car ride for the views but others were pressured to get tickets to the park.

Sang Barbershop

Barbershops in Vietnam are an experience, not just a haircut. Alan got a face mask and a precise shave for around $6 USD (150,000 VND).

We came upon Sang Barbershop by chance driving by. The full deluxe package runs about $23 USD (580,000 VND) and includes a haircut, shave, facial peel, ear cleaning, manicure, pedicure and a chair massage.

There are also lots of “gội đầu” for both genders in Vung Tau. Goi dau means shampooing or washing one’s hair in Vietnamese, which can be an inexpensive simple hair wash or a relaxing Vietnamese head spa treatment.

Vietnam is definitely the place to treat yourself with personal care.

7 Traditional Vung Tau Dishes You Shouldn’t Miss

Bánh Khọt | Mini Savory Pancakes

This is the dish Vung Tau is known for above everything else, and every local will send you to a different spot claiming theirs is the real one.

Small, round rice flour pancakes go into heavy cast iron molds until the edges turn crisp and golden while the center stays soft.

Topped with fresh shrimp, scallion oil and shrimp powder, you wrap each one in mustard greens and herbs and dip it in sweet chili fish sauce. If you eat only one thing on this list, make it this.

Lẩu Cá Đuối | Stingray Hotpot

A bubbling pot of pickled bamboo shoots, herbs and tender stingray in a broth built on tamarind and pineapple for that sweet and sour edge.

Stingray holds its shape and has almost no bones, which makes this one of the easiest hotpots to actually enjoy instead of fighting your way through with chopsticks.

It’s a communal dish, made for a table of people passing bowls back and forth, so bring friends.

   

Bánh Canh Ghẹ | Crab Tapioca Noodle Soup

If bánh khọt is Vung Tau’s street food icon, this is its comfort food icon, and it somehow gets left off almost every foreigner-facing list even though locals will name it first when you ask what to eat.

Thick, chewy tapioca Vietnamese noodles sit in a broth simmered down from crab shells until it turns rich and slightly creamy, then get loaded with crab meat, crab cake, quail eggs and pork.

The best bowls come from family-run places that have been doing this for over a decade, where the broth, the dipping salt and even the fried dough sticks on the side are all made in house.

Hủ Tiếu Mực | Squid Noodle Soup

Saigon’s version of hủ tiếu leans on pork. Vung Tau’s leans on the sea. Chewy tapioca noodles sit in a sweet, clear seafood broth topped with squid rings, quail eggs, minced pork and crispy fried shallots.

What makes the Vung Tau version stand out is the squid itself, often pulled from the water that same morning, which means it stays tender instead of turning rubbery the way squid does when it sits too long before it hits the pot.

   

Bún Rêu Tôm | Shrimp Rice Noodle Soup

Bún riêu is usually a crab noodle soup found all over Vietnam, but Vung Tau sits in a spot without much rice paddy land to farm the freshwater crab that dish usually depends on.

So local cooks swapped in the thing they had in abundance instead: coastal shrimp, crushed and mixed with minced pork and egg into savory patties.

The broth gets brightened with fresh tomatoes and poured over rice vermicelli. It’s a genuinely local adaptation, not a variation for its own sake, and that’s what makes it worth seeking out.

Hàu Né | Sizzling Pan-Fried Oysters

Plump local oysters cooked on a hot cast iron skillet with tomato sauce, melted butter and a runny egg, served with a crispy baguette to mop up the sauce.

This one leans more modern fusion than centuries-old tradition, but it tastes like a decadent coastal breakfast in Vietnam no matter what time of day you order it, and it’s become enough of a local favorite that it’s earned its spot here.

Bánh Bông Lan Trứng Muối | Salted Egg Sponge Cake

Tiny, fluffy sponge cakes baked in small charcoal ovens and topped with salted egg yolk, melted cheese and pork floss.

Sweet, salty and buttery all at once, and dangerously easy to eat three in a row standing at the counter before you’ve even left the shop.

Where to Eat and Drink in Vung Tau

Bánh Khọt Gốc Vú Sữa

You can find this dish in Saigon, I have a favorite spot in District 4 but in Vung Tau the style is a bit different. Maybe crispier? I like both versions and ate it at several places.

The most famous bánh khọt spot in Vung Tau, and it has earned that reputation over more than 30 years of doing one thing well.

Cooks pour batter into rows of hot cast iron molds right in front of you, and a plate lands at your table within five to ten minutes, crisp and golden. It gets packed, especially on weekends, and you may need to wait for a table to open up.

Some locals will tell you it’s gotten pricier and more crowded than it used to be, and they’re not wrong, but the crunch and the fresh herbs are still worth standing in line for.

14 Nguyễn Trường Tộ, Vung Tau

Lẩu Cá Đuối Trương Công Định

The destination for stingray hotpot, and there are several restaurants clustered on this street all claiming the name, so double check the address before you sit down.

Families pack in around steaming pots of tender fish, sour bamboo shoots and fresh herbs, and the broth alone is worth the trip. Go hungry, because portions are generous and the smell alone will make you order more than you planned.

40 Trương Công Định, Vung Tau

Ốc Cám

This may be THE BEST place I’ve had seafood in Vietnam. I really wanted to eat at a local spot so I could get the freshest seafood for local prices.

We skipped the massive waterfront seafood halls built for tour buses and headed inland to this small local spot instead.

Order the scallops in salted egg sauce, mussels in scallion oil with peanuts and razor clams stir-fried with instant noodles. The green dipping sauce here is the best I’ve had anywhere in town, and that’s worth the detour on its own.

Honestly the prices are so good I’m dreaming of coming back.

22 Kha Vạn Cân, Vung Tau

   

Sunset Cocktails at Breeze Bar (Fusion Suites)

You don’t need to stay at the hotel to visit its famous rooftop Head up to the rooftop sky lounge for 360-degree ocean views, creative cocktails and a front-row seat as the light fades over Front Beach.

2 Trương Công Định, Vung Tau

Sunset Lounge at Mercure

Set right on the cliff edge, this open-air lounge is quieter than Breeze Bar and gives you an unobstructed view of the sun dropping into the sea. Perfect if you want a slower version of the same golden hour.

3 Hạ Long, Vung Tau

Best Cafes in Vung Tau

While there are a number of mainstream coffee shops along the ocean road with great views I thought the local independent shops were nicer, had better coffee and also no lines.

Enough Coffee

Tucked down an alley off busy Le Lai street, this is the kind of place you’d walk past if someone didn’t tell you it was there.

Japanese-inspired, with warm wood, indoor greenery and a small garden out front. They roast Arabica specifically and take it seriously, with pour-overs and a dirty coffee that regulars say should be sipped like a shot. I tried one of my favorite Mexican drinks, tepache, and I was really impressed. It was great.

The owner Dung is often behind the counter herself, and it shows in the details. This is the best spot in town to sit with a book or actually get work done.

42/12 Lê Lai, Vung Tau

Soho Coffee

A sleek multi-story storefront right on Front Beach with floor-to-ceiling windows over the sea. Popular with a younger crowd for the curved archways, modern decor and high-end espresso.

66 Hạ Long, Vung Tau

The Cove Cafe

I visited this coffee shop in Vung Tau three times and probably would have gone more but they are busy on weekends. Two short blocks from the beach it was the perfect location to sip strong coffee and catch up on a bit of work.

The owner is delightful and she’s there often.

32 Thi Sách, Vũng Tàu

Bohémiens Café

A cozy shop in an alleyway with nostalgic Vietnamese retro decor, old books and vintage posters. Cheap coffee and traditional teas in a quiet setting that feels a world away from the beach crowds.

6 Ba Cu, Vung Tau

Hill Coffee

I heard the hill separating front beach and back beach was very popular for cafes with great views. A quick google search showed me just how beautiful this location was and we were lucky to catch the end of full bloom of flowers.

The shade keeps you cool during hot afternoons while prices remain the same as downtown spots. Order the iced strawberry guava tea for a crisp drink option.

2 Hải Đăng, Vung Tau

Lightroom Coffee Studio

Built along the winding road up to the lighthouse, this multi-tier cafe has rustic brick walls, wooden decks and flower gardens. The elevated position makes it one of the best late-afternoon coffee spots in the city, especially if you catch the light right.

2/2 Hải Đăng, Vung Tau